7.0
Years ago, I ran into a Japanese woman in a hospital elevator. She had a bunch of little dogs with her—maybe visiting a relative; I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that seeing that many dogs made me uneasy. Good thing I was wearing long pants.
7.1
To collect some case materials, I returned to that hospital—the one secretly run by descendants of ninjas. On my way home, I met that same Japanese woman again in the elevator. She’d brought a few more dogs this time. Coming to a hospital in a kimono—no matter how you look at it, that’s strange.
She: I recognize you. You’re the young man who killed my husband.
I: Your husband? I rarely deal with Japanese people.
She: You should know him. He was the hospital’s celebrity doctor—Dr. Superior.
I: Damn, that was self-defense! He wanted to use me as a test subject and wouldn’t let me leave.
She: I believe you. When I heard the news, I cried for five minutes. Then I told myself, “Move on. Life is about growing up on your own.”
I: So you’re here to cause trouble today? I heard from Dr. Divine that he’s terrified of you.
She: Trouble? I only came with my household staff to take my husband’s body home.
7.2
I: “Household staff”?
She: You all, transform quickly—we’re almost on the 13th floor.
In an instant, several muscular men and women appeared around me, all with grim expressions. The dogs had vanished. I drew a sharp breath; I was surrounded.
I: You must be a ninja descendant too.
She: That’s right. My maiden name was Inuzuka（犬冢）. After marrying Dr. Superior, I took his surname. We’re on the 13th floor now. Why don’t you come with us and take a look?
I: Uh… I only came for a follow-up appointment. Didn’t plan to get involved in your family business.
She: It’s fine. We’ve met twice in this elevator—it must be fate. You should understand a few things. I’ve seen the hospital’s internal footage—you already carry multiple types of chakras in your body. You’re half ninja already. It’s destiny; you’re tied to our world now.
I thought to myself: Not just chakra. My body’s also been infused with spiritual power from Quincies and constantly tossed between Eastern and Western medicine… Staying sane is already a miracle.
She: You four, go fetch the casket. I’ve already transmitted the location into your minds—move fast before some meddler gets in the way.
The Four Dog Guardians: Roger that.
7.3
Two minutes later, the Four Dog Guardians were back. In that brief time, Mrs. Kokoro Superior and I chatted.
I: Someone at the hospital told me Dr. Superior was a phoenix man—a social climber. If that’s true, his death might not have cost you much.
She: Of course. I come from an old noble family; he was just an immigrant from the rural area. My parents died early but warned me never to marry someone with incompatible chakra attributes. But before our marriage, he texted me every day with lame jokes. I gave in.
I: So what did you like about him? His reputation here wasn’t great.
She: People change. He was hardworking and ambitious when young, but once he got citizenship here, he changed completely.
I: More than that—he seduced half the staff and bent their minds. I’ve experienced his ambition firsthand in another aspect.
She: That’s why I’m not holding it against you. In a way, I’m free now.
I: Wow… Dr. Divine said exactly the same thing that day. You and Dr. Superior were married for over a decade with no children, right? He was always at the hospital.
She: No. Our marriage was loveless—practically a formality. He used my family’s status to gain residency, and then we lived separate lives. Fortunately, I know ninjutsu, and my chakra clashes with his; otherwise he would’ve seized control of all my assets. Still, I was never lonely. My clan has a pact with canines—between the family dogs and the household staff, my home is full of life.
I: Those four—are they originally dogs or humans?
She: Two are dogs, two are servants. But thanks to ninjutsu, they can switch forms. Outsiders can’t tell the difference, though their speech gives them away.
I: I see. I once had a pact with feline spirits myself. The clothes I wear are imbued with the souls of a thousand cats—each day, one manifests briefly. I’ve tried wearing other clothes, but the cat souls just follow and slip into the new ones.
She: So that’s your fate. You sound like a jinchūriki.
I: Hopefully not as tragic.
She: The casket’s here—we need to move. Wait… I can sense the old man’s chakra.
7.4
Dr. Divine: Kokoro, I knew you’d bring your mutts here to make a scene.
Mrs. Kokoro Superior: “Mutts”? Don’t you dare insult my children.
He: You sure move fast. How did you find Dr. Superior’s casket? Did someone leak it to you?
She: Don’t forget, my family’s sense of smell is unmatched.
