"Why are you here?" Uchiha Toru's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The previous camp was taken by the Cat Clan. This is another one of our camps."
"You clearly knew what white means to the Dog Clan." Uchiha Toru's hand was already on his kunai. "But when you saw Shin-chan transformed into Shiro, your first reaction wasn't to send him away. It was to bring him in."
"I had no ill intent." Doulo sighed. "If I had ill intent, you would already have suffered back at the camp."
Uchiha Toru did not relax just because of that "no ill intent."
"There was actually something I kept finding strange. After Shin-chan transformed into Shiro, he fell asleep as soon as he ran onto the street." Uchiha Toru's gaze remained fixed on Doulo.
Doulo's ears moved lightly.
Shin-chan stood beside them, looking left and right, his mouth slightly open, still not fully understanding what was going on.
"That was a special sedative made by the Dog Clan," Doulo said after a moment of silence. "Within a range below thirty centimeters, it is effective on small animals."
Uchiha Toru's fingers touched the handle of his kunai. "Shin-chan's size is about the same as a small animal's, so it worked on him too."
"Sorry." Doulo lowered its head. "I just... needed a royal that the clan could believe in."
"Weren't you searching for the prince?" Uchiha Toru's fingers tightened.
"I already found the real prince."
Shin-chan's eyes widened at once.
"Where?"
"It is at a hot spring inn run by humans."
Shin-chan's mouth fell open.
"When I found it, it was lying on its back, letting a human rub its belly." Doulo's voice changed slightly. "I waited until that human left, then walked over and called it."
Doulo's voice grew lower. "Then it said, 'Doulo, my name is Kogorō now. I am no longer the prince. Life here is good. I don't want to go back anymore.'"
"Kogorō?" Shin-chan's eyes grew round.
"It was him." Doulo's tail drooped. "The prince said it had found a life it liked better in the human world, and that it would no longer refine chakra."
Shin-chan's mouth hung open. It took several turns in his head before he finally sorted out what was going on.
The puppy he had saved was the prince of the Dog Clan, and... because life was too comfortable, he didn't want to go home anymore?
Uchiha Toru's gaze did not leave Doulo. "So you needed another white dog."
"Yes." Doulo did not avoid his gaze. "The Dog Clan is in a terrible state right now. The prince is the only remaining royal bloodline. If the prince does not return, the clan will fall into chaos sooner or later."
"But the prince is still alive. Why not tell everyone that it's at the hot spring inn?"
"Because saying it would be useless." Doulo's voice sank. "The prince does not want to return. No one can force it."
Shin-chan scratched his head. "So you're looking for a fake one?"
"It isn't that I want to find one." Doulo's ears pressed back. "It's that someone already has."
Uchiha Toru's gaze sharpened slightly.
"The Dog Clan is currently split into several factions," Doulo said in an even lower voice. "After the clan leader became gravely ill, some dogs advocated bringing the prince back, some advocated choosing a new clan leader, and one faction moved the fastest. They have already announced that they found the prince."
"They found the prince?" Shin-chan blinked. "But isn't the prince at the hot spring inn?"
"That is why the one they found is fake. The leader of that faction is a fellow named Black Fang. It found a white dog and publicly declared that it was the lost prince."
"Can't they tell?"
"Maybe they can't. Maybe they can." Doulo shook its head. "The clan needs a prince. It needs a banner that can be raised. Whether it is real or fake has become less important."
Uchiha Toru's fingers loosened slightly from the kunai handle. "So you needed one too."
"White dogs are easy to find, but white dogs with chakra are difficult." Doulo sighed.
Shin-chan suddenly let out an "Ah."
"Shiro has chakra."
Doulo's body visibly stiffened.
"That white dog you mentioned." Doulo's ears stood up. "It has chakra?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan counted on his fingers. "He also knows ninjutsu. He can use clones and transform..."
Doulo's pupils shrank into thin slits. "That so-called prince does indeed have chakra."
"Then that has to be Shiro!"
Shin-chan turned to run, but Uchiha Toru grabbed him.
"Wait."
"We can't wait." Shin-chan kicked his legs in midair. "Shiro was taken away and made into a fake prince. He must be—"
"You don't even know which direction he's in."
Shin-chan stopped kicking.
Doulo turned around. "The northern camp. From here, it's about half a day's journey."
"You go back first." Uchiha Toru patted Little Orange.
Little Orange looked at Doulo, hesitated for two seconds, then started running back.
After they had walked for a while, Doulo suddenly slowed down. "There is one thing I need to tell you."
"What is it?" Shin-chan asked.
"If that ninja dog really was brought back as the prince," Doulo's ears turned slightly backward, "then its current situation may not be very good."
Uchiha Toru's gaze changed. "What do you mean?"
"The leader of the northern camp is a dog named Black Fang," Doulo said. "It is the one who brought back the so-called prince."
"What kind of dog is Black Fang?"
"One of the clan elders." Doulo's voice held no emotion. "A war faction leader. It was the first to propose starting a war against the Cat Clan."
Shin-chan, unusually, did not interrupt. He only quickened his pace a little.
"Black Fang needs a prince," Doulo continued. "A prince who can unite the clan around it, yet will not get in the way of any decision it makes."
"What if the prince doesn't obey?"
Doulo did not answer. It only sped up.
The northern camp was larger than the previous one.
At the highest point stood a platform. On the platform was a small throne covered with fresh flowers.
A white dog lay on the throne.
It lay there without wagging its tail, its ears drooping.
Beside it stood a large dog with black fur and a body as sturdy as a young calf. It held a piece of meat and brought it close to Shiro's mouth.
Shiro turned his head away.
"Your Highness, you should eat." Black Fang's voice was deep. "Only when you are full will you have the strength to lead us in taking back the water source that belongs to us from those despicable cats."
Shiro still did not move.
Black Fang's tail swept across the ground in displeasure. "Do not forget who 'rescued' you from those lowly humans. You should stand on my side."
"Shiro!"
Shin-chan's voice was very loud, loud enough that every dog in the camp turned to look at him.
Shiro's ears twitched on the throne. Then he lifted his head and saw Shin-chan standing at the camp entrance. His dim eyes instantly lit up.
"Woof!"
Shiro raised his tail and jumped down from the throne.
The dogs surrounding him froze for a moment, then hurriedly chased after him.
~~~
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