Naruto: Azure Awakening Ch 164 - I’m Not Picking a Wife

“What?” Kaoru nearly choked. If what Ogashi said was true, then falling for one of the Leviathans might just be so mystical pull from the contract.

“Why are you yelling, Kaoru?” Soma asked in a low voice, leaning forward to get closer to Kaoru’s ear.

“Grandpa Ogashi said I might fall in love with one of the Leviathans because of the contract,” Kaoru responded, the words spilling out like a desperate complaint to an older brother who might rescue him.

“What?” Soma burst out laughing, failing to hold it in. The sharp look he got from nearby Leviathans only made it worse.

“When did I tell you that, Kurara?” Ogashi raised a brow in confusion.

Kaoru slapped his hand over his face. He didn’t even have the strength to respond.

“I said you’d be drawn to your fated one - the one ant to form a contract with you,” Ogashi continued calmly, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal. “But there’s no guarantee such a Leviathan even exists.”

“Oh, so you ant the summoning contract… not, like, romantic…” Kaoru’s words trailed off as his face turned red. He looked away, regretting everything.

“They’ve arrived,” Soma said behind him, voice dropping to a more serious tone. Kaoru barely had ti to recover from the embarrassnt when Soma added, just loud enough for everyone to hear, “Kaoru, don’t try to woo anyone. I know you're at that hormonal age, but try to control yourself.”

Kaoru shot him a glare sharp enough to kill a bird midflight, only to freeze as the water around them surged.

Massive splashes echoed through the air as the visitors erged. Unlike Ogashi’s form, their Leviathan bodies were deep crimson, sleek, powerful, and terrifyingly elegant.

‘Are they bigger than Grandpa Ogashi, or is that just ?’ Kaoru stared, eyes wide. He’d lived among Leviathans for months now, but seeing them in their true forms was still rare, never like this, never so many at once.

He kept watching, unable to look away, as the towering figures began to shift. One by one, the crimson Leviathans approached the staircase and transford into their humanoid forms. Contrary to what Kaoru expected, they all had dark blue hair and glowing cyan eyes, just like Ogashi’s tribe, but their skin held a faint crimson hue, almost like it was lit from within.

They wore long, traditional robes inscribed with unfamiliar symbols Kaoru didn’t recognize. Leading them was the smallest and oldest Leviathan of the group, clearly even older than Ogashi. His long, silver hair was tied neatly above his head with a hairpiece, and despite the years written across his face, it was his presence that stunned Kaoru the most.

Every step the elder took was calm and effortless, yet the other Leviathans behind him kept stealing glances his way, waiting for orders that never ca.

“Ogashi, I’m glad to see you in good health,” the old man said warmly as he stepped off the last stair, spreading his arms as if expecting a hug.

“Likewise, Ikasa,” Ogashi replied, sounding unusually respectful.

‘Yeah, no way Ogashi got that na right,’ Kaoru thought, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. ‘Odds are 99 to 1 it’s wrong.’

“You look just like him,” the old Leviathan said suddenly, turning his gaze toward Kaoru. He’d spotted the human among them in an instant.

Kaoru hesitated, unsure how to greet soone so ancient and powerful, soone who spoke to Ogashi like an old drinking buddy but radiated the kind of aura that could silence a battlefield.

“His na’s Ukaka,” Ogashi offered helpfully, giving Kaoru a gentle nudge forward.

“Hah!” The old Leviathan burst into laughter, clapping his hands. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Ogashi, but I wouldn’t trust an introduction that ca out of your mouth.” His laughter echoed awkwardly, clearly not shared by the rest of his tribe, whose expressions remained tense and unreadable.

“Child,” the old man said, still wiping a tear from his eye. “What’s your na? I’m Iseki. But you can just call Grandpa.”

His tone was warm and inviting, almost disarmingly so. The friendly beam on his face stood in stark contrast to the cold glares from the Leviathans behind him. The mont Iseki asked to be called “Grandpa,” every one of them glared at Kaoru like he’d stolen sothing sacred.

