It was later in the night as Inugami arrived at the door to their room in the inn. Before he entered, he could already smell that his teammates were inside. 
"What in the hell happened to you?!" 
Ino's shrill question was justified, after all, there was a bright red imprint of a fist on his cheek. Inugami didn't know if Tsunade held back on purpose or simply was too drunk to throw a deadly punch. Whatever it was, he was lucky that nothing broke in his face, not that it didn't come close to it. That woman's strength was terrifying. 
"I've met the legendary Tsunade." 
""What?!"" Ino and Hinata shouted in disbelief, and even Hanabi looked taken aback. 
"Are you sure you just didn't hit your head in a bar brawl?" Ino asked skeptically. 
Inugami snorted. "You know that I don't make such statements without knowing for sure. I've met her." 
That was enough for the group, as Ino and Hinata got stars in their eyes. 
"To think that THE Tsunade is here. She is my idol! And now even more after she polished your face, what would I give to have seen it. Guess you were your usual charming self, bahahaha!" Ino, as always, was able to annoy Inugami. 
"I-I'm also a fan. I find it admirable that someone so capable in healing is also such a strong fighter. I wonder what kind of person she is…" Inugami never saw Hinata being so excited. He wondered what she would think about Tsunade, if she would have actually met her. 
"I guess… she is feisty?" Inugami said absently while rubbing his injured cheek. 
Of course he himself was also excited after meeting the woman. Besides the obvious reasons, he was also interested greatly in her abilities, especially since he studied medicine in his last life. And while he didn't like it, it was completely different when you put magic into it. It was just too much of a valuable skill not to learn it. And the perfect person to learn it from would be her… 
Not that Inugami had any delusions about that ever happening. In fact with all the things different in this time-line, Naruto included, Tsunade would most likely never decide to return to Konoha. She would keep her nomadic, gambling- and alcohol-addicted lifestyle, while wallowing in depression over her past until her death… And to think that in the original Tsunade improved so much because Naruto simply being Naruto. Anime-Naruto's charisma was just something else… 
"Focus!" Inugami was brought out of his musings by the cold voice of his teacher. "While I can understand that the prospect of meeting such an esteemed person is exciting, it doesn't change the fact we are still on a mission." 
Hearing that, Ino and Hinata calmed down, though with some reluctance. Hanabi nodded at them. Then she focused her gaze on Inugami.  
"Our team couldn't make any progress tonight, I wanted to ask if you got something." 
"Hmm, let's see… Jin!" 
The ever silent puppy came out of his shadow by his command. Despite his team having seen him a few times by now, their gazes still held curiosity and wonder as they looked at him. 
"Do you have something?" 
Jin nodded. Inugami turned his head back to his team. "There you have it. Who is down for a midnight stroll under the moonlight?" 
His team of course didn't and they managed to follow the trail until they came across a big park.  
"In there?" Ino asked. 
Inugami nodded grimly. "Undoubtedly… You know I have this strange foul scent in my nose, ever since we started to follow this trail. And it seems to come out of this park. Guys, I think there is something greatly wrong with this mission." 
Hanabi nodded seriously at his remark. "I too had a bad feeling about this for a while now. How come we didn't find even find one person? If they are really a bunch of small-time criminals, then we should have plenty of leads by now…" 
"W-What do you mean? A-Are you saying the Major w-was lying?" Hinata asked, sounding extremely nervous. Ino also got an uneasy look on her face at the possibility. 
"Come to think of it, that Major looked like he was scared of his own shadow. Too scared from the situation at hand…" Inugami said. 
"I guess we have to pay him another visit… Now be ready! We don't know what we will encounter. If it proves too dangerous, then I want you to flee back to Konoha, while I do my best to hold it back." 
Hinata looked worriedly at her. "Onee-chan…" 
But Hanabi didn't give her any time to complain about her command. "Let's go!" 
And with that they entered the, now dark and lonely, park. There was no conversation between them, only anxious silence. By now the smell was getting overpowering. It was also gaining a distinct metallic tone. 
"I'm smelling blood. Hurry!" And with that  they abandoned any sneaky approach, fearing that someone would need help, and raced towards their target.  
Or what was left of it… 
"My god…" Ino managed to say before she doubled over and hurled her stomach content into a nearby bush. Meanwhile Hinata was hyperventilating, and looking like she was about to pass out anytime. 
And Inugami was holding his nose in disgust, while he stared at the bloody remains of a woman. Or at least he assumed it was a woman since there were a pair of blood-smeared high-heels nearby, glistening in the moonlight. You couldn't tell from the actual corpse, since there was nothing else left, besides a great deal of blood, and some clumps of flesh and bones. Add all the flies flying around it, and it made a pretty macabre sight. 
It looked like the woman was ripped apart by a bunch of piranhas. 
And the smell… "Sensei, it reeks of bugs, just way, way worse." 
"Inugami, where did the smell go? We need to quickly find the culprit before there are more victims." 
"That's the thing, sensei… The smell is only focused in this place. If you go further only the scent of the countless visitors of this park are left." 
Hanabi looked wide eyed at him. "This… This is bad."