Who taught you to self-destruct so readily? Oh, it was me!

Sasuke walked through the evening streets and returned directly to the Uchiha clan's training ground.

"Come out."

The shadows on the ground spread outward, and Black Dog, White Dog, and Escaping Rabbit emerged from the darkness.

After landing, Black Dog bent his hind legs to sit on the ground, reached out a paw to scratch the Cursed Seal on his neck, and let out an uncomfortable low whine in his throat.

White Dog leaned in, sniffed around Black Dog's neck, and immediately sneezed in disgust.

"The scent that stinking snake left behind is truly nauseating." White Dog shook his head. "How are you feeling, Black Charcoal?"

"A bit hot." Black Dog's reply was brief. "Chakra is leaking out."

Escaping Rabbit hopped slowly to Black Dog's side, its two long ears drooping to rest against Black Dog's back.

Sasuke watched them, lifting his hands to cross them in front of his chest.

"Back up a little. I'm going to prepare for the Taming Ritual."

White Dog froze, his ears pricking up.

"Now? Taming a new Shikigami?" White Dog turned to look at Sasuke.

"We're perfectly safe right now, and that snake-man was beaten off. If you're going to tame one, shouldn't you pick someone who can actually fight?"

"Wouldn't it be better to boost our strength?"

Escaping Rabbit also tilted its head up, its red eyes fixed on Sasuke. "...Yeah, why tame one now?"

"I'm going to tame Round Deer." Sasuke kept his hands in the starting position for the hand seals.

"Round Deer?" White Dog tilted his head. "That guy isn't good at fighting at all. What on earth are you thinking?"

Sasuke lowered his hands and looked at Black Dog sitting on the ground.

"I was willing to let Orochimaru bite Black before because I knew Round Deer's ability." Sasuke's gaze swept over the three Shikigami.

"Round Deer can use the Reverse Cursed Technique. That positive energy should be able to heal wounds and dispel the negative effects of the Cursed Seal Orochimaru left on Black."

White Dog opened his mouth, seemingly surprised that this was Sasuke's intention.

Escaping Rabbit's soft, sweet voice carried a sense of unease: "There is something very cold on Black."

Sasuke crouched down, reached out to push aside the fur on Black Dog's neck, and took a close look at the Cursed Seal.

The Cursed Seal seemed to have spread, growing slightly larger.

"Can you still hold on?" Sasuke looked into Black Dog's golden eyes.

Black Dog let out a low rumble in his throat and nodded.

"I won't die. It's just that the flow of cursed energy is chaotic; a brand-new type of energy has entered my body."

Sasuke stood up, stepped back twice, and raised his hands to his chest.

"Prepare to tame Round Deer."

White Dog, who had been licking the fur around Black Dog's neck in an attempt to soothe him, whipped his head around upon hearing this.

Black Dog sat where he was, lifting a hind leg to scratch the fur behind his ear.

"It doesn't matter." Black Dog's voice was calm, without a ripple of emotion.

"Even though this thing hurts, the amount of chakra it feeds back is significant. Not to mention whether I'll actually die, even if I were truly eroded to death, the rules of the Ten Shadows would leave my power and techniques to White."

Black Dog turned to look at White Dog.

"By then, you will have become stronger and be able to help him better."

White Dog's fur stood on end instantly; he lunged forward, bit Black Dog's ear, and pulled him to the side.

"Shut your mouth, you bastard! Who cares about your pathetic power!"

White Dog released his grip, baring his teeth at Black Dog while letting out an angry growl.

"I'll get stronger on my own! I don't need you to die just to make up the numbers for me!"

Black Dog's head was pulled to the side, but he sat back up straight without retorting.

Sasuke stood to the side, watching Black Dog's attitude of taking such sacrifice for granted, his brows furrowing tightly.

"I really don't know who you learned this 'let's just die together and throw our lives away' mentality from."

Sasuke shoved his hands back into his pockets, his tone filled with undisguised disdain.

"The moment you hit a little trouble, you think about filling the gap with your lives. You don't take your own existence seriously at all."

As soon as he finished speaking.

White Dog, who had been arguing, stopped in his tracks.

Black Dog, who had been scolded, lifted his head.

Escaping Rabbit, which had been lying on his shoe, also tilted its head up.

Two dogs and one rabbit—three pairs of eyes turned in unison, staring straight at Sasuke.

The training ground suddenly fell silent, save for the rustling of wind through the leaves.

Sasuke felt his skin crawl under their collective gaze.

Fragments of memory flashed through his mind.

When encountering Sukuna, he had crossed his hands, ready to summon Mahoraga.

When encountering a special-grade cursed spirit, he had crossed his hands, ready to summon Mahoraga.

And just a few days ago, in front of Orochimaru, he had summoned Mahoraga without a moment's hesitation.

