Chapter Forty-Four: Making Things Difficult

"My god, so you were the one behind the Konoha White Wolf Maru fur-shaving incident that caused such a commotion a few days ago?"

Hundred Palms stared at Zhou Duan in shock.

"Clan Leader Inuzuka Ryo spent the whole night cursing that day. My house is nearby, and the sound of it was enough to make your blood run cold. Zhou Duan, you've made one hell of an enemy!"

"There's really someone who'd do that?"

Nawaki looked at Zhou Duan in amazement, then fell into thought.

"Being young means doing a few reckless things, after all. Should I shave a dog too? When I become Hokage and look back on my youth, I won't have a single thing worth bragging about. My childhood's been way too dull and empty!"

"Zhou Duan, should we take him out?"

Minato spoke gently from beside them.

"I compared our strength with Inuzuka Rui's. With the four of us and your potions, we could definitely beat him so badly he couldn't take care of himself. Since he might retaliate against you in a bit, I think striking first wouldn't be a bad idea!"

"Don't rush into anything!"

Zhou Duan stopped Minato, who was ready to strike first. It wasn't that Minato, Nawaki, and Hundred Palms were being unreasonable. The problem was Inuzuka Rui's identity—he was Inuzuka Ryo's fourth son!

Ninja Dogs in the Shinobi World weren't ordinary strays. Unless something unexpected happened, they could usually live about as long as shinobi. Some even lived past a hundred. As Inuzuka Ryo's son, Inuzuka Rui had grown up riding on White Wolf Maru's back. The bond between boy and dog was beyond close!

It was easy to imagine how Inuzuka Rui would feel when he learned that Zhou Duan had shaved White Wolf Maru bald and plucked the fur from his dog balls until they bled. And now that he was Zhou Duan's team leader, just imagine how he'd treat him!

"I knew what I was getting into when I did it!"

Zhou Duan spoke calmly. He didn't suspect the Third Hokage of leaking the story. The head of a village had more than enough work to keep him busy; he wouldn't have time to make trouble for Zhou Duan. Besides, Zhou Duan's name was already famous throughout Konoha. Who else would do something so cruel to a Ninja Dog? The answer was obvious: Zhou Duan, the one who gave cats diarrhea potions, dogs diuretic potions, and people berserk potions, keeping Konoha in chaos day in and day out!

"After all, I was the one in the wrong. Even if my intentions were noble, and I only took a tiny bit of White Wolf Maru's fur, I still caused him a few insignificant little inconveniences."

Zhou Duan spoke with a hint of "shame."

"So it's only fair that Inuzuka Rui wants to blow off some steam!"

Namikaze Minato: "..."

Hyuga Hyakusho: "..."

Senju Nawaki: "..."

"To say something that shameless in such a 'shamefaced' tone, Captain, you must be trying really hard!"

Hundred Palms' eyebrows twitched uncontrollably.

"I heard every word Clan Leader Inuzuka Ryo said that night. White Wolf Maru was shaved from head to toe, and the fur on his dog balls was plucked until they bled. He tried to kill himself five times, and every time Clan Leader Inuzuka Ryo stopped him by force. You'd better brace yourself for Inuzuka Rui's revenge!"

Sure enough, everyone's fears came true. Inuzuka Rui led Zhou Duan and the others to their destination, then pointed at several enormous pools that reeked horribly.

"This is the wastewater pool in Steel Rock Valley. The wastewater-cleaning squad usually handles it, but they've got another assignment today, so the job falls to you. Your task is to clean out one of these pools. Don't worry..."

Inuzuka Rui gave them a "kind" smile.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you!"

"What the hell, are you insane?"

Nawaki had known that Inuzuka Rui was plotting something nasty, but he'd never imagined anyone could be this shameless. He immediately protested.

"Captain Inuzuka Jin asked you to show us around the battlefield, not make us do hard labor! How's cleaning a wastewater pool supposed to improve our combat strength?"

"Enough talk!"

Inuzuka Rui looked at Nawaki smugly.

"Following orders on the battlefield is every shinobi's duty. Besides, the battlefield's full of severed limbs and flying flesh. No shinobi can avoid getting splattered. Seeing all this could deal a blow to your morale. Today's work is meant to prepare you mentally, so you don't get killed on the battlefield because you can't handle it!"

The wastewater pool had almost nothing in common with a battlefield covered in flying flesh and blood. And Inuzuka Rui's smug expression made his real intentions obvious. But Zhou Duan said nothing. Instead, he stopped Nawaki from arguing further.

"We'll follow our superior's orders. We'll do it!"

"Good!"

Inuzuka Rui knew a little about Zhou Duan. He was a devious man who gave the whole village headaches. Seeing him "back down" in front of him filled Inuzuka Rui with smug satisfaction. He took the chair he'd been carrying behind his back and set it down. He was just about to sit and watch Zhou Duan suffer while Nawaki glared at him furiously when a shinobi appeared, ruining his mood.

"Jonin Inuzuka Rui, there's a combat meeting. Report immediately!"

"Yes!"

His dream scene had been interrupted, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a combat meeting, after all. Inuzuka Rui still knew what mattered more, despite his grudge. He could only glare hatefully at Zhou Duan.

"I may be leaving, but your assignment doesn't change. You have to clean at least one wastewater pool today. If you can't finish, you'll be punished!"

With that, he vanished from the spot!

"Oh no, Zhou Duan, why didn't you refuse him just now?"

Nawaki looked at the wastewater pool in front of them, then collapsed to the ground in despair.

"Inuzuka Rui is obviously making things difficult for us. One pool is three days' work for a whole squad. There's no way we can finish it—and that smell..."

Nawaki squeezed his eyes shut in distress.

"If I have to clean it, I'll have nightmares!"

"Don't worry, Nawaki."

Zhou Duan comforted him, then turned to Minato.

"What do you think, Minato?"

"It's obvious Inuzuka Rui wants to make things difficult for us. There's no way we can finish cleaning the pool today, and if we protest too strongly, he'll come up with another way to give us trouble..."

Minato folded his arms.

"But you look like you've got this under control. You might not even need our help!"

"Of course. I caused this mess, so I'll handle it myself!"

Zhou Duan bit his finger and formed a hand sign. In a puff of smoke, a red turtle the size of a millstone appeared before the four of them. It wore a flower garland and carried a hoe, a pickaxe, and a backpack.

"Mizuno, long time no see!"