"Heh heh heh, the plot is absolutely perfect... I'm a genius! With this, I won't have to worry about some super-strong woman jumping out and beating me half to death with a single punch!" Jiraiya muttered to himself smugly.
Lost in his imagined perfect scenario, he remained completely oblivious to the cat observing him from the tree above.
This just goes to show that even someone as powerful as one of the Three Legendary Sannin can slip up when they're too focused.
Raj crouched lower, its muscles tensing.
This time, it wouldn't transform into Tsunade.
That kind of prank was funny once, but repeating it would only make Jiraiya develop an "immunity."
What if the real Tsunade actually stood before him later, and he dismissed her as an illusion?
Jiraiya was capable of such foolishness, so it was best not to tempt fate.
Then...
Whoosh!
With a soft thud, a cat shadow landed on Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Ah! Who... Oh, it's you again!"
Jiraiya jumped in fright, then grew furious.
Unable to restrain himself, he reached out to grab the cat, intending to throw it into the river.
But the cat moved with lightning agility, dodging the attempt effortlessly.
And that wasn't all.
Rip!
With a crisp tear, the papers in his hand were shredded by sharp claws.
Jiraiya froze for a few seconds, then cradled the pile of paper scraps in his hands, muttering in anguish, "My masterpiece... my masterpiece..."
"Meow!"
Raj was equally stunned, then quickly explained, "I was just struggling! Your own hand holding the papers bumped into me!
You're trying to frame me!"
"Frame you? Heh, I don't know what 'frame' means, but I know you're dead meat."
Jiraiya's laughter carried a hint of madness.
In the next instant - no, less than the blink of an eye - he swiftly formed hand seals.
His hair shot out in tendrils, each strand growing rapidly.
For the first time, Raj finally experienced the terror his enemies had felt before.
A sea of hair surged forth, filling the sky!
Each strand was as dense and relentless as Orochimaru's snakes, long and unyielding.
Without hesitation, Raj activated the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates, his four legs pumping furiously as he bolted forward.
"Trying to escape? Heh heh heh... Die!"
Jiraiya kicked off the ground with explosive force, his speed reaching its absolute limit.
But Raj, retreating rapidly, turned its head to unleash several enlarged Vacuum Jades.
These enhanced Vacuum Jades possessed greater power and velocity, but their primary purpose wasn't to inflict damage.
Regardless of Jiraiya's misguided pursuit of "art," his raw strength remained undeniable.
Unless the Vacuum Jades were so massive that they exploded upon release, he could easily evade them with skillful maneuvering.
However, the Vacuum Jades weren't meant to harm him directly.
Instead, they obscured his vision and altered his trajectory.
As Jiraiya dodged and weaved, his speed remained unchanged, but Raj seized this fleeting moment to slip away.
Water Clone Technique, followed by Flying Thunder God Technique...
"Go soak in the water for a while and sober up, you stupid cat!"
Jiraiya's hair tightly bound the Water Clone before he hurled it into the water.
He was truly enraged, likely a culmination of pent-up anger from recent events finally exploding.
The scene spiraled out of control, leaving Raj, who was watching from the sidelines, chilled to the bone.
'It's about to mutate!'
"Hmm?"
After two seconds, Jiraiya pulled the hair back, only to find nothing remained where it had been bound.
Instead, his hair was tangled into a near-knot.
'What's going on? Where's the cat?! How could a living cat vanish like that?!'
The Wild Lion's Mane Technique wasn't so easily broken free from, unless the cat was truly made of water.
That meant the creature he'd captured wasn't the real cat, but a clone or something else entirely.
Gritting his teeth, Jiraiya snarled, "This isn't over! You can hide, but I'll send you on missions every day...
No, I'll transfer you to Orochimaru!"
"That's brutal!"
Raj felt a cold dread wash over him.
Being sent to Orochimaru meant becoming a test subject or a subordinate - a fate worse than death.
Those days...
He glanced at the System Panel.
Hiss~ Two thousand Points - more than he'd gotten for being caught peeping last time!
'How furious is he?! Jiraiya's threat might not be a joke after all! How am I going to talk my way out of this?'
As it pondered, it suddenly realized that Jiraiya's story could take another direction, like the tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
After a moment's thought, Raj leaped out from behind and declared, "Meow~ Your story is terrible!"
"Terrible? Hmph, you little kitten haven't even grown all your fur yet. What do you know about stories? Tell me, what's wrong with it?"
Jiraiya was surprised by Raj's sudden appearance, but when the cat began criticizing his story, he temporarily set aside his anger and adopted a professional demeanor to address the critique.
He considered himself a professional writer - or at least, that's what he believed.
"It's just... the story, the story is too simple. It could use more twists and turns."
Raj had initially wanted to retort with "brainless author," but remembering Jiraiya's simmering rage, he decided to soften the blow.
'But... Do you think I didn't hear you?'
Jiraiya retracted his Ninjutsu, his expressionless gaze fixed on the cat.
He intended to let it finish speaking before tossing it into the river for a "bath," allowing it to deliver its final words.
"Meow~ What about your protagonist's identity?"
"Identity?"
Jiraiya paused, momentarily taken aback.
'What does a work of art need an identity for? As long as it's satisfying, that's all that matters.'
But since Raj had asked, he felt compelled to answer.
Without hesitation, he replied, "The protagonist is a commoner."
"Meow~ A commoner, and a bottom-of-the-barrel one at that. So what's the female lead's status?"
"Um... a noble lady?"
Jiraiya was completely bewildered, unable to answer immediately.
"A noble lady from a powerful clan? Meow! And by coincidence, a stray dog snatches her clothes. The protagonist chases after it, and the noble lady falls in love with him at first sight..."
Raj had initially just been using the "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" myth to trick Jiraiya, but later he decided to go full-on fanfiction mode, throwing in every cliche from web novels - face-slapping, underdog-to-genius arcs, and clan elites looking down on the protagonist only to be humiliated in the Chunin Exams.
He did this because he realized Jiraiya's protagonist was none other than himself.
Jiraiya admired characters who were hardworking and resilient, so Raj tailored the story to fit that archetype.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya was completely dumbfounded.
He had only wanted to write a work of art; he never imagined it would lead to this.
Now that he had recorded the entire story, the problem was... this cat was barely a year old.
Where did it get all these wild ideas, enough to fill a whole book?