‘What the hell is this obsession with being called Grandpa?’ Kaoru thought, keeping his face composed and offering a polite smile.

“I’m Kaoru. Kaoru Taki,” he replied, bowing respectfully. “Grandpa Ogashi told you’re here to offer a summoning contract.”

He didn’t wait for further pleasantries. Better to get straight to the point. If this was going to be a negotiation, he’d set the tone.

Iseki’s eyes glead. He saw it imdiately, Kaoru wasn’t just being blunt. He’d called Ogashi “Grandpa” in front of them, signaling loyalty. And now he was framing this whole thing as a business arrangent.

‘Smart boy,’ Iseki thought, smiling even brighter. He had the sudden urge to ss up Kaoru’s neatly combed hair, but restrained himself as he did not want to co off rude.

Still, he sulked a little that he could not do what he wanted.

“Kaoru, don’t worry about saying no.” Iseki’s voice was light, even playful. “Tough making a contract with my tribe would be far better for your future, I promise to respect your decision and return peacefully.”

His words sounded like the reasonable thing to say - why wouldn’t he return peacefully?! But the reactions said otherwise. Shock rippled through his own tribesn. Even Ogashi’s brow lifted, and a few of the Leviathans nearby exchanged surprised glances. Clearly, this was no small compromise.

Taken from , this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Kaoru hesitated. For a mont, he genuinely considered rejecting Iseki’s tribe outright, just to end this uncomfortable tension before it got any worse. But as he parted his lips to speak, Iseki lifted a hand.

“Ah-ah. First, you’ll et all our candidates. I’m not asking you to spend ti with them, just exchange a few words.” His tone was warm, casual, as he extended a hand toward Kaoru.

Kaoru couldn’t refuse. He reached out and shook it.

“Excellent!” Iseki clapped once. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

He shot a glance over his shoulder, and one of his people moved imdiately, already setting the preparations in motion.

“Ogashi!” Iseki bellowed cheerfully. “Tonight, we drink until we can’t rember how to speak!”

Without waiting for a reply, he threw an arm around Ogashi’s shoulder and pulled him along, laughing heartily.

Kaoru stared after them, eyes wide, jaw slightly slack.

“Soma… who is that guy? I an, he’s dragging Grandpa Ogashi around like he owns the place.”

Soma didn’t look at him. His eyes were gleaming with sothing strange Kaoru couldn’t quite tell.

“Because that’s his older brother,” Soma said, voice oddly distant, still staring in that sa spot like hypnotized.

‘Older brother? Seriously?’ Kaoru blinked. ‘How co no one ntioned that until now?!’

Then he noticed Soma’s weird gaze and followed his line of sight.

A female Leviathan stood a short distance away, her cyan eyes locked onto Soma with unsettling intensity. She wasn’t blinking or moving either.

“Heh… and you were lecturing about hormones?” Kaoru muttered, smirking.

He turned again, suddenly realizing sothing was off.

‘Wait… where’s Sona?’

She hadn’t said a word. She hadn’t even thrown a tantrum. That alone was enough to raise alarms.

“Where is Sona?” Kaoru asked, looking around as if he were trying to spot the hidden predator.

“She’s not allowed to co,” Soma answered casually, finally blinking as he looked away from the girl. He didn’t bother explaining. He didn’t need to.

Kaoru sighed.

“Let guess. Because she’s too uncontrollable?”

Soma just laughed.

“Kaoru, I’ll leave for a while,” he said suddenly.

“Hmm, where are you going?” Kaoru teased, smirking. But Soma did not answer.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

…

The Leviathans were having a feast, but it couldn’t be called a celebration.

Kaoru had seen them celebrate - bright robes, loud laughter, teasing voices echoing through the streets. Everyone beca cheeky, full of life, like the ocean itself had started dancing.

This wasn’t that.

Everyone was quiet. Composed. Even the way they ate felt ceremonial.

