Raj understood immediately.
After a moment's thought, he said, "I can do it."
"Alone?"
Kakashi pondered briefly before agreeing.
"Alright, then you'll operate solo. All of you take this path, but it splits into two trails further ahead."
"No!!!"
Pakkun was desperate.
He had no offensive capabilities whatsoever.
'Kakashi, you dog! Throwing me into a forest like this? And that cat...'
"Heh heh heh," Raj let out a sinister chuckle, shooting Pakkun a contemptuous, disdainful glare.
'Fine, I can't mess with it now. But when my brother gets out, I'll definitely get revenge. I'll teach that cat that dogs aren't to be trifled with,' he thought viciously.
In truth, splitting up was a burden for Kakashi.
Focusing on one group would have been far easier than dividing his attention between two.
However, separating was the most effective way to train them.
Pakkun had grown too reliant on his teammates.
Even though he was just a reconnaissance dog, evasion and escape skills were essential.
If Raj were nearby, the lazy mutt would likely try to slack off again.
As for Raj's safety... Kakashi had chosen a path free of deadly poisons and explosive tag traps.
He'd also heard that the Ninja Cat possessed a hair-hardening ability, making ordinary shuriken and kunai unlikely to be fatal.
Raj wasn't afraid of the traps.
A cat's sense of smell is incredibly sharp, allowing him to detect traps and potential hiding spots for wild animals throughout the forest.
As long as he remained cautious, survival wouldn't be an issue.
The real concern was that foolish dog, who might stumble into danger first.
He darted through the forest, leaping between branches.
Cats are natural climbers, and after months of training, Raj had mastered using Chakra to adhere to branches.
Falling was the least of his worries.
Kakashi created Shadow Clones, each taking a different path to pursue him.
After running for a while, Raj realized the Forest of Death wasn't terrifying at all - it was actually a great place to farm Points.
For example...
He ran for a bit and discovered a squirrel's nest in a tree.
The Little Black Cat scurried over, pawing through the nest to scatter all the stored food.
Finally, he felt a furry lump huddled in the corner - presumably the squirrel itself.
Raj wasn't a complete villain.
After emptying the nest, he gave the squirrel's tail a few playful tugs, thoroughly frightening the little creature before moving on.
Raj only had about twenty Points, but the forest was teeming with creatures like this.
Of course, the Forest of Death was also home to plenty of ferocious beasts.
This was where the Transformation Technique came in handy.
No need for a full transformation; simply altering its fur color to blend seamlessly with the surrounding trees allowed it to move freely, virtually undetectable by ordinary animals.
The situation was quite different on the other side.
Pakkun's side was in chaos, with the sound of frantic scrambling suggesting he was being chased by some wild animal.
'What a dumb dog,' Raj thought, suppressing a laugh.
If it weren't for the fear that the dog might lead trouble its way, it would have rushed over to watch and mock him to his face - another easy Points opportunity.
It felt a twinge of schadenfreude.
Just then, Raj noticed a black cat almost identical to itself darting swiftly from a branch ahead.
Behind it came a faint rustling sound.
'What's going on?'
Raj froze for a moment before realizing the black cat had vanished in a flash.
'Body Flicker Technique - Kakashi.'
Three massive snakes suddenly appeared on the branches ahead.
Judging by the shape of their heads, none of these snakes were venomous.
Raj could have easily avoided them, but Kakashi had deliberately lured them to chase him.
'Damn it!'
Raj cursed inwardly, sniffing the air before changing course to a safer direction.
The three snakes pursued relentlessly.
The creatures in the Forest of Death were far more ferocious than those outside.
These snakes were larger and faster than any he'd encountered before.
Continuing to run wasn't a viable strategy; their commotion would only attract more enemies.
Three snakes were too many to face head-on.
Raj decided to circle back.
Since the trees weren't connected, the snakes quickly split up, each approaching from a different angle.
After running a short distance, Raj stopped, crouching on a branch to calmly observe them.
With the snakes separated, he could easily take them down one by one.
'Alright, time to act.'
Cats have lightning-fast reflexes.
Though these snakes were large, with proper maneuvering and traps, turning the tables on them would be no challenge at all.
Raj quickly dispatched two of them.
"Such speed, and so clever," Kakashi observed from the shadows, genuinely astonished.
A mere seven-month-old, untrained Ninja Cat already understood how to scout and exploit traps.
He had deliberately lured the snakes, expecting Raj to struggle.
But now it was clear these serpents posed no threat to the Black Cat.
'This little guy is a true prodigy!'
With its skill, killing the third snake would have been effortless.
Yet...
At that moment, Raj didn't deliver the killing blow.
The snake lunged repeatedly, but each attack was evaded, followed by a swift paw strike to its head.
After three or four rounds, the snake twisted to flee, only to have Raj pin its tail and viciously swat its head away with another paw.
"How boring! Just like a house cat!" Kakashi scoffed from his perch in the tree, his eyes brimming with disdain.
'You wouldn't understand,' Raj retorted inwardly, his movements unwavering.
'House cats play with mice out of sheer malice, but I'm doing this for Points. How can you compare the two?'
After a dozen attacks, the giant snake finally collapsed, unconscious.
Further strikes yielded no more Points, and the Little Black Cat abandoned it on the ground.
The Black Cat swiftly leaped up a tree with effortless ease.
"Looks like that didn't work on you. Then..."
Kakashi drew a concealed weapon from his waist, and seven or eight shuriken flew toward Raj in rapid succession.
Raj froze for a moment, then swiftly dodged the incoming shuriken among the branches.
When one proved impossible to evade, he blocked it with his Needle Jizo defense.
Fortunately, his Chakra control had improved significantly.
The shuriken was deflected by his fur, leaving him completely unharmed.
Another wave of attacks followed immediately.
"Kakashi, you're retaliating!" Raj shouted in his adorable child's voice, then twisted around and fled into the forest.
The commotion quickly attracted wild beasts.
Kakashi no longer needed to intervene; he simply lurked in the shadows, observing.
To survive and counterattack, the Little Black Cat had no choice but to keep running, seizing opportunities to strike, and then fleeing again.
By evening, both Raj, exhausted as a dog, and Kakashi finally left the Forest of Death.
As for lunch... Kakashi ate dried fish, while Raj secretly devoured both dried fish, special cat food, and Ninja Cat Special Food.