"But Shiro is here."
Uchiha Toru shook his head. "We don't know if he's really here."
"That's why we have to look." Shin-chan looked into his eyes. "Shiro is my family."
Uchiha Toru said nothing. The hand pressing on Shin-chan's shoulder did not loosen either.
"Go east from here. Half a day's journey away, there is a camp," the large gray dog said. "The teams heading west will gather there. If that white dog was brought back, it should be there."
"Toru." Shin-chan looked at him again.
Uchiha Toru sighed.
When Shin-chan went to save the person disguised as him last time, he had probably had the same look in his eyes.
"I'll go with you."
Shin-chan's face immediately brightened.
"But." Uchiha Toru raised one finger. "No running around."
"Okay."
"If we run into danger, hide behind me."
"Okay."
Seeing how readily he agreed, Uchiha Toru couldn't help sighing again.
The large gray dog walked to the edge of the stone chamber and pressed one front paw against the wall.
"Follow me."
After saying that, it went in first.
Shin-chan followed closely behind. "What's your name?"
The large gray dog turned its head and glanced at him.
"Doulu."
"Doulu." Shin-chan repeated it once. "My name is Shin-chan."
"I know."
"How do you know?"
"That human called you that just now."
Shin-chan gave an "oh," then continued asking, "Why did the Dog Clan and Cat Clan start fighting?"
"For water." Doulu did not stop walking. "Between our territory and the Cat Clan's territory, there is a water source."
"Then why not use it together?" Shin-chan didn't understand.
"We used to share it." Doulu was silent for a few seconds. "A long time ago, the two clans made an agreement. The water source would belong to both sides, and neither side was allowed to monopolize it."
"Then what happened?" Shin-chan listened very seriously, not even noticing the stone under his feet. He tripped a little.
"Then the Cat Clan got a new clan leader." Doulu's voice sank. "It said that the water source was originally discovered by the Cat Clan's ancestors, and the Dog Clan only came later. It wanted to take the water source back."
"But that wasn't the agreement."
"The agreement is an old agreement," Doulu said. "It refuses to recognize it."
Shin-chan's brows furrowed. "Then what did you do?"
"If talks fail, then war is the only option. Besides, Black Fang—"
Halfway through speaking, Doulu suddenly slowed down, and its ears stood upright.
At the same time, Uchiha Toru reached for his kunai, his shoulders sinking slightly.
A low growl came from the bushes.
Doulu's ears relaxed, and it answered with a similar growl.
The bushes shook a few times, and a brownish-yellow mutt emerged from within, clearly on guard. "Humans."
Shin-chan waved at it. "Hello."
The brownish-yellow mutt did not respond. Instead, it looked at Doulu, its gaze carrying a question.
"They came to find a dog," Doulu said. "I'm taking them to the western camp."
"Humans shouldn't come here."
"I know," Doulu said. "After going to the camp, I'll send them away."
The mutt looked at them again, then turned sideways and made way.
Doulu continued forward. When it passed the mutt, the two exchanged a look Shin-chan couldn't understand.
Uchiha Toru walked at the very back, his right hand always close to his kunai.
After walking for about the time it took to eat a meal, the trees ahead became sparse, and a wide slope could vaguely be seen.
Doulu stopped. "We're here."
Shin-chan poked his head out from beside it and looked toward the slope.
The camp was larger than he had imagined.
Dogs were everywhere.
The air was filled with the smell of dry grass mixed with dog fur, as well as a faint scent of herbs. In front of the shelters at the edge of the camp, several neat rows of chewed leaves were laid out. No one knew what they were for.
Doulu walked to the side of a campfire and stopped.
Several dogs gathered around and touched noses with it. Their conversation was brief and very quiet, and Shin-chan didn't hear a single word clearly.
Shin-chan looked around, but still didn't see Shiro.
Uchiha Toru followed behind him, his gaze remaining on the bushes at the edge of the camp.
"Shiro isn't here." Shin-chan lowered his head and kicked a small stone on the ground with the tip of his foot.
"Maybe he's at another camp," Doulu said. "The teams from the west haven't all returned yet."
Shin-chan lifted his head and opened his mouth to say something.
Uchiha Toru's hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.
From the bushes, from the gaps between the stones, cats poured out like shadows, silently spreading across the edge of the camp.
The Dog Clan warriors formed a circle, protecting the old and weak in the middle, low growls rumbling in their throats.
Doulu stood at the very front of the circle, the mane around its neck rising, making it look a size larger than usual.
The cats did not immediately attack.
An orange cat walked over. "You crossed the line."
"This is not the water source." An old dog's voice was hoarse. "This is Dog Clan territory."
"Half a day's journey south of the water source is all disputed territory," the orange cat said. "By setting up camp here, you crossed the line."
"You drew that disputed territory yourselves," Doulu cut in. "There was no such clause in the agreement."
"The agreement no longer exists." The orange cat lifted its right front paw slightly.
The cats flanked from both sides and tore open a gap in the Dog Clan's defensive line. All across the camp, cats and dogs rolled and fought together.
Uchiha Toru held his kunai, his gaze sweeping from left to right, pausing for an instant on every cat that came close.
But those cats only turned their heads to glance at them before continuing to charge toward the dogs.
Then the orange cat called out again.
All the cats began tightening their formation. They no longer scattered their attacks, but pushed directly through the center of the camp. Even Doulu was knocked to the ground.
"Doulu." The orange cat pressed one front paw against its neck. "Pack up and leave this place."
Doulu stood up, swayed once, and finally lowered its head, letting out a low growl.
The Dog Clan warriors began retreating, withdrawing from the camp. A few dogs looked back, only to be nudged forward by their companions' shoulders, continuing on.
The camp quieted down.
The cats began moving through the camp, checking every corner and pushing the things left behind by the Dog Clan outside.
Two cats fought over a piece of dried meat, hissing at each other, only to be swatted away by a large cat beside them.
"You two." The orange cat looked toward Shin-chan and the others. "The Dog Clan has already left. You can come out."
"Why are you taking the Dog Clan's camp?"
Uchiha Toru reached out to stop him, but Shin-chan had already asked the question.
"You think we are the ones taking it?" The orange cat stopped three steps away from them. "Do you know what the Dog Clan did to us?"
Shin-chan shook his head.
"A month ago, the Dog Clan attacked our patrol team," the orange cat said. "We sent a messenger to question the Dog Clan, but they said it was an unauthorized action, not the clan's decision, and that they would discipline them more strictly."