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"The connection of our hearts…" : Speech (Bold for yelling ,Bijuu, or massive creatures)
'The connection of our hearts…' : Thought
The Royal Throneroom, Atlantica…
It had been a few days since King Triton had seen his youngest daughter – his loss of composure leading to his wanton decimation of all of her human possessions had made him reluctant to find and talk to her. Despite this being the case, Triton was a father first and foremost and his main driving impulse was to ensure his kin were always safe. As such, he had sent his squires on a search of all of Ariel's favored haunts but alas, came up empty handed. No matter how hard or thorough the search, Triton couldn't find hide or hair of the mermaid princess – he was getting desperate. He was sitting on his throne, quietly contemplