Tsunade lowered her head, one hand pressing down on the cat while her sharp gaze locked onto Raj's.
"Speak," she said in a low voice.
"I'm listening."
"Alright... One night, while taking a walk, I noticed Lord Jiraiya leaving the camp. Curious, I followed him and heard his lecherous laughter. I crept closer to see what was going on..."
Raj paused, cautiously glancing up at Tsunade.
"Hmm?"
'She really is beautiful,' the cat thought.
'And she smells so good.'
Setting aside her gambling and violence, Tsunade was undeniably alluring.
No wonder Jiraiya had been pining after her for most of his life.
But now, all it could say was...
'Forgive me, Jiraiya!'
When disaster strikes, everyone scatters.
Raj had no choice but to sell out Jiraiya to save its own skin.
What happened to Jiraiya afterward was none of its concern.
After all, Tsunade's appearance was based on Jiraiya's own wishes, and Raj had even tried to dissuade him.
"Lord Jiraiya was by the river, writing with a lecherous grin. And what he was writing... it was utterly scandalous, meow! I was quickly discovered, and Lord Jiraiya used the Wild Lion's Mane Technique to bind me and throw me into the river, nearly silencing me for good, meow!"
Raj's fear was genuine, partly from the terror of that moment and partly from the dread of Tsunade's wrath.
Reasoning with an enraged woman was utterly futile.
"The truth?"
"Meow! I had no choice but to trade stories for my life... Wait, did Lord Jiraiya actually use my inspiration and write about a blonde beauty too?"
Raj nodded frantically, then cautiously glanced up at Tsunade.
"The same? What a coincidence!"
Tsunade let out a chilling laugh, her grip on Raj tightening to a crushing degree.
Raj had to discreetly use Chakra to resist being squeezed to death.
This was the consequence it deserved, but Raj could imagine that after being stabbed in the back like this, Jiraiya's fate would be even more tragic.
In truth, Raj hadn't wanted to go this far, but Tsunade was too clever.
Without such a drastic claim, she would never have believed Raj's innocence.
Later, with just a simple explanation from Jiraiya, she would have realized Raj was also involved in the cover-up.
Now, no matter what Jiraiya said, Tsunade would never believe him.
As for Raj's racing heartbeat, well, anyone would be terrified to gossip about the dark history of the Three Legendary Sannin behind their backs.
It was easily explained away.
Beside them, Kakashi and Obito kept their eyes lowered, sensing that they had been dragged into something ominous.
Obito, in particular, understood perfectly: the Black-Hearted Cat had escaped punishment, and now Jiraiya and he would bear the consequences.
The difference was that Jiraiya would face Tsunade's wrath, while Obito would suffer Raj's revenge...
'If only I'd retreated sooner,' he thought bitterly.
'Why did I wade into this mess?'
"Good, very good," Tsunade said, her voice dripping with venom.
"That teleportation technique you used earlier must be the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique. Now take me to Jiraiya immediately! I can't wait another moment!"
Tsunade's other hand clenched so tightly that her knuckles cracked, her anger reaching a boiling point with no outlet.
Raj nodded swiftly, casting a dark glare at Obito before quickly using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport itself and Tsunade to a spatial coordinate within the camp.
'So it really is the Flying Thunder God Technique.'
She had only been bluffing, but Raj truly possessed the genuine technique, and his speed seemed even slightly faster than the Second Hokage's.
'And where exactly are we?'
"Meow~ I only have this one marker here. The camp is just nearby," Raj explained.
"Wait, this... this river?"
Tsunade recognized the familiar landscape.
She glanced at the river, then lowered her gaze from the tree branch to see the strangely flattened grass and bushes below.
Understanding dawned on her immediately.
Sometimes, silence speaks louder than words.
Raj mentally patted himself on the back and started to lead the way, but Tsunade suddenly pulled him aside, using the Transformation Technique to conceal both herself and Raj.
Moments later, a "remarkably handsome" young man strolled over from the camp, whistling casually.
To be honest, Raj hadn't sensed anything unusual this time.
His attention was almost entirely focused on Tsunade, pondering how to continue guiding her in that direction.
He hadn't anticipated Jiraiya's sudden arrival.
He felt a surge of anxiety.
Partly because Jiraiya was approaching, and partly because Tsunade, feeling cramped and anxious, was holding him tightly against her chest.
The space was far too small.
'If you can afford it, always buy a bigger house.'
'Being crammed into a tiny space is truly unbearable.'
Tsunade, however, didn't mind.
She occasionally held pets this way, and in her eyes, Raj was simply a pet that understood Ninjutsu.
Jiraiya sat down by the stream, just as before, and began writing, punctuating his work with his signature lecherous laughter.
'Perfect. Seeing it with her own eyes is far more convincing than any truth.'
At that moment, Tsunade's suspicion of Raj waned further, while her suspicion of Jiraiya skyrocketed.
The fact that she managed to restrain herself from immediately going down to beat him up was a testament to her remarkable self-control.
As Tsunade debated whether to descend and attack him now, Jiraiya began making "tsk tsk tsk" sounds.
Tsunade glanced down and nearly exploded with rage.
The newly written line read: "She gently tapped him with her tiny fists..."
'I'll fucking hammer you to death right now!'
Whoosh!
With a soft rustle, Tsunade leaped down from the tree, a black cat cradled in her arms.
The cat remained motionless, its eyes even beginning to glaze over.
"Who's there?"
Jiraiya whirled around at the sound, his eyes widening as he recognized the familiar figure landing behind him, clutching the "Black Cat."
He initially flinched, but then his mind began to race.
'How could Tsunade be here?!'
"Jiraiya," Tsunade hissed through gritted teeth, her grip tightening on the cat in one arm and her other hand clenching into a fist.
Her posture radiated terrifying intent.
"How do you want to die?"
"I'm one of the Three Legendary Sannin, you know! Tricks only work once on me. Did you really think I wouldn't see through your clone-turned-cat disguise?"
Boom!
'Damn it, it's real!'
The last thought flashed through Jiraiya's mind before Tsunade's fist sent him flying.
He let out a truly miserable cry, carving a trench through the earth as he skidded into the river with a massive splash.
A second later, Tsunade followed with the Body Flicker Technique.
Raj, hiding between two "mountains," watched, trembling visibly.
Not a drop of blood.
This woman's control over her strength was flawless.
The punch looked devastating, but it only caused pain and a few broken ribs-nothing fatal.