The forests sprawling beyond the Village Hidden in the Leaves occupied a vast territory, peppered with numerous training grounds. Some belonged to the village, while others were the private domains of ninja clans, home to secret facilities, some of which now lay abandoned. Konoha itself was, in truth, incredibly large.
Having paced its expanse, Inuzuka Ryōto could state with certainty that while it was called a village, its size was comparable to that of a provincial city. The central area had a radius of about three kilometers, and the population, by a rough estimate, exceeded one hundred thousand people. But if one were to include the extensive woodlands, Training Ground 44 alone, known as the Forest of Death, had a radius of over ten kilometers. The total radius of Konoha's entire territory surpassed forty kilometers, with farms scattered here and there throughout the forests. In its scale, it was comparable to the traditional Tokyo metropolis.
Viewed from a bird's-eye perspective, the Hokage Rock rose in the very heart of the village. Behind it, on the mountain slopes, stretched vast cultivated fields, dotted with sparse residential houses. The village itself spread out at the foot of the rock, its most prominent building being the Hokage Residence. Not far away, a few streets from the Ninja Academy, stood the Konoha Hospital. The entire village, nestled against the mountain range of the Hokage Rock, fanned out towards the forest. This part was considered the central district, while the outer, not yet fully developed forest zone, was the periphery.
But that was not all. The subterranean part of the village also had to be considered. The entire space beneath the ground was hollow, as was the Hokage Rock itself, which had been almost completely excavated from within to house the village's secret facilities. Sometimes, dogs would suddenly start barking at nothing. This was not because they saw ghosts, but because they heard sounds emanating from beyond the walls: the hum of water pipes laid in the darkness and the quiet rustle of scurrying rats. Walking down the street, Inuzuka Ryōto, thanks to his heightened sense of hearing, could even determine the particular aroma of gas passed by a ninja currently running through an underground tunnel.
Konoha was constantly expanding, but being a hidden ninja village and a top-secret military installation, it did so with great caution. The forest served as a natural protective barrier, teeming with giant predators, venomous insects, and snakes. Therefore, it could be said with certainty that the forest was very dangerous, and it was no place for children to play.
However, for Inuzuka Ryōto, the main problem was not the wild beasts and venomous creatures—the predators scattered in every direction at the sight of his pack of dogs. The real headache was the ninja. Specifically, the village's defensive system: the overt and covert posts, the mobile patrols, and the guard squads.
"He knows their every move," Inuzuka Rin thought, observing Ryōto's route through the forest.
It was obvious that this path had been meticulously planned and calculated. Relying on his keen sense of smell and hearing, he stealthily led the pack of dogs, evading the gazes of Konoha's ninja and advancing swiftly deeper into the woods. He had studied the routes and schedules of the hidden lookouts and patrols, deliberately stopping and waiting for them to pass. Moreover, he knew the exact maximum range of the Hyūga Clan's vision and, moving along the very edge of their blind spot, brazenly tempted fate, seizing any opportunity to slip by unnoticed. The entire process was honed to perfection, like a fluid dance—flawless and smooth. This meant he even knew the composition of the patrol groups.
The most incredible thing was that he seemed to have obtained the duty roster for the squad responsible for barrier techniques. Not only did he know the locations of key observation points, but he was also aware of the times when the squad conducted its territorial scans. Inuzuka Rin had a theory about this: there was a "mole" in the barrier techniques squad. In other words, one of Inuzuka Ryōto's dogs was working there as a spy. Especially now, with the village still on high alert after the recent war and security measures not the least bit relaxed, moving about at this level without triggering a single alarm post was a task that not every genin, chunin, or even jōnin could accomplish.
This boy was a natural-born ninja, with an incredibly calculating mind. No one knew the Inuzuka Clan better than Inuzuka Rin. So what was her wayward son trying to hide?
Following him, Inuzuka Rin soon saw Inuzuka Ryōto and his pack enter the territory of the Uchiha Clan—by the Naka River. This was a river that flowed through the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and in the past, members of the Uchiha Clan had lived along its banks.
"Such a sly one."
