A Meeting Of Wolves And Dogs

The day of Kaito's trip to Hoshigakure was fast approaching, should the Kazekage go through with the agreement they had in place.

He had gotten verbal permission from the Third Kazekage during their meeting a few days prior, during which the young Inuzuka's was told of the Kazekage's desire to potentially promote him to the rank of Chunin and that the journey he requested would be approved on the condition that he learned Water-Release and how to properly hone his Sensory abilities. Kaito had done as requested and couldn't be more ecstatic as the day of his and Guren's day of training fast approached. To celebrate all of this, the boy treated himself to some purchases at the ninja tool shop. He had replenished the weapons he had used over the past few months and also treated himself to some books; a Jutsu Encyclopedia, a book titled "Human Body - The Ultimate Machine", and lastly the entirety of the "Make-Out Paradise" book series, written in days of old by the late and great Toad Sage; Jiraiya.

All for the act of studying, of course.

As Kaito unpacked and packed his duffle bag for perhaps the millionth time in preparation for his trip, his father, Haji, knocked firmly upon his bedroom door.

"Come in." Kaito said, not paying any mind to who it was that was knocking.

"Ready to go, I see." Haji said as he stepped into the room. The one-armed man walked to the boy's bed and took a seat at the foot of it. He stared at Kaito with a smile. "Your mother and I really do appreciate you doing this for us."

"I really don't mind doing it." Kaito replied as he zipped his backpack up. "You've got your hands full with the dog farm and Mom is working all those extra hours in the shop." Haji shook his head contently and placed his hand upon his son's shoulder.

"I truly am proud of you, Son. That is why I now think that you're ready."

Kaito cocked his head and looked over at his father, who despite sitting upon the boy's bed was eye-level with him.

"What do you mean, Father?"

"Put on your gear and meet me outside in ten minutes. I'll tell you more about it then."

Despite the fact that Kaito was utterly confused by what it was Haji was talking about, he gave no slack in adhering to his father's request. Upon adorning himself in his gear and walking downstairs, Kaito could see Haji and the latter's ninken, Chaimaru, preparing to head out the front door.

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[Word Count (Post) - 432]
[Word Count (Total) - 432]

Kaito followed Haji and Chaimaru out of the front door and into the sweltering heat of the outside world. He was confused about what it was his father wanted to show him, but was excited nonetheless.

"We all here?" Haji asked, turning around to face his son and ninken. "Good.." He said after a moment of pause, turning back sharply on his heel. "Follow me you two." Kaito and Chaimaru exchanged a look and both nodded at each other before following Haji down the road. The group would pass the spire and the Shinobi Headquarters and beyond that found themselves in a rather baren sector of the village. The landscape was semi-mountainous as sandy dunes formed hills all around them, and there was a small pond of water as well where many wild animals quenched their thirst.

Kaito had never been to this portion of the village, and typically he would be on edge, but as he was with Haji and Chaimaru he had nothing to worry about.

Other than whatever it was his father said the boy was "ready for", that is...

After not saying a word the whole journey, having been lost in his thoughts, Kaito finally spoke up as the three of them came to a halt next to the pond.

"What are we doing here, Father?" Kaito asked respectfully and inquisitively. Haji turned around to face his son. There was a proud and beaming smile on the man's face. Chaimaru walked over to stand next to Haji as well, wagging his tail in excitement as well. "Come on! Tell me, please?" He pleaded as the anticipation was making him jittery. Haji bellowed a laugh from the deepest pit of his gut, the sound echoing loudly through the valley they were in.

"Okay, Son. Okay..." The man said through his chuckles. The man removed the glove from his hand and put it into his pocket before putting his hand to his mouth and biting down on his thumb. A small bit of blood was drawn from it, but Haji didn't seem to mind as he weaved the one-handed variants of the "Boar" > "Dog" > "Bird" > "Monkey" > and "Ram" hand seals before slamming his open palm upon the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

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[Word Count (Post) - 372]
[Word Count (Total) - 804]

Kaito examined Taiyo and Tsuki intently and they would observe him just the same. The boy was still confused as to why his father would drag him all the way out here just to show him these two. Haji easily could have summoned them back in the backyard of their home and it would have saved the both of them the time and energy.

Kaito bent down forward and rested his left arm upon his knee as he held out his right hand. Tsuki, the rambunctious boy cub, barred his little fangs before running forward at him.

"Whats up, tough guy? You don't lo- oh! Oh yeah thats the spot!" Kaito hadn't been deterred by Tsuki's "ferocious display", rather he thought it was kind of cute. As soon at the pup was within arm's length, he would begin to pet him behind the ear. Tsuki would stop dead in his tracks; his tail beginning to wag contently. He would lower himself down to the ground before turning over onto his back. "Belly rubs! Belly rubs!" He demanded, happy as can be. Kaito laughed and complied, scratching Tsuki's belly playfully.

"You're so adorable, little guy." Kaito laughed. He could hear the other summon, the one named Taiyo, scoff bfore she too began walking forward towards him.

"Look at you, Tsuki! You are a disgrace!" As soon as Taiyo too was in arm's length, Kaito would take his free left hand and begin to scratch the area behind her ear. She stopped in place and narrowed her eyes at Kaito as to say that she didn't enjoy him petting her, but the telltale sign that she did enjoy it was the fact that her tail wagged back and forth ever so slightly. She allowed him to pet her for a few seconds before pulling back out of reach and shaking her head. "Look kid! The two of us are not pets, you know!?" She grabbed at Tsuki's tail with her snout and pulled in out of reach of Kaito's arm. "We are the honorable contract holders of the Wolves Of Death Gorge and the children of the pack's alpha himself. We deserve a little respect!, thank you very much."

"I suppose your right..." Kaito replied, standing back upright and bowing to Taiyo and Tsuki. "My sincerest apologies." The boy would then look up to Haji, who was talking with Chaimaru in the background. "Father..." Haji turned to look at his son. "Why did you bring us out here? I'm sure we could've done this back at home, right?" Haji walked up to Kaito and placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Son..." Haji said with a pause. "When I said that I felt you are ready, this is what I meant. The Wolves Of Death Gorge are a summoning race that have long worked alongside our clan for centuries. They are, along with our ninken, perhaps one of our biggest assets as shinobi." Haji backed up to stand next to Chaimaru again before performing the summoning jutsu for a second time. This time, three more wolves entered the field. These three were much larger than either Taiyo or Tsuki, in fact standing heads taller than Kaito himself. The boy couldn't help but gulp at the sight of them, but he kept his composure as to not let on that he was a tad nervous. haji cleared his throat to continue his speech. "Kaito. These are Kenzan, Amaya, and Yorozo. These three make up the leaders of the Wolves Of Death Gorge summoning race, and I believe that you are ready to harness their power and have them help you in combat as our ancestors have. That is, as long as they like you and allow you too..."

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[Word Count (Post) - 626]
[Word Count (Total) - 2,101]