[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.]
Third Person POV
Somewhere in the ocean, Year 42.
...
...
Minato took some time to speak with the fish clan as soon as he entered. They were hostile toward him as soon as he was seen, but after some recognized him from the waterfall event, mainly because he himself had surpassed the clouds at the request of one of the lords of the sky, their attitude shifted.
The meeting with the chief was surrounded by suspicion. He had first said that Minato should not share any information about what he had seen above the clouds, because it was strictly forbidden for everyone in the clan.
That was not a problem for Minato, but it was a little difficult to negotiate when he asked for their help. In the end, he managed to secure the elder's help with a task that Minato guaranteed would not be too risky.
He was there for a reason, his goal: to try to expand his field of vision and surveillance. And what could be better than a group of fish that could swim across the entire ocean, while tracking his enemies and passing on reports, all from the bottom of the sea? No shinobi could do that, so no kage would ever imagine their armies being watched from below.
No one really knew those fish, not even Minato knew the clan beyond what he had spoken about with Guren. Still, they confirmed that they had no contact with any other human from the surface. They had been so surprised when Guren, for the first time, had said that he had met a human, thinking him naïve at first, and even the older fish had told him to stay away. Other than that, none had ever met anyone from the surface.
Minato had to negotiate a few things with the fish clan. In fact, he needed to take on a task to eliminate the clan's greatest enemy.
So after speaking with the elder, he dove deeper into the sea.
Even though he was somewhat weakened by having the power of a devil fruit, Minato could still use his jutsus. With his space jutsu, he could easily escape any dangerous situation. At the same time that he felt confident, he could also use great power from his fruit, even if not in its full form. His body also remained strong, and he could even swim. Minato had almost none of the disadvantages that a fruit user would have in the world of One Piece. Obviously, he did not complain.
In the depths of a trench, a few kilometers from the horned fish clan, Minato found himself in the middle of the abyss as he descended for several minutes.
And from the darkness, eyes stared at him, glowing with malice as they watched him approach like prey. The creature had chakra, Minato could feel it, and it was very powerful, a quantity as great as that of an elite ninja, but it was only chakra due to its enormous size, and it was not controllable. And this creature, being none other than a Kraken, was not the kind of creature with whom people usually made contracts.
Then, he disappeared into the middle of the abyss, being covered by darkness, and everything calmed down, as if nothing had happened.
However, in the next moment, intense yellow flashes began to appear, illuminating the entire trench, before the place trembled.
Soon after, Minato returned to the fish clan bringing along a massive Kraken. The creature was completely scorched with burns and blackened patches all over its body, while Minato dragged it by one of its tentacles, terrifying all the fish as they watched the human simply hauling the creature before them.
They could certainly deal with the Kraken when it attacked the clan. Even though these fish had failed the waterfall trial, they still had their own strength within the sea. Perhaps they were not as strong as Guren, but an entire clan could be very dangerous when they all attacked a single enemy.
Besides, the Kraken was quite persistent, attacking them from time to time, before starting to retreat, and it was not worth chasing it for the fish. Since doing so put them in danger, and that was exactly what the Kraken wanted — to face them in smaller groups, where it had more of a chance.
This had already lasted 20 years.
Minato left the Kraken outside the clan and went to a place where he could speak with the elder. He entered a cave, where there was enough air to communicate.
"I will take the Kraken," Minato said.
"Wait… isn't that dangerous?" the elder murmured, though there was little doubt in his tone. Minato was the one who had defeated the Kraken so easily, accomplishing something they had not managed in two decades, so he would be able to handle it in any case.
"Yes, I kept it alive for a reason. Now I will keep it with me. It will no longer be a problem for you, nor will it be able to return here. So, your problem is solved," Minato began. "Now I want you to fulfill your part of the deal. I need you to find me on the coast of Uzushiogakure."