He: You can’t take his body. We can offer you compensation for his death at work; you also have life insurance, don’t you?
She: What? My husband dies on hospital grounds and I can’t even take his body home for cremation? Old man, don’t push your luck.
He: This case is too sensitive. We can’t let the hospital’s secrets leak. If he must be cremated, we’ll handle it. Besides, he signed an agreement to donate his body for medical research.
She: A “body donor”? Ha! My husband wasn’t that noble. You know his character better than I do. You just want his corpse for your lab—because you’ve been obsessed with studying the chakra of other species.
7.5
He: You’re being unreasonable. Do you want me to show you the agreement? I think you just want to keep the body to feed your dogs, maybe to replenish their nutrients. After all, there’s still residual chakra in him.
She: Watch your mouth! Everyone knows you graduated from Orochimaru’s research institute—you’ve been obsessed with forbidden jutsu ever since. Dr. Superior turned wicked because of you. He used to have such high integrity.
He: What nonsense! I spoiled him when he was young, gave him his own specialty clinic after graduation. It was he who said he regretted marrying you. He thought Japanese women were all gentle—guess he learned the hard way that movies lie. Maybe it’s your overbearing nature that kept him from going home. He spent most nights in the hospital.
She: Don’t twist it. My family never looked down on him for his origins. I even lent him our clan’s dogs for practice, but he lacked the gift to connect with nature. You, on the other hand—he told me you refused to let him graduate, blocked his overseas exchanges, and stole first authorship of his papers. He switched research fields out of anger. He wanted to transfer hospitals, but you stopped him—afraid he’d take your forbidden-tech patents. I saw through it all.
He: Lies. I gave him first authorship! He wanted to be corresponding author too—that’s mutiny! During an experiment, he used his spider silk to cast the Mind–Body Switch Technique on me, hijacked my fingerprints, and changed the author list himself!
She: That’s not what he told me. You pushed him so far he broke inside. Maybe it’s your exploitation that drove him to prey on those female interns.
He: Oh, please. He’d stopped loving you long ago. Face it. Leave the body, move on—we’ll take care of the rest.
She: Today I’ll be taking the casket. Out of respect for your age, I won’t destroy your hospital.
He: Hmph. Then I have no choice but to fight.
7.6
In an instant, Dr. Divine revealed his true form—a black lizard with wings, or perhaps a black dragon.
Mrs. Kokoro Superior transformed into a white wolf. Her Four Dog Guardians extended claws like Wolverine’s.
Strangely, they turned against her—snarling at the white wolf.
She: What did you do, old man? Why are my dogs standing on your side?
He: Heh. After your last rampage here, I swore to develop a countermeasure. The moment I transform, I used genjutsu to awaken their repressed emotions—let them choose their true allegiance. Looks like you’re pretty domineering at home too. Water can carry a boat—or overturn it.
She: So your “venom” is not only chemical but psychological.
He: Heh, a little cunning is how one becomes director.
She: Right—and you became director by poisoning your own superior. That’s your hospital’s tradition.
He: That’s why I always guarded against Dr. Superior. I knew he’d covet my position someday. His attempt to control me for authorship proved it.
She: You’re despicable. You know I can’t hurt the dogs I raised myself.
He: Heh, watching you tear each other apart saves me the trouble.
I wanted to just stand by and observe, but what if those muscle-bound dog-people charged at me?
I said to the White Wolf: If you can’t bring yourself to fight your own dogs, let me handle them. I’ll just teach them a lesson—no killing. You can focus on the Black Dragon.
She: I know you cats bear grudges. Given a chance, you’ll always go after dogs. Are you sure you can handle all four? They’re the elite of my clan—my eyes, voice, heart, and claws — who help manage my family’s enterprises.
I: Oh, corporate dogs, huh? Watch closely. I’m about to show you my latest technique. I’ve absorbed spiritual-energy-made bullets during my time in the second-tier city. My Cosmo has been assimilated by my body over time. Accidentally, I even learned summoning jutsu from online videos.
She: What?!
End of Part A (7.0–7.6).
This is a creative project inspired by the traditions of Eastern shonen manga and Western comics and cinematic storytelling.
All characters, abilities, and world elements are original creations.
Any similarities to existing works are coincidental or intended as respectful homage, without any claim of ownership or affiliation.