Dog-Cat Conflict (3)

After taking only two steps, "Shiro" felt dizzy and subconsciously shook his head.

The smell grew stronger, enveloping everything from all directions.

"Shiro's" four legs began to go weak, its front paws slid forward, and finally it couldn't help but lie down, resting its head on its front paws and slowly Closed eyes.

The streets were quiet.

There wasn't even the sound of cats and dogs fighting.

Then, very light footsteps came from the other end of the street.

A figure approached from a distance, wearing a dark cloak with the hood pulled low, obscuring the entire face.

The figure walked up to "Shiro" and stopped. The moonlight shone on the hood, but it was pitch black under the brim, and nothing could be seen.

Uchiha Toru appeared silently in the shadows of the alley, his brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the figure.

I'm late.

He reached for the Kunai in his ninja tool pouch.

The figure bent down and reached out a hand to "Shiro".

Uchiha Toru's fingertips rested on the handle of the Kunai.

If I rush out now, that person only needs to exert force with their hand.

No, it's too far; he can't let Shin-chan take that risk.

The figure picked up "Shiro" and walked towards the other end of the street.

Uchiha Toru followed along the wall.

The man crossed the intersection, turned into a narrow alley, left the town, and walked up a dirt road towards the mountains.

Low shrubs lined both sides of the road, and as you climb higher, the shrubs turned into a sparse pine forest, with moonlight filtering through the branches and dappling the ground.

The man pulled his cloak tighter and continued walking uphill.

Reaching a rock face, the man stopped, pushed aside a clump of low pine trees beside the rock face, and crawled inside.

The pine branches swayed a few times, then returned to stillness.

Uchiha Toru didn't follow immediately, but waited for three seconds before silently parting the clump of low pines.

Behind the short pine tree is a hole, just big enough for one person to bend down and pass through.

Walking into the cave entrance leads to a narrow passage, with faint light filtering through from its depths.

After walking about twenty steps, Uchiha Toru poked his head out of the passage, his pupils suddenly contracting.

It was a huge cave.

There were dogs everywhere inside.

Big and small, black and yellow, brown and spotted.

Some were lying on the ground dozing off, while others huddled together in twos and threes, grooming themselves.

The man carried "Shiro" into the cave.

A spotted dog came over, sniffed, and wagged its tail, as if to say hello.

After passing through the pack of dogs and reaching the center of the cave, the man took off his hood.

Uchiha Toru's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Underneath the hood wasn't a human face, but a dog's head.

It looked down at "Shiro" in its arms, then gently placed it on the ground.

All the dogs in the cave gathered around.

The large dog stood in the middle, raised one front paw, and gently pressed it to the ground.

A ring of black lines lit up on the ground, then spread wildly outwards.

Uchiha Toru's body moved before his mind, and he rushed out of the passage.

A faint red glint flashed in his eyes, and as if teleporting, he rushed into the black pattern and grabbed "Shiro" by the back of the neck.

Then the black lines suddenly tightened.

Uchiha Toru glanced down at "Shiro" in his hand.

"Shiro" opened its eyes.

His black eyes blinked, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet.

With a spatial fluctuation, they disappeared together into the cave.

A member of the Anbu passed right past where Uchiha Toru had just been standing, but grabbed nothing.

"A revamped version of the Reverse Summoning Technique... and that brat's speed..."

When Shin-chan woke up, the first thing he saw was a rock.

Stone ceiling, stone walls, stone floor, with only a ray of light filtering down from somewhere overhead, illuminating the ground in front of us.

Uchiha Toru -squatted in front of him, Kunai held horizontally in front of him, his shoulders tense.

"Xiao Che?"

Uchiha Toru didn't turn around; his gaze remained fixed ahead, motionless.

"Don't move."

Shin-chan peeked out from beside Uchiha Toru and saw the big gray dog.

It has dark gray fur, amber eyes, and a darker mane around its neck.

Their eyes met.

Shin-chan blinked.

The big grey dog blinked too.

Then, with a "bang," the white smoke dissipated, Shin-chan returned to his original form.

"Just as I expected." The big gray dog sighed.

Shin-chan's eyes lit up immediately. "You can talk!"

"I am Dog Clan." The big grey dog spoke calmly, as if stating something perfectly ordinary. "It's normal for me to be able to talk."

Uchiha Toru didn't put down the Kunai: "The Dog Clan?"

The big grey dog didn't answer, but looked at Shin-chan again. "You have the aura of a prince about you."

"What's that aura?" Shin-chan scratched his head.

"The prince's scent." The big grey dog leaned closer, its nose twitching slightly, as if confirming something. "His scent is still on you, faint but unmistakable."

Uchiha Toru stood in front of Shin-chan: "What's this prince you're talking about?"

The big grey dog shifted its gaze Shin-chan to Uchiha Toru: "The Dog Clan and the Cat Clan are at war."

Uchiha Toru frowned slightly.

"Our territories are adjacent, and we've had constant friction since then," said the big grey dog. "This time, it was the Cat Clan who crossed the border."

Shin-chan's mouth was open, and he was listening very attentively.

"The prince went missing during the last conflict." The grey dog's voice changed slightly. "The battle took place in the valley; the two sides were separated, and by the time we defeated the Cat Clan, the prince was gone."

The big grey dog's tail twitched, and it continued, "I'm responsible for finding the prince. Also, if I encounter any of my clansmen along the way, I'll bring them back. The Dog Clan needs more warriors."

Have you seen Shiro?

The big grey dog's ears twitched. "Shiro?"

"It looks just like what I look like after I transform." Shin-chan gestured with his hands. "It disappeared last night."

The big grey dog was silent for a moment.

I've never seen it before.

Shin-chan's shoulders slumped a little.

"But," the big grey dog's voice rang out again, "There are other members of the tribe doing the same work besides me."

Shin-chan looked up.

"I'm not the only one searching for the prince," said the big grey dog. "We search in different directions, bringing back any members of our tribe we encounter. The white dog you mentioned, if it was taken from town, was probably brought back by another search party."

"Where?" Shin-chan stood up.

That's not a place for you.

"Why?"

"The Dog Clan is not at peace," the big grey dog said calmly. "The Cat Clan could attack at any time. You are not Dog Clan, there's no need for you to get involved."

But Shiro is there.

Uchiha Toru placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Shin-chan."

Shin-chan turned to look at him.

"We should head back." Uchiha Toru's voice was calm. "Mr. Kosuke and Kakashi are still waiting for us."