"Hey, that's her," said one of the toughs, moving towards Tsunami.
The cat on one of the dockside pilings gave the two of them a glare.
"Hey you, we're taking you hostage," said the other tough. "They left you all alone, eh? Well..."
The cat leapt down, shifting into a little girl with catears and a tail before her feet touched down.
"You were saying?" asked Tsunami.
"She's just a little girl," said one of the toughs, moving forward. Who then stopped when he realized his companion had just put his sword back in the sheath and was now backing away. "What?"
"I've seen those eyes before," said the second tough, continuing to back up. "That's a Hyuga. She was able to use a ninja technique to turn into a cat. So she's a ninja, and one of those elite clans with a bloodline thingie. I'm pretty good with a sword, I know all the basics. I ain't up to going up against no elite ninja."
"Aw, come on," said the first tough, moving forward again. "How tough could some little girl be? She's got to be maybe seven or eight at most."
"Byakugan," said Kurochan, causing the blood vessels near her eyes to extend.
This caused the first tough to start running forward, raising his sword high. The second tough apparently decided that his interests were best served looking for other employment.
Tsunami watched as the little girl drove two fingers into the descending arm, dodged the strike, and then slammed her other palm into a knee.
"You have lost the use of one arm and one leg," pointed out Kurochan as she stepped backward twice to place herself out of immediate strike-back range. "Do you want to run away like your friend?"
"You're just a little girl," said the goon. "I can't fall to you!"
"We'll see about that," said Kurochan, sounding as if she were bored by the whole thing.
Nearby, Inari watched with wide eyes. Apparently, if they knew how to do it, even a little kid could stand up to Gato and his men.