Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

"Obito, it's late. Go to sleep." 

Obito was running around.

After a while, he suddenly heard Minato's voice from behind. He didn't turn around at first, instead rubbing his eyes before finally looking back. "Sensei? When did you get here?"

"Obito, I've been busy lately and haven't been able to look after you properly. Takeshi's jutsu aren't suited for you. Starting tomorrow, I'll personally oversee your training."

Minato patted Obito's head, his heart heavy with guilt.

Obito was a good kid, but Minato couldn't deny the challenge. His own techniques weren't particularly suited for Obito either-Flying Thunder God and Rasengan required exceptional control and skill, while the more basic techniques, like Wind Release Great Breakthrough, were nothing special. 

More than that, Minato had never been a teacher before. Not long ago, he was still Jiraiya's student himself, and at barely twenty years old, he was still figuring things out.

"Sensei, I'm fine. I just came out to exercise."

Obito grinned sheepishly.

Minato sighed, then nodded. "After that intense battle, Kirigakure won't be making any moves for a while, especially with the losses they sustained. In the coming days, I'll take you outside the camp for some training. I'll teach you new ninjutsu and taijutsu."

"Really? We get to leave camp?" Obito's face lit up with excitement. "That's awesome!"

Being stuck at camp, watching others gain merits and recognition while he remained stagnant, had been frustrating. Now that Minato had given his word, he felt reassured. That night, he went to sleep immediately, feeling a renewed sense of hope.

It wasn't that he resented his circumstances, but he couldn't ignore the difference between himself and the others. 

Kakashi and the rest had clear paths ahead. Even Takeshi, who was just a tiny kitten when they first met, had grown into someone capable of taking down Jonin with ease. 

Meanwhile, Obito had spent his days practicing taijutsu, with no one guiding him in ninjutsu or telling him how to improve. It had been frustrating-almost hopeless.

But now... at least his Sensei hadn't forgotten him.

"Huh? Obito, your eyes…"

"Huh?"

Obito froze. Confused, he quickly removed his forehead protector, using it to reflect the moonlight and check his own eyes. To his shock, his left eye had developed three tomoe—while his right eye remained at two.

'How is that possible?'

He didn't understand. The Uchiha clan didn't document cases of Sharingan's emergence and evolutions. Awakening and evolution were often unpredictable, but for only one eye to advance unevenly…

"I'll ask Fugaku-senpai about it later."

Minato patted Obito's shoulder, understanding the boy's complicated relationship with his own clan. If things were different, someone would have been guiding Obito's training all this time. But instead, he'd been left to figure things out alone. It also added to his frustrations-and a little sad.

After a few more words, Minato ushered Obito back to camp to sleep.

The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Obito dragged Kakashi out to train. His energy was boundless, as if he had been holding back for far too long.

Kakashi, still half-asleep, blinked at him in confusion.

During the past few weeks, Obito had been in low spirits. There were times Kakashi had even comforted him. But now? He was acting like he had just taken some strong chakra pill.

He considered resisting, but to his surprise, Obito had begun surpassing him in raw physical strength alone. 'So Obito's training these past few weeks did have some results.'

Not that Kakashi was weak-far from it. But their fighting styles were different. Kakashi's taijutsu training prioritized speed and technique, designed to complement his White Fang sword style rather than overpower opponents through sheer force.

Obito, however, was different.

He had been training under Guy and Might Duy, and somehow, his path had completely derailed. Now, he was immersed in the Strong Fist Style. With relentless taijutsu drills and the steady supply of Rin's Military Rations Pills and food, his physical strength was growing day by day.

So, Kakashi was dragged away.

After they left, Takeshi cautiously cracked open one eye.

Thankfully, he hadn't been taken along...

But he was still awake now. He was never a deep sleeper to begin with-any small noise would rouse him. And once he was up, falling back asleep was impossible.

Even so, he had no intention of chasing after those two muscle-headed idiots for more training.

There were more important things to consider.

If it weren't for Tsunade's promise, he would have spent his points on acquiring Sage Mode today. But since she claimed she could get her hands on Tobirama Senju's diary, it was worth waiting a little longer.

23,000 points. If he could reduce that down a bit, then he'd have enough left to get Sage Mode, and he still needed points for Wind Release: Rasenshuriken...

'Hmm? Still not enough?'

Only two techniques, and he was already about to run dry?

Takeshi paused, breaking free from his illusion of being "rich." His plan also included acquiring the Water Release: Water Severing Wave Jutsu and other Water Release techniques from Tobirama, and yet, just these two jutsu alone had nearly wiped out his balance.

No, this wasn't going to work. He needed a discount.

Relying on himself wasn't an option.

He knew his own limits. He was competent-good, even-but when it came to researching and refining jutsu, that wasn't his strong suit.

He needed someone else to do the hard work for him.

And just like that, the perfect candidate came to mind—Minato Namikaze.

Rasengan was Minato's creation, which meant his understanding of it was second to none. Plus, as luck would have it, Minato is also proficient with Wind Release chakra nature.

Perfect.

With that thought, Takeshi sat up and got dressed. It was a bit of a hassle, but thankfully, he had the ninja outer garment he won in the lottery-a one-button solution, no unnecessary struggle.

Stepping outside, he immediately spotted Minato, Kakashi, and Obito. The three of them seemed to be preparing to leave, each holding Tsunade's permission pass.

"Meow?"

The black cat darted over and leaped onto Minato's shoulder.

"Obito and Kakashi have been in the camp for so long without going out on patrol, so I thought I'd take them for a little field experience," Minato explained.

"Take me too, meow!"

How could they forget him? Being stuck in camp was unbearable. As for the two swords he had taken last night, they had already been turned in after debriefing. He didn't need weapons, so it didn't matter.

Besides, with Tsunade backing him, he wasn't exactly short on resources.

"Hmm? Alright, having you with us adds another layer of security," Minato said with a nod.

Two Flying Thunder God users were better than one. If things got dicey, Takeshi could also teleport Kakashi and Obito out, significantly increasing their survival odds.

But Kakashi and Obito weren't convinced.

The lazy cat who usually refused to leave his tent was suddenly eager to tag along? 

Suspicious.

They exchanged a glance, a shared sense of unease creeping in. 'Was this demon cat planning something again?'

For once, though, they were wrong. Takeshi's target this time wasn't them. Those two barely had enough points to make it worth the trouble-maybe a thousand each at most. But a high-level jonin like Minato Namikaze? Now that was a real payday.

Step one: Get Minato to experiment with Wind Release: Rasengan. Step two: If Minato took too long to figure it out, Takeshi would step in and perfect it himself. Either way, the points would come rolling in. And with strength came even greater opportunities.

With that settled, Takeshi followed the group out of the camp. Rin was left behind, but she had her hands full. Studying under Tsunade wasn't the same as learning from an average medical ninja. Tsunade's assignments were brutal, and Rin's current knowledge base wasn't enough to keep up.

She had been cramming non-stop, with Shizune as her instructor.

It wasn't that Shizune was more talented than Rin-far from it. She simply had a head start, having trained under Tsunade longer. In terms of raw talent, Tsunade herself had said Rin had the edge.

Meanwhile, outside the camp, Takeshi set his plan into motion.

"Minato-sensei, I've been thinking-if certain jutsu can be fused together, then theoretically, couldn't Rasengan also evolve? Based on some clan techniques, I studied Neko Hair Needle and Ice Release. What if Rasengan could incorporate elemental chakra? Meow?"

Minato's expression shifted. "That was actually my original goal when developing Rasengan-to integrate Wind Release. I still remember my inspiration for developing Rasengan was from facing a Tail Beast Bomb. But over the years, I focused so much on Flying Thunder God that I never got around to refining it."

He scratched his head awkwardly, trailing off.

The meaning was clear.

Even he didn't know how to do it yet. As Rasengan took years to develop with being on verge of war, he didn't know if he had enough time to research and experiment.

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