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House of Dogs
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The Inuzuka is a clan in name only. No bloodline limit to protect or advance; just a specialty with ninken, nin dogs. A family business, if you will.
It was a business born of passion and commitment. A pact and partnership between man and beast. A business past down since before the Inuzuka even existed until the edges of the relationship became blurred. In fact, the Inuzuka didn't even exist until the moment they recognized the canines as family by honoring them in their name:
Inuzuka.
House of Dogs.
They say that people (or in this case, beings) who co-habit long enough will start resembling one another. So it wasn't surprising that the trainers started emulating the dogs they loved. Or perhaps the predecessors of the Inuzuka already had tendencies towards dog-like characteristics, which brought on the relationship in the first place. The truth has been lost to history now.
Just like the meaning of the red clan markings on each cheek has lost its potency to time (war-paint; the bared, bloody fangs of feral wolves). Morphed into simple inverted triangles, the markings are now worn as identification. An institutionalized and glorified gang sign. But unlike some stuffy clans, these marks are completely voluntary - applied and reapplied as temporary tattoos. But everyone chooses to wear them. For pride.
No question that the Inuzuka are proud. Not in a condescending way, but in way a man is after he builds his home with his own two hands. An unconventional clan in every sense. No rigid power structure, traditions, or rules. No interest in politics (so they had no political clout like the Hyuuga and the former Uchiha.) They are simple, almost brutish, folk who couldn't be bothered with such frivolous things like ceremonies and red tape. Unlike other clans, they value family not by protecting the idea with physical and metaphorical walls, but by actually experiencing it.
And like their canine counterparts the Inuzuka are fiercely loyal. To partners, to family, to village. That's why Kiba is wary of loners and has little tolerance for traitors. There is just no place for selfishness in an Inuzuka. You take it for the pack. It's that simple.
And that's why Kiba, with Ukon leeching off his body, didn't think twice before plunging the kunai into his side.
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Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Your thoughts are appreciated.