"Woof woof~" A Shiba Inu.
Raj peered down at it from the wall, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
'I used to be afraid of you, but now I'm a Ninja Cat! Blind fool, why don't you scram?'
"Woof!"
The Shiba Inu, oblivious to Raj's inner monologue, barked loudly again.
'Enough!'
Raj locked onto his target and swiftly pounced from the wall, his claws poised for attack in mid-air.
A lightning-fast strike...
"Awoo awoo~"
The Shiba Inu couldn't dodge in time.
A claw struck its leg mid-air, sending it yelping and rolling backward.
Though Raj was still young, the Transformation Pill had enhanced his physical prowess to rival that of an adult cat.
He had even restrained some of his force in the strike.
If Raj had infused Chakra into its attack, the Shiba Inu might have suffered a broken bone.
The dog fled in terror.
Raj didn't pursue it.
'There's plenty of time. Soon, all of Konoha will be my personal score-farming ground. Whether cat or human, no one will escape my grasp. I'll have ample opportunities to deal with them...'
Still, that little brat had only contributed ten points, earning Raj's contempt.
'Stealing fish would have been more worthwhile than bullying me.'
Raj shook its head and dashed toward the school.
The bell had rung, signaling the end of classes.
It was the perfect time to check if Asuma and Anko had left yet.
With its current speed, Raj had nothing to fear from those two brats.
'Even if I can't beat them, I can certainly outrun them!'
Besides, it had the support of the masses.
A little bit of cuteness would quickly sway public opinion in its favor.
No worries!
Arriving at the school, Raj spotted Asuma on the second floor, peering over the railing as if searching for it.
Unfazed, Raj even moved closer.
'Damn it! That mangy cat is taunting me!'
Asuma's teeth itched with fury, but the little goddess had just emerged from the classroom.
He couldn't bring himself to commit such a cruel act as beating a cat in front of her.
'I must endure!'
The young Asuma learned life's most crucial lesson: patience.
Little did he know, this was far from over.
Just then, a voice called out from below.
Raj glanced down.
'Ah, it's my number one score-farming tool.'
"Little kitty, I'll take you to eat dried fish!" Obito shouted.
"It's just a stray cat. Do you really think it understands you?" an Uchiha clan member mocked.
He had been holding back for a long time.
Ever since they started school, Obito had been a disgrace to their clan.
Today, being late because a cat blocked his path wasn't the real issue - the problem was that Obito bore the Uchiha name.
As a fellow Uchiha, the clan member felt personally humiliated.
"Rin says cats are very smart. It definitely understands me," Obito replied confidently.
Rin smiled warmly beside him, waving and softly calling to Raj.
Soon, a crowd gathered around them, mostly girls.
They couldn't resist cute creatures, especially since Raj was still young and had a delicate, vulnerable charm.
Raj glanced at Obito, then leaped down from the wall, landing gracefully on Obito's shoulder.
"See? It's very smart," Obito said with a grin at the Uchiha boy, who, thoroughly embarrassed, turned and stalked away.
The next moment, Raj pushed off with his hind legs and jumped from Obito's shoulder into Rin's arms.
'With girls around, who needs to play with boys?'
"Rin, it seems like he really likes you," Kurenai said enviously.
She had always wanted a cat like that, but her father refused to let her have one, claiming that pets would distract her from her studies.
"Meow~"
Raj mewed, wriggling to adjust his position and waving a paw at Kurenai.
"Are you waving at me?"
Kurenai paused, then looked at the cat in disbelief, sensing it seemed to understand she had just mentioned it.
"Meow~"
Raj leaped over, and Kurenai scooped him into her arms.
Asuma's eyes widened.
Though most people his age were still flat-chested, Asuma, thanks to his family's teachings, had matured early and developed a crush on Kurenai long ago.
He was precocious but also timid, and in the original storyline, he didn't confess his feelings until much later.
If Shikamaru had been ten years older, with his silver tongue, Asuma would have stood no chance.
Seeing Raj nuzzle against Kurenai, Asuma, the timid pervert, could only watch with envy, while also contributing some Points.
'Stealing your wife and earning Points from you? What can you do about it?'
Raj thought this and brazenly rubbed against Kurenai again.
Of course, Asuma didn't see the cat as a romantic rival, but his animosity was undeniable.
After all, this damned black cat had tricked him multiple times, and the mutual hatred between man and feline ran deep.
"Don't underestimate it," Hana Inuzuka said, pressing down on the Ninja Dog on her shoulder.
"It might be a Ninja Cat... you know, the naturally born kind."
The Ninja Dog sensed a threat and was restless, a state it hadn't shown during class earlier.
Hana found this odd but didn't dwell on it, assuming the cat had been too far away to trigger the Ninja Dog's territorial instincts.
The dog's reaction only reinforced her belief that the kitten was indeed a Ninja Cat.
"A... a Ninja Cat?"
Obito's eyes widened as he stared at the black cat in astonishment.
Cats and dogs were common, but Ninja Cats and Ninja Dogs were rare and highly valued.
"Konoha doesn't have naturally born Ninja Cats," Hana Inuzuka said.
"It must have wandered here from somewhere else."
Her reasoning was sound.
First, Konoha was too powerful for wild Ninja Beasts to approach.
Second... What kind of cat would be so blind as to wander into a pack of Ninja Dogs?
"Could it be from there?!" Obito suddenly exclaimed.
As an Uchiha clan member, he knew that the Cat Granny, whom the Uchiha recognized, had formed contracts with many Ninja Cats.
Could this little black cat have come from her domain?
"Obito, do you know where it's from?"
"Poor little kitty, it's so small..."
The girls' sympathy overflowed.
Imagination knows no gender.
Even Anko, who had been plotting revenge against Raj for stealing her dango, now wiped away tears, deeply moved by the cat's "tragic plight."
She had completely forgotten about the stolen dango.
In fact, she even wanted to treat the little cat to a meal.
However, she didn't realize that cats can't taste sweetness, which is why Raj had never been particularly fond of dango - he had only taken them to spite someone else.
From Anko's perspective, this cat
It was utterly wicked.
"I'm not sure," Obito said, his face flushed.
"I just know there are a lot of Ninja Cats in that area."
It was the first time he'd ever been surrounded by so many girls, and the sad part was... they were all here for a cat.