Mount

"I told you those monsters were terrifying."

As Fox Spirit spoke, Aokiji could feel her body trembling slightly.

If he put himself in the seal's position as it was being slapped around, Aokiji could more or less understand why.

Aokiji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and slowly walked toward the orcas in the Shallow Sea Area.

Since Fox Spirit was being held in his arms, as Aokiji approached, she naturally got closer as well. She could not help crying out, "What are you doing?"

"I want to try communicating with them."

Aokiji was gambling on whether these orcas could Speak Human Language. Beyond that, he was also gambling on whether the orcas here shared the same habits as the ones from his previous life.

"Are you crazy? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you."

Fox Spirit jumped out of Aokiji's arms. She had no intention of being swallowed whole by an orca while she was still so young and tender.

"Don't go. You'll die."

It was not that Fox Spirit liked this human all that much. It was just that if he died, where was she supposed to find such a good meal ticket?

Aokiji gave her a reassuring smile. He had not expected this Fox Spirit to care about him so much.

He cautiously faced the Shallow Sea Area and shouted at the orcas playing their game, hoping to draw their attention.

Hearing the shout, the playful orcas stopped playing with their toy-slash-food at the same time and looked toward the source. A harmless-looking Bipedal Beast entered their sight.

A young orca asked curiously, "Mom, what kind of creature is that thing walking on two legs?"

"Fat Tiger, that is a Human Child."

"A Human Child? Can it be eaten?"

"That is not something we can eat. Like us, he is an intelligent creature." Orca Mother smiled. "It has been a long time since we last saw a human. Let's go say hello."

With that, she led several young orcas over.

To be honest, when an orca as massive as a mountain swam up before him, Aokiji's legs nearly went limp, and he almost turned to run.

Fortunately, these orcas did not seem hostile. They swam over slowly, not with the movements of hunters.

"Uh, hello."

Aokiji politely greeted them, hoping for a response.

"Hello, Human Child."

Aokiji secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were Summoned Beasts capable of speaking, and they seemed fairly good-tempered.

Though orcas in nature were vicious by nature, for some reason they were inexplicably friendly toward humans. Sometimes, they even helped people.

Orcas were picky eaters. When hunting sharks and other whales, they usually ate only the liver. Based on that, some people said orcas had strict dietary control, and human meat was not on the menu because it was not nutritious. But orcas sometimes even ate random birds. No matter how poor humans were nutritionally, they should still be more nutritious than some random bird, right?

The more widely accepted view was that orcas possessed high intelligence and liked humans, who were also intelligent. That was why they did not actively attack people and would even help them when necessary.

It was because of this that Aokiji had dared to communicate with the orcas. Fortunately, he had won his gamble.

"My name is Aokiji. I accidentally came here because of the Summoning Jutsu. May I ask how I can leave this place?"

In a single short sentence, Aokiji explained his name, origin, and purpose.

At the same time, he deliberately held something back and did not mention his surname.

The Uchiha Clan was one of the more powerful Ninja Clans, so naturally they had no shortage of enemies. Perhaps the former owner of a Summoned Beast here had been killed by someone from the Uchiha Clan. If he rashly announced his family name, he might end up facing revenge.

Orca Mother was surprised that Aokiji had come here through the Summoning Jutsu. "Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question either."

Aokiji lowered his head, looking dejected. Fortunately, Orca Mother's next words rekindled his hope. "However, Snow Emperor should have a way. You can try finding her. I can lead you there."

"Really?"

Aokiji's eyes lit up, and he grew excited.

"Then climb onto my back. I'll take you there."

Orca Mother was so warm-hearted that it almost felt unreal.

He had not even ridden a horse in his previous life, yet in this life, he could ride an orca. Aokiji was thrilled and immediately agreed with repeated cries of excitement.

"Don't go! They're tricking you. Once you get into the sea, you're dead for sure."

At that moment, Fox Spirit, who had been hiding in the distance, suddenly ran over and warned Aokiji not to fall for it.

Aokiji froze.

Just as Fox Spirit said, what if these orcas were wicked and lured him into the ocean? Then he would truly be meat on the chopping block...

Seeing her goodwill treated like garbage, Orca Yu beside them snorted in apparent dissatisfaction. A water pillar spouted from his back. "Forget it if you don't trust us."

Fox Spirit whispered in Aokiji's ear, "Have you forgotten how they treated that seal in the sea?"

Orca Mother spoke gently. "Little fox, if that is why you fear us, then you have misunderstood us. We would not do that to humans. More precisely, we would not do that to creatures we can communicate with. Since you share a common language with us, we are friendly toward you as well."

"Liar."

Fox Spirit flicked her head, showing that someone as clever as her would not believe them so easily.

Orca Mother looked at Aokiji and smiled. "When it comes to eating food, you humans should have more to say than I do."

Aokiji nodded, unable to deny it.

When humans ate food, they naturally did not consider animals' feelings, because animals could not communicate with humans. Just imagine it: if the pigs people usually ate suddenly learned to speak one day, could they still eat pork as peacefully as before?

They would probably find it hard to take a bite.

The orcas were friendly to him precisely because they shared a common language.

"Fine, I believe you."

Aokiji decided to take a gamble.

He was so small that he was not even enough to fill an orca's teeth. Aokiji felt they had no reason to deceive him.

Seeing that Aokiji was so sensible, the young orca Fat Tiger could not help developing a better impression of him. "You humans are pretty reasonable, unlike that fox. Since that's the case, come ride on me."

Although this young orca, Orca Yu, was still a child, his racial gifts meant he was not small at all. He was already six or seven meters long, more than capable of carrying a six-year-old Aokiji.

"Eh, really?"

Fat Tiger bragged, "Don't let my appearance fool you. I'm quite fast."

"Then I'll gladly accept."

Aokiji was only being polite. What he truly wanted was to ride his mother, since she looked much bigger. The young orca before him was six or seven meters long and could definitely carry him, but riding the larger one would surely be more comfortable. Still, since this little one was being so proactive, he could not refuse without seeming ungrateful.

After Aokiji and the orcas reached an agreement, Orca Mother unexpectedly asked Fox Spirit before they left, "Do you want to come?"

She could tell that the little fox before her was probably not traveling with this human. She just did not know why they had happened to meet.

Fox Spirit shook her head. Though she was somewhat curious about what Ice Island looked like, she feared death even more.

Orca Mother smiled. "Aren't you curious why you are different from the other foxes?"

"Uh... how did you know?"

From the moment she was born, Fox Spirit had realized she was different from her brothers and sisters. Specifically, she was good at human speech but bad at fox speech, which often led to her being ostracized by her own kind.

Orca Mother kept her in suspense. "You'll know when you get there..."

What should I do? Should I go?

Fox Spirit struggled with her thoughts for a while before finally deciding to go and investigate.

Like a sparrow, she bounced over in a few hops, leaped onto him, and curled into a ball like a fox-fur hat. Trying to curry favor, she said, "Look how cold it is. How about I serve as your hat?"

Aokiji: ...

This little fox was clearly afraid of dying, yet she made it sound so righteous.

Aokiji did not expose her and gave her some face. Honestly, this fox-fur hat was quite warm.

After that, Aokiji rode atop the orca and headed for Ice Island. They traveled smoothly, riding the wind and breaking the waves with great majesty.

Orcas looked round and plump, but their speed was truly incredible. That was only because someone stood on his back, restricting his posture. Otherwise, he would probably have swum even faster.

"How about it? Didn't I tell you I was fast?"

Hearing the orca beneath his feet ask, Aokiji hurriedly praised him. "I used to think sharks were the fiercest creatures in the sea. I never expected there to be Marine Life even fiercer than sharks."

"Hmph, sharks are nothing. Those things are just our food."

"Awesome."

"Taking down sharks is nothing special. Sometimes, we even hunt creatures several times bigger than us. That is what counts as skill."

"You really are brave."

"Of course..."

After several rounds of flattering praise, the young orca became completely dizzy with delight and began forgetting himself. His age was right there for all to see—he was easy to coax.

"What's your name?"

"Just call me Fat Tiger."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Doraemon—uh, no, my name is Aokiji."

With that exchange, one human and one fish officially became acquainted. Seeing how ferocious this orca was, Aokiji's eyes spun as an idea formed. It was impossible for him not to be tempted.

A person could sign contracts with multiple Summoned Beasts. Aokiji planned to sign with several for different situations—at least one that swam in the sea, one that ran on land, and one that flew in the sky.

He truly did not understand why those people in the original story only signed with one Summoned Beast, or only used one type.

Now that such an opportunity was right before him, Aokiji naturally would not let it slip away.

After all that flattering, it was time to reveal his true goal. "Orca Yu, do you want to become my Summoned Beast?"

"A Summoned Beast?"

"Yeah. As long as you become my Summoned Beast, I can take you out to see the world beyond this place. The outside world is really interesting—much more interesting than this place full of glaciers."

Aokiji gestured wildly with both hands and feet, trying to sweet-talk Orca Yu first. Yet no matter how vividly he spoke or how eloquently he praised it, Orca Yu showed little interest. He understood the concept of a Summoned Beast—it was just becoming someone's underling...

Instead, Fox Spirit, who was lying on his head, became increasingly fascinated. She jumped down, wagged her tail, and gazed up at Aokiji with sparkling eyes. "In that case, if you don't mind, I can be your Summoned Beast."

"You?"

Aokiji glanced at her. She was so tiny that aside from serving as a hat and acting cute, what use was she?

"Sorry, but I mind very much."

Like everyone who had been rejected, Fox Spirit could not help asking why.

Aokiji: You are inferior in every way, okay?

Aokiji waved his hand dismissively. "Go on, go somewhere cool and stay there. Don't interrupt me while I'm talking to Big Brother Fat Tiger. You're so tiny—what would I want you as a Summoned Beast for? You can't even be a mount."

"Hmph, isn't it just being a mount? Letting someone ride me? I can do that too."

Aokiji: ??? What kind of Tiger Wolf Words were those?