Inuzuka Clan's Commercial Endorsement

"Just as expected of Lord Zixiao. I should be glad that contract wasn't negotiated with you back then, or the Inuzuka Clan would have suffered devastating losses," Inuzuka Shigechika flattered him. As expected of the Anbu Captain personally appointed by the Third Hokage—his bargaining skills had nearly left me unable to defend myself.

"Shigechika, you're too modest." A sharp glint flashed through Mitarashi Shixiao's eyes. "It seems I need to mention this long-term contract to Lord Hokage. It may need to be renegotiated!"

Mitarashi Shixiao wore the air of someone handling official business, seriously suspecting that the previous Anbu Captain had abused his position, accepted bribes, and caused Konoha tremendous economic losses during his tenure.

"That's an injustice!"

Inuzuka Shigechika cried out, though for some reason, he lacked confidence. He swore that there had been absolutely no padding in the contract. Everything had followed principles of fairness and impartiality, approved by both parties, with none of those messy gray-area dealings involved. But he quickly came to his senses and asked, "Let's not beat around the bush. Is Lord Zixiao dissatisfied with the price, or...?"

"Shigechika, we're all smart people, so I won't hide it. Konoha's finest Ninja Dogs all come from the Inuzuka Clan. Many clans buy Ninja Dogs from you, but the only ones who can truly use them like extensions of their own limbs are you people..." Mitarashi Shixiao said. "What I mean is... now that I have the Ninja Dogs, shouldn't there be some accompanying goods?"

"Absolutely not!" Inuzuka Shigechika shook his head, his gaze resolute and his voice turning cold. This concerned the clan's inherited secret techniques. Even death would not make him compromise.

"It's not as exaggerated as you think. I'm not some insatiably greedy man." Seeing Inuzuka Shigechika ready to shut the door and unleash the dogs, Mitarashi Shixiao hurriedly said, "When Sakumo bought eight Ninja Dogs from you, the after-sales service you gave him must have come with a little extra, right?"

Mitarashi Shixiao's meaning was obvious. I'm not after your clan's secret techniques, but Konoha's White Fang must have received bonus gifts when he bought dogs. Now that I'm spending money here too, it's only right that I get the same. If you refuse, don't blame me for losing my temper.

Hearing this, Inuzuka Shigechika's expression eased. The manual given to White Fang had not involved the clan's secret techniques, so giving it to Mitarashi Shixiao was not out of the question. At that thought, he finally let out the breath he had been holding. If possible, he truly did not want to become enemies with the Anbu Captain. Quite a few clan members made their living in the Anbu, and the Anbu was also a major customer—not someone he could afford to offend. Still, even if it did not involve the clan's secret techniques, it was experience accumulated through generations of research by the Inuzuka Clan. He could not hand it over so easily.

"Lord Zixiao, it's not that I'm being stingy, but Lord Sakumo bought no fewer than eight at once..." The implication was that he was not treating people unfairly. Compared with Konoha's White Fang, who had been foolishly rich, Zixiao had bargained far too ruthlessly and had not spent enough to qualify for the bonus.

"The price is negotiable!"

"Wonderful!"

The two old foxes looked at each other and broke into smiles.

Hey, was the village's interest being sold out just like that? What happened to the Will of Fire? What happened to a ninja's conviction? Duke did not dare watch any longer. He focused on teasing the idiot, afraid his pure heart would be contaminated and that he would grow into a terrifying adult like them.

"Still, talking about money hurts feelings. Lord Sakumo agreed to help the Inuzuka Clan with some publicity back then, which was why I..." Inuzuka Shigechika added.

Konoha's spokesperson, Hatake Sakumo: Are you still helpless when faced with crafty enemies you cannot track? Are you still troubled by infiltrating spies with superb Transformation Jutsu? Are you still worried about facing multiple enemies on the battlefield? Inuzuka-brand Ninja Dogs—century-old quality, a reputation built on integrity. You deserve one!

Thus, countless trend-following ninja went to the Inuzuka Clan to purchase Ninja Dogs, hoping to become the next Konoha's White Fang. That was the Inuzuka Clan's most glorious era. Every day, Inuzuka Shigechika lived the "painful" life of counting money until his paws cramped!

Unfortunately, after White Fang's death, all of that was gone forever. On top of that, his reputation had been ruined before his death. The former idol had become a rat crossing the street, hated and condemned by everyone. The business of his sponsor, the Inuzuka Clan, plummeted right along with him. Inuzuka Shigechika had been worrying over it when Mitarashi Shixiao unexpectedly came knocking. The Anbu Captain might not be as strong as White Fang, but he was a man with real power. Unlike an idol type whose foundation rested on public support, he had countless subordinates. This had potential.

"Ninja Dogs aren't suitable for me." Mitarashi Shixiao shook his head. Every ninja had their own unique fighting style, and he could not cooperate well with Ninja Dogs.

"It doesn't need to fight. Lord Zixiao only needs to take it for walks normally," Inuzuka Shigechika patiently explained. "When there's an occasional tracking mission, give it a chance to show off. The Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dogs are best at that."

"That sounds good, but I usually don't have much time. If I have to raise one from childhood..."

"That's fine. I have adult ones here. Their market price is twenty million ryo, but now they're only 998—practically free to take home," Inuzuka Shigechika smoothly continued.

"I still have to pay 998 ryo?" Mitarashi Shixiao was very unhappy. Not only was there no endorsement fee, I had to pay out of pocket! Natsuki had not budgeted this money for me. Did I have to dip into my private stash?

"There's no helping it. It's just a formality. Given your status, if I gave it to you outright, people would talk. It wouldn't look good," Inuzuka Shigechika said with the face of a profiteer, yet he still made it sound like he was doing Zixiao a favor.

"Fine. Then it's settled."

After the shameless false-advertising endorsement contract was signed, Inuzuka Shigechika took out part of the non-classified Ninja Dog training manual and handed it to Mitarashi Shixiao. That was only because the latter had agreed to be their spokesperson. Otherwise, even if you were the Anbu Captain, you could go stay wherever it was cool.

During this, Inuzuka Shigechika swore that even the endorsement fee he had given Hatake Sakumo back then had not been this high. As for whether that was true, there was no way to verify it now, because Konoha's White Fang, the only person who knew, was dead!

Only after receiving Mitarashi Shixiao's personal promise never to spread the manual did Inuzuka Shigechika contentedly see the two of them to the door. He also guaranteed that Mitarashi Shixiao's Ninja Dog would be delivered to his home within twenty-four hours.

Its fur was black and white, and its blue eyes revealed disdain and savagery. It looked like a little wolf cub, carrying a pride far beyond that of Ninja Dogs its age. Judging by appearances alone, this Ninja Dog was well worth the price. After discussing it with Mitarashi Shixiao, Duke gave it a mighty name—Hades. Mitarashi Shixiao could not understand it at all. He did not find the somewhat awkward name impressive in the slightest; compared to Inuzuka Shigechika's Ninja Dog, Onimaru, it was worlds apart. Duke did not explain further. He had settled on the name, and the idiot liked it too, wagging its tail nonstop.

The second dog was not afraid of its new home at all. It rolled about the courtyard, dug holes, clawed up dirt, chewed up several pieces of wooden furniture and flooring, and killed countless flowers and plants. Only after leaving strongly scented unidentified liquid in every corner did it happily stop its destruction. Amid Natsuki's complaints, Mitarashi Shixiao learned that the household had lost fifty thousand ryo in a single day. The furious "head of the family" told Duke that the money would all be deducted from his allowance. Duke became furious too.

That night, following the principles that children only amounted to anything after a beating and filial sons came from under the rod, Duke planted three huge bumps on Hades's head. The energetic husky fell into a deep sleep under Duke's physical sleep-inducing method. Having been busy all day, Duke was exhausted as well. He lay beneath the covers and drifted into dreamland...

The dream was pure darkness, boundless and endless. Only a small path beneath his feet gave off a faint gray glow, guiding Duke onward. This absolute darkness was not evil, nor did it lure people into depravity or despair. It could not inspire terrifying thoughts of death. It was peaceful and tranquil, a state that embraced everything, making Duke feel incomparably at ease. Noble, silent, mysterious—this was true darkness. It possessed an incomprehensible loneliness, a loneliness that had existed from nothingness to existence and remained eternally unchanged. Darkness embraced all things.

Within this strange dream, Duke gradually relaxed, and the sense of crisis brought by his transmigration disappeared as well. He walked slowly along the gray path, not at all anxious about where it ended. At this moment, he only wanted to remain in this stillness forever.

After walking for who knew how long, Duke came back to his senses and found himself in a hazy gray space. Pale gray fluorescence radiated from above, below, left, and right. After entering this space, Duke lost all sense of direction and time. There was no gravity, no direction. Just as he stood at a loss, a hand landed on his shoulder from behind.

Could this be some horror-movie nightmare? Don't tell me it's Sadako! Cold sweat poured down Duke's back, and he shuddered in fright. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force his will upon the dream and change it. Sadako was a great beauty when she was alive. As long as I dream well enough, even a nightmare can become an erotic dream, and Sadako can become Ozawa Sadako.

"Hey, aren't your thoughts a little too lewd?"

Hearing the somewhat speechless voice behind him, Duke could not help turning around. The voice seemed to come from within his heart, only spoken through another mouth.

I have two mouths? No way, that would mean two heads!

When he turned around, two figures—one tall and one short—appeared before Duke. The tall one looked around 1.8 meters, broad-shouldered and muscular, with bronze skin and a square face marked by thick brows and large eyes. The shorter one was around 1.7 meters tall, with a katana at his waist and a faint smile at the corner of his lips. He radiated a scholarly air.

"A gay guy and a pretty boy... Is this some newly debuted duo? Why is my dream so strange? Where's the promised Ozawa Sadako?" Duke said things full of absurd points, yet his eyes remained fixed on the two of them without blinking. They looked so familiar. Had I met them somewhere before?

"We've never met... no, that's not right... We should say that we've met every day in the mirror." The gay guy's words had no logic whatsoever, yet Duke somehow found them perfectly reasonable.

"What do you mean, met in the mirror?" Duke pressed.

"Exactly what it means." The gay guy replied.

"We are you, and you are us! We are me, and I am Duke!" The pretty boy beside him could no longer stand the two men's meaningless conversation and cut in. But after those seemingly profound words, Duke could no longer find his logic.

"This is a little confusing... Let me sort it out." Duke rubbed his temples, trying hard to find his missing logic. He could not understand, but deep down he completely agreed. What was going on?

"This is too troublesome. Let's communicate directly!"

The gay guy slapped a hand onto Duke's shoulder. Then the pretty boy smilingly placed his hand on Duke's other shoulder. Duke tried to break free, but the two spoke in unison. "Don't move. Focus your attention, and you'll understand everything!"