Creak! —
Anko, her purple hair messy as she spoke to a completely dazed Obito, turned her head to look inside the house.
It was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through the air.
The human and the snake locked eyes, neither speaking nor moving.
The entire room fell into silence.
An endless silence.
Anko's bright, watery eyes slowly went wide.
'Who is she?'
'Why is she in Motomu's house?'
'Black hair... Is she one of Motomu's Uchiha relatives?'
'What happened to the injured summoned snake?'
'And where did Motomu go?'
Countless question marks exploded in her young heart.
Just as Anko stared directly at the stranger with a heavy gaze,
Cobra began to work out her own little scheme.
In Cobra's perception, Anko also possessed a summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave.
In other words, Anko could also summon her to the ninja world to take refuge.
Given the current situation, Cobra understood that she was occupying a large amount of Motomu's chakra capacity, becoming a burden during his battles.
If she could establish a summoning relationship with this girl, that problem would be resolved.
Furthermore, she would have a means of resistance if she ever faced Motomu's coercion again.
Heh heh!
"Hey, little human."
"Are you willing to establish a summoning contract with this Great Sage?"
Hearing the other party speak,
Anko, who hadn't quite processed what was happening, shut the door again.
In the open courtyard, the setting sun stretched the shadows of the three children, projecting them onto the white-gray wall.
Obito, Anko, and Rin stared at each other for a long time in silence.
"Do... do you know who she is?"
"Heh... hehe... maybe we're under a genjutsu."
Obito shook his head with a difficult expression.
Rin, clearly the brightest of the three, looked thoughtful as she recalled the words she just heard.
"From what she said about a summoning contract, maybe she's here to ask about the summoned beast?"
"Before, Obito and I came to help Motomu treat his summon."
"She might be an acquaintance of that summoned beast."
Obito smacked his fist into his palm in a moment of sudden realization.
"Exactly! Rin, that must be it!"
"Hey, what exactly are you agreeing with?"
Motomu, having jogged all the way from the small forest, stood on the courtyard wall, supporting himself on his aching legs.
Having witnessed the trio's conversation, he understood what had occurred.
Taking a breath, Motomu said blankly,
"That person is the summoned beast from before."
"Huh?"
"But she's clearly a human?"
"Can humans be summoned beasts?"
Motomu withdrew his gaze from their incredulous faces.
He turned and jumped down from the wall, his voice continuing to drift over from the other side.
"Let's go. We're eating first."
"I'll explain everything while we eat."
Bang! —
"Hey! I want to eat too!"
The black-haired girl, now fully dressed, burst through the door and zipped past Obito's group like a streak of light, following right on Motomu's heels.
Having never met the White Snake Sage or a Snake Princess, Obito and the others clearly couldn't wrap their heads around Motomu's explanation.
However, out of trust, they temporarily suppressed their confusion and followed after them.
...
Yakiniku Q.
The iron plate, brushed with sesame oil and spices, sizzled loudly.
Several rectangular strips of marbled meat, sprinkled with cumin and black sesame, turned a golden brown and glistened with oil.
The aroma of cooking oil mixed with the scent of charcoal, making the snake salivate.
"This one's mine!"
Gah! —
Motomu grabbed Cobra by the neck and pinned her back into her seat.
"To sum it up, that's the situation."
He spent a long time explaining, using the excuse that Cobra had offended some bullying high-level powers in Ryuchi Cave and came to the ninja world for refuge.
Seeing that the three were still skeptical, Motomu shook Cobra's head vigorously.
A long snake tongue flicked out, dangling from the girl's mouth.
Hiss!
"She really is a snake sage."
"Good, as long as you understand."
"So Motomu, based on what you're saying, this snake sage is going to stay in the ninja world for a long time."
Motomu nodded and let go.
Cobra, coming back to life, didn't hold a grudge against Motomu's behavior. Instead, she immediately began stuffing all the remaining grilled meat into her bowl.
Anko glanced at the empty grill, then turned her eyes toward Cobra.
"Snake Sage, was your offer to establish a summoning contract with me earlier also for this reason?"
Cobra tore at the meat with her sharp teeth, finishing it in a few bites. Hearing Anko's question, she stole a cautious glance at Motomu before speaking.
"Summoning me requires a constant consumption of chakra to maintain."
"Motomu often needs to fight, and his chakra levels are already inconsistent."
"To allow Motomu to exert his full strength in battle, I need another person who can provide chakra."
"Someone to establish a summoning contract with me."
"In return, I can fight for you, teach you senjutsu..."
"I'll do it."
Before Cobra could even finish listing the terms, Anko blurted out her answer.
"Anko, with your chakra capacity..."
Motomu frowned, about to offer a few words of caution, only to see Anko looking back with an unwavering gaze.
Summoning Cobra.
It cost nearly one-third of Motomu's chakra.
For Anko, that would represent more than half of her entire chakra pool.
"Don't worry. I don't usually fight at the Academy anyway; I mostly just use my chakra to practice jutsu."
"It's far more dangerous for you to have your strength restricted when you're out on missions facing enemies."
"Besides, gaining a powerful summoned beast is a path for me to get stronger too. Motomu, I'm planning to apply for early graduation next year as well."
Looking at her resolute eyes, Motomu was momentarily speechless.
He had killed Tagitsu Hime, but because the White Snake Sage had arrived so quickly, he hadn't had the chance to retrieve Cobra's scales.
As a result, Cobra still couldn't return to Ryuchi Cave, and he would have to continue expending chakra to maintain her summoning.
This was to prevent her from being sent back and chopped into fine mincemeat by the White Snake Sage.
But once Anko took over the summoning...
For him,
it would be as if Cobra, who should be in Ryuchi Cave, was now taking refuge at Anko's house.
Not only would this save him from consuming his own chakra, but he could also summon Cobra back whenever he needed her.
"It's settled then. I'll stay at your place tonight to complete the contract, little Anko."
Seeing Anko agree, Cobra added,
"Remember to prepare plenty of interesting books. I'm going to be very bored."
With that settled,
Anko nodded in agreement, but then suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, Motomu, the Chunin Exam finals are tomorrow. How are you, Obito, and Kakashi feeling about it?"
Motomu and a head-scratching Obito shared a look.
The match-fixing.
That kind of news was strictly for internal discussion only.
Motomu had already decided long ago that he absolutely could not mention this to any of his friends.
"Haha! It's just so-so!" they said in unison.
Motomu glanced at Obito again.
He hadn't expected that he and his cousin Obito would be so perfectly in sync at a time like this.
Anko didn't notice anything.
However, the observant Rin noticed a few clues.
Though she was curious, seeing that Motomu and Obito didn't want to talk about it, she didn't press the matter.
The four humans and one snake finished their barbecue.
Obito walked Rin home.
Motomu returned to his own courtyard alone.
He switched on the lights.
The incandescent light shone on the walls and the floor.
The entire house brightened in an instant.
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