Snakes.
Toads.
Slugs.
Of the three, Garfield had already dealt with the slug.
The slug had seen Garfield, and Garfield had seen the slug, mutual acquaintance was established. Garfield had also made his dislike perfectly clear.
Unfortunately, slugs were strange beings, endlessly divisible, stubborn beyond reason, and completely uninterested in moving house.
It simply blocked its own doorway and refused to budge.
Garfield tried persuasion. "Slug, go."
"No."
"Come on, just go."
"No."
Garfield's eyes narrowed.
"We can still be good friends after you leave. Otherwise, I'll sprinkle salt on you. You know I will."
The slug lifted its head proudly, utterly fearless.
"If I die, another me will come after me. Also, I'm not the kind of slug you're talking about. Salt doesn't scare me."
Garfield sighed, helpless.
He turned his head and looked at the enormous pale creature coiled nearby, massive white, and nearly several dozen meters in length.
Deep-fried.
Boiled into soup.
Braised.
Charcoal grilled.
Thrown into a pot with a snake to make mixed snake soup.
"And what do you want?" Garfield pointed at the giant white body blocking the path.
The white long snake lowered its head slightly. "Ryūchi Cave sent me. We hope to send a group to follow you."
"You want to be eaten like the other snakes?" Garfield's eyes sharpened.
The white snake shook its head. "I do not wish to learn that lesson."
"Hm." Garfield snorted. "Then come along. You do understand the meaning of being a snake, right?"
The white snake nodded solemnly.
"There is a stone stele in Ryūchi Cave. It reads: Those who betray will be dragged out like snakes."
Σ°°
Garfield rubbed his chin.
A friendly force crossing over? With my level of accumulated resentment toward snakes, won't this explode sooner or later?
He turned again, this time toward the small toad hopping down from Mount Myōboku.
Garfield stared at him. "And what are you doing here?"
Fukasaku shivered. "Just… coming to have a look."
"Look at what?"
Everyone knew that cats could eat toads.
Fukasaku lowered his head, not daring to meet Garfield's gaze. It felt as if it were being stared at by a natural predator.
Garfield snorted in dissatisfaction. He had never liked toads. Too ugly.
What kind of sane creature raised toads? Even the little wizards at Hogwarts had switched to owls. Society progresses and aesthetics evolve.
Waving his paw dismissively, Garfield said,
"Go talk to Hashirama and Tobirama. If you come to me again, I'll just treat you like hot-pot ingredients."
"Y-yes."
Fukasaku retreated stiffly, leaving as quickly as possible. This was clearly a land of right and wrong.
That left only the slug and the white snake. Garfield rubbed his chin again. "So, you two are determined to follow me?"
"Yes." Said the slug calmly.
"That is correct." Replied the white snake.
Garfield glanced at the slug. Its chakra reserves were absurd, almost inexhaustible, but its individual combat power was low.
Still, slugs multiplied easily. Sending some along with the Ninja Cats and Ninja Dogs as support units and emergency messengers was entirely feasible.
If something happened, at least word would get out.
As for the giant white snake…
Garfield recalled a thought.
Can these things turn into dragons?
Even if not, a body that large, covered in scales tougher than steel, would make an excellent heavy combat unit. Even in group warfare, it would be terrifying.
Not ideal.
After a moment of consideration, Garfield nodded.
"Fine. I'll accept you, for now. But let me be clear… this is a master–servant contract."
The slug nodded without hesitation. "No problem. I am only a split body anyway."
"That's fine." The white snake continued respectfully,
"Master Garfield, I can also bring nine members of my tribe. Shall I summon them now?"
Garfield waved his paw. "Call them."
The white snake gathered chakra within its enormous body and activated its own form of Summoning Technique.
In the next instant, eight colossal long worms, each over fifty meters in length and each a different color, materialized in front of Garfield.
"My house!!!" Garfield's roar shook the air.
Shōkyū covered her mouth, shoulders shaking with laughter. "The stupid cat is panicking again."
"…Oh no."
Including the slug, all nine newly summoned creatures were instantly crushed by the pressure of Garfield's outburst.
They collapsed to the ground, trembling violently under the instinctive terror brought by a higher-order existence.
"Master Garfield, please forgive us." The white snake lowered its head deeply.
"Our bodies are… somewhat large. If any damage has been done, we will repair your dwelling in full."
"Hmph." Garfield lifted his chin, eyes half-lidded, the contempt of a king.
￣, ￣
After a moment of silence, watching the snakes shiver uncontrollably, Garfield finally nodded in satisfaction. The outburst had been pure intimidation.
A reminder of hierarchy.
Turning his gaze back to the white snake, Garfield asked. "What's your name?"
The white snake replied respectfully,
"I am called Shirohebi. These are my brothers and sisters. We are named according to our colors."
Garfield looked at the lineup.
White.
Red.
Orange.
Yellow.
Green.
Blue.
Indigo.
Purple.
Black.
Garfield frowned. "These names won't do."
With a decisive wave of his paw, he declared, "From now on, you will be called:"
"Shiro"
"Aka"
"Daidai"
"Ki"
"Midori"
"Ao"
"Ai"
"Murasaki"
"Kuro"
The eight snakes visibly brightened, each expressing approval of their new names. Shirohebi, now simply Shiro stepped forward and explained.
"Aka, Murasaki, and Kuro are wood-aspected. The others are male."
With nine snakes under his command, Garfield suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Nine heads…
It felt disturbingly familiar, like some kind of hydra.
If he hadn't been fully conscious, he might have believed he had wandered into a cartoon version of reality.
Calling forth Pandora still half-asleep and deeply displeased, Garfield completed the master–servant contracts with the slug and the nine snakes under her murderous glare.
As for other summoning races, Garfield made a selective decision.
He contracted a brood of hawks for reconnaissance.
The rest he abandoned without hesitation. Too much trouble and not enough practical value.
Even without his help, the future of Konoha was clearly accelerating in a direction far beyond its original trajectory.
Uchiha Madara, along with several other powerful figures, formally signed alliance and service agreements under the mediation of Hashirama and Tobirama.
Konoha grew stronger, far stronger than it ever should have been at this point in history.
Garfield was very satisfied.
After the bulk shipment of dried fish and giant bones was delivered to the Ninja Cat and Ninja Dog territories, Shirayuki and Taiga personally escorted the clansmen willing to leave with Garfield.
Dogs were fine.
But when Garfield looked at the assortment of young female ninja cats… large and small, sleek and lively, he felt a terrifying force stir within him.
"…"
Hold it.
I must hold it.
"…"
We are not the same species.
My preferences have never changed. No matter how evolution twists reality, I must keep my heart steady.
He silently recited to himself. If the heart is as clear as ice, heaven itself will not be disturbed.
"Pandora," Garfield muttered, "I leave supervision to you."
Pandora's mocking laughter echoed mercilessly in his soul space.
…
Days passed.
Once all preparations were complete and every ninja beast had been settled, Garfield finally made his decision.
It was time to leave and take everyone home.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream