"Meow~ Don't worry, the white pig has been adopted by a kind-hearted person now!"
Ori was stunned.
Someone had adopted the Double-Tailed Cat?
How was that possible?
That guy was quite strong, wasn't he?
Her first reaction was disbelief.
As the former Cat King of the Ninja Cats, Matatabi possessed considerable power.
No ordinary person could possibly subdue him.
But then she remembered that the "kind-hearted person" Raj mentioned was probably no ordinary individual.
Perhaps...
This whole situation reeked of bizarre strangeness.
Hmm, best not to ask.
Ori understood implicitly.
She didn't press further about Matatabi's whereabouts.
After all, the outcome was predictable: Matatabi's future was undoubtedly bleak.
At that moment, Raj produced a strand of hair.
It was fiery red!
"What's this?" Ori asked, drawing a deep breath.
Her expression was complex and solemn as she carefully picked up the strand.
This long strand couldn't belong to Nagato, the Uzumaki Clan member they had encountered earlier.
That meant it could only be...
The red-haired woman of Konoha, the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.
Kushina.
Protected by Konoha.
She was likely the luckiest survivor of their clan. Ori's mood darkened.
But even in Konoha, she would only be the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki. Apart from Kushina, Konoha hadn't saved any other members of their clan...
While Konoha had no obligation to rescue them, as allies and beneficiaries of the Uzumaki Clan's support, what harm would it have done to save a few more?
Ori harbored deep resentment toward Konoha for this.
"Lord Raj, what do you mean by this?" Ori asked, looking up at Raj.
He hadn't brought this strand of hair merely to show her; there must be a deeper meaning.
"Meow~ She wants to see you," Raj stated bluntly.
"See me?" Ori said, her voice tinged with reluctance and sadness.
"But I don't want to leave this place, let alone go to Konoha."
"Don't worry, meow. I'm not asking you to go to Konoha. I just want you to meet Kushina. No one will know about it, meow. Do you know about the Reverse Summoning Technique?" Raj finished speaking and pulled out a summoning scroll.
"You know the Reverse Summoning Technique?" Ori asked, surprised.
The Uzumaki Clan was a major clan, after all. Although she was young at the time and hadn't learned advanced sealing techniques, she had heard of spatial ninjutsu like the Reverse Summoning Technique.
The Uzumaki Clan had even considered using spatial ninjutsu to escape at one point...
"Meow!" Raj nodded.
Ori now understood. But...
"Why not just use the Flying Thunder God Technique to return directly?" Ori asked, voicing her confusion.
Wouldn't returning with the Flying Thunder God Technique be more convenient? It would skip the Reverse Summoning process.
Using the Reverse Summoning Technique after returning seemed redundant.
"Meow~ Because I don't have enough chakra. Besides, we won't meet immediately. I'll find a suitable reason to lure her out alone later and find a place for you two to meet."
This was mainly to avoid Yugito. That girl was sharp-witted.
If they met at Kushina's house, she might discover something.
Moreover, Konoha has a barrier! With the anti-theft barrier in place, sneaking in silently wouldn't be easy.
Kushina would understand this. After all, the Uzumaki Clan had studied barrier techniques extensively, in addition to sealing techniques.
Ori nodded, indicating she understood.
There were few surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan left in the entire ninja world. If she could meet her clansmen without going to Konoha and while also seeing Kushina, she would be overjoyed.
Beneath her apprehension lay a flicker of anticipation.
Raj was even more pleased.
With this settled, he planned to have Ori learn more Sealing Techniques.
The Ninja Cat Castle's strength would continue to grow, and he could later learn these techniques from Ori without having to seek out Kushina.
After all, there was a certain distance between him and Kushina.
"Meow~ Is everything else alright here?" Raj asked, glancing toward the entrance.
With Matatabi gone, the castle had lost half its "king."
He worried some foolish cats might cause trouble.
"Lord Raj, rest assured," Ori said with a smile. "Amakusa and the others can easily replace Matatabi, each leading a portion of the Ninja Cats. Even without Matatabi, nothing will go wrong. And I'll help you manage things too."
Ori covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Though she didn't know the full details of Matatabi's situation, she could guess it wasn't good news...
'Oh, I've been disrespectful to Lord Raj. Forgive me, forgive me!'
She silently clasped her hands together in apology, but her expression remained composed, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
"By the way, meow~ I've mastered two new Ninjutsu."
Raj exchanged for the Water Prison Technique and Water Shark Bullet Technique, spending over 5,000 Points.
However, it had been diligently earning Points recently, and despite spending over 3,000, it still had 20,000 remaining.
These two Ninjutsu were highly useful.
Especially the Water Shark Bullet Technique, which could later be upgraded to the Great Shark Bullet Technique.
That technique could devour an enemy's Ninjutsu to become even stronger, boasting both immense power and effectiveness.
As for Wind Release... There didn't seem to be any particularly good Wind Release Ninjutsu.
'Never mind.'
'Forget about it.'
For ordinary Ninja Cats, Ninjutsu wasn't the most important thing - Chakra was.
Their Chakra reserves were limited, so enhancing their Chakra was the key.
'Should I exchange for some cat food? No, the Roulette Lottery is better.'
After a moment's contemplation, Raj began teaching Ori the Ninja Cat version of the Water Shark Bullet Technique and Water Prison Technique.
Ori had an excellent memory; she grasped everything after just two explanations.
After listening, Ori organized her thoughts and teaching methods, gradually forming some ideas in her mind.
At that moment, Raj rubbed its paws together and couldn't resist activating the Roulette Lottery!
It didn't even bother checking the prize pool.
Not important.
Whether the prizes were good or bad, the best items were always out of reach anyway.
Raj had long adopted a Zen-like detachment toward the lottery.
Its sole motivation for drawing was simple: cat food.
Food.
These could be distributed as rewards to the Four Great Cat Generals.
Based on past experience, the lottery was usually profitable, though most of the items were useless to Raj.
Of course, this wasn't the System's fault.
In both his past and present lives, lotteries had always been like this, with Pig Farm being the most notorious for its exploitative practices, leaving a deep impression on Raj.