He spoke with some caution, wondering how those fish could find him, since not even he knew in which part of the sea he would be, and it was definitely not close to the elemental nations. Seeing the doubtful look on Minato's face, the elder quickly understood what he meant.
"If you are wondering how we will find you, well… I want you to take some horns from clan members who have passed away. With them, we will be guided to find you. We use our horns to find lost members or even our home, since we place all the horns in one place, and everyone can sense the direction of those horns. After all, how do you think we always return here, no matter where in the world we end up?" said the fish.
Minato was surprised by the explanation but nodded at it. It seemed quite reasonable.
"All right. Bring me those horns and I will take them with me."
He only negotiated a few more details and quickly returned to the water, where the Kraken still remained unconscious. They would have a better conversation in the Land of the Uzumakis.
The elder brought the horns he had promised, while Minato said his farewells, and the rest of the clan watched him in silence. There were many young fish; these would not take part in the war, just like the elderly. Not even the fish Minato wanted to watch over the seas would be directly involved. Minato's goal was to have good eyes in the middle of the sea to monitor enemies coming from the north, south, or east of Uzushiogakure.
With just a hand seal, Minato touched the Kraken and disappeared along with the massive body, also carrying the horns in his hands. The scenery changed and, from the bottom of the sea, he reappeared under the sunlight, filled with the air of the surface as the bubble he had created in his mouth burst.
"Minatoooooo?!"
He quickly began to hear screams, immediately analyzing the situation.
There were hundreds of Kushina clones shouting at him. Behind them stood other Uzumakis, staring open-mouthed as he fell from the sky with the enormous Kraken, which hit the ground with such force that it created a giant wave, lifting water and drenching the countless Kushinas near the coast.
The collective scream of the many Kushinas receded with the wave before all of them looked furiously at him, while the creature still remained almost completely out of the water, its body far too large for such shallow waters — it was more than 50 meters long.
"Minato! What is this?! Where did you get this giant creature!!??"
"Well… I brought this to help, and it's not for eating," he replied, while Kushina was the only one able to complain more clearly. It was annoying to hear several of her talking at once. The other Uzumakis just watched, not knowing what to say.
"What do you mean, you brought this thing to help, Dattebane?!" the collective scream echoed once again.
Minato let go of the Kraken and landed near the shore, in front of the copies of his fiancée.
"I want to use it, but I can't tame it. It's a wild creature. However, I believe Mikoto can do it with her Sharingan. That's why I want to ask you to seal the Kraken until tomorrow, when I will remove Mikoto's blindfold to begin her training," Minato said, turning his attention to the other Uzumakis.
"You want to use this creature? Do you really think the disabled Uchiha can control it?" Mu seemed very surprised as he murmured.
"Well, it's a gamble… but there's a chance we can succeed. And all help should be welcome, correct?" Minato said in the end.
"Of course… you're right." The elder finally snapped out of his stunned state and nodded.
"Now I just want you to keep the Kraken restrained. If it wakes up, take care of it," Minato said, closing the matter, while Mu Uzumaki nodded in the end.
He returned to Kushina, realizing that the original was not there. He noticed she was on the other side of the island, busy with her own clones, since she didn't seem to like the presence of the other Uzumakis very much and preferred to let her clones handle that work.
"Do you need anything, Kushina?" Minato asked.
She only shook her head, but still gave him a silly smile, as always.
"No, Minato. Leave it to me," she said.
He just nodded.
"Then I'm going. I'll stay with Mikoto, I'll be waiting for you at the house," he said, disappearing the next moment.
Soon the Uzumakis began to work, drawing several seals and creating a barrier around the Kraken. Since it was not a very intelligent creature, it could not use chakra effectively. If it woke up and tried to break the barrier, it would only have its brute strength — still immense, as each strike of its tentacles seemed to weigh tons. Still, nothing the Uzumaki elders could not handle with fūinjutsu and adamantine chains.
Minato returned later and found Mikoto lying down, pleased to see her truly resting. As soon as she noticed him, she immediately turned her face toward him, as if she had already sensed his presence.