As his own mother, she knew her son like the back of her hand; the moment he wagged his tail, she already understood what was on his mind. He hadn't come here to play with a friend from the Uchiha Clan. His purpose lay elsewhere...
Inuzuka Rin composed herself and decided to act in earnest. If she, an outsider, were discovered in Uchiha territory, it would be difficult to explain. Relations between the Uchiha Clan and the village were strained, and to avoid treading on their sensitive nerves, their lands were a blind spot for village surveillance. Even the Third Hokage did not dare to secretly peek in here, fearing it would cause a misunderstanding. This boy, using the Uchiha's territory as a shield, was hiding from the village's eyes. Inuzuka Rin grew more and more curious about what he was prepared to do.
Upon reaching the bank of the Naka River, Inuzuka Ryōto canceled his Beast Mimicry. He didn't particularly enjoy walking on all fours and lifting his leg to relieve himself. The first thing he did, standing on the bank, was to lower his pants and begin urinating into the river. And then, an impressive scene unfolded before Inuzuka Rin's eyes.
The dogs lined up in a row on either side of Inuzuka Ryōto and also began to urinate into the river. Small streams arched over the water, and for a moment, rainbows flashed in the spray. Their formation was so perfect, it was as if they had rehearsed it countless times. Without a doubt, this was deliberate.
But what are you doing to their Naka River! The Uchiha living downstream will be furious! Although most of them had already moved into the village, some still remained here. As impolite as it was, Inuzuka Rin understood: this was her son's way of trying to mask the trail of his scent with the river.
Inuzuka Ryōto shivered as he finished his business and, fastening his pants, pointed to the river and commanded:
"Alright, you little rascals, get to work!"
With a unified bark, the pack surged forward and ran across the surface of the water. Some of the ninja hounds, not yet having mastered the technique perfectly, fell into the river after a few steps. He was training his ninja hounds.
"Water-walking training?" Inuzuka Rin whispered, hidden on the branch of a large tree.
This was one of the most fundamental techniques that every ninja had to master. It was exactly the same in the training of ninja hounds. However, training such a large number of dogs simultaneously was beyond the capability of any member of the Inuzuka Clan. The reason lay in communication.
Ninja hounds did not understand human speech from the start. And even if they did, there was no guarantee they would interpret commands correctly. Until complete mutual understanding was achieved, it was just as difficult for members of the Inuzuka Clan to understand what a ninja hound was trying to say. Therefore, training a single ninja hound required an enormous amount of time and effort. Basic training took approximately four to six months. The most difficult training lasted nine years—such ninja hounds were considered the elite of the clan.
Every member of the Inuzuka Clan adhered to the principle of training one to three ninja hounds at a time. Any more than that was simply unmanageable; it was easy to miss something. The training was divided into four stages. The first stage was establishing contact and the "master-subordinate" hierarchy, building a relationship of trust. One could call it forging a bond. At this stage, it was necessary to fully study the ninja hound's character, determine its nervous system type, and identify its innate talents. Through games and interaction, its obedience and ability to understand human commands were developed gradually and naturally.
And therein lay the problem. Inuzuka Rin had long suspected that her son understood the language of dogs and could even speak it. This allowed him to skip the stage of teaching the dogs human speech. These ninja hounds had no masters, had not undergone special training, and many of them did not understand human language.
Soon, one by one, the ninja hounds began to emerge onto the bank, holding caught fish in their mouths. They carefully placed them at Ryōto's feet, then turned and plunged back into the river for more prey. This continued until Inuzuka Ryōto stopped them. There was no commotion or fighting over the fish. They all sat quietly, drooling and looking at him with eager anticipation, awaiting his command.
"Such discipline," Inuzuka Rin murmured. "Unquestioning obedience."
"Whoever runs fifty laps, back and forth, will be rewarded with..." Inuzuka Ryōto announced loudly as he started a fire, "...a big fish! And a cup of sake!"
He had barely finished when the dogs, racing against one another, turned and dashed across the river, paddling their paws with all their might. Those who couldn't run on water swam desperately. Looking at this lively scene, Inuzuka Rin couldn't help but smile.
She knew every ninja hound in the clan; she had personally delivered many of them. Her gaze fell upon a large dog running at the head of the pack. There was... something wrong with it