On the sea.
Kōmei Uzumaki surfaced from the sea once again. Followed by a hoarse shout.
"Yahiko! Yahiko, where are you?"
This was already his third time surfacing from the seabed.
The first time, he dived to the bottom of the sea and found no trace of Yahiko nearby. He thought Yahiko must have already gone up, so he surfaced, but still didn't find Yahiko. He then wondered if he had been eaten by a shark. So he dived down again. After all, he was his good brother, if alive, he had to see the person, if dead, he had to see the corpse!
So he searched for sharks at the bottom of the sea. As a result, the sharks in this area were almost extinct from his killing, yet he still couldn't find any trace.
Later, he floated back to the surface. One, to rest and catch his breath. Two, hoping Yahiko was already waiting for him on the surface. But he wasn't.
Then he thought, could he have sunk to the bottom and been taken into a cave by some crabs or something? He then dived to the seabed again, specifically looking into all the nooks and crannies, but still found nothing.
Then... then he returned to the surface once more. But this time, he really couldn't imagine where Yahiko had gone. He couldn't have encountered some immortal's cave and gained some fortuitous encounter, could he?
Heh heh! In that case, he might as well be dead!
Just as Kōmei Uzumaki had given up and was floating on the sea, a familiar voice came from the direction of his head. Kōmei Uzumaki suddenly sat up and looked behind him.
"Oh, Kōmei, you actually dared to slack off!"
Yahiko stood on the sea, looking at him.
"Tsk tsk~ Kōmei! You know this isn't right, don't you? If you don't go into the sea, how will you find pearls? Do you think pearls will just float in front of you? You've disappointed me greatly, Kōmei!"
"Yahiko."
Facing Yahiko's teasing, Kōmei Uzumaki showed no emotional fluctuation, but gently called Yahiko's name. Then, he suddenly got up and pounced on Yahiko, tightly gripping Yahiko's neck.
"Yahiko! You @#$%...#￥% I #@ (%...)"
In short, his attack power was incredibly strong.
"Speak, how do you want to die?"
Kōmei Uzumaki sat on Yahiko's body, saying to Yahiko with an unfriendly expression.
"Heh heh! Kōmei! I think you'd better show me some respect! Otherwise, you'll have a hard time later!"
"Heh heh! You! Come on, tell me how I'll have a hard time?"
"I can help you find red pearls."
"Godfather!" As soon as Yahiko's words fell, Kōmei Uzumaki's voice followed immediately.
And Yahiko stood up at this moment. Looking at Kōmei Uzumaki, who was already hugging his thigh, he said with a smile.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly?"
"I said you are my god-fa-ther~"
"What am I to you?"
"Godfather!"
"Hey! Good son! Hahaha~~~"
Watching Yahiko's exaggerated laughter, Kōmei Uzumaki's molars were almost ground to dust. But he still smiled and rubbed his hands at Yahiko, saying.
"Yahiko... no, Godfather. Look at this pearl."
"I don't have it!"
"You don't have it!"
"Mm!"
"Then have you thought about how you're going to die later?"
Seeing Kōmei Uzumaki's hair standing on end and the four chains behind him flailing wildly, Yahiko, knowing he had gone too far with his joke, quickly explained.
"But I know where to help you find it."
"Oh~ Why didn't you say so earlier? Look at this mess. As expected of my good brother, he thinks of me first when he finds good things."
"However..."
"However?"
Seeing Kōmei Uzumaki's chains about to stand up again, Yahiko quickly said.
"However, you need to help me prove that my father is the Kazekage, the really awesome kind."
"Huh?"
"What is this? How is finding a pearl related to Kazekage-sama?"
"Uh... it's like this..."
About five minutes later, Yahiko recounted all his experiences. Of course, there were some minor alterations. For example, the Shinkai had already agreed to form a contract with him, but only if he could prove the truthfulness of his words.
