The moment Garfield stepped through the portal, the atmosphere changed.
It was reminiscent of an old, infamous episode… Battle Without Honor or Humanity.
As the sovereign of Carter Manor, His Majesty Garfield could not afford to weaken his presence.
The instant his paws touched the ground, the natural authority of a cosmic-level beast… the Great Devourer began to leak uncontrollably from his body.
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama stopped all movement.
They were accustomed to Garfield's usual nonsense and irreverent behavior, yet this… this pressure rolling outward surpassed even Kage-level coercion.
Σ°°
Was this truly Garfield's own power?
After all, compared to humans, creatures like cats and dogs possessed a far sharper sensitivity to racial hierarchy and natural dominance.
Shirayuki and Taiga had been warned.
The moment the portal opened, the danger perception unique to their species flared violently, driven by the overwhelming pressure of a super–high-level lifeform.
There is a king present.
Garfield entered, the contemptuous gaze of a monarch swept across the space.
￣, ￣
The Ninja Cat patriarch, Shirayuki, collapsed instantly, pressing herself flat against the ground.
"This humble one, Shirayuki, current patriarch of the Ninja Cat Clan, pays her respects to His Majesty Garfield Pando Godzilla Pendragon. May Your Majesty enjoy eternal fortune."
Taiga was a fraction slower.
With a loud plop, the Ninja Dog patriarch threw himself down as well, his tail wagging uncontrollably in instinctive submission.
"Taiga, current patriarch of the Ninja Dog Clan, greets His Majesty Garfield Pando Godzilla Pendragon. Your Majesty, good health to you."
Now it was Garfield's turn to halt in place. What… in the void… was this?
Did he mess with the Time Gem again?
Garfield glanced at the ninja cat lying reverently on the ground and felt an involuntary shudder ripple through his body.
"Are you… mistaken?" He asked cautiously.
"There can be no mistake." Shirayuki answered without hesitation, voice trembling with reverence.
"Your statues and portraits hang throughout our Mountain."
Taiga eagerly added, "That's right! And your achievements are… extremely great."
Hemp leaves.
What exactly did I do?
At moments like this, composure was everything.
Garfield maintained a calm expression, continuing to float slightly above the ground.
He had no idea what was happening.
Meanwhile, the little creature perched atop his head rolled her eyes violently.
Inside Garfield's soul space, Pandora slowly raised her head.
"Smelly. Cat."
An overwhelming resentment condensed into something akin to atomic breath and blasted outward.
Garfield himself remained unharmed, but his body twitched uncontrollably.
Could it be…
That entire litter of ninja cats… is actually my fault?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
I, King Garfield, am a cosmic-level monster. How could I ever lay my claws on some low-tier, furry creatures?
NOO!
This had to be a portal malfunction.
Yes.
That must be it.
Seeing that Garfield did not respond, Shirayuki and Taiga exchanged nervous glances.
Shirayuki whispered, "Brother… what is His Majesty's meaning?"
"I don't know either, Sister." Taiga whispered back,
Shirayuki's voice trembled. "Has His Majesty… abandoned us?"
Taiga shook his head quickly. "Even so, it doesn't matter."
"His Majesty is the faith of both our clans. Without his deterrence, those toads and long insects would already be knocking at our gates."
Shirayuki understood the gravity of that truth.
She clenched her fists secretly. Even if it meant cooperating with those filthy dogs, she had to get through this moment.
"Do I… control time and space?" Then Garfield spoke again.
Shirayuki's ears twitched.
"Oh."
Garfield nodded slowly, as though reaching an epiphany.
"I understand now. At some point in the future, I crossed the long river of time… and traveled upstream."
The tension visibly eased.
Shirayuki and Taiga both relaxed slightly. If His Majesty had acknowledged something, then this meeting would not be a failure.
Now all that remained was to see how the King would judge them.
Garfield looked down at them. "What exactly did I do back then—do you know?"
Both shook their heads in unison. "We do not know."
"The elders of the clan never told us."
"I see." Garfield stopped there. He would not foolishly ask whether he had committed some unspeakable act in the past.
If he pushed further, Pandora inside him might immediately erupt into the second stage of the Red Lotus, annihilating everything on the spot.
Some truths, he decided, were better left buried in time.
After all, he is still young.
A long, happy future still lies ahead.
There was absolutely no reason to destroy all of that for the sake of momentary curiosity.
With that thought firmly anchoring his sanity, Garfield lowered his gaze to Shirayuki of the Ninja Cats and Taiga of the Ninja Dogs, both still prostrate on the ground.
"You already know my purpose for coming this time." Garfield said calmly.
"How many among your clans are willing to follow me far from here and build a new future?"
Shirayuki raised a paw without hesitation. "At first, before we truly knew you, only one-fifth of our clan was willing."
"But now…" She paused, her voice steady with conviction. "Now, I believe the entire Ninja Cat Clan is willing to relocate."
"The same applies to us." Taiga raised his paw immediately after.
"The Ninja Dog Clan will closely follow in the footsteps of His Majesty the Great King."
Shirayuki turned sharply and glared at Taiga. "Tch. Lick-dog."
"To compete with our Ninja Cat Clan for His Majesty's favor, how despicable."
Taiga met her stare head-on. "Hmph. You lazy ninja cats only know how to eat, drink, and loaf around."
"How could you ever compare to the hardworking, loyal Ninja Dogs? If you had any sense, you'd withdraw quietly and stop disturbing His Majesty."
"We are the true knights of the kingdom, personally conferred by His Majesty."
Knight…
Garfield paused.
At present, he only had one knight in his kingdom. Carl the hound of Carter Manor.
Did I bring Carl here in the future?
No.
If it were Carl himself, he would have appeared personally. That meant this must be Carl's descendant.
…That actually made a surprising amount of sense.
Three cats, four dogs, it was entirely reasonable. Carl was more than capable. Leave him alone for a few months, and he could easily have a litter.
More importantly, Carl was intelligent, disciplined, and utterly reliable. He managed the affairs of Carter Manor with order and diligence and protected the Carter family without complaint.
As a conscientious king, Garfield felt that such canonized knights deserved tangible rewards.
This must be written down in my notebook.
While Garfield was lost in thought, Shirayuki and Taiga nearly came to blows over who had the right to follow him, until Hashirama and Tobirama intervened and forcibly separated them.
Garfield looked upon this display of loyalty with clear satisfaction.
"I understand your intentions." He said slowly. "Your clans have survived in this world for thousands of years."
"There is no necessity for you to follow me. I will not allow your people to exist only by relying on me to resist foreign enemies. Most importantly, this choice must be voluntary."
Shirayuki bowed deeply. "Your will is our highest belief."
Taiga thumped the ground with his forehead. "The loyal servants of the Ninja Dogs follow your teachings."
Garfield spoke once, and they obeyed without question.
This left Hashirama, who had prepared himself for a long and difficult negotiation, standing there with nowhere to apply his effort.
Under Garfield's witness, and under the unquestioning loyalty of Shirayuki and Taiga, the Ninja Cat Clan and Ninja Dog Clan formally signed an offensive and defensive alliance agreement with Konoha.
Should any party fall into war, the others would provide corresponding support according to the scale and intensity of the conflict.
Coordination and mutual assistance.
Coexistence beneath the same sky.
When news of this alliance spread, the other summoning beasts who had been watching from the shadows grew restless.
After careful consideration, several of them chose to approach Konoha of their own accord.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream