"Beep. Beep. Beep."
The crisp sound of the enemy being searched echoed through the workshop.
The red indicator light inside the glass capsule was flashing wildly. The red light shone on Shu Shiraishi's leather jacket.
Biologically guided missile. Completely formed.
Orochimaru gripped the edge of the control panel.
His fingernails dug into the metal sheet. He stared intently at the translucent, gelatinous mass wriggling inside the glass chamber.
"It's done." His throat was as dry as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
Shu Shiraishi turned around.
The military boots creaked as they stepped over the scrap metal on the ground.
"The Air Force now has eyes."
He put his hand in his pocket and felt for a half-flattened pack of cigarettes.
"The army's reconnaissance capabilities also need an upgrade. Let's go."
North of Konoha. The Inuzuka Clan's animal pen.
The air was thick with the stench of fermenting dog urine and a heavy, pungent smell of blood, making one feel nauseous.
The rusty barbed wire was crooked and bent. Bloody claw marks hung on several wooden shed pillars.
Inuzuka Gaku sat paralyzed in the haystack.
His fur-trimmed leather coat had a large tear in it, and the dirty cotton wadding was spilling out.
The two red inverted triangles of face paint were smudged by sweat.
He was holding a large black dog in his arms.
That's his Ninja Dog, Kuromaru.
Kuromaru's right foreleg was severed at the root. The wound was wrapped with several layers of yellowed old gauze, which was soaked through with blood.
It lay limply on its jaws, emitting intermittent moans from its throat.
Tears from the jaw fell onto the dog's nose.
The black dog whimpered and laboriously stuck out its tongue to lick his calloused palm.
My tongue feels very hot.
He sniffed.
He rubbed his eyes hard with his dirty sleeve. His eyes were completely red.
"It's ruined... Kuromaru is ruined."
He gritted his teeth, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
"Bang!"
The dilapidated wooden door of the animal pen was kicked open.
The door hinge snapped, and half of the door slammed heavily onto the muddy ground, kicking up a cloud of dry dust.
Inuzuka Gaku shuddered in fright and instinctively hugged Kuromaru tightly.
He looked up.
Shu Shiraishi stood outside the gate, his black jacket open. Orochimaru and several Anbu followed behind him.
"H... Lord Hokage."
He braced himself against the dry grass with both hands, trying to get up.
His legs went numb. He lost his balance and fell back down on his bottom.
Shu Shiraishi walked in, his military boots crunching over the wood chips on the ground.
He looked down at the man in his thirties.
"Are you wailing?" Shu Shiraishi said, his voice devoid of any warmth.
He swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed violently.
"Sir, there are too many wounded dogs retreating from the front lines. Kuromaru, it..."
He looked down at the half-dead dog in his arms, his voice trembling with tears.
"Its leg is broken. It can never go to the battlefield again."
Shu Shiraishi sneered.
"A body of flesh and blood. Losing a leg renders one useless."
He turned his head and glanced at the injured dogs lying in several wooden cages nearby.
Some were blinded. Some had their backs blown apart by Explosive Tag. They were all just waiting to die.
Orochimaru.
Shu Shiraishi kicked the iron food bowl on the ground. The bowl clattered.
"Drag all these half-dead beasts away."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his snake-like eyes gleaming.
He waved his hand, and several Anbu behind him immediately stepped forward.
Pull open the latch on the iron cage, grab the leather collar around the dog's neck, and pull it out.
What are you doing!
Jaw panicked. He sprang up and shielded Kuromaru behind him.
He flailed his arms wildly, trying to push aside the approaching Anbu.
"Don't touch them! They bled for Konoha!"
A Uchiha Jōkan wearing a red armband walked over.
He kicked his jaw in the back of his knee.
His legs buckled, and he knelt directly on the muddy ground. His knee hit a small rock, which stung painfully.
The Jōkan officers twisted his arm behind his back and pressed him firmly to the ground.
Kuromaru dragged his broken leg, opening his mouth as if to bite the Jōkan's boot.
Orochimaru walked over. A large syringe with a needle attached.
It was plunged directly into the jugular vein in the Kuromaru's neck.
The black dog twitched twice. The anesthetic took effect, and its head slammed heavily onto the dry grass.
"Bastard! Let go of my dog!"
Its jaw was covered in dog poop. It struggled frantically, its mouth full of mud.
Shu Shiraishi walked up to him and squatted down.
Traditional Ninja Dog rely on their noses to sniff and their teeth to bite.
He looked into Jaw's bloodshot eyes.
"When hit by a heavy machine gun bullet, not even a single piece of skin will remain."
Shu Shiraishi stood up and patted Orochimaru on the shoulder.
"All the bones were removed. A titanium alloy frame will be installed."
He pointed to the unconscious Kuromaru on the ground.
"The broken leg has been replaced with a high-torque mechanical track claw."
Orochimaru held the notebook, his pen scribbling rapidly.
"Cut open the chin," Shu Shiraishi continued, his tone as calm as picking out meat at a market.
"It contains two miniature Chakra submachine guns, connected to the central nervous system."
The jaw's struggle stopped.
He stared wide-eyed at Shu Shiraishi.
Did they remove the dog's bones? And put a gun in its jaw?
Is this even alive?!
Shu Shiraishi ignored him and turned to walk away.
"Two days. I need to see the finished product."
The Anbu threw dozens of wounded dogs onto a flatbed cart and pushed it toward the biochemical laboratory, the axle making a rapid grinding sound.
Two days later.
The test track outside Laboratory One.
Dozens of the Inuzuka Clan were crammed outside the barbed wire fence.
Inuzuka Gaku gripped the barbed wire tightly with both hands, her fingernails digging into the rusty metal.
He hasn't slept for the past two days; his eyes are bloodshot, and a layer of bluish-gray stubble has grown on his chin.
The heavy iron door to the laboratory was tightly closed.
The harsh sounds of chainsaws cutting and metal welding could be heard intermittently from inside.
Occasionally, a wild beast's distorted roar would be heard, sending chills down one's spine.
"Squeak--"
The two-meter-high iron gate was slowly pushed open from the inside.
Orochimaru walked out, wearing a white coat stained with engine oil and blood.
He was holding a remote control in his hand.
" Lord Hokage." Orochimaru bowed to Shu Shiraishi on the high platform.
He pressed the red Gate of Opening button.
The doors were wide open.
From the shadows behind the door came a series of rapid metallic clanging sounds.
"Crack. Crack."
That's not the sound of paw pads stepping on the ground. That's the crisp sound of steel striking the earth.
A black monster emerged from the door.
Inuzuka Gaku's breath caught in his throat. His hands gripped the barbed wire so tightly it rattled.
That's Kuromaru.
But it's not Kuromaru at all.
The black dog's severed right foreleg was replaced by a silver-white titanium alloy mechanical prosthesis.
Thick hydraulic rods were exposed at the joints. The claws were four sharp steel cones.
It was covered with a thin layer of dark blue-green bulletproof armor. The edges of the armor were firmly driven into the flesh with rivets.
The most terrifying thing is its head.
Kuromaru's chin was completely metallized. The entire jawbone was replaced with a black, square gun pouch.
Two tiny, dark gun barrels protruded directly from under its mouth.
A red mechanical prosthetic eye replaced the left eye, emitting an eerie red glow.
"Black... Kuromaru?"
My throat was dry. I tentatively called out.
The mechanical war dog's ears twitched.
The red prosthetic eye instantly locked onto the jaw outside the barbed wire fence.
The muscles in its hind legs suddenly swelled, and the hydraulic rods of the mechanical prosthesis hissed out a puff of white steam.
"Boom!"
A large crater was created in the ground by trampling. Dirt flew everywhere.