"So, you're saying. After you flew out, you burrowed all the way to the bottom of the sea, then bumped into a clam, and that clam was also a Summoned Beast. Now you're having a lively chat with it, and it's preparing to sign a Kuchiyose contract with you, but the prerequisite is that it wants to see if what you said before is true?"
"Mm, that's right."
"Heh heh! I still think it's better if you die."
With that, the four chains behind Kōmei Uzumaki stood up directly, then immediately bound Yahiko's feet, hoisting him upside down.
"Kō... Kōmei, what are you doing?"
"Doing what?"
"Do you know how much I suffered looking for you? Do you know how many times I searched for you? Three whole times! Do you know what I went through those three times?
The first time, I thought you had fallen unconscious and sunk to the bottom, so I went down to retrieve you, and then I encountered a whale that kicked me around like a ball! Finally, I managed to shake it off.
The second time, I thought you had been eaten by a shark, so I searched everywhere for sharks, fighting them in the sea. At the most dangerous moment, I was almost bitten by a shark near little Kōmei!
Finally, the third time, I thought you had sunk to the bottom and been carried into a cave by something. So I drilled into all sorts of holes. Do you know what I encountered? A twenty-meter-tall octopus! With tentacles sixty meters long, it was curled up in a seven-meter-tall cave, and then a twenty-meter-tall octopus came out! I was almost swept away!
And then you tell me you're romancing a Summoned Beast! Don't you deserve to die!"
"Uh... Kōmei, you know, I was looking for pearls for you!"
Seeing Kōmei Uzumaki getting more and more agitated, Yahiko quickly argued. Then, with a sincere expression, he said to Kōmei Uzumaki.
"Kōmei! We are brothers! It's because I found a clam that I believe it must know the whereabouts of the red pearl, which is why I worked so hard to hook up... ah no... persuade it. I thought that once I contracted with it, my good brother could find happiness! My heart is truly devoted!"
"Really?"
"Really! Really! More real than my father's gold!" Seeing Kōmei Uzumaki's rationality return somewhat, Yahiko quickly affirmed.
"I, Yahiko, swear! I really contracted with it for the pearl."
[That's right! I initially thought of contracting with it for the pearl. As for later... just say that it was for the pearl at first!]
Kōmei Uzumaki stared intently into Yahiko's eyes, and Yahiko met his gaze without backing down. Only then did he choose to believe the other party, and then he let Yahiko down.
[Phew~ Good, good, I finally managed to fool him.]
Yahiko, who had been let down, also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. But at this moment, Kōmei Uzumaki suddenly grabbed his shoulder, startling him. However, Kōmei Uzumaki's words then made him relax.
"Yahiko! I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
"Oh! It's nothing! We're brothers!"
"No! I truly feel bad. For my sake, you're actually going to sign a Kuchiyose contract with a clam. You know that powerful Summoned Beasts can greatly help their masters, but you..."
Speaking of which, Kōmei Uzumaki couldn't continue, because he truly felt that Yahiko's sacrifice for him was too great. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he abruptly looked up, stared at Yahiko, and solemnly said to him.
"So, let me make the contract instead, after all, it's my..."
"No!"
Kōmei Uzumaki's words were only halfway out when Yahiko's voice quickly came, and... it seemed to carry a hint of nervousness. Kōmei Uzumaki looked at Yahiko suspiciously, then asked in confusion.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Haha~ No... nothing!"
"Why do I feel like you're guilty?"
"No... no."
"Then why did you refuse?"
"No, why did I refuse?"
"Then you just said no?"
"That's right... it's not possible! You know... I, Yahiko, am famously honest... keeping my word is my Nindō! Since I've already promised them, I will definitely keep my word!"
Facing Kōmei Uzumaki's questions, Yahiko went from stuttering at first to becoming smooth and confident later on. He actually convinced Kōmei Uzumaki again.
"Alright, since that's your Nindō, I won't disrupt it. Let's go, take me to your future Summoned Beast's location, and I'll prove it for you."