Ino was startled, but she wasn't afraid—from her "previous life" to this one, she simply never learned to fear things like dogs, bears, wolves, or tigers. She believed to her core that humanity's progress to this day came from suppressing and beating these beasts—in ancient times, when there were no decent, handy tools, didn't they still hide in the depths of forests where people rarely trod?
Beasts, whether large or small, as long as they aren't starving to the point of "eating anything in desperation," will definitely not choose to eat humans—
The correct attitude toward the terrifying upright apes is:
First, a standoff; one must ensure their presence is imposing and must not reveal the essence of their inner fear.
Although they often unconsciously raise their tails and their fur bristles from fright, they still believe they are at ease and have the upper hand—yes, whether the terrifying upright apes believe it or not, they believe it themselves.
Second, careful testing, backing away... if the terrifying upright ape is afraid and retreats, that's for the best.
If they "turn and run"—well, for an inexperienced weakling, just pounce and eat them—the legacy passed down in their genes tells them: you absolutely must not let the terrifying upright ape escape, or they will activate the "call for backup" skill.
A terrifying upright ape facing you is scary, but one with its back to a beast is sweet and crunchy.
Third, retreat to a safe distance and withdraw... afterwards, the beasts often need to spend ten minutes mentally preparing themselves before the bristled fur on their bodies can settle... humans fear beasts, but in reality, beasts fear humans even more.
Ino was only startled by the size of the large dog, but she wasn't afraid; her heart skipped a beat for a moment before returning to peace.
Her deep blue eyes were full of curiosity as she looked up at the large dog, which was a full thirty centimeters taller than her. Its head was nearly half again as large in diameter as an Alaskan Malamute's, and its fierce single eye was covered by an eyepatch... Was this Inuzuka Tsume's dog?
A Ninja Dog?
The others resting in the monitoring room were also watching the standoff between the dog and the girl. Inoichi Yamanaka had no intention of helping Ino—after all, his daughter wasn't crying, and the Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dogs wouldn't bite people—each one was as smart as a human and was the most loyal partner of the Inuzuka Clan.
"Kuro Maru!" With a sharp scolding, Inuzuka Tsume followed him in, her hand striking Kuro Maru's head as she did. "Scaring children again!"
Inuzuka Tsume had face paint on her face, and her eyes had a strange vertical pupil—the same style as Orochimaru's.
Her slightly brownish-black hair was cut to a medium length, fluffy and neat.
"Little girl, not bad... you've got guts!"
Inuzuka Tsume's other hand pressed down on Ino's head.
Kuro Maru shook his head to shake off Inuzuka Tsume's hand and bared his teeth in a grin. "Yeah, the little girl really has guts—you're the first one who hasn't been scared to tears by me. By the way, little girl, what's your name?"
"Ino—Ino Yamanaka. Your name is Kuro Maru, right?" Ino announced her name and very familiarly reached out to pet Kuro Maru. "When you're free in the future, you can come to the Yamanaka Clan home to find me and play."
Aside from the minor defects of having "one eye" and "one ear," this dog's size and fur color completely matched Ino's aesthetic—
She just liked large dogs like this.
Kuro Maru glanced at Inuzuka Tsume, then nodded to Ino and said, "Definitely." When busy with missions or cooperating in training, he naturally had to be with his master—but he could have his own time during his leisure hours to find his own friends to play with. He felt that Ino, this little girl, was brave and quite interesting.
"Mhm, it's a deal!"
Ino pondered... if she got some eyes or ears in the future, she would install one for him. Having only one eye and one ear affected his looks too much.
Well, after she learned some Medical Ninjutsu in the future, she would make him whole. If a dog lifted its eyepatch and a Sharingan appeared, that scene... If Fugaku Uchiha knew what was going through Ino's head right now, he would probably be so angry he'd ascend to heaven on the spot:
Putting a Sharingan on a dog—is that something a human would do?
That's too wicked.
"Well, a Sharingan might be difficult, but there seem to be many other types of Dojutsu eyes in the Ninja World. If all else fails... I could try those infrared sensing eyes unique to the snakes of Ryūchi Cave; that counts as adding a sense. As for the ear..."
Inuzuka Tsume said, "Sure, when there's time in the future, I'll definitely let Kuro Maru go find you to play." She then added, "Ino, since you like dogs so much, how about Auntie gives you one?"
"No... raising a dog is too much trouble. I'll just have Kuro Maru."
Ino's attitude was very clear:
Raising a puppy from scratch is such a hassle; you have to manage eating, drinking, bathroom breaks, bathing, and training. Plus, you have to endure the puppy's childhood and adolescence, tolerate them tearing up the house, and serve them whether they're happy or not. It's not nearly as good as Kuro Maru—usually, his food, drink, and bathroom breaks are Inuzuka Tsume's responsibility, and training and bathing are also Inuzuka Tsume's responsibility. Any worries about tearing up the house have absolutely nothing to do with her—whenever she misses the dog, if Kuro Maru doesn't come, she can just go find him.
When she needs him, he's her and Kuro Maru; when she doesn't, he's Inuzuka Tsume's Kuro Maru. Is there any better "dog-raising" mode than this "come when called, go when dismissed" style?
It doesn't exist!
Ino's mental abacus was clicking away: "This is called taking the essence and discarding the dregs—only the play and companionship, without a shred of responsibility."
She was already thinking about her "daily life" of riding Kuro Maru through the streets, swaggering through Konoha... it would be simply too majestic!
"Puppies are very cute, you know..." Inuzuka Tsume rubbed Ino's hair, then pulled Ino along to find a place to sit.
"How old is Ino this year?" Inuzuka Tsume had Kuro Maru sit next to her and leaned comfortably against the dog. After asking Ino's age, she said, "Auntie has a child the same age as you, named Kiba. You two should play together when you're free..."
Seeing that the atmosphere in the monitoring room seemed to be deviating from the Chunin Exams, Fugaku Uchiha gave a dry cough, interrupting the conversation between Inuzuka Tsume and Ino.
"It's getting late. Everyone... let's get to work!"
"Alright, Exam Site A will be handled by Toshiki, Raikawa, Tsuki, Yamami, and Asama. Everyone else... Inuzuka-Jonin, Uchiha-Jonin, you two will lead and be responsible for the monitoring room..."
"Final check on the monitors..."
"Personnel in position."
...The monitoring room quickly emptied. Before leaving, Inoichi Yamanaka nodded to Ino. "Stay here obediently with Auntie Inuzuka; Daddy has to go get busy."
Inuzuka Tsume took full charge: "Don't worry, Inoichi, I'll take good care of Ino."
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