An hour later.
"Hahaha~ I, Yahiko, am back!"
Yahiko, now back on shore, was laughing wildly with his hands on his hips. As for Kōmei Uzumaki... he was still lying on the ground. The hardships he endured were not for outsiders to know.
As for the others, they were all examining the Shinkai. After all, most of them were natives of Sunagakure, having always lived in the desert. They rarely saw seafood, let alone a giant clam forty meters long and twenty meters high.
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to actually find such a huge clam. Yahiko, do you need help extracting the pearl? This old man is good at that."
Ebizō walked around the Shinkai once, then ran up to Yahiko and said.
"What are you saying! Ebizō-sama, how can you be so shallow? Am I the kind of person who covets pearls?"
"...Aren't you?"
"Am I! I'm telling you, Shinkai is going to be my Kuchiyose partner from now on."
"Him? What use can he be?"
"Hmph, shallow. You wouldn't understand!"
With that, Yahiko ignored Ebizō and walked directly towards the Shinkai. Yahiko leaned against the Shinkai and looked at the sea ahead.
After a day of exciting adventures, it was now five in the afternoon. The clouds in the sky were dyed golden-red by the setting sun, and the calm sea perfectly reflected the sky.
"Hey~ How is it, the beach! The sunset! Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes! Beautiful! Thank you, Yahiko!"
"Hahaha, this is what I promised you. I told you I'm famously honest and reliable, hahaha..."
"Honest and reliable?"
"Of course."
At this point, Yahiko even raised his head proudly.
"Since that's the case, I will also keep my promise."
With that, the Shinkai opened its shell, then extended its white clam meat, on which lay a rainbow-colored pearl, right in front of Yahiko.
"Holy crap! Such a huge pearl, and it's rainbow-colored!"
The crowd standing next to the Shinkai showed shocked expressions upon seeing the rainbow pearl. Many girls couldn't move their eyes, their gazes sparkling with rainbow light.
And Kōmei Uzumaki, still lying on the ground, became incoherent after seeing the rainbow pearl, then fainted from excitement.
[Yahiko! You really deserve to die!]
"Is... is this for me?"
Yahiko was somewhat at a loss when he saw the rainbow pearl actually appear before him. Honestly, at first, he was indeed after this rainbow pearl. Later, when he learned that the Shinkai could earn a lot of money every year, he shamelessly wanted to form a contract with it.
But when the Shinkai said it would rather die on the path to its dream, Yahiko's heart suddenly cleared of all distractions, and he only wanted to help it achieve that wish.
"Drip your blood on it."
"Oh oh, huh? Drip blood?"
"Yes, just drip blood and you can sign a contract with me, and then you can summon me."
"Huh? Is this what a Kuchiyose contract looks like? Isn't it supposed to be a long scroll?"
"This is specially made from the unique pearl within my body. It has the ability to reduce Chakra consumption when summoning and maintaining the summoned state. Otherwise, I'm so heavy that almost no one could summon me. Moreover, because the pearl is born from me, it can be said to be a part of my body. Once contracted, both parties can achieve mental communication, so you won't have to say it out loud anymore."
"Oh, I see, it's actually that amazing."
"That's right, but it also has one drawback: it can only bear one person's contract. If you want to change the contractor, the previous summoner must die."
"So that's how it is. So that's why the Nidaime Mizukage was so reckless."
"Mmm... because he knew I could only rely on him..."
It seemed to have remembered something sad, and the Shinkai's voice became much lower.
"Don't worry!" Sensing the change in the Shinkai's emotions, Yahiko comforted it. "Perhaps you weren't happy before, but I'm different! I, Yahiko, will definitely help you achieve your wish! I'll take you to see all the mountains and rivers! After all... that's what I promised you!"
"...Mmm! I believe you! Drip the blood."
"Okay!"
Immediately, Yahiko bit his finger, and a drop of blood flowed from his finger, dripping onto the rainbow pearl. As the rainbow pearl suddenly shimmered, it signified the successful signing of a new contract.
"Yahiko!"
"Hmm? What's wrong, Shinkai?"
"From now on... please take good care of me."
"Mmm, I will."
"Oh! Right, one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Do you like my current voice, or should I change it?"
"Eh~ Can voices be changed too?"
"Yes, since it's communication on a conscious level, voices can certainly be changed."
"Can I change mine?"
"No, because that's not your ability."
"Alright, alright." Hearing that he couldn't change his voice, Yahiko lost interest. "Then just use your original voice."
"Mmm, okay."
A gentle female voice sounded in Yahiko's mind, startling him.
"Ah, you're a girl!"
"Kind of."
"Then your voice before?"
"Oh, that? The Nidaime Mizukage made me change it. He said it would sound more authoritative. This is my original voice now. What? Don't you like it, Yahiko?"
"No... it's just... a little surprising. Your voice is very gentle!"
"Thank you, Yahiko. I thought you'd say my voice lacked deterrence."
Hearing what the Shinkai said, Yahiko looked up at its height, then gestured at his own height.
[Hehe, just by standing there, you're already very intimidating, aren't you!]
"I can hear you, Yahiko!"
[!!!]
"Because you're very close to me~"
"Hahaha~ Let me introduce everyone, this is my Kuchiyose partner, Shinkai!"
After learning that the Shinkai could read the contractor's thoughts at close range, Yahiko decisively changed the subject and introduced it to the people still gathered around.
"Shinkai, say hello to everyone."
[Hello everyone, my name is Shinkai, and I am Yahiko's summoning partner. Please take good care of me from now on.]
As Yahiko finished speaking, a gentle female voice entered everyone's minds, causing frequent exclamations from the surrounding people.
"Wow! What a beautiful voice." This was the voice of the girls around.
"Wow! Yahiko, you really deserve to die!" This was the voice of Kōmei Uzumaki, who had already woken up.
"So, what exactly is her ability?" This was Ebizō's voice.
"Ga..." Ebizō's single sentence stumped Yahiko, who was still laughing. "Uh... this... this..."
[My ability is illusion. I can create a large area of mirages.]
Just as Yahiko didn't know how to answer, the Shinkai proactively answered for him.
"Illusion? Is it the same as Genjutsu?"
[No, it's different. Do you want me to demonstrate?]
"Can you?"
[Of course.]
After answering Ebizō, the Shinkai opened its shell, and then two tentacles extended out. Immediately, a dense fog surged forth, covering everyone around, and then the fog disappeared shortly after.
[Done.] The Shinkai's voice echoed in Ebizō's mind.
"Hmm? Done? But I don't feel any change!" Looking at the unchanged surroundings, Ebizō replied, looking around.
[You can try attacking me or Yahiko.]
Would you like me to translate Ebizō's attempt to attack and the revelation of the Shinkai's mirage power?