7
A hoarse cry shattered the deathly silence. At the sight of that familiar face, the terror in Xun Uchiha's eyes instantly turned to wild joy. He lunged toward him, his voice trembling with excitement. "Thank goodness... it really is you! If you hadn't been here, I would've been done for!"
Before he had finished speaking, he fumbled at his waist and pulled out what looked like an ordinary toy boat. With a touch of his finger on the switch, its metal shell instantly expanded and reassembled, becoming a streamlined recreational speedboat in the blink of an eye. Xun Uchiha practically tumbled into the cockpit and clung to the handrail, cold sweat soaking the back of his clothes. Only then did he dare let out a long, shaky breath.
Boren Lee hurried over, his brow tightly furrowed, concern and anxiety plain in his eyes. "Where have you been this past year? Nagolion and I have nearly gone crazy looking for you."
"A strange ocean current swept me away," Xun Uchiha answered weakly, his fingers still trembling.
"An ocean current?" Boren Lee froze, then his eyes widened. "You're saying it swept you away for a year? How is that possible? A current that strong would tear a person apart instantly. How did you survive an entire year?"
"What?" Xun Uchiha shot up from his seat, his face deathly pale. "A year? What the hell are you talking about?"
Boren Lee repeated himself earnestly. "I said you spent a whole year in the ocean. Don't you remember?"
As though struck by lightning, Xun Uchiha stiffly turned his head to look at the vast blue ocean before him, his mind in turmoil. "Impossible... I only spent a dozen or so hours in that underwater space. I saw sunken ships and that enormous underwater