Kiba Inuzuka had not been hurt.
When the fireball had exploded just now, something seemed to have blocked it, preventing it from reaching him.
But—
His Ninja Hound, Akamaru, seemed to have been swallowed by the flames.
Kiba Inuzuka knew in his heart that Akamaru could not possibly have survived an explosion of that magnitude.
But he could not accept such an outcome!
It was as if life had lost all meaning in that instant.
Kiba Inuzuka stood rigid, his eyes hollow as he stared at the smoke that had yet to fully disperse.
The final image of Akamaru turning his head to look at him surfaced clearly in his mind.
Just as Kiba Inuzuka felt his heart was about to die with him, Ye Fan's voice suddenly came from within the smoke:
"Kiba, Akamaru is fine!"
That simple sentence was like breathing life into stagnant water.
Focus gradually returned to Kiba Inuzuka's empty eyes.
Through the thinning smoke, he vaguely saw a tall, imposing figure. It was none other than Brother Ye Fan.
Ye Fan had his back to Kiba Inuzuka, so no one could see his expression at that moment.
In his right hand, he held a small white Ninja Hound. It was Akamaru.
No one had seen how Ye Fan had appeared there.
Even less had anyone seen how he had saved Akamaru.
What was even more baffling was why the site of the explosion was now giving off an increasingly intense chill.
Could it be simply because Ye Fan was standing there?
Woof!
Akamaru broke free from Ye Fan's hand and barked as he pounced toward the dazed Kiba Inuzuka.
"Akamaru!"
Kiba Inuzuka finally came to his senses and tightly hugged his beloved hound, letting the little fellow's warm, wet tongue lick his cheeks.
Akamaru was