Shikigami are the shadows of their master; their personalities and subconscious are merely projections of the master's own mental state.

Sasuke shifted his gaze, avoiding the eyes of the Shikigami.

He raised his hand, made a fist, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh... never mind."

Sasuke raised his hands to his chest again, interlacing his fingers to form the Deer hand sign.

"Let's hurry up and subdue Round Deer."

The shadow beneath his feet began to boil instantly.

Black sludge churned outward, rapidly forming a massive black disc in the center of the clearing.

A gargantuan deer rose slowly from the shadow.

Its fur was light brown, its antlers were massive, and it had four eyes on its face, all locked firmly onto Sasuke.

Round Deer landed on all fours, its hooves striking the gravel with a dull thud.

It did not exude the violent killing intent that Mahoraga did, but with its appearance, the flow of chakra in the surrounding air became unnaturally sluggish.

"White, left. Black, right," Sasuke commanded immediately.

"Escaping Rabbit, obstruct its vision."

The Escaping Rabbit instantly split, dozens of white rabbits surging toward Round Deer's face like a fountain.

Round Deer lifted its front hooves and slammed them heavily into the ground.

Hum—

A visible pale blue ripple spread out from beneath its feet.

The energy of the Reverse Cursed Technique washed directly over the swarm of Escaping Rabbit.

Those clones, composed of cursed energy, vanished into black sludge the moment they touched the positive energy, like ice dropped into boiling water, not even managing a cry.

"Its energy counters cursed energy!" Sasuke shouted. "Use physical attacks!"

White Dog had already closed in from the left. It pushed off with all four limbs, leaped into the air, and snapped its fangs toward Round Deer's neck.

Round Deer whipped its massive head around, its antlers slamming directly into White Dog's chest.

White Dog was sent tumbling through the air, crashing into the ground a dozen meters away and carving a long trench in the dirt.

Black Dog seized the opportunity to strike from the right, sinking its teeth into Round Deer's hind leg joint.

Round Deer let out a low cry and kicked back violently with the leg being bitten.

Black Dog refused to let go, its body whipped into the air by the immense force before it slammed heavily into a nearby stone pillar, cracking the stone.

White smoke began to rise from the wound on Round Deer's leg as the energy of the Reverse Cursed Technique converged, healing the deep, bone-reaching bite within two seconds.

"Troublesome," Sasuke gritted his teeth.

Unless he could land a lethal blow, conventional attacks were useless against it.

Sasuke quickly wove hand signs, his chest swelling.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, hurtling toward Round Deer with scorching heat.

Round Deer did not dodge; its circular antlers glowed with intense light.

The energy of the Reverse Cursed Technique formed an invisible barrier in front of it.

The Great Fireball collided with the barrier, the flames forcibly neutralized and dispersed, falling to the ground as a shower of sparks.

"It can even neutralize ninjutsu?" White Dog scrambled up from the ground, shaking the dirt off its fur. "How are we supposed to fight this thing?"

"There's a gap in its defense when it's healing itself!" Sasuke watched Round Deer's movements closely.

"Black, White! Restrict its movement!"

The two dogs charged again.

White Dog had learned; it no longer aimed for vital points, instead pouncing on Round Deer's front leg and using its body weight to pin the knee joint down.

Black Dog lunged from behind, biting onto Round Deer's other hind leg.

Round Deer struggled violently, dragging the two dogs across the ground with its immense strength, but the Black Dog and White Dog refused to let go.

Escaping Rabbit split into a dozen more clones, leaping directly onto Round Deer's face and using their soft bodies to block its eyes.

The Round Deer's vision was obstructed, and with its front legs pinned down, its body suffered a momentary loss of balance.

Now was the time.

Sasuke mobilized every remaining drop of chakra within his body, concentrating it all into his right hand.

He did not use any ninjutsu; instead, he pushed the chakra through extreme shape transformation, forming a high-density chakra blade around his palm.

Sasuke pushed off with his legs, launching himself toward the Round Deer like an arrow released from a bowstring.

The Round Deer sensed the threat, and the antlers atop its head lit up once more, preparing to unleash its reversal technique.

"Not a chance!"

Sasuke leaped high into the air while still three meters away from the Round Deer.

Utilizing the gravity of his descent, he drove the chakra blade in his right hand precisely into the blind spot of the Round Deer's neck, where it was unprotected by the antlers.

"Squelch!"

The chakra blade sliced through the Round Deer's flesh without resistance, severing its cervical spine.

The Round Deer's body stiffened violently.

The light from the antlers atop its head flickered twice before extinguishing completely.

The massive body collapsed with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

Following this, the Round Deer's body began to melt rapidly, turning into a pool of black sludge that slowly seeped into the shadow beneath Sasuke's feet.

Subjugation successful.