The Jungler Jade Dog

Seeing that it was Naruto, Sasuke casually tucked the kunai in his hand back into the ninja tool pouch on his outer thigh.

"Ninja dogs. And, don't you know how to knock before coming in?"

Naruto remained with one leg straddling the windowsill, looking from the two dogs on the floor to Sasuke.

"Liar!" Naruto pointed at the White Dog. "You've never kept dogs before! Besides, isn't the Uchiha Clan... you know, how could they have ninja dogs!"

Sasuke walked to the table and set down the seafood-flavored cup noodles Naruto had just given him.

"The Uchiha Clan has always had a tradition of keeping ninja cats." Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto, who was still hanging on the windowsill. "Since there are ninja cats, what's so surprising about having two ninja dogs?"

Naruto froze.

His brain, not exactly built for deep thought, began to spin rapidly.

He knew the Uchiha Clan was a large family.

It was common knowledge that large families had many secrets.

Since they had ninja cats... it seemed reasonable enough to have ninja dogs, right?

After all, he didn't even know how many people were in the Uchiha Clan, let alone what kind of pets they kept.

"I, I see..." Naruto replied dryly, swinging his other leg into the room.

He placed the steaming cup of noodles on Sasuke's desk, but his gaze remained glued to the black and white dogs.

The White Dog sat on the floor, its right ear twitching twice as its golden eyes sized Naruto up.

"What are you staring at, shorty in yellow?" The White Dog bared its teeth, revealing sharp canines.

"It, it, it, it talked!" The finger Naruto used to point at the White Dog was trembling.

"What a fuss." The White Dog rolled its eyes and scratched its neck with a hind leg. "Never seen a dog that can talk? Country bumpkin."

Naruto thought of Kiba.

Kiba spent all day with that little dog called Akamaru perched on his head, showing it off all over class.

But Akamaru only knew how to bark; it couldn't speak human language at all.

This guy Sasuke actually had talking ninja dogs!

"Hmph, so what if they're talking ninja dogs? I don't think it's that special."

The White Dog stood up and circled Naruto, sniffing at his orange pajamas.

"Such a strong sour smell. Are you jealous that Kei... that Sasuke has such smart and cute ninja dogs? Admit it, you're green with envy."

"Who's jealous! I'm not jealous of two ordinary little dogs!"

Naruto's face flushed red as he shouted his rebuttal, but his eyes couldn't help but drift toward the White Dog's snowy, soft fur.

"I'll definitely find a summoning beast a hundred times cooler than this one day! At the very least, it'll be as big as the Hokage Rock!"

"Even if you did summon something, it'd probably just be an oversized Toad."

"What did you say, you stinking dog! I'm a genius! Once I learn powerful ninjutsu, the first thing I'll do is beat you into the ground!"

Naruto's hair stood on end as he reached out to grab the White Dog's ears.

The White Dog nimbly jumped backward, dodging Naruto's hand.

"What's wrong? Did I hit a sore spot?"

The boy and the dog began to stare each other down, baring their teeth.

The Black Dog stood up, sauntered over to the White Dog, and bumped it aside with its shoulder while it was still bickering with Naruto.

"I'm a little interested in you." The Black Dog tilted its head, looking at Naruto.

Naruto blinked, pointing at his own nose. "Huh? Me?"

"You're too noisy, and you look completely unreliable."

"I think it's necessary to go to your room and monitor you, to prevent you from causing any trouble in the middle of the night."

Naruto's eyes lit up; this was the first time someone... or some dog, had taken an interest in him.

But he immediately straightened his face, crossed his arms, and put on a reluctant expression.

"Since you insist on coming, I guess I'll reluctantly let you stay for the night." Naruto curled his lip, scuffing his toe against the windowsill.

"But let's get one thing straight: don't mess up my bed, and don't steal my cup noodles!"

The Black Dog leaped onto the windowsill and landed beside Naruto.

"Lead the way," the Black Dog said.

Naruto suppressed a smile and glanced at Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke! Eat your noodles soon, or they'll get soggy."

He then turned and jumped back onto his own balcony.

"Hey black one, what's your name? Can you use shuriken? Let me tell you, today at school..."

Naruto's voice was cut off as the window next door was shut.

White Dog walked over to Sasuke's feet and flopped onto the floor.

"That Black Charcoal guy definitely went off to sneak some food," White Dog muttered.

"If he can get his paws on it, that's his skill," Sasuke said, tearing open a cup of instant noodles and picking up a fork. "Do you want to go too?"

"I'm not going." White Dog rested his head on his front paws. "He's genuinely starving; he'll eat anything!"

Sasuke didn't say anything else, lowering his head to eat his noodles. "Want the broth?"

"Huh? What do you take me for! I am a noble shikigami!" White Dog jumped up, his fur bristling.

"You couldn't even beat Mahoraga's toe, so where's the nobility?"

"You bastard duck-butt!"

The night deepened, and an empty noodle cup sat on the floor.

Occasionally, the sound of Naruto's one-sided conversation with Black Dog drifted in from next door, before eventually fading into silence.

Morning sunlight filtered through the window, casting a square patch of light onto the floor.

A faint scratching sound came from the balcony.

Sasuke opened his eyes.

Black Dog jumped in from outside the window, landing steadily on the floor.

"Did you eat pig feed? You've gotten so fat," White Dog muttered with a yawn.

"Not fat." Black Dog shook his fur. "It's an illusion."

Sasuke noticed the difference in Black Dog as well and took a closer look.

The most obvious change was his size; he was clearly taller and significantly rounder.

Furthermore, there was a distinct flow of cursed energy moving through his body.

"You've grown a bit," Sasuke said, staring into Black Dog's eyes.

Black Dog walked to the bedside and sat down, bending his hind legs.

"Have I?"

Sasuke ignored Black Dog's feigned ignorance.

He closed his eyes and focused his attention inward.

His Cursed Energy Pool, which had been dry, now held a shallow layer of energy.

He understood now.

The shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique were currently in a "bought-out" state, unable to be retracted into the shadow channel.

But this also meant they had completely broken free from the limitations of Sasuke's body, becoming two individuals capable of acting independently.

Jade Dog possessed the ability to devour curses, and Black Dog's growth last night was the result of absorbing energy in Naruto's room.

Since the Ten Shadows were extensions of his own shadow, the energy Black Dog gained while out "hunting" was fed directly back into Sasuke.

As long as Jade Dog kept devouring negative emotions out there, Sasuke could grow stronger just by lying around.

"How much did you absorb last night?" Sasuke asked, looking at Black Dog.

"Just a little bit," Black Dog replied.

"After he fell asleep, some red negative emotions leaked from his stomach, and I lay next to him and absorbed them all night."

"You must have gained some cursed energy from my actions, right?"

"Is your body feeling uncomfortable?" Sasuke carefully observed Black Dog's condition.

That surge of negative emotion was potent, and he worried about Jade Dog's upper limit.

Black Dog opened his mouth and let out a burp.

A small wisp of dark red smoke drifted from his mouth, quickly dissipating into the air.

"No." Black Dog licked his lips. "It tasted a bit spicy. It's perfectly fine."

Good, this path was viable.

Konoha never lacked negative emotions, but the prerequisite was that these two dogs had to be able to move openly throughout the village.

They couldn't arouse the suspicion of the Anbu, nor could they let the Third Hokage find anything abnormal.

"Listen up."

Both dogs immediately pricked up their ears.

"Starting today, you are my ninja hounds. I will take you to the academy, to the training grounds, and wander the streets of the village."

"First, we'll make you a familiar sight." Sasuke pulled open the door. "Once everyone in Konoha is used to your presence and thinks it's perfectly normal for me to keep two dogs..."

Sasuke looked back at Black Dog.

"Then you can go around and grab a bite to eat."

White Dog wagged his tail excitedly: "Yay! Wandering around!"

Black Dog followed silently behind Sasuke as he walked out the door.

"I'm going next door," Black Dog said.

"Suit yourself." Sasuke closed the door.

In the hallway, Naruto happened to push his door open and step out.

Seeing Sasuke and the two dogs following behind him, Naruto froze for a moment.

"Hey! How did you run off! I spent all morning looking for you!"

Black Dog walked to Naruto's feet and looked up at him.

"You snore too loudly. It's noisy."

Naruto's face turned beet red; he pointed at Black Dog, unable to get a word out for a long time.

Sasuke walked past Naruto and headed straight for the stairs.

"Let's go. Aren't we supposed to have a shuriken throwing contest today?"

Naruto took off running to catch up.

"Don't get cocky! Today, I'm absolutely going to beat you to a pulp!"