Seeing Minato approaching, Raj stood up, called out, and waved its paw.
With Minato's sharp eyes, he would surely spot them from afar.
"I didn't expect to find you here. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered asking around so much," Minato said softly as he arrived, his voice tinged with admiration.
This only fueled Raj's jealousy.
'So what if you can use the Flying Thunder God Technique? Damn it, that's actually really impressive!'
Raj felt like it had been stabbed again.
Glancing at the current gap between its own abilities and the Flying Thunder God Technique, it suddenly didn't feel like its meager points were worth much at all.
'Still need to work harder.'
After a moment of reflection, Raj replied, "I came to check on the situation yesterday and ended up staying the night, meow..."
"Sumire told me you made a significant contribution yesterday. You must have exhausted yourself. Here, I got some Soldier Pills from the Nara Clan. Want one to recover?"
'Soldier Pills from the Nara Clan?'
Raj's eyes lit up.
'Now that's the good stuff!'
Soldier Pills were now standard equipment for Konoha Ninja, but those produced by the Nara Clan were considered the finest.
Generations of pharmacological research had allowed them to incorporate unique ingredients and techniques that outsiders couldn't replicate.
'Seriously?'
Raj thought inwardly.
'They're only delivering the Soldier Pills today, after yesterday's battle?'
'Isn't that a bit late?'
Despite his mental grumbling, his paws moved swiftly.
He snatched the bottle of Soldier Pills and darted into the tent, carrying it in his mouth.
Rin, likely alerted by the commotion outside, was already awake when he entered.
She had even tidied her slightly rumpled clothes from sleeping.
"Teacher... Oh, Raj, what are you doing here?"
"Meow~ I was the one who carried you back yesterday," Raj said, glaring disdainfully at Rin.
The girl gave an awkward smile and affectionately stroked the cat's head.
To show her apology, she even used her signature "pouch" technique - truly... blissful!
After enjoying the pampering for a moment, Raj placed the Soldier Pills on the ground.
Minato entered the tent and, after a few seconds of observation, began to explain the situation.
"We'll likely be stationed here for a while. Yesterday, Senior Hizashi personally reported Raj's combat achievements and recommended promoting you to Special Jonin status."
'Special Jonin?'
'Hizashi really came through!'
'He went back and pulled off something this big?'
'Though... it was mostly just talk.'
Getting approved for Special Jonin status was highly unlikely, but at least it put him on the higher-ups' radar.
"Did the village approve it?" Rin's eyes lit up.
She wasn't possessive of Raj; if Black Cat could become a fully independent Ninja and strike out on his own, she'd be thrilled.
"Hahaha, probably not. But I also highlighted Raj's previous performance. Securing independent combat credit shouldn't be a problem. Oh, and your Chunin promotion has been approved, Rin! Congratulations, you're a Chunin starting today."
Minato retrieved a scroll from his waist, performed a Sealing Technique to release it, and a standard Chunin vest appeared on the ground.
This was the standard uniform for Chunin.
Rin was naturally delighted, but her expression soon turned worried.
"What about Obito? Did he get promoted too?"
Minato shook his head, patted Rin on the head, and said, "Obito still needs to improve his theoretical knowledge and command skills, but... he's getting there."
He didn't finish his thought.
After a few more words, he asked them to pass on a message to Kakashi and Obito before leaving to resume his duties.
As a Jonin proficient in Sealing Techniques and the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was incredibly busy.
He had come to personally congratulate Rin on her promotion to Chunin before heading off to assist Inoichi Yamanaka.
Last night, several Sunagakure Ninja had been captured alive, and the Yamanaka Clan was overwhelmed with interrogation duties.
However, the intelligence gained was significant.
For example... Sunagakure's operation had been solely aimed at locating the missing Third Kazekage.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure was attempting to win over Kusagakure.
Though they hadn't yet shown hostility toward Konoha, Kusagakure served as a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.
Having long maintained friendly relations with Konoha, Iwagakure's motives were clear.
With war looming, promotions were becoming commonplace, but this was hardly good news.
Even Jonin could fall in battle - what chance did Chunin stand?
"Rin, you've become a Chunin? That's fantastic! Kakashi won't be able to boss us around anymore."
Obito chuckled, feigning indifference, but his eyes betrayed a deep envy, much like Raj's admiration for Minato's golden hair.
"I owe it all to Raj," Rin replied, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Without him, I never would have qualified as a Chunin."
She felt her own skills were unworthy of the rank.
If not for Raj's help, she wouldn't have stood a chance against her opponent.
Of course, that was just her perspective.
Kakashi had something to say about this: "Rin, you both defeated your opponents, but you got promoted while he didn't. That means he's the problem.
Don't comfort him; he needs to reflect on his own shortcomings."
"Kakashi, I'll fight you!" Obito roared, his hands clawing the air.
He had been suppressing his emotions, and Kakashi's words finally pushed him over the edge.
He lunged at Kakashi, ready to throw punches.
But Kakashi calmly formed a hand seal, electricity crackling around his hand.
Faced with this threat, Obito could only...
"Pfft! If you're a man, fight me hand-to-hand! Let's take this outside!"
"No hand-to-hand combat in the tent. Let's have a battle that tests our overall abilities," Kakashi said, extending his hand.
Obito froze for a moment, the image of Kakashi's duel with Guy flashing through his mind.
His face flushed crimson as he retorted, "I'm not doing some stupid duel like that!"
"Oh? Scared? You have the Sharingan, with its incredible perception. You can see every move I make, while I have no such advantage... But that's right, you're the dead last. It's only natural you'd be in awe of me."
Kakashi casually withdrew his hand, though he was inwardly surprised.
Obito actually thought this "duel" was stupid, which meant he wasn't beyond redemption.
But it didn't matter - as long as Kakashi mentioned keywords like "Sharingan," "eyesight," or "loser," Obito would inevitably take the bait.
And sure enough, he did.
"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!"
***
'Oh, you foolish Uchiha. You've fallen for it.'
Raj watched from the sidelines, silently lighting a candle for Obito.
Rin sensed something was off, but she didn't know what Kakashi and Guy's duel was about, and she was secretly curious about what a "duel" actually entailed.
Then she saw Kakashi and Obito standing a step apart.