When the cats withdrew, Kitsujiro and Little Orange walked at the very back.
As Kitsujiro passed Shin-chan, the tip of its tail lightly brushed his ankle.
"Don't randomly pat cats on the head next time," Kitsujiro said without looking back. "Not every cat is as easy to talk to as I am."
Shin-chan waved at its back.
The dogs of the Dog Clan gradually scattered and returned to their places in the camp.
A few young dogs ran over, wanting to approach Shiro, but Doulo stopped them with a look.
They could only retreat a few steps, lie down, rest their chins on their front paws, and watch from a distance.
Shin-chan crouched in front of Shiro and reached out to pat his head. "Shiro, let's go home."
Shiro lifted his head and wagged his tail.
"Wait." Doulo's voice came from behind.
"What is it?"
Doulo stood where it was and looked at Shiro. After hesitating for two seconds, it said, "Actually, the Dog Clan has a secret technique."
"What secret technique?"
"It can make the body grow as large as a mountain."
"As large as a mountain?" Shin-chan gestured with his hands, but realized he couldn't show it properly, so he spread both arms as wide as he could. "This big?"
"Even bigger than that." Doulo's gaze fell on Shiro. "But only royalty can practice this technique."
Shin-chan opened his mouth and lowered his head to look at Shiro.
Shiro tilted his head, looking like he had no concept of what "as large as a mountain" meant.
"As large as a mountain." Shin-chan repeated it. "Shiro, did you hear that? You can become as big as a mountain!"
Shiro wagged his tail.
"Then are you going to teach him?" Shin-chan looked up at Doulo.
"If he stays."
Shin-chan's smile paused. "Stays?"
"This secret technique cannot be learned in a day or two." Doulo shook its head. "To grasp the basics, it will take at least three months. To master it, even longer."
"Three months, huh."
Shin-chan lowered his head and looked at Shiro.
Shiro looked at him too.
Then Shin-chan stood up and patted the dirt off his knees.
"Then forget it."
Doulo's ears stood up. "You won't consider it?"
"Nope." Shin-chan bent down and picked Shiro up. "I'm taking Shiro home."
"This matter should be decided by His Highness himself."
Shin-chan froze for a moment, then placed Shiro down from his arms and crouched in front of him.
"Shiro."
Shiro's ears stood up.
"Do you want to stay?"
Without any hesitation, Shiro lifted his head and looked at Shin-chan, tail wagging furiously.
Doulo stepped forward. "Wait."
Shiro stopped and turned his head to look at it.
"Do you really not want to learn?" Doulo took one step forward. "That secret technique can make you as large as a mountain."
Shiro's ears twitched, but he did not turn around.
"That power is very strong," Doulo said again. "It can protect the ones you want to protect."
Shiro's tail paused for an instant.
He remembered the helpless feeling from earlier, when he had stood in front of the Cat Clan.
Doulo keenly caught that moment of hesitation.
"If you become as large as a mountain, then no matter what danger you encounter in the future, you can stand in front of him. No one will be able to hurt him. No one will be able to cross past you and touch him."
Uchiha Toru's gaze moved between Shiro and Doulo, but he said nothing.
"Three months," Doulo said. "After three months, no matter who it is, they won't be able to harm the person you want to protect."
Shiro's head did not turn back, but his ears tilted slightly toward Doulo.
"One more thing." Doulo's voice sounded again. "There is a technique called the Summoning Jutsu. A human and a summoning beast sign a contract, using blood as the medium. Then the human can summon the summoning beast to their side at any time."
Doulo turned toward Shiro. "If you sign a summoning contract with this human cub, while you are here practicing the secret technique, he can summon you over at any time."
Shiro's ears stood up.
"The reverse is also true," Doulo continued. "You can also return directly to his side through the power of the contract. There's no need to cross mountains and valleys. You can arrive in an instant."
"Shiro." Shin-chan's voice grew quieter. "Do you want to stay?"
Shiro did not move.
"If you don't want to, we'll go back..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shiro walked over and rubbed his head against Shin-chan's leg.
Then Shiro turned and took one step toward Doulo.
"He agreed." Doulo let out a breath of relief.
What it did not say was that as long as Shiro learned the secret technique, Black Fang would no longer be able to cause any waves.
The Dog Clan did not need a puppet prince found from outside.
They would have a true king, one recognized by the clan, one who could become as large as a mountain.
Shin-chan looked down at Shiro, then looked up at Doulo. "Then... can we go home now?"
"Now?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded as if it were perfectly obvious. "Shiro agreed to stay, but I didn't agree to stay. I'll go home first, then use that contract thingy to call Shiro over. Isn't that fine?"
Doulo opened its mouth and, for a moment, had no idea how to respond.
Uchiha Toru coughed lightly from the side, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
"The summoning contract must be signed first," Doulo came back to itself and said. "After signing it, you can indeed summon him at any time."
"Then let's sign it. After signing, I can bring Shiro home, right?"
Doulo glanced around the camp.
The old and weak members of the Dog Clan were still lying on the ground, and Black Fang could return at any time.
If Shin-chan took Shiro away now, then when Black Fang returned, only these old and weak dogs would be left in the camp.
They wouldn't even have a banner they could raise.
"The clan territory is not too far from here." An idea formed in Doulo's mind. "After we reach the clan territory, we will sign the summoning contract. Then you can go back."
"Okay." Shin-chan nodded. "Then let's go to the clan territory first."
Doulo walked at the front.
After about half an hour, it stopped.
"We're here."
Shin-chan's mouth slowly opened, and he subconsciously rubbed his eyes.
The clan territory was huge. It was filled with rows upon rows of wooden houses. The roads were made of packed earth, and unnamed flowers grew on both sides.
"This is just like a human village," Uchiha Toru said, his gaze sweeping from one end of the street to the other, a trace of surprise in his voice.
"The Dog Clan has lived here for many years," Doulo said as it entered the street. "Not all dogs like curling up in caves."
They walked in from the village entrance. Along both sides of the road, dogs lifted their heads one after another. Their gazes moved from Doulo to Shiro, then from Shiro to the two humans.
At the very back of the clan territory stood a wooden house larger than the others. Above the entrance hung a polished wooden plaque carved with a paw print.
"Come in."
Shin-chan was just about to step forward when Uchiha Toru reached out and stopped him.
"We'll wait outside."
"Gigantification Technique."
Doulo took out a scroll from inside the wooden house.