Inuzuka Clan

The or  is known for their use of ninken as fighting companions. Clan members are apparently given their own canine partner or partners when they reach a certain age. Thereafter, the shinobi and his/her dog(s) are practically inseparable. Clan members have distinctive red fang markings on their cheeks, animalistic eyes, and enlarged canine teeth. It would seem that due to the bond between a Inuzuka clan member and their canine partner(s), their chakra is allowed to mix and is shared between them, adding a feral appearance to the human partners, and makes a bond between them that affords them the use of the clan's collaboration jutsu, such as the Dual Piercing Fang.

Trivia

 * The name "Inuzuka", meaning "house of dogs", belongs to a clan which was one of the most powerful in the Chiba Prefecture in Japan during the Edo period. They were known as "dog warriors" and worshiped Inu ("Dog"), a deity representing the zodiac sign of the dog. The name "Inuzuka" also originates from the Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, a 19th-century series of novels about a group of samurai brothers who each embodied the eight fundamental principles of Buddhism.
 * The known Inuzuka members are all named after a part of the body of a dog (fang, nose and claw), while their dogs are named after colors (red, gray and black).
 * Kiba notes that his mother, Tsume, scared his father away. It is unknown what this father's involvement with the clan was.
 * The facial markings of the Inuzuka clan members are similar to the facial markings on San's cheeks, from the Miyazaki film, Princess Mononoke.