The Kuromaru was like a black lightning bolt, twice as fast as before.
They crossed the 50-meter-wide open space almost instantly.
It came to a steady stop in front of the barbed wire fence.
The immense inertia caused its mechanical claws to plow four deep white marks into the concrete floor.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Jaw was startled and instinctively took half a step back.
Kuromaru stuck out her still-warm tongue through the holes in the wire mesh.
He licked his palate, his fingers clenched into a fist due to nervousness.
Its tail thrashed wildly behind the armor, slamming against the iron pillar with a loud clang.
"It's still alive! Its brain isn't damaged!"
He was so excited he was incoherent. He reached through the mesh of the netting to touch the dog's head.
All he touched were cold cast iron and rivets. He didn't care at all.
Shu Shiraishi stood on the high platform, looking at the semi-mechanical creation.
"Test bite force," he coldly ordered.
Orochimaru made a hand gesture.
Two Uchiha Jōkan carried a ten-centimeter-thick cast iron plate and threw it onto the ground.
Clang.
Kuromaru turned his head, his Red Eye locking onto his target.
It pounced suddenly.
It opened its gaping maw, which had been modified with metal.
"Snap!"
A sickening metallic cracking sound.
The canines are made of titanium alloy and possess a terrifying bite force like a hydraulic jack.
It pierced directly through a 10-centimeter-thick cast iron plate.
He bit off a large, irregular piece of iron from it, chewed it a couple of times, and spat it on the ground.
The iron block was covered with deep serrations.
The surrounding Inuzuka Clan members gasped in shock.
If this bites a person, it will tear the person and their armor in two.
"Fire." Shu Shiraishi knocked on the railing.
Kuromaru received the instruction.
Its limbs sank down, gripping the ground tightly.
The barrel of the miniature submachine gun beneath his chin began to spin wildly.
"Da da da da da!"
A barrage of Chakra bullets rained down.
Blue flames shot out, half a foot long. Shell casings clattered and fell to the ground.
Several wooden targets fifty meters away were instantly blasted into a shower of wood chips.
"Roar!"
The Kuromaru let out a deafening mechanical roar.
The titanium alloy claw of its right forelimb suddenly rose.
He stepped heavily onto a granite slab about half his height.
"Bang."
The hard granite was crushed into pieces by the trampling. Pebbles flew out.
Dust filled the air.
Inuzuka Gaku' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He looked at his imposing Ninja Dog, now equipped with steel limbs.
Think back to those traditional military dogs that only knew how to bite people's trouser legs.
This is a killing machine of the army that spans several eras!
"Invincible! Kuromaru is invincible!"
He gripped his hair tightly with both hands, and roared wildly to the sky in excitement.
Spittle flew everywhere. The muscles in his face twitched wildly with excitement.
The entire outside of the barbed wire fence.
The dozens of the Inuzuka Clan members were completely in an uproar.
They stared at the mechanical war dogs in the arena, their eyes burning with fanatical fervor.
Some people knelt on the ground and kowtowed frantically to Shu Shiraishi on the high platform.
" Lord Hokage! Change my dogs too! Replace them all with iron ones!"
"Please, sir! I'll even take the bone!"
This group of ninjas once treated dogs like their own lives.
Faced with absolute violent aesthetics and mechanical power.
Without hesitation, they abandoned the tradition of being flesh and blood, and the entire tribe fell into a morbid frenzy over mechanical ascension.
The entire test track was bustling with noise.
The sounds of roaring engines, gunfire, and shouts mingled together.
Just as the whole village was in an uproar over the military explosion, and the atmosphere reached its peak.
Five kilometers outside the village.
That towering radar monitoring station.
The green indicator light at the top was originally flashing at a constant speed.
It suddenly froze for a moment.
"Click."
The green light went out.
A glaring yellow warning light suddenly illuminated.
The yellow light began to swirl and flicker wildly beneath the gloomy clouds.