"Minato," she said in a calm tone.
"Hello, Mikoto. I hope I didn't make you wait too long," he said, not wanting to leave her alone.
"No, the girls came here. Tsuna and Hanabi brought lunch and ate with me. Kushina went to have lunch with her mother," she informed.
"Well, that's great," said Minato, noticing a leftover lunchbox still there.
"Is it all right if I eat this? I was in the water for hours and I didn't feel like eating seaweed, it didn't look very appealing," he said, picking up the lunchbox.
Kushina only gave a smile while he sat beside her and began eating.
"Well, it seems they're all busy…" Minato commented with a small smile, while he could feel with haki, Mikoto and Hanabi discussing with Masaki Uzumaki about how the training would begin, after choosing which Uzumakis would perform the water and wind jutsus.
Kushina continued studying the barrier for the rest of the day, and her clones assisted her.
"Tsuna seemed worried…" Mikoto said while Minato stopped looking through haki at what they were doing.
"Let me guess… she's jealous of a group of Uzumaki girls?" Minato laughed, finishing his lunchbox and snuggling beside his fiancée, embracing her and caressing her belly that was growing day after day.
There was his child. Their first child. The thought of becoming a father made him nervous, but he needed to be firm in that moment — for his child, for Mikoto, and for everyone else on that island.
"Yes… she said some Uzumaki girls are asking about you all the time," Kushina replied.
"Well, it's not like I'm here to build a harem or something. I already have one Uzumaki for myself, I don't need anyone else," Minato said as if it were obvious.
He had no desire to get more women. Obviously, that world had the tendency to create fan clubs for very popular and strong people, and he was no exception. Even in Konoha, the girls acted that way — and Tsuna had always been quite protective. The Uzumakis would react the same way. Remembering how girls with looks of interest and admiration always approached him, even Kushina had acted like that at first, so it was no surprise. But Minato had no intention of throwing more fuel onto that fire.
"Well, I told her that," Mikoto said, laughing.
"You of all people… I thought you'd be wanting to gut some Uzumaki girls, Mikoto," Minato said.
"Well, I can't say I like the idea, but I know you already have too many problems dealing with a Uchiha, a Senju, an Uzumaki, and a Hyuuga. Even I can't understand you, Minato."
"Well… you're not wrong," Minato sighed.
"Ah, come on. It seems like you're taking everything as if it were a huge problem, when in reality, we don't even bother you that much. We're pretty easygoing," Mikoto wanted to defend herself.
Minato didn't want to answer, but she was right. If he had to deal with a bunch of annoying, troublesome women, he would rather choose only one. His "harem" of four women was quite reasonable — after all, they respected him and respected one another. There was a certain balance and harmony in the family of five there.
Or, at least, they had learned to do so over time. Tsuna might have had a more radical personality, but she was far from being like a young Sakura from Naruto, whose way of acting Minato didn't like at all.
"So… the training will begin tomorrow?" Mikoto asked, while Minato felt her presence.
"Yes. We'll remove your blindfold tomorrow, and you'll open your eyes for the first time," he informed.
She didn't respond, only acknowledged it, and they fell into silence again. Minutes passed, and Mikoto turned her face toward Minato, still clinging to her in that house, alone together.
"Is it all right for you to stay here?" she asked, realizing Minato hadn't left yet, even though the day was not over.
"Let's just say I don't intend to leave. You know… ever since I learned you were going to be a mother, the mother of my child, we haven't had time to simply be like this, doing nothing but enjoying each other's company. Maybe we can take advantage of this afternoon. I want to be a good father to this boy, and I would love to enjoy my future wife while she's pregnant," he said, smiling.
They wouldn't do anything beyond sharing each other's company. Mikoto still had the blindfold over her eyes, but she had the chance to feel that moment, opening a small smile and resting her head on Minato's chest for the rest of the day.
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