‘When they said feast, I thought it’d be a fun gathering,’ Kaoru grumbled internally, grabbing a fish skewered on a stick and taking a massive bite.

‘Leviathans are the best cooks in the world.’

The thought nearly escaped his mouth. The mont the rich flavor hit his tongue, his soul practically left his body. The at lted. It didn’t even need chewing. Just pure, divine perfection.

But heaven didn’t last long.

“Hello. I’m Ira.” A voice interrupted him, sharper than it needed to be.

A boy, older than Soma but not quite grown, sat down next to Kaoru without asking.

Kaoru raised a brow, visibly annoyed, but he didn’t say anything. Just gave a polite smile and replied, “Kaoru Taki. Nice to et you.”

“Kaoru, what are you looking…”

“I’m starving,” Kaoru cut in before Ira could finish. His tone was flat. “Can we do this later?”

He didn’t like the guy’s attitude, and he didn’t see the need to pretend otherwise.

Ira shot up, cheeks red with embarrassnt, but a sharp glance from one of his elders pinned him in place. He swallowed the rest of his anger, bowed stiffly, and left without a word.

“Goodbye,” Kaoru called after him with a smile, like pouring oil on fire.

Finally, peace.

He went back to devouring his fish, savoring every bite. When he moved on to dessert, sothing that looked like a pearl dipped in syrup, another Leviathan approached.

This one was younger, maybe a little older than Kaoru, but still far from grown.

“Hi,” the boy said, stopping in front of him. “Do you want these?”

He opened his hand, revealing a few smooth, pale crystals that glimred faintly under the feast torches.

“What are these?” Kaoru asked, his curiosity piqued. They didn’t look like food.

“They’re my favorite sweets,” the boy said quickly. “I’ve been watching you since the feast started… You really like eating…”

He brought the crystals closer like he was offering treasure. Or bait.

Kaoru hesitated, not because he didn’t want to talk to this one, but because eating pale crystals sounded like a dangerous experint.

“What do they taste like?” he asked, taking one and sniffing it. No sll.

“They can taste like anything. Sotis like grilled fish... sotis like a rotten oyster.” Daki laughed, visibly wincing. Kaoru didn’t even need to ask, he’d clearly experienced the worst-case scenario.

“Why would you eat sothing that might be delicious or disgusting?” Kaoru grinned, still staring at the translucent sweet in his hand.

‘Damn, this is really intriguing. I want to try it now.’

He popped one into his mouth and pressed it against the roof with his tongue, waiting.

“I’m Daki, by the way,” the boy said, casually taking a seat beside him, watching with anticipation.

At first, the taste was amazing - sweet, creamy, almost like caralized banana. Kaoru’s eyes lit up. Then it changed. Fast.

His expression contorted as the flavor twisted into sothing aggressively sour. He hunched slightly, groaning through a laugh.

“Ughh, it was so good at first!” he said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, still smiling.

“That’s why I love them,” Daki shrugged, clearly pleased.

“I’m Kaoru,” he replied, offering a hand.

Daki took it, gave a firm shake, and got right to the point.

“The elders want to ask you to sign a contract with ,” he said flatly. “But honestly, I don’t care.”

His tone was so casual, so unconcerned, that it caught Kaoru off guard.

It sounded honest, but it was too perfect. That very nonchalance made him instantly suspicious.

‘Is he trying to use reverse psychology?’ Kaoru wondered, locking eyes with the boy across from him.

“What I want is to leave this place.” Daki’s voice dropped lower, more serious now. “I know you won’t trust . I wouldn’t either. But this is my only chance.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“If you turn away, the elders won’t let co again. So here’s my offer - I won’t just beco your summon. I’ll follow you everywhere you go. I’ll fight whoever you want.”

His gaze locked onto Kaoru’s, sharp and unwavering.

“Imagine it, a Leviathan by your side at all tis. No limits. No restrictions. Fighting your battles. Your blade in every war.”