She barked happily as she weaved in and out excitedly between a woman and her friend, almost knocking them over. A thin layer of fur had grown back from where she had practically been shaved, but it would be awhile until she had the glistening coat of her youth back.

She had been cleaned until she shined and squeaked, skin tingling and unused to sensations.

A man patted her head as she ran past, splashing through a reflective puddle. Kids ran after her and her heart ached with thoughts of her friend from the house and of her younger days as a puppy, running with her siblings.

She wasn't that young anymore.

That didn't mean she didn't know how to have fun though.

She barked and bounded through the caravan making sure not to lead the kids too far away from their parents. She knew from experience they could be protective. Her nose twitched with the fresh earthly smell coming up because of the rain, loving the smell of dirt and trees.

And...something metallic? Metals from the soil? Or maybe it was just from the caravan. She poked her nose in the back of one of the carts but only the sweet smell of fruits greeted her.

So where was that coming from?

Restless she started yipping and headed for the outer edges of the group but whimpered and stopped when she realized the kids were still following her.

"What's wrong girl?" Asked one of the men.

She jerked her head towards the metallic scent and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He said something to the other farmers and produce sellers and they turned wary eyes towards the foliage.

And then it erupted.

The people screamed and ran into the carts and off the trail as bandits carrying heavy swords jumped from the bushes. A child she was playing with tripped and fell, cowering and crying as a hulking man lifted his weapon. The one who reminded her of her friend.

She saw red.

With a ferocious growl and a leap she thought she was incapable off, she jumped him and knocked him to the dirt.

"Hey-"

"-What tha!?" the other bandits said.

Power flowed through her from her center, something she had never felt before and she bit the next one in the shoulder, and was on the third in seconds with speed she never knew she possessed.

She was so close and she was not going to let these scumbags stop her!

She jumped on another's head and he went down like a bag of rocks from the massive dog. Her muscles burned with power as she swerved around the tip of a sword and bit the hand holding it.

"Retreat!" The one she had bitten snarled, blood flowing down his shoulder. The group of five bandits disappeared into the undergrowth.

"What happened?"

"Did you see?"

"Anyone hurt?"

"It was the Dog! It drove the bandits away!"

They crowded around her and her ears flattened, not liking being surrounded.

"Good girl!"

"No one-thanks to the dog!"

"Wow mom, did you see her? She was so fast-like a ninja!"

It was one of the children who had said it and her tongue lolled in pleasure at the remark. They packed up spilled items, and helped the hurt onto carts. No one was killed thanks to her and the constants pats and kinds words were a balm to her soul.

She would be a ninja, and she would help others.

Konoha was like nothing she had ever seen before.

It throbbed and shone with life at every corner. There was food everywhere along with people too. They sat on corners or in seats and ate some of the many foods that were available. The air hummed with the smell of the tall trees you could see everywhere, and the people were mostly smiling.

Lights were strung up from building to building, going over the marketplaces and streets.

Some people smiled at her as she waved past them and on of the vendor's even tossed her some food. The people who she had traveled here with had stopped and set up shop at the market place and unboxed fresh produce, consisting of apples, oranges, and even lemons shined like jewels on the stands.

But what excited her the most was the ninjas jumping from roof to roof.

She barked in excitement.

"Hey look! That's the dog that saved the caravan!"

A hulking man from the caravan picked her up, which was impressive considering she was no small pooch, and brought her over to the stands.

Soon even more people gathered around her and petted her head and fed her scraps. She liked the attention but she needed to find the ninjas! The ones on the roof. With a great shake of her pelt, she wriggled free...

...And jumped onto the rooftops. The well of energy she never knew she had sprung up from inside her as she bounded on the tiles things. Surprised yells rose from below and she barked back. Her claws clacked with each bound and her short hair rustled in the turned this way and that and delighted shouts rose from below her.

There were less people here now that she was away from the marketplace. The buildings were closer together and the ally ways were deeper too. Her nose twitched again, and she smelled a person down one of them.

Curious, she landed in the street and poked her nose in. A young human was standing at the very end, but she couldn't see most of his face due to a cloth being in the way. He had the metallic stench of blood on him, and was staring blankly at the wall.

This was a ninja. Exactly what she was looking for.

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