Raj pondered for a moment, then whispered in her ear, "I'll hold back a bit. You direct me to coordinate with you, meow~"
Rin nodded slightly.
The referee began counting down.
As the final number echoed, the referee vanished without a trace.
Simultaneously, three or four kunai flew through the air.
Manipulated Assault Blades.
A signature technique of Sunagakure.
Rin had witnessed enemies using this move on the battlefield before, so she remained calm when the four kunai hurtled toward her, instead charging forward to meet them head-on.
Just as the kunai were about to encircle her, Raj suddenly leaped into the air, his paws nimbly swatting away three of the projectiles.
Yashamaru froze for a split second, then decisively hurled several more kunai, maneuvering as he controlled them.
But at that moment, Rin made a subtle hand signal.
Raj immediately began repositioning to corner Yashamaru.
With their coordinated movements, the duo quickly sealed off Yashamaru's escape routes.
She fired shuriken from her hip pouch while simultaneously forming hand seals to activate Needle Jizo, blocking Yashamaru's kunai as his Striking Blade approached.
Forced into a corner, Yashamaru was about to create a Sand Clone when...
Rin rapidly formed another set of hand seals.
Even with a few steps separating them, Yashamaru's Chakra suddenly surged violently, his mind reeling.
As a Medical Ninja, Yashamaru immediately recognized the effect: the Healing Palm Technique!
In the next instant, a cat's paw pressed against his throat.
Any movement would mean the sharp claws tearing through his jugular without mercy.
"Rin wins."
"Next match..."
"Konoha's current generation of ninja is truly exceptional," Ebizo murmured with a soft chuckle, refraining from adding, "Even their cats are this cunning."
To say that would imply the Sunagakure's ninja were inferior to cats.
While that might be the truth, still...
"Heh heh heh, naturally," Orochimaru replied, licking his lips with a hint of excitement.
This cat had once again defied his expectations.
Raj wasn't just special in terms of abilities; its intellect was remarkably sharp.
Others might not have noticed, but how could he and Ebizo miss it?
Raj could have secured a more decisive victory, but this battle perfectly showcased Rin's combat intelligence, leadership skills, and on-the-spot decision-making qualities that would greatly aid her promotion to Chunin.
Though her raw power was somewhat lacking, her abilities as a Medical Ninja were already quite remarkable.
Her promotion to Chunin should be virtually assured.
"..."
Such a lack of humility.
Ebizo sighed deeply, then set aside thoughts of promotions.
For Sunagakure, the immediate priority wasn't the Chunin Exams, but how to deal with the chaos Sasori had unleashed.
Before the second exam concluded, he had secretly dispatched agents to gather information.
Kekkei Genkai ninjas from every village had been killed, and their bodies were missing, confirming Sasori had stolen them.
Fortunately, Suna's own Kekkei Genkai ninjas had also been killed, and Sasori hadn't been captured by the enemy.
This allowed them to claim Sasori's actions were his own and declare him a traitor to Sunagakure.
However, they would undoubtedly have to pay a price.
Ebizo foresaw that Orochimaru would demand vast quantities of resources, which the Land of Wind already lacked, effectively strangling Sunagakure's future development.
For decades, Konoha had been doing exactly that.
What a predicament!
If only Konoha would suffer some major upheaval, forcing Orochimaru to flee and stop tormenting Sunagakure.
Otherwise, Sunagakure won't survive another few decades.
"Rin, you're amazing! You defeated such a strong opponent!"
As soon as Rin returned, Obito rushed over to congratulate her, though his words were clearly an exaggeration.
"It was... it was alright. He was just a Medical Ninja," Rin said.
She felt awkward.
She knew Yashamaru wasn't particularly strong.
Her methodical victory was partly due to the Healing Palm Technique's unexpected application, but more importantly, it was thanks to Raj's assistance.
"Meow~"
Raj called out, then tilted his head to gaze at Obito, inwardly sneering.
'A strong opponent? He's just a weakling!'
'Even a bootlicker wouldn't lick this hard.'
Guy stood nearby, smiling, but a hint of disappointment lingered in his eyes.
He was the only one among the three to fail the exam.
Still, losing to a teammate wasn't exactly shameful.
"Let's focus on the battle first," Rin said gently, prompting Obito to reluctantly abandon his attempts at extravagant praise.
Below, Genin from Amegakure and Sunagakure, only a year or two older than them, were locked in a fierce, back-and-forth battle, neither side willing to yield.
Raj quickly grew bored.
Thanks to Sasori's influence, he had become accustomed to high-intensity combat during the Chunin Exams.
These trivial skirmishes between weaklings held no interest for him.
Watching them fight felt like a waste of time and energy.
He'd rather browse his system and figure out how to spend his accumulated Points.
Earlier, Raj had spent 2,000 Points on two consecutive ten-pulls.
However, his explosive attack on Sasori had immediately recouped over half of that, leaving him with over 4,000 Points.
Compared to advanced Ninjutsu, 4,000 Points was
A paltry sum.
Kekkei Genkai were practically unattainable, and imported goods from outside the Naruto World were notoriously overpriced, offering absurdly poor value.
Unless he could win them through gacha pulls, he wouldn't even consider them for now.
Scanning the options, Raj remained undecided.
'Well, I'll just get some Deluxe Cat Food for now.'
He glanced at his slightly protruding belly.
Sasori's relentless assault had nearly drained even the meager fat reserves he'd stored earlier.
The minimal accumulation from Natural Energy was long gone, and he could definitely use another meal.
A thousand points gone, but it was absolutely worth it.
Glancing through the remaining options, nothing immediately caught its eye.
'Wait a minute! The Eight Gates Formation! It could exchange for the Eight Gates Formation!'
Raj's eyes lit up as it immediately searched for it under Taijutsu.
Before long, it had found its target.
The Eight Inner Gates - Opening Gate cost only a thousand points, but the only problem was that it required a certain level of physical prowess to unlock, and currently, it was still grayed out.
Besides that, Superhuman Strength, Flash Step, and the Six Styles of the Navy looked tempting too, but they were just too expensive.
Raj stared at the string of digits, then back at its meager four-digit total.
'Comrade, you still have a long way to go!'
Its spirits immediately lifted.
It began scanning its surroundings, pondering potential targets for earning more points.
But after looking around, only Obito and A'Guy seemed reliable.
'Never mind. You two need a break.'
Obito and Guy's bodies hadn't fully recovered from their manly battle.
Even if Raj was a demon, it had to give them a break.
It couldn't just keep milking them dry every day.
'Time for a nap.'
It jumped down and curled up on the medical kit Rin had left aside.
Rin glanced back and, seeing the Little Black Cat had returned to sleep, paid it no further attention.
Raj quietly retrieved the Deluxe Cat Food and devoured it in a flash.
The familiar taste, the sensation of downing a small bottle of Wine in one gulp... The high was intense!
Before long, he drifted off to sleep.