Yui noticed Nai Hyuga watching her from the water with an indulgent, aunt-like smile, while Orochimaru had turned his back to them and stood facing a rock wall, his chin in his hand as though pondering something.
When she saw Yui looking at her, Nai Hyuga quickly wiped the smile off her face and turned aside to avoid meeting her eyes.
"Mmph." Speechless, Yui blew out a few bubbles. Her expression darkened, and she quickly stopped what she was doing with her hands and swam forward.
"Orochimaru, have you found the entrance to the ruins?"
Yui frowned slightly as she watched Orochimaru feeling around the surrounding rock walls.
Orochimaru shook his head, then turned and pointed at the bottomless passage below them, jabbing his finger forward to indicate the way.
Yui looked where he pointed. The passage stretched down beyond sight, its abyssal blackness stark against the pale yellow water of the hot springs.
She frowned slightly. "You mean the entrance to the ruins might be down this passage?"
Orochimaru nodded vigorously, then made a few gestures, coated his skin with more chakra, and swam down.
Watching him, Yui and Nai Hyuga exchanged bewildered looks.
To be honest, Yui had not understood the gestures Orochimaru had just made. But that no longer mattered. Watching his back disappear into the passage, she signaled to Nai Hyuga, and the two swam down one after the other.
The farther down they went, the wider the passage seemed to become. Yui and Nai Hyuga held hands to avoid getting separated as they followed Orochimaru's hazy silhouette through the steadily widening passage.
At some point, the current began flowing faster and faster. Yui and Nai Hyuga were nearly swept upward, but fortunately, they reacted quickly enough to hold themselves in place.
Three or four meters