The Sannin Hounds

"Elder Claw, I brought Gu Qi."

Before long, Kakashi and Gu Qi followed Kiba into a room full of ninja dogs.

Inside, Gu Qi saw many members of the Inuzuka Clan, their faces marked with the clan's crest.

Among them were Kiba's older sister and mother, Hana Inuzuka and Inuzuka Tsume.

"Kakashi, it's been a long time. I can't believe little Gu Qi has grown so much." Inuzuka Tsume approached them with a ninja dog even larger than Gu Qi.

Looking at the imposing ninja dog before him, with its eye patch and wolf-like appearance, Gu Qi greeted him politely. "Elder Claw, Elder Blackmaru, good to see you."

Blackmaru twitched his nose and fixed his remaining eye on Gu Qi. "Beef jerky?"

"Uh..." Gu Qi noticed Blackmaru staring straight at the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist, so he obediently took out all the jerky inside.

"Elder Blackmaru, please take these if you like them!" Gu Qi said respectfully.

Blackmaru nodded without expression. "Since they're little Gu Qi's kind offer, I won't stand on ceremony."

Then Gu Qi saw Blackmaru swipe with his paw, and the dozen or so pieces of jerky in his hand disappeared.

"Boss Blackmaru, this isn't ordinary jerky. It also has the effects of Ration Pills. Look, this is what happened to Akamaru after he ate some." Kiba stepped forward to remind him.

"Oh?" A hint of surprise finally appeared on Blackmaru's face. "It has the effects of Ration Pills, too?"

Blackmaru decided to try it. He pulled out a piece of jerky he'd stashed somewhere and tossed it into his mouth.

"Pork jerky with a tomato flavor. That's certainly unusual." Blackmaru's mouth twitched.

"If you've ever tried durian-flavored jerky, you'd think tomato-flavored jerky was pretty good," Kakashi said, expressionless, as he looked at Gu Qi.

"Haha!" Gu Qi awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. The jerky's flavor was generated at random, so there was nothing he could do about it.

Roar! Just then, Blackmaru, having finished the jerky, swelled up like a balloon being inflated.

"It really does have the effects of Ration Pills—and then some. Not bad, not bad!" Blackmaru said.

"Kakashi," Inuzuka Tsume said with a smile, looking up at him, "how about we work together?"

Kakashi didn't object. "Sure. I had the same idea. But first, let's have Gu Qi pick out some ninja dogs."

"Good! Hana, bring out the ninja dogs," Tsume said to Hana Inuzuka beside her.

"Yes, Mother."

A short while later, Hana Inuzuka appeared before them carrying a basket of tiny ninja dogs.

"Little Gu Qi, these are all newborn ninja dogs. Take a look and see which ones you like," Hana Inuzuka said gently.

"I'd like one combat-type ninja dog and one tracking-type ninja dog. Do you have any recommendations?" Gu Qi asked.

"I see!" Hana Inuzuka thought for a moment, then said, "What do you think of these two?"

As she spoke, Hana Inuzuka lifted two little ninja dogs from the basket.

One puppy was pure white and adorable. The other was black and white, with a sweet, babyish look.

"This is a female. You can train her as a tracking-type ninja dog. This little fellow is very active, so he'd be perfect as a combat-type ninja dog," Hana Inuzuka explained.

Gu Qi had a vague sense that something was off. Still, the two little dogs were adorable, and Hana Inuzuka had recommended them so enthusiastically, so he agreed.

"Yeah, I'll take these two," Gu Qi said.

Hana Inuzuka smiled. "Not two—three!"

Then Hana Inuzuka took another puppy, gray and white, out of the basket. "This puppy is inseparable from the other two, so if you want to adopt them, you'll have to take this one, too!"

"Huh? Is that okay?" The more ninja dogs, the better, of course. Kakashi's Eight Ninja Hounds were incredibly impressive.

Hana Inuzuka nodded. "Of course!"

"Great! I'll take all of them."

"Then you have to take good care of them, Gu Qi. You'll need to set aside two days every week to bring them here for checkups and teach them some skills," Inuzuka Tsume said, patting Gu Qi on the head.

