What Do You Mean, "This Lord"?

The black shadow rippling across the floor bulged upward, forming two rounded humps.

With a faint pop, two furry heads squeezed out of the shadow.

"I told you Megumi can't get by without us!"

A bright, smug voice rang out abruptly in the quiet room.

A snow-white dog leaped out of the shadow.

It shook its fur vigorously, scattering the last flecks of shadow, then lifted its chin high as its tail wagged rapidly from side to side.

Right after it, another dog, entirely black, silently stepped out of the darkness.

Unlike the White Dog, the Black Dog stood steadily in place, its deep eyes sweeping over the surroundings.

The Black Dog gave a quiet "hm," as if agreeing with what the White Dog had said.

Sasuke stood frozen, his hands still held in the Hand Seals.

He stared at the two fluffy animals in front of him, each no bigger than an ordinary puppy.

"Jade... Dog?" Sasuke's voice held clear uncertainty.

At the sound of his voice, the White Dog immediately turned around.

It stared at Sasuke for a second, then two, before suddenly hopping backward. It crouched low with its front paws on the ground, taking a wary stance.

"Wait!" The White Dog's mouth opened and closed as it spoke.

"Who are you? You smell like Megumi, but how did you shrink? Your face is all wrong, too. Where's that spiky hair of yours? Why's it turned into a duck's butt?"

The Black Dog walked over to Sasuke's feet and carefully sniffed his pant leg.

"We're Megumi's shadows. Nobody else can summon us." The Black Dog raised its head and looked at Sasuke with golden eyes.

"It's Megumi. But the body's changed."

Sasuke released the Hand Seals and crouched down.

He reached out and grabbed one dog's cheek in each hand, pulling them apart.

His fingertips felt warm, soft fur.

"You've gotten smaller too." Sasuke looked at them. "And you can talk now?"

"Let go of my face!" the White Dog protested indistinctly, shaking its head hard to break free of Sasuke's grip.

"We're your Shikigami. Of course we'd change a little along with you! But seriously, you look a lot uglier than before!"

Sasuke stood up and walked over to the bed. "Come here. I'll give you a quick explanation."

The two little dogs followed right away. They pushed off with their hind legs, hopped lightly onto the bed, and sat down on either side of him.

Sasuke rubbed his temples and gave them the main points of what had happened over the past few days: how his soul had crossed over, the chakra system in this world, and how he'd just used negative emotions to force open the Shadow Channel.

"Chakra?" The White Dog tilted its head, one ear perked up and the other drooping. "I don't get it, and I'm not interested."

"Energy of the body and spirit. Stable and efficient. It might be possible to change its nature into Cursed Energy," the Black Dog added.

"Anyway, that's the situation." Sasuke looked at his hands. "I'm almost out of Cursed Energy. I had to use everything I had to mix it with chakra just to open the channel."

The boy and the two dogs fell silent for a moment as they took it all in.

"I get it." The White Dog suddenly stood up and turned around twice on the bed.

"Your body's too weak right now, and you don't have enough Cursed Energy. So the Ten Shadows Technique fused with that thing called chakra to adapt to the rules of this world!"

"Mutation," the Black Dog said succinctly.

"So because your body's such a weakling, our powers got weaker too," the White Dog concluded.

"But you mixed that chakra stuff with Cursed Energy, so the Ten Shadows Technique mutated."

The Black Dog added, "Similar to this world's Summoning Technique. Ninja Dogs."

Sasuke nodded. That was more or less what he'd deduced as well.

The transformation of chakra's nature had given the shadows the power to physically interact with things, while the mutated Cursed Energy had awakened the Jade Dogs' consciousness.

"Still, this world has ninjutsu, right?" The White Dog's shiny black nose nearly touched Sasuke's.

"If you can learn some really powerful moves, you might even be able to tame Mahoraga!" Excitement glittered in the White Dog's eyes.

Sasuke watched the White Dog's eager expression, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Mahoraga won't be that easy to deal with. But it's a direction worth pursuing."

Sasuke stood up again.

"How long can you stay like this? And why can't I feel Cursed Energy flowing to you?"

"That's another benefit of the mutation." The White Dog lifted its chin proudly.

The Black Dog picked up where it left off. "The channel's stuck. The door won't shut."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"It means you used so little Cursed Energy to open the door that the Shadow Channel's now half-paralyzed," the White Dog explained.

"You pulled us out and used up that little bit of energy. Now the hinges are rusty, and the door won't shut."

The White Dog walked over and rubbed against Sasuke's pant leg.

"Now we have to be beaten to the brink of death to get forcibly sent back, or decide to go back on our own."

Sasuke understood. This had basically turned summoning the Ten Shadows into a one-time purchase.

"Then decide to go back on your own now," Sasuke said, looking at them.

"No." The White Dog sat on the floor and turned its head away.

The Black Dog turned away too, gazing out the window. "Refused."

A vein throbbed on Sasuke's forehead. "Do as I say. It'll be a huge hassle if someone sees you."

"We finally got out. Who wants to go back to that pitch-black place? It's so much more fun out here. Besides, you're so weak right now that we need to stay out here and keep watch."

"Just say we're Ninja Dogs."

"Agreed." The Black Dog closed its eyes.

Sasuke looked at the two stubborn dogs and sighed.

The room fell quiet.

It had grown completely dark outside, and the streetlights shone through the window onto the floor.

Sasuke sat back down on the bed.

He looked at the White Dog lying beside him. Its snowy fur looked soft in the dim light.

He couldn't help remembering the moment the Special Grade Cursed Spirit had killed Shiro.

According to the rules of the Ten Shadows Technique, once a Shikigami was completely destroyed, it could never be summoned again.

He'd thought he'd lost the dog forever.

Sasuke leaned over and stroked the soft fur on the White Dog's head.

The White Dog narrowed its eyes contentedly, a purring rumble rising in its throat.

"I won't let you die again."

The White Dog's ears twitched. It abruptly pulled its head out from under Sasuke's palm and turned to look at the corner of the wall.

"Huh? W-what's with the mushy stuff?" Its tail, however, wagged furiously behind it.

"Your lord was just careless last time, that's all! Instead of saying stuff like that, hurry up and get stronger. If you get stronger with me by your side, naturally I won't die."

The Black Dog let out a low sound that was almost a laugh.

"Tsundere. 'Your lord'—that's what a girl would say."

"Shut up, Black Charcoal!" The White Dog immediately bared its teeth at the Black Dog.

"Thud!"

A dull thump sounded from the balcony, and the glass rattled violently.

Sasuke whipped around, a Kunai already gripped in his hand.

The White Dog and Black Dog instantly lowered their bodies, growls rumbling in their throats.

Someone shoved the window open from outside.

Naruto wore his orange pajamas and held a steaming cup of seafood-flavored instant noodles. One leg was already over the windowsill.

He was still frozen in the middle of climbing through the window, a plastic fork clenched between his teeth.

"Hey, Sasuke, you probably don't have any hot water either, right? I thought about it, and decided to bring you—"

Naruto's words caught in his throat.

His eyes widened as he stared past Sasuke at the two little dogs, one black and one white, crouched in an attack stance.

The plastic fork dropped from his mouth.

"Why are there dogs in your room?!"