"If that thing is supposed to be the so-called 'natural enemy of shinobi'… the 'bane of chakra'… then I'll stand on my head and eat dirt!"
"This feels like you were promised a legendary beauty and ended up meeting her greasy cousin instead! The gap is ridiculous!"
"Exactly! I expected a goddess—you gave me… this?"
Disappointment, disbelief, absurdity, existential confusion—those emotions spread across the shinobi world.
People had expected a grotesque beast.
A warped monstrosity.
An indescribable horror.
Instead—
A scruffy yellow dog.
The kind you'd station at a farmhouse to guard chickens.
And this was supposed to destroy the shinobi world?
It was so absurd the mind rejected it outright.
Inside the crater, Sasuke, Neji—even Naruto, who had been raging moments ago—stood frozen.
All of them stared at the dog.
The animal lowered its head, sniffed at the scorched earth, and seemed vaguely dissatisfied with the smell.
Karin's excitement faltered for a split second. She blinked, studying the dog carefully.
After all that effort…
This?
The yellow dog lifted its head and scanned the group.
Rampaging Naruto.
Tense Sasuke and Neji.
Curious Karin.
Its black eyes were calm.
Almost lazy.
There was no hunger.
No hostility.
It even yawned slightly, baring sharp teeth.
Then it walked.
Not toward anyone.
Not toward chakra.
It strolled casually toward a flatter patch near the crater's edge.
Lowered its head.
Sniffed.
Turned in a circle.
Then—
In full view of everyone watching—
The "apocalyptic monster" freshly unearthed from an ancient seal…
Squatted.
And relieved itself.
Afterward, it halfheartedly scraped at the dirt with its hind legs, symbolically burying the evidence.
Then it looked up.
Its gaze landed on Naruto—the one radiating the densest chakra.
It tilted its head.
"Woof?"
A single bark.
Clear.
Curious.
Not remotely menacing.
Silence swallowed the world again.
But this time, it was laced with absurdity.
What… was happening?
Karin was the first to break.
"Hey—!!!"
Her voice rang brightly.
The dog's ears twitched as it turned toward her.
"Doggy! You've been locked up so long—you must be starving, right?"
She waved enthusiastically, then pointed shamelessly at Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji.
"Look! Fresh, high-quality food! Hot and ready! Large portions, great variety!"
"Karin—!!!" Sasuke trembled with fury.
Neji tensed as well.
They still couldn't determine what this dog truly was.
But Karin's "recommendation" was pushing them into danger.
Meanwhile, Naruto suddenly clutched his head and dropped to one knee.
"Karinnn—! You actually tried something on me!"
His voice was strained but lucid.
He was regaining control.
Karin blinked.
"Oh? Even incomplete, it still reacted? I didn't expect that fragment to kick in at a critical moment."
Naruto and Sasuke didn't understand her meaning.
But the wider shinobi world did.
The fragment of Indra's power she had once embedded within Naruto had interfered—stabilizing him at the brink.
However, Karin's attention was no longer on Naruto.
Because the yellow dog—
After sniffing the air and glancing at the "food" she indicated—
Started walking toward her.
Not lunging.
Not charging.
Just… strolling.
It circled her twice, nose working diligently.
A low rumble escaped its throat—not threatening.
More like… investigation.
Karin crouched down boldly, eye level with the dog.
She even reached for the tag hanging from its collar.
The dog did not resist.
She lifted the metal plate and read aloud.
"Wang… Cai?"
Her voice dripped with disdain.
"That's your name? Who named you? That's so lazy."
"Woof!" The dog barked louder this time, mildly offended.
"Okay, okay! I'll stop!" Karin laughed and patted its head experimentally.
It didn't object.
That was when many observers felt a chill.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
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