"Okay."

That was exactly what Gu Qi wanted, since he had no idea how to train ninja dogs.

"By the way, do they have names?" Gu Qi asked.

Hana Inuzuka nodded. "The white one is Saye, the black-and-white one is Hachi, and the gray-and-white one is Lass."

"Hachi? Lass? Saye?" For some reason, hearing the three ninja dogs' names made Gu Qi's sense of foreboding even stronger.

"Gu Qi, there are a few more things you need to know. Come with me," Hana Inuzuka said.

Gu Qi nodded, then turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, I'm heading out."

"Go ahead. I have a few things to discuss with Elder Claw," Kakashi said, waving to Gu Qi.

Without Hana Inuzuka's guidance, Gu Qi wouldn't have known that caring for ninja dogs was so troublesome.

By the time Gu Qi had learned everything he needed to know, it was already evening.

Kakashi had left long before then.

So Gu Qi returned to the Ninja Tool Shop carrying a huge bag of supplies Hana Inuzuka had prepared for the ninja dogs, with one puppy perched on his head and another in each arm.

"Hey, you're back!" Kakashi said from inside the Ninja Tool Shop, holding a risqué book titled Icha Icha Paradise.

"Kakashi, you should find yourself a girlfriend. Reading novels like that every day is bad for your kidneys," Gu Qi said earnestly.

"..." Kakashi was speechless and didn't feel like responding to Gu Qi at all.

"By the way, I've already worked out the details for the Secret Recipe Dried Meat."

"Oh? What did you settle on?"

As Gu Qi asked, he set down the three ninja dogs, took three bowls from his backpack, and poured some ** and milk into them.

Kakashi said, "The Inuzuka Clan will supply the raw meat, the Nara Clan will supply the medicinal herbs, and the Akimichi Clan will handle distribution. We'll provide the recipe."

"What about the shares?"

Kakashi continued, "The Inuzuka Clan gets two shares for supplying the raw meat, and we get two for providing the recipe. The Akimichi and Nara Clans each get three."

Gu Qi nodded, satisfied with the arrangement.

Although they'd only get two shares, they wouldn't have to do anything.

The Nara Clan was providing the crucial medicinal herbs, and the Akimichi Clan was handling distribution, so it was only fair for them to get three shares each.

As for the raw meat supplied by the Inuzuka Clan, it was also essential. Besides, they were the only ones in all of Konoha who could provide such a large quantity.

"I'll transfer your share of the money from the Secret Recipe Dried Meat to you later. You can do whatever you want with it—I won't interfere," Kakashi said.

"You trust me that much?" Gu Qi asked in surprise.

Kakashi smiled. "You're my little brother. Why wouldn't I trust you? Besides, it's your recipe, so the money should rightfully be yours."

Gu Qi thought for a moment. "Just give me one share of the profits. Put the other share into the Hatake Clan's family fund."

"Okay." Kakashi didn't refuse.

After all, the Hatake Clan had only the two of them left. No matter what, the money would end up being Gu Qi's anyway.

"By the way, you said you'd teach me ninjutsu. When will you start?" Gu Qi asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm taking you to meet someone, anyway," Kakashi said.

"Who?"

"You're very talented, so I'm going to find you some teachers," Kakashi said.

Gu Qi was puzzled. "Can't you teach me?"

Kakashi explained, "I'm better at ninjutsu. After that fight, I realized your physical abilities are excellent, so I'm going to find you a taijutsu teacher who can focus on teaching you Taijutsu."

"What about ninjutsu?"

"I'll teach you ninjutsu myself. But my own techniques all require the Sharingan, so whether you can bring out their full power will be up to you."

"Don't worry! One day, I'll create my own system of ninjutsu and make my name known throughout the Shinobi World," Gu Qi said confidently.

Kakashi laughed at that and patted Gu Qi on the head. "I believe our Gu Qi can do anything."

"Of course. I'm a member of the Hatake Clan."

"All right, I should get going. I'll come get you tomorrow morning," Kakashi said, standing up.

"Got it."