When Kane Uchiha steered his small boat along the direction the Sea King's body had been flung, he found that the enormous creature had already washed ashore. Its lifeless body eyes rolled white was surrounded by a crowd of villagers, all chattering in astonishment at the sheer size of the beast.
"This… this is a Sea King, isn't it? What's it doing all the way out here?"
"No idea. Could it be a gift from the sea gods?"
"Gift my foot! Even if it got swept up by a storm, there's no way something this massive could've washed up this far inland!"
"Where's Kane? Didn't he head out fishing today? Someone go check on him it's too dangerous out there right now!"
"Yeah! Come on, all the young men, grab your boats and go. We can't let anything happen to him."
Among the gathered crowd stood Belmer, a pink-haired woman with a firm stance and a weathered gaze, watching the Sea King's corpse in silence. Beside her were Nami, eight years old and bursting with curiosity, and Nojiko, twelve, calm and observant.
Nami pointed excitedly at the giant fish. "Belmer, look! It's huge! I've never seen anything this big before!"
Nojiko frowned with concern. "I wonder if Kane's okay. He went out fishing today, didn't he?"
Belmer rested a hand gently on their heads, her expression soft yet tinged with worry. As a former Marine, she immediately recognized something others didn't the Sea King's death wasn't natural. It was too clean, too absolute.
Someone killed it… and with power far beyond normal means.
"Could it be the Navy? No… if it's a pirate, that's trouble. I can handle myself, but Nami and Nojiko…"
Her fists clenched unconsciously, her eyes hardening.
"No matter who it is, if anyone tries to hurt those girls, I'll protect them with my life."
At that moment, Kane arrived at the scene, his presence cutting through the noise. The villagers turned in surprise as he approached the colossal corpse.
"Kane! You're back! We were worried sick. There's a Sea King in our waters Lysa's been pacing ever since you left!"
"Yeah, you should stay ashore for a while. If that thing had found your little boat, it would've splintered you in seconds!"
"Kane!" cried two familiar voices.
Nami and Nojiko darted through the crowd and threw themselves at him well, mostly at his legs, since that was as far as they could reach. Kane looked down, startled for a moment, then smiled gently.
"You two… I'm fine."
Belmer came over, letting out a breath of relief. "You scared them half to death, you know."
Nojiko blushed, clinging silently to his leg, while Nami puffed out her cheeks and quickly leapt back. "I-I wasn't worried! I just didn't want you to forget to bring back fish for dinner!"
The crowd laughed warmly, and for the first time in a long while, Kane felt something he hadn't felt since leaving the shinobi world genuine warmth.
After years of fighting and bloodshed, living each day on edge, the simple concern of ordinary people felt precious beyond measure.
He shook his head and smiled faintly. "I'm alright, everyone. Thank you for worrying. But you don't need to panic about the Sea King it was my catch."
The laughter died instantly. The villagers froze, blinking at him as if they hadn't heard correctly.
For a long moment, there was silence until Nojiko hesitantly raised a hand. "Kane, are you… sure you're feeling okay? Did you hit your head or something?"
Nami's eyes were wide with the same suspicion, her face clearly saying: You've got to be kidding me.
Then came a wave of laughter.
"Haha! Kane, even the kids think you've lost it!"
"Didn't take you for a joker! Guess all that time at sea gave you a sense of humor!"
The laughter grew louder, echoing through the village.
Only Belmer didn't laugh. Her instincts screamed that the boy was dead serious. Those strange purple eyes of his eyes that seemed to hold an entire world within them weren't just for show. No ordinary person gave off that kind of pressure.
Most villagers had simply learned to ignore it after spending enough time with him, or brushed it off as just another oddity. But Belmer knew better.
Kane didn't argue. He didn't need to.
He simply raised a hand toward the Sea King's corpse and spoke calmly:
"Shinra Tensei."
The words had barely left his lips when an invisible force exploded outward. The Sea King's corpse, weighing tens of tons, shot across the beach like a cannonball, crashing into the distant shallows with a thunderous boom.
The laughter stopped.
Every pair of eyes went wide as silence swallowed the shore.
Even Nami, who had just been teasing him, could only gape, her mouth open in shock.
Belmer stared at the young man before her the boy she had once thought was just another quiet fisherman and felt a chill run down her spine.
She didn't know where his power came from, but she knew one thing: it wasn't from this world.
And perhaps, just perhaps, fate had brought this strange, powerful boy into their small corner of the East Blue for a reason.
Kane lowered his hand, his expression calm, almost casual, as if he'd merely swatted a fly.
"That should keep it from rotting near the village," he said with a faint smile. "No need to let the smell bother anyone."
No one replied. They simply stared at him in stunned silence.
Belmer was the first to recover. She exhaled slowly and gave him a small, knowing smile. "Welcome back, Kane."
For the first time, Kane felt truly seen not as a curiosity, not as a stranger, but as someone who belonged.
And deep within, his Rinnegan shimmered faintly in response, as though recognizing the warmth he had just found.