Chapter 81: Ebizo: Oh~, testing this old man's angling skills, are we?
In the deepest part of the ocean.
Right now, Uzumaki Eimei was still digesting what he'd just seen.
Half-buried in the mud was a clam thirty-odd metres long and more than ten metres tall.
You call this a clam?
What clam grows that big?
More importantly… "Father, I'm back—did you miss me?"
Hmph!
"Yahiko!"
Yahiko, who'd been worrying about the mirage, turned when he heard Eimei call.
"You jerk!"
Yahiko: "…"
"Hey, what are you saying? Eimei, you can't ruin my image in front of Father!"
He swam over, grabbed Eimei's arm, turned to the mirage and grinned.
"Heh, Father, let me introduce you. This is the friend who came with me—actually, forget it; that's not important. What matters is that he can prove my dad is awesome."
Then he looked back at Eimei: your cue.
Eimei got the hint. He itched to string Yahiko up, but he knew what mattered.
Namely… red pearls.
"Ahem, Senior Clam…"
"Mirage."
"I know!" Eimei muttered, then rephrased.
"Senior Mirage, I can prove Yahiko's Father is a great, powerful, rich man."
He shut up and glanced at Yahiko: satisfied?
Yahiko understood perfectly.
He flashed a hand signal and stepped forward.
"Heh, Father, believe me now?"
"Mm."
At the mirage's yes, Yahiko practically glowed.
"Great! Then let's sign the contract. Father, where's the summoning scroll?"
"Hold on—one more condition."
"Ah~ what else?"
"I want you to take me out and show me the world."
"Ah~ after the contract I can summon you anywhere you want."
"Not the same. Summoning is fleeting. This time I want to see it all—even if I'm tricked again, at least I'll die chasing the dream."
For once, Yahiko dropped the grin and spoke seriously.
"Mm. I understand."
He turned to Eimei, who was absent-mindedly poking a crab.
Seeing Yahiko swim over, Eimei asked hurriedly,
"Well?"
Because the mirage spoke only in their minds, Eimei had no idea what had been said.
"Er… tiny snag—might need your help."
"More help? What now—prove your mum's awesome too?"
"Er… no need."
"Then what?"
"Er… any chance you can tie him up with Adamantine Sealing Chains and drag him back to camp?"
Eimei stared at the giant crab under the mirage. "You mean that crab?"
"No!"
"Hey, hey—don't swim off!"
Yahiko grabbed Eimei, who was already heading up.
"Relax—you won't be dragging him alone. You've got the chains; people on shore just have to pull."
"Easy for you to say. That clam's huge—tying it up will cost tons of Chakra. You know how exhausting it is to bear eight thousand jin under all that water pressure? Jiang Wan's 'I do' is one step away—are you really going to quit now?"
"Risk it and a bike becomes a motorbike!"
[Ding! Yahiko the Life-Coach is online!]
"Then… I'll try?"
Hearing Uzumaki Eimei's words, Yahiko clenched his right hand, thumped his chest, and pointed at Eimei.
"Trust your brother—he'd never do you wrong."
..."Ready?" [hand sign]
"Ready!" [hand sign]
Seeing Eimei wrap the mirage serpent in two coils of Adamantine Sealing Chains and flash him an OK sign.
Yahiko swam over to the rope.
He gripped it and yanked three hard pulls aft, telling the shore crew to haul in... Onshore, under some clever Ninjutsu, the beach had already returned to normal.
But the rod was now being watched by Ebizo.
After casting, Might Duy released the Eight Gates and led the other Kappa off to train on the sea cliffs.
Normal training, of course.
Casting and retrieving—he was in his element.
Not that Duy did it all; his job was the casting.
Retrieving was the medics' job.
After all, how much strength does it take to reel in? It's not like playing a fish—Kappa come back on their own.
So why was Ebizo watching Eimei's rod?
Mainly because he was bored.
Ever since his big sister arrived, the two women had been chatting nonstop, leaving him no room to speak.
So he wandered over to check the rod; he liked fishing anyway—might as well imagine he was fishing now.
And maybe figure out what to do about this marriage proposal—what a headache!
Right then the rod gave three deliberate twitches.
At that, Ebizo perked up.
If he remembered right, that meant... a catch—no, time to haul—no, pull up.
"Heh, since I'm stuck worrying, might as well see what it feels like to 'land' a person."
He gripped the rod and yanked hard.
...Nothing budged.
That only excited him more.
"Oh-ho! Trying to give the old man a real fishing experience on purpose?"
Fine! Let's see if decades of skill can't outdo some rookie!"
"Up we go!"
Ebizo dropped into a horse stance, unified waist and arm, and heaved.
Still—no movement.
"Huh—snagged on the bottom?"
He summoned three Shadow Clones, and all four pulled together.
"Again—heave!"
Four crimson faces, eight bulging eyes, veins popping.
Pop! Pop! Pop!—three sharp bursts.
His three clones had yanked themselves apart.
Still no response.
"Hah—won't beat the old man!"
He planted the rod and dashed off.
Soon a truck backed in until its hitch kissed the rod butt.
With the line secured to the tail hook, Ebizo climbed back in and floored the accelerator.
Gravel flew—yet the truck didn't budge.
Three seconds later it even rolled back a hair, and Ebizo, watching through the rear window, turned dead serious.
"Heh—strong kid, aren't you?"
He left one clone on the gas while he leapt out, grabbed the hawser, and started a tug-of-war with whoever was down there.
"Good lad! Knowing I'm worried sick, you play the fish to cheer me up—I get it!"
"One... two... three—pull!"
"Easy on the brakes—let him run a bit!"
"Hit the gas—keep revving!"
Ebizo's shouts carried down the beach, catching Chiyo's ear.
She turned to see what her fool brother was up to.
The next second she gasped and sprinted over.
"Ah—Ebizo! Let go—that signal means let go!"
"Ah!" At his sister's yell he released the rod, hands up in innocent surrender.
"Sis... he should still be alive, right?"
"Sh-should be... but it's close!"
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