White Fang becomes the leader of the sled-team, losing any possibility of being accepted by other dogs. They are hostile towards White Fang because they resent his power and the favoritism the men show him. The dogs’ hostility towards White Fang unites them amidst their other conflicts. Because the other wolves in the sled-team are domesticated, their instincts to kill are no match for White Fang’s since he grew up in the wild.

In 1898, White Fang turns five years old and leads Grey Beaver’s team on a long journey. White Fang’s reputation for ferocity spreads among the other Indigenous communities. Grey Beaver brings his team to Fort Yukon to trade his goods with the influx of white men in the area trying to find success in the gold rush. White Fang meets the white men and immediately decides the white men are superior to the Indigenous men. White Fang finds himself superior to the white men’s dogs, who have short hair and no fighting instincts.

Beauty Smith, a white man at Fort Yukon, buys White Fang from Grey Beaver. White Fang is hesitant to be with Beauty, whom he distrusts.