Kazama Ya froze at those words and fell silent for a moment. Was that black bear mocking it for being ignorant?
Agitated, it immediately shouted, "Oh, so that's how it is! You damned bear! You never mentioned any of this when you brought it up before. Didn't you trust me back then?"
Black Bear raised an eyebrow at that. "Hmph... I had to guard against scheming little rats..."
Black Bear's words infuriated Kazama Ya, leaving it unable to think of a comeback.
"..." Tuning out the two bickering voices, Yui crouched down, rested her chin in her hand, and studied the scroll before her.
"Hidden bears... Is that this bear's species? I don't think I've ever heard of them..." she murmured. She used Fire Release chakra to dry the water stains on the scroll, then picked it up and spread it out on the ground.
The scroll's layout was much the same as Katsuyu's Summoning Scroll, with names written inside several boxes and bloody handprints pressed beneath them.
The scroll was mostly empty, with only two or three names on it. Clearly, very few people had contracts with the Hidden Bear Clan.
"You Ren... Zhengxin..." Looking at those unfamiliar names, Yui gently shook her head.
"What do you think, Miss Yui? Does it suit you?" Black Bear came closer, rubbing its paws together as it waited expectantly for her answer.
Yui paused, then stood and looked up at Black Bear, shaking her head gently. "Sorry, but if I form a contract with you, what could you actually help me with? As things stand, there doesn't seem to be anything, does there?"
Those words stunned Black Bear. Its expression immediately turned aggrieved, and it cried out miserably, "N-no! Please don't say that, beautiful Miss Yui..."
"Although I can't help you with