Chapter 3
thunk thunk thunk
There was a rhythmic thudding noise coming from the Inuzuka Clan Compound gate.
It was if someone was ramming an object against it over and over again. Not hard enough to bust it down. More as if someone were using a large something to knock instead of their fist.
The gate guards peered out the viewing slot and saw nothing. However the thudding noise persisted.
Something below their line of sight was banging on the gate!
The guard dogs were equally baffled. They could smell paper, wood, ink, but no person.
Tsume Inuzuka and the other elders and the dogs were summoned from their beds.
"All, right! Get into position! The guards will swing the gate open and we'll see who wants our attention!"
Weapons were drawn and the Inuzuka Clan got ready to pounce.
"If this is a prank, we'll tan their hides and turn them over to Sandaime!"
"I bet its that Umino kid!"
"Now!", shouted Tsume.
The guards swung the gate open...and there was a desk sitting there! A desk just sitting outside the gate!
Tsume cautiously poked it with her sword and tested it for traps.
There were protection seals but all had been deactivated.
"What the hell?"
"Someone pushed this desk over and jammed it up against the gate!"
"I told you that damn Umino kid was pranking us!"
Just then the desk stood up and walked into the Inuzuka Compound.
The Inuzuka collectively leaped back in horror, screamed bloody murder, and attempted to kill the crouching desk with kunai and fire.
The Desk patiently waited until they ran out of weapons and steam.
When the screaming and stabbing had finally stopped the Desk popped open all its drawers, and ejected its papery contents into the faces of the Inuzuka Clan.
The Inuzuka Clan, both nin-dogs and humans, dodged the spray of paper by scrambling back into the trees inside the Compound.
The slightly scorched Desk stood up, rotated itself back around, and marched back out the gate of the Inuzuka Compound and back down the road, bristling like a porcupine with kunai, senbon, shuriken, and the odd sword.
The guards slammed the gates shut and locked them, double locked them, and then began plastering seals over those.
Tsume and Kuromaru stared at the Gate, stared at each other, and then back at their Clan mates.
"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?"
Kuromaru began howling
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
The other nin-dogs thought Kuromaru had the right idea and started howling too.
"THE UMINO BOY NEEDS TO BE LOCKED UP!"
The puppies in the kennels began barking and yipping as loudly as they could.
"THAT CAN'T BE REAL! WE HAVE TO BE UNDER A GENJUTSU OF SOME KIND!"
"Hey, this stuff belongs to that shady crony of the Hokage!", Gaku Inuzuka said over the noise of his clan mates. He waved an unrolled scroll back and forth.
"What?"
"Quiet, everyone!" Tsume Inuzuka scowled. If they didn't seal and return these files to the Third immediately, it would be considered treason.
"He's got himself a private army called Root and he's been sending Leaf Shinobis off on suicide missions so he can steal their orphans for experiments."
One of Tsume's cousin was reading another file, "This says Third and Danzo plan on eliminating the founding Clans. They already got a start on the Hatake and Senju Clans and the Uchiha were slated for the chopping block next."
The Inuzuka began grabbing papers and unrolled scrolls and reading.
"Oy, they're going to come after us too!"
'Welp, that tears it!', Tsume thought.
"Looks like the messenger from Uzushiogakure wasn't actually late arriving from the massacre after all!"
More papers were shuffled, "Oooh, they have a breeding program! Your husband didn't just run off, Tsume!"
Tsume looked grim. "Gather up the papers and bring them inside. We're going to find out exactly what Third and Danzo have planned and what other Clans are being targeted."
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