The April river water still held a slight chill. Having bathed and washed away the scent of sake, Ryoto stepped onto the bank. One by one, the ninja hounds followed, shaking the water from their coats on the riverbank.
Hopping about, Ryoto pulled on his clothes. He wore a simple, long white under-kimono, its hem reaching his knees. It could also be considered a nightshirt. Usually, a long robe was worn over it, and on special occasions, a haori bearing the clan crest—something akin to a coat. The trousers were in the manori-hakama style. His mother hadn't given him the chance to wear them this morning. These four elements together formed the most common formal attire possessed by every ninja clan—the montsuki-haori-hakama. As it was expensive, a single set was worn year-round, and there were few spare clothes.
Ryoto would have preferred to wear shorts and a t-shirt, but his mother wouldn't allow it. On the whole, the attire wasn't bad, except that if you stained or tore it, you could be thrashed to within an inch of your life.
Slipping on his geta, Ryoto sat down on a boulder by the bank. Around him, the eight pack leaders settled, some lying down, others standing. He ordered the rest of the pack to clean up the mess. This mainly involved licking up all the blood and not forgetting the fallen fur. Ryoto glanced at the heavily wounded hounds, unconcerned about their condition. Back in the clan, his clansmen would take care of them—they were all family, so there was no need for embarrassment.
Then, Ryoto glanced at Masao lying at his feet and gave him a light nudge with his foot, signaling him to move. Masao wagged his tail and made way. Ryoto beckoned to Nezuko. At first, she paid no mind, but when Ryoto called her by name, the dog lying on the ground flinched, rose, and approached him. She stuck out her tongue in confusion and, panting heavily, let out a bark. The name Nezuko had been given to her by her former master. Ryoto, however, had nicknamed her Zato.
She was blind, having lost her sight on the battlefield. Two gruesome scars, crossing in the shape of an "X," marked her muzzle. Her appearance was that of a red shiba-inu, complete with a straw hat on her head, from a round hole in which a tuft of red fur stubbornly protruded. A ninja headband hung around her neck, and she wore a tactical vest. A short sword was strapped to her back. Her forte was swordsmanship. She wielded the sword by gripping it with her tail and possessed incredibly sharp hearing and reflexes. At present, she was the strongest fighter among all those who served Ryoto. And her wounds had been inflicted by Chiyo, the Desert Flower of the Land of Wind.
"What is it, General?" she asked.
During their previous training session, she had held back considerably, not even drawing her blade.
"Do you crave power, Zato?" Ryoto asked with a smile.
Of course, she did. Zato turned her head and "looked" at Masao. She had seen with her own eyes how that fool had grown and become stronger.
"I... can I? General!" Zato grew animated and, "gazing" at Ryoto, began to wag her tail so furiously it seemed to shake her whole body.
"Of course," Ryoto nodded. "But you must swear to accept me as your master."
Zato seemed a little lost and said, "But aren't you my pack leader?"
"And pack leader, too!" Ryoto replied.
"Is there a difference?" Zato asked, not quite understanding.
"The difference is small,"—it was just a ritual, the main thing was obedience. After a thought, Ryoto decided to drop the idea of making her acknowledge him as master. "But from now on, you will listen only to me."
"But... the clan head..." Zato knew who was truly in charge.
"Pay no mind to my mother, that tigress. Listen to me," Ryoto said with great seriousness.
Zato nodded doubtfully. The General would become the clan head sooner or later anyway, so it made no difference.
"Then it's a deal. Whoever breaks their word is a dog," said Ryoto.
Zato "looked" at him and tilted her head in confusion. "But I'm already a dog, General."
"I know."
Zato grew even more bewildered. Such an oath held no power at all. Oh well, I would never deceive the General anyway, she thought. Wagging her tail, she moved closer and, lowering her head, affectionately rubbed against Ryoto's leg.
"Well, are you ready?"
She recalled their first meeting. The General had appeared before her in just the same way.
"My mother is the clan head, you know? Come with me, and you'll only go hungry three days out of nine. Let's be friends, don't be so heartless~"
He always said such nonsensical things, but a warmth emanated from him. Nearly two years had passed unnoticed since they had been together.
Ryoto placed his hand on Zato's head. The other pack leaders watched the scene with curiosity. After a long moment, Ryoto removed his hand.
"There, it's done."
Zato felt strange. She didn't sense any change.
"You've been enhanced. You'll understand in time," Ryoto said with a dismissive wave.
He had his own "cheat." According to the clan's secret scrolls, Ryoto had instinctively sensed it the first time he drew out his chakra. But he still couldn't quite grasp what this "cheat" was. It was all rather abstract.
The first to benefit from it was Smarty. When Ryoto began training her, he quickly noticed anomalies in her. She learned too fast; she was a true genius. Especially astonishing was her mastery of fine chakra control. No, to be more precise, her ability to control her body's muscles was simply monstrous. This resulted in all five of Smarty's senses—hearing, smell, touch, sight—being incredibly developed, far surpassing anything described in the secret scrolls about others like her.
Ryoto thought that Smarty was indeed a genius and that it had nothing to do with him. In between training sessions, he delved into studying his own abilities. To test them, he turned his attention to Hakura and Kuroko. But that pair ignored him. Ryoto became genuinely angry. His mother's ninja hounds were also out of reach. So, Ryoto targeted the trio of siblings led by Tamago and pestered them. Enraged, Tamago beat Ryoto up. This stunt made Ryoto laugh. Realizing he couldn't handle them, he shifted his focus to the ninja hound shelter.
His first target was Nezuko. She exuded an aura of "I'm the coolest in the world," the air of a lone warrior seeking a worthy opponent. Ryoto immediately set his sights on her. This time, he was smarter: first, he built a rapport, and only then did he test his abilities. Although Zato wasn't as hot-tempered as Tamago and had a gentle nature, she also paid little attention to Ryoto. After wasting a pile of chicken legs and meat pies with no result, Ryoto changed his target.
His choice fell upon Masao, who at the time was the unfortunate scapegoat of the shelter. Anyone could beat him up. Masao acknowledged him as master without hesitation—one might say, eagerly. As he trained with Masao, Ryoto gradually began to understand that his ability seemed to be enhancement. It was like the Grand Elder from Planet Namek: you place a hand on someone's head, pour in chakra, and just like that, they are enhanced, their hidden potential awakened.
However, the Elder's ability was instantaneous and produced noticeable results, while his own required subsequent training and development. Without effort, the enhancement was meaningless.
"Damn it!" Ryoto thought. "If I have a cheat but still have to grind, then what's the point of the cheat at all?"
His first thought was to enhance himself. But it had no effect. However, it wasn't entirely useless. Over time, Ryoto noticed that some of Smarty's talents had transferred to him. Specifically, her super-strong five senses and precise control over his body. This meant that Smarty's Seal-less Technique, based on incredible muscle control to manipulate the flow of chakra within the body and thus bypass the need for hand seals, was now available to him. It sounded complicated, but in reality, it was simple: he had to train to the point of exhaustion until it became muscle memory.
At present, Ryoto had enhanced eight ninja hounds: Smarty, Hakura, Kuroko, Tamago, Kenshin, Kurogane, Masao, and Zato. Tamago's family shared the same talent. Masao's was a beastly physique, and Zato's was reflexes.
Seeing the riverbank was clean, Ryoto stood up, preparing to head home. At that moment, one of the hounds ran up to him and barked:
"General, I got beat up!"
A subordinate had come to complain. Ryoto raised his eyebrows in surprise and sat back down.
"Who?! Step forward!" he shouted angrily.
The dogs looked at each other.
"No! General! A cat beat me up!" the hound barked excitedly.
Hearing this, the entire pack erupted in indignant barks. Protecting his subordinates was the duty of a pack leader. Ryoto had done it many times, but now he was bewildered.
"Whose cat is so ferocious?" he muttered. "Could it be an Uchiha?"