Sensing the absolute, paradigm-shattering confusion radiating from the young prodigy, Kei let out a soft, knowing chuckle.
"It appears your threat-assessment methodology is fundamentally flawed, Neji," Kei diagnosed smoothly. "The beasts you selected are not the apex predators you imagined. In reality, beneath their loud posturing, they are remarkably submissive."
"Why?" Neji demanded, his brow furrowed in deep frustration. He pointed at the cowering animals in the pen. "Those dogs possess the greatest physical mass. They were the most active, and their barks were deafening. By every measurable metric, they were the most aggressive threats in the room."
"When we evaluate a potential threat, we cannot judge them exclusively by the volume of their outward aggression. We must dissect their true, psychological nature," Kei explained, tapping his cane against the linoleum floor. "Because you have not yet grasped this concept, you are naturally incapable of identifying the most dangerous animal in this kennel."
Neji's pride flared. He refused to concede the tactical high ground to a man who couldn't even see the animals he was judging. "If your clinical perception is so vastly superior, then you make the selection. Let us see what kind of monster the great psychologist can identify."
"Very well. Allow me to demonstrate how to identify a true killer," Kei accepted the challenge effortlessly.
He paid no mind to Neji's skepticism. In his decades of clinical practice, he had been doubted by minds far more brilliant than a twelve-year-old Genin's. If he allowed his ego to fracture every time a patient questioned his methodology, he would have gone insane long ago.
Leaning on his cane, Kei walked slowly along the wall of wire cages. Compared to Neji's rapid, visual elimination process, Kei's methodology was infinitely more meticulous. He expanded his sensory web to its absolute limit, filtering out the deafening noise and analyzing the micro-fluctuations in the chakra, heart rates, and respiratory rhythms of every single animal in the shop.
Finally, Kei stopped before a cage near the back corner. He raised his cane, pointing the iron tip at a medium-sized Border Collie.
"That," Kei announced with absolute certainty, "is the fiercest, most lethal creature in this entire establishment."
Neji walked over, his Byakugan scanning the selection. It was a standard Border Collie with semi-erect ears, a sturdy but unremarkable build, and long, wavy brown-and-white fur. Unlike the massive mastiffs that had been violently throwing themselves against the wire, this dog was sitting perfectly still in the center of its cage. Its tail rested flat on the floor. It was completely silent, projecting an aura of absolute, harmless docility.
"Are you certain?" Neji asked, convinced the doctor was making a fool of himself. "It doesn't possess a fraction of the physical intimidation of the hounds I selected. A dog like this wouldn't bite a child."
Kei did not bother to verbally refute the assessment. He simply signaled the terrified shopkeeper to unlock the enclosure.
The cage door swung open. The Border Collie made no sudden movements. It calmly stepped out onto the floor, sat back down on its haunches, and quietly observed the blind doctor.
Kei laid his cane on a nearby counter. He slowly knelt directly in front of the dog and reached out. He firmly stroked the animal's forehead, then scratched beneath its chin.
The Border Collie offered zero reaction. It didn't emit a single low growl. It didn't bare its teeth. It didn't attempt to pull away. It simply sat there, a portrait of perfect, submissive obedience, allowing the stranger to handle it however he pleased.
Seeing this pathetic display, a mocking smirk crossed Neji's face. "It seems your infallible psychology isn't quite so impressive in the real world, doctor."
"I know you are desperately eager to refute me, Neji. You wish to prove that your earlier failure was merely a fluke," Kei said, his warm smile remaining perfectly intact. "But do not rush the diagnosis. Keep observing."
Kei did not stand up. Instead, he leaned forward, deliberately bringing his face mere inches from the dog's snout. He completely dropped his physical guard, exposing his throat and the unprotected flesh of his face, simulating a posture of total, relaxed vulnerability.
In that exact, microscopic fraction of a second, the illusion shattered.
The perfectly docile Border Collie erupted. Its lips pulled back, baring razor-sharp fangs, and a terrifying, silent wave of pure killing intent exploded from its frame. Without a single warning growl, it launched itself directly at Kei's exposed face, its jaws snapping open to tear out the doctor's jugular.
The explosion of violence was so sudden, so utterly devoid of telegraphing, that it caught Neji completely off guard. Even Haru, a trained elite operative observing from the periphery, violently flinched.
Before anyone could even shout a warning, the beast's jaws were inches from Kei's cheek. It was a guaranteed, disfiguring strike.
But Kei was already moving. With Jonin-level reflexes, his hand snapped up, flawlessly bypassing the snapping jaws to seize the Border Collie by the scruff of its neck in a vice-like grip.
Suspended in mid-air, the dog instantly began to thrash and writhe frantically. But with its scruff immobilized, it was completely powerless to leverage its strength.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Kei tossed the animal back into its wire cage and latched the door.
The instant the lock clicked, the Border Collie immediately sat back down, lowered its tail, and resumed its expression of harmless, docile innocence. If they had not just witnessed the attempted mutilation with their own eyes, it would be impossible to believe the gentle creature was capable of such ferocity.
"What... what just happened?" Neji stammered, his entire paradigm fracturing. He couldn't comprehend the tactical logic. "Why did it wait? You approached it multiple times. You laid hands on it. It didn't react at all. Why did it suddenly strike with lethal intent?"
"Because, Neji," Kei stated, his voice dropping into a cold, absolute register, "the dog that truly intends to kill does not bark."
Kei reached out, retrieving his cane from the counter.
"A true predator will feign absolute harmlessness. It will endure your tests. It will submit to your petting without revealing a single weakness," Kei lectured, pacing slowly in front of the stunned prodigy. "Even if you actively provoke it, as long as it calculates that it lacks the tactical advantage, it will never show you its fangs."
"It waits," Kei concluded, striking the floor with his cane. "It waits in absolute silence until the enemy completely drops their guard, lowers their weapons, and exposes their throat. Only then does it launch its attack—a single, lethal strike that affords the enemy zero opportunity to retaliate."
"As for the dogs that immediately bare their teeth and scream their aggression from the cages..." Kei gestured dismissively toward the subdued hounds in the pen. "Regardless of how terrifying they appear, they are simply broadcasting their intentions. The enemy will always be on guard against them, rendering their anger entirely impotent."
Neji fell into a profound, suffocating silence.
Although Kei was ostensibly analyzing canine behavioral patterns, the metaphor was a surgical strike directed entirely at Neji. His relentless, angry training. His cold, hostile glares. His open, verbal defiance of the Main House.
He was the loud dog barking in the cage. He was constantly broadcasting his hatred, guaranteeing that the elders would never, ever drop their guard around him.
"This is the true nature of inner power, Neji," Kei advised softly. "There is an ancient proverb you must memorize if you wish to survive your cage: 'A wise predator conceals its claws, acting only when absolute victory is assured.'"
The lesson was delivered to Neji, but the words echoed loudly in the ears of the third party present.
Haru stood silently near the exit, her face an unreadable mask. Kei knew with absolute certainty that she had registered every syllable. He knew she fully understood that he was actively coaching the Branch House heir on how to effectively assassinate the Main House.
This was Kei's final, lethal test for his assistant. If she reported this treasonous conversation to Great Elder Taihiro, Kei would be branded with the Caged Bird Seal before nightfall. But if she remained silent... it meant her defection was absolute.
While Neji was still drowning in the philosophical depths of the revelation, Kei casually shifted the paradigm.
"You can process the strategic implications of this lesson when we return to the compound," Kei said lightly. "For now, let me ask you a secondary question, Neji."
Neji slowly looked up, his pale eyes searching the blind man's face. "What is the question?"
"Do you know how to properly raise a dog?"
Neji thought for a moment. He opened his mouth, initially intending to hypothesize a shinobi training regimen. But recalling the catastrophic failure of his earlier logic, he swallowed his pride. He slowly shook his head. "I do not. I would like to seek your clinical advice."
Kei smiled warmly. Without turning his head, he angled his body perfectly toward Haru's position by the door.
"It is actually a remarkably simple psychological conditioning loop," Kei explained, his voice echoing in the quiet shop. "When the dog exhibits absolute obedience, you reward it with scraps. When it displays the slightest hint of defiance, you crush it with agonizing discipline."
"If you apply the collar correctly, and enforce the conditioning without mercy," Kei concluded, his words dripping with a chilling double meaning, "you can raise a perfectly broken animal. An animal that will blindly obey your every command, and will never, ever dare to entertain the thought of resistance."