Dog-Cat Conflict (9)

In the camp, the old dog's tail froze in mid-air as it watched Black Fang's retreating figure, the light in its eyes dimming.

He nudged the puppies further under his belly, then lay down himself, as if he had accepted something.

When the cats swarmed into the camp, they encountered almost no resistance.

Several older dogs tried to stand in front, but were knocked to the ground by the charge of the cats.

Gray Ridge walked at the very front, leaning forward in a running posture.

In the camp, the older dog was bumped from the side by an orange and white cat, causing it to sway and reveal its puppies underneath.

The three puppies huddled together in three little balls of fur, the smallest one burying its head between the bellies of its two brothers, its rear end sticking out, its whole body trembling.

The older dog struggled to its feet and covered them with its body again.

"Woof." Shiro turned around and ran towards the center of the camp.

It ran through the circle of cats, past the dogs trembling in the center, until it reached the older dog, then turned to face the cats.

The cats' attention was drawn to the small white dog that suddenly rushed in.

Gray Ridge was almost out of the camp when he turned around and saw this scene, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Xiao Zi."

Shin-chan deactivated his Transformation Technique, stood in front of Shiro, and spread his arms to shield Shiro behind him.

"Is it human?"

"How come it's human?"

"That was clearly a dog just now."

The cats gathered from all directions.

"It's you?"

Jiro Tachibana looked at Shin-chan, his beard trembling slightly.

Shin-chan, still with his arms outstretched, blinked and asked, "Jiro Tachibana?"

"What are you doing here?" Jiro Tachibana flicked his tail.

"I've come to save Shiro."

Jiro Tachibana's gaze passed over Shin-chan and landed on Shiro: "The royalty of the Dog Clan."

Shiro poked half his head out from Shin-chan's legs and called out to Jiro Tachibana.

Jiro Tachibana's ears twitched.

Just then, a commotion arose from behind the group of cats.

An orange kitten emerged from between the legs of several adult cats, its four short legs moving swiftly as it trotted over.

"Little Orange!" Shin-chan's eyes lit up.

Little Orange ran up to Shin-chan, but couldn't stop in time and crashed into his calf, then tumbled over and lay on its back on the ground.

Shin-chan squatted down and reached out to flip it over.

Little Orange shook its head, then stood up and made a "meow" sound.

Uchiha Toru looked down at the orange kitten, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"How did you get out here?" Jiro Tachibana's voice carried a hint of headache.

Several large cats, responsible for protecting Little Orange, chased after it from behind. "It insisted on coming, and we couldn't stop it."

Jiro Tachibana glanced at them, but didn't scold them; he just sighed.

Little Orange was completely oblivious to the atmosphere around it; it was busy rubbing its head against Shin-chan's palm.

Gray Ridge returned from the edge of the camp, and as he passed through the encirclement of the cats, several of them bared their teeth at him. "Jiro Tachibana."

"Gray Ridge." Jiro Tachibana looked surprised.

"We can talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" Jiro Tachibana's voice was flat.

"Peace talks."

Jiro Tachibana's tail swayed slightly. "Are you serious?"

"The war between the Dog Clan and Cat Clan was never the will of all the Dog Clan from the beginning," Gray Ridge said. "Only Black Fang needed a war to consolidate his position."

"So you've come to me to negotiate peace?" Jiro Tachibana smiled. "What do you have to offer?"

"Black Fang wants war. As long as it exists, there will never be true peace between the Dog Clan and Cat Clan."

Jiro Tachibana did not respond.

"We can cooperate," Gray Ridge said, "To deal with Black Fang together."

Jiro Tachibana did not answer immediately, shifting his gaze from Gray Ridge to sweep across the entire camp.

The old dogs lay on the ground, too weak to even stand up, while the puppies huddled together, their round bottoms exposed, still trembling.

The "spoils of war" were all old and weak, not even worth showing off.

There aren't many valuable chips; Gray Ridge is one, and that white royal is another.

Jiro Tachibana swayed his tail slightly, about to refuse.

Then, out of the corner of its eye, it spotted the Little Orange.

After finishing sticking stickers on Shin-chan, Little Orange started sticking stickers on another human baby.

Jiro Tachibana's whiskers twitched. "How would I know that the new leader of the Dog Clan might be another Black Fang?"

Gray Ridge's ears perked up, but he felt a sense of relief.

"And Black Fang won't let this go." Jiro Tachibana's voice regained its calm. "It took the main force and left, but it will come back. What do you plan to do when it returns?"

"When it returns," Gray Ridge said, "It will no longer be in charge of the Dog Clan."

Gray Ridge turned around and walked towards the center of the camp.

The old and weak Dog Clan huddled together watched it approach, their eyes filled with confusion and unease. Black Fang was gone, but the cats hadn't left yet, and they didn't know what would happen next.

Gray Ridge stopped in front of Shiro.

Then it lowered its head, bent its front legs, and slowly sank its body, its forehead almost touching the ground.

"Your Highness."

Shiro froze, its tail hanging in mid-air.

"The Dog Clan needs you."

After a brief silence, the older dog stood up and faced Shiro.

It knelt down as well.

The puppies looked at each other, not knowing what had happened, but they imitated their elders, crookedly lying down with their heads resting on their front paws.

One, two, three.

The dogs that were still standing in the camp knelt down one after another.

Shiro stood in the middle of all the dogs, its white fur almost dazzling in the sunlight.

"Woof."

It did not look at Gray Ridge.

He didn't even look at the dogs kneeling down.

Its gaze passed through the clearing between the cats and dogs and landed on Shin-chan.

Shiro never wanted to be a prince.

Its constraints, its entire obsession, have always been very simple.

It's Shin-chan.

It's the daily routine of taking walks together, playing around, and sleeping in Shin-chan's arms.

Those are its true world.

Shiro took a step, passing the kneeling dogs, passing by Gray Ridge, and running step by step towards Shin-chan.

Shin-chan was nudged by the dog and sat down on the ground with a thud. He hugged the dog's neck and buried his face in its fur.

"Shiro."

Jiro Tachibana watched this scene in silence for a long time.

Then it turned around and faced Gray Ridge.

"The Dog Clan owes the Cat Clan a formal apology, and the ownership of the water source cannot be simply dismissed with a single phrase."

"These things can be discussed, but not now, and not with you and me." Gray Ridge looked directly into Jiro Tachibana's eyes. "Once Black Fang is no longer a threat, the new chieftain of the Dog Clan will personally go to the Cat Clan's territory and give the Cat Clan an explanation."

Jiro Tachibana's mustache twitched, as if he were weighing the weight of his words: "Okay."

The pack of the Dog Clan followed Shiro, surrounding Shin-chan and his friends in circles.

Gray Ridge stood outside the circle, watching Shiro being surrounded by the pack of dogs.

This little Little white dog wasn't royalty; it knew that from the beginning.

The real prince is lying on his back in the hot spring inn, letting humans pet him; this dog named Shiro is not a prince at all.

But now, that doesn't matter anymore.