A Promise with Nami

The one who struck was none other than Minato Namikaze, who had arrived via the Flying Thunder God. Fortunately, he had left a Flying Thunder God kunai near the harbor, allowing him to arrive just in time to save Nami.

As Minato Namikaze's voice faded, a kunai struck the palm of the pirate Dick, the immense force pinning his entire body to the ground.

Minato Namikaze turned and scooped up little Nami, while the two fodder pirates who had been guarding her were effortlessly knocked flat.

"Ah! It hurts, it hurts!" The agony of his palm being pierced by the sharp weapon made the pirate Dick howl. "Kill him for me!"

The surrounding pirates swarmed forward with various weapons, intent on hacking Minato to pieces.

Minato sighed softly. "Violence is not meant for bullying the weak." Several kunai slid quietly from his palm.

Swish, swish, swish. The kunai pierced the air sharply all around the pirates.

"Dare to hurt our captain? Prepare to die!"

"You can't even hit your targets with those hidden weapons!"

Facing the siege of dozens of men, Minato remained calm, his expression unruffled as he spoke softly:

"Flying Thunder God: Instant Slash!"

A dazzling streak of yellow light shuttled through the space at high speed. Every flash of yellow light brought with it a spray of blood, possessing a cruel, aesthetic beauty.

The watching villagers stood like petrified fossils, their jaws dropped so low it was as if they were performing a farce.

Within a few breaths, the figure moving through the field came to a halt. The group of pirates stood as if under a binding spell, motionless, leaving only Minato standing alone in the field, his clothes fluttering gently.

"Violence is not my desire, but I do not object to fighting fire with fire."

Minato sighed softly, and immediately after, the surrounding pirates collapsed one after another like dominoes, falling silent.

Pirate Dick felt his whole body go cold as he looked at the corpses of his subordinates covering the ground. Yet, years of living on the edge of a blade gave him the courage to act; he lunged rapidly toward the stunned Nami, his large hand clamping down on her slender neck as he snarled viciously:

"Stop, or I'll kill her!"

Minato Namikaze turned around slowly. He remained spotless, as if he had just returned from a stroll, his calm demeanor driving Dick to the brink of madness.

"Let me go! Once I'm back on my ship, I'll release this girl. Otherwise, we all die!"

Dick only wanted to live. He stared unblinkingly at the man who had brought him such immense terror.

As long as this man backed down, he swore that once he escaped, he would stay far away from the East Blue and never return! As for revenge? Those who died were just idiots; what did that have to do with Captain Dick?

Just as he was calculating, he was horrified to find that the space in front of him was empty! Where did he go? Reflexively, his right hand exerted force, preparing to take her down with him... but a sharp blade pressed against his throat, freezing him in place. In despair, Dick realized the hostage in his hand had vanished.

"Sorry, you're too slow."

Minato Namikaze appeared behind Dick, one hand pressed against his throat, the other holding little Nami. At this moment, little Nami's fear had turned into surprise mixed with admiration.

"Little Nami, close your eyes."

Nami heard him and obediently closed her eyes. This uncle's voice is actually quite pleasant.

Minato Namikaze ended the sinful life of the pirate Dick. If he could do it all over again, perhaps he would never have appeared in the East Blue...

Following the pirate raid, the people of Cocoyasi Village felt immense gratitude and respect for Minato Namikaze. On this chaotic sea, most ordinary people suffered under the constant harassment of pirates.

The villagers held great goodwill and respect for someone who could drive away pirates and protect the village. If that person was also sunny, handsome, and gentle, they would have loved to send the village's most beautiful girl to win him over.

That was exactly the case with Minato. If he hadn't insisted that he was already married and had a child, the gazes of the young girls in the village might have swallowed him whole.

That evening, Cocoyasi Village held a banquet to celebrate the survivors of the pirate attack. The people of this world seemed accustomed to pirate raids and the loss of life; sorrow did not shroud them for long. Instead, they pulled themselves together and brought out the best food from their homes to start the feast.

In the village square, a new moon rose.

The villagers of Cocoyasi danced and sang around the bonfire. Minato held a glass of fruit juice, watching the people dance happily, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Nami watched Minato sitting to the side drinking juice and quietly slipped over. Perhaps because he had saved her life, or perhaps for other reasons, Nami felt that Minato was someone one couldn't help but want to be close to. The back that had shielded her from the storm was so tall and imposing.

"Uncle Minato, why are you drinking juice? Don't adults usually drink alcohol?" Nami's large eyes were filled with curiosity.

Minato smiled slightly. "Haha, I'm just not used to drinking!"

"Oh, oh, this meat is delicious!" Nami handed a roasted hind leg from the table to Minato.

Minato looked at the food, which was larger than his own face, and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. "Uh, thank you, Nami, but Uncle is already full."

"I didn't see you eat much. Someone as amazing as you must need to eat lots and lots of meat!" Nami wore an expression that said she knew everything.

Minato Namikaze gave a secret, bitter smile. The people of this world had astonishing appetites; the average person's intake far exceeded that of people in the ninja world, and the stronger one was, the greater their appetite!

Of course, the reverse was not true. Little Nami's appetite was equivalent to that of an adult in his world. He explained, "Uncle is already full; you just didn't notice."

Hearing this, Nami stopped insisting and took a large bite of the meat, eating it with delight.

Minato saw the bits of meat clinging to little Nami's puffed-out cheeks as she ate. He smiled, couldn't resist patting her head, and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the crumbs.

Little Nami obediently stopped chewing, her eyes narrowing slightly like a cat being petted by its owner, looking completely satisfied.

"Uncle Minato, you're so nice!"

Nami remembered what her foster mother, Bell-mère, had told her and said to Minato, "Uncle Minato, do you want to eat the tangerines from our farm? We have lots and lots, you can have them all."

"Hahaha, thank you, little Nami. Your tangerines are delicious," Minato said, picking up a tangerine from the table. "But, I'm looking forward most to the tangerines you grow with your own hands."

"But, but Bell-mère said the tangerines I planted will take a long, long time to grow and bear fruit," little Nami said, looking frustrated.

"It's alright. When they're ripe, you can invite Uncle over, and I won't be shy about eating them~" Minato gently pinched little Nami's cheek.

"Okay, then pinky swear! A hundred years, no changing, whoever lies is a big fibber!" A hint of seriousness crossed little Nami's youthful face.

"Alright then." Minato held out his hand, and two pinkies—one large, one small—hooked together to seal the promise.

After making the promise with little Nami, Minato took out a kunai and handed it to her; the handle was engraved with the words "Sword of Shinobi Love."

Little Nami played with the kunai curiously and asked, "Uncle Minato, what is this?"

"This is a token of our promise~ When your tangerines are ripe, I will use this kunai to find you and fulfill our agreement."

Minato explained, "It's very sharp, so you can use it to protect yourself, but be careful not to hurt yourself with it~"

Hearing that it was a token of their promise, little Nami's large eyes filled with surprise. She loved the kunai dearly and nodded her head repeatedly like a bobblehead.

Watching this scene, Minato wore a fatherly smile, thinking, Little girls don't seem so bad, do they? Should I consider getting Naruto a little sister? But I can't accomplish that on my own... Kushina...

The night was enchanting, and Minato spent it lost in thought amidst the laughter and joy.

The next day, Minato bid farewell to everyone who tried their best to make him stay and boarded a merchant ship bound for Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom.

Among the crowd seeing him off on the shores of Cocoyasi Village, little Nami clutched the kunai Minato had given her, watching the ship sail away with reluctance. Although they had only known each other for a few dozen hours, young Nami already deeply admired Uncle Minato. He was like a warm father figure who protected and taught her, reminding her of the father she had lost when she was small...

Meanwhile, after leaving Cocoyasi Village, Minato didn't delay any further; he boarded the merchant ship and headed straight for Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom.

Inside the merchant ship's cabin, Minato took out the mission item to examine it. He had previously sealed this item inside a scroll. He had discovered that the Reincarnator Assistant had updated with a new feature shortly after his last mission: for 500 points, one could unlock a 1-cubic-meter personal storage space provided by the Reincarnator Assistant, which could be used to store any non-living items.

However, points were precious to him, and since he could currently store his commonly used items in scrolls, he hadn't unlocked this feature yet. He would certainly unlock it in the future, though, as the personal space could be upgraded with points. Sealing scrolls were essentially a form of summoning jutsu—they stored items in a scroll's space via sealing formulas and summoned them back out—but they had limited capacity and required carrying specialized scrolls, making them less useful.

Minato couldn't understand the existence or purpose of the Main God Space, but that didn't stop him from utilizing its various conveniences. In fact, Zhu Shen had provided this storage space specifically to help reincarnators complete their missions more effectively.

Returning his focus to the present, Minato carefully examined the purple, pineapple-shaped Devil Fruit in his hand, weighing his options.

Since ninjas can upload ninjutsu to earn points, perhaps points don't just come from missions and ninjutsu. After querying the Reincarnator Assistant, Minato confirmed that Devil Fruits could also be exchanged for points, and he secretly decided to step up his efforts in searching for them.

Two days later, Minato arrived at Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom.