Dealing with this scheming man, the more he said, the more mistakes he'd make.
As they reached the village entrance, two small rare beasts happened to be running down Konoha's main road.
Spotting Kakashi and Raj, they skidded to a halt.
"Yo, Kakashi! Didn't expect to see you here! Let's have a fiery duel!" Guy declared, flashing a thumbs-up and a dazzling smile.
"Guy, look at that cat... Huh? Where's Raj, who was behind ?" Obito paused, noticing the Black Cat, then turned to find the cat had vanished.
"......"
Kakashi watched the scene unfold, glancing at Guy, then sidelong at Obito.
Despite his weathered composure, his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
For so reason, he felt a strong sense of foreboding.
'Absolutely no teaming up with these guys!' he vowed inwardly.
'I've been running for ages, and you only just noticed? Obito, if you're not using your eyes, give them to soone who needs them.'
Raj sighed softly, his mood a mix of resignation and apprehension.
Following Guy and Obito had been tiring, but at least he could slack off and goof around.
Training with Kakashi was a different story altogether, and now it was too late to regret his decision.
"Kakashi, let's duel! In the na of youth!"
"No, I'm busy." Kakashi glanced at Pakkun and Raj before continuing forward.
Left with no choice, Raj trailed after him.
"Kakashi, wait! Uncle Nohara told to take him running..."
"Save it, loser. You didn't even notice when he ran off earlier. The village assigned to train him, so you don't need to worry about it." Kakashi delivered his cold retort and handed his village pass to the gate guard.
Their training ground was the Forest of Death.
During tis of war and unrest, the forest was riddled with traps.
Except for essential missions, entering the forest required a village visa; otherwise, ninja would intercept anyone attempting to pass.
Raj noticed the visa and felt a growing sense of dread.
'Outside the village... Inside, I could throw my weight around, but out there, it's a whole different ga. Kakashi, you're a dog! I'm only seven months old - not even considered an adult yet! How can you bear to take outside the village?'
He really could bear it.
The visa was approved within seconds, bearing the Third Hokage's personal seal - a high-clearance docunt requiring only a cursory check.
Though Guy had only been a ninja for two years and was still just a Genin, he recognized the Third Hokage's seal, making today's duel impossible.
"Obito, let's keep running!" Guy shouted, sprinting forward.
Obito didn't imdiately follow.
Instead, he ran over and pulled out a bag of dried fish.
"These are the dried fish I got from Granny. Rember to feed her if she gets hungry."
Kakashi paused, about to refuse, but Obito simply placed the bag on the table and hurried after Guy.
He stood in silence for a mont.
This Obito...
It was hard to know what to make of him.
But if they were on the sa team, he'd definitely be a handful.
After a mont's hesitation, Kakashi pocketed the dried fish and headed out of the village, glancing back at Raj as he left.
Once outside the village, he entered a narrow path leading into the forest.
"Where are we going?"
Raj knew he couldn't pretend to be mute any longer.
If he kept up the act, he might end up anywhere.
Hearing the voice, Kakashi whirled around, his visible eye widening in surprise.
When the cat had previously shouted "No!" its voice had been a harsh snarl.
Now, speaking calmly, it sounded remarkably like a child of seven or eight, its gender ambiguous yet lodious.
"We're going to the Forest of Death," Kakashi said coolly after a mont's pause.
"What?"
This ti, not only Raj but Pakkun also shuddered, his cowardly dog face betraying his fear.
The Forest of Death.
It wasn't just trees there; it was filled with traps, wild beasts - in short, for creatures of their size, it was a true "Forest of Death," where a single misstep could cost them their lives.
"You need training," Kakashi added casually.
Though Pakkun wasn't as small as the Little Black Cat, he was still a young pup with little combat experience.
The Forest of Death, however, was an ideal training ground.
Raj tilted his head to look at Pakkun, his lips twitching slightly, a subtle expression crossing his face.
Pakkun shook his head.
He wanted to run too, but the Summoning Technique bound him.
He could escape for a while, but never permanently.
With Raj around, at least he had soone to watch his back.
Animals were much like humans.
When they saw others suffering alongside them, their own suffering seed less unbearable.
Pakkun was in exactly that state now.
Raj didn't hold back any longer.
With a swift leap, he struck Pakkun's head with a paw in retaliation.
The blow wasn't particularly strong, but it was enough to make Pakkun yelp in pain.
"Kakashi! It hit !" Pakkun whined, imdiately running to Kakashi to complain.
"You could have dodged," Kakashi replied.
Raj moved nonchalantly.
Pakkun needed to improve his evasion skills, and the cat's swift, precise attacks made it an ideal sparring partner.
"No!!"
This ti, it was Pakkun's turn to despair.
Raj smirked coldly, stalking behind Pakkun like a predator biding its ti.
"Woof! Woof!"
Pakkun turned, baring its teeth and snarling fiercely at Raj.
'You dare bare your teeth at ?'
In the next instant, the Black Cat pounced with the ferocity of a tiger hunting its prey, its attack swift and precise.
Pakkun couldn't evade it.
Two more strikes landed.
Kakashi remained motionless, watching their antics with detached amusent.
Within seconds, Pakkun whimpered in surrender, begging for rcy as it fled - a complete contrast to its earlier aggressive barking.
Status -1.
Pakkun whimpered, licking its bloodless scratches.
anwhile, Raj realized he wouldn't gain any more Points from bullying the dog.
In total, Pakkun had earned Raj over three hundred points.
However, Pakkun was a specialized tracking and reconnaissance dog, not a fighter.
Summoning other dogs to take a beating would likely result in Raj getting beaten himself.
So, Raj didn't get too cocky.
After bullying Pakkun into submission, he stopped.
"Kakashi, are we really going to train here?"
Pakkun swallowed hard.
Before, he'd thought having Raj as backup would make things less painful, but after that beating earlier, he realized one thing: Among the three of them, he was the weakest.
'If you're weak, you should back down, or you'll end up dead.'
"Mm-hmm," Kakashi nodded, glanced around, and pointed in a direction.
"Run that way. I'll follow you in the shadows. If you encounter an enemy you can't handle, I'll intervene."
'An enemy we can't handle? So he won't help with ordinary enemies, huh? And he said "you," aning I'm supposed to team up with Pakkun for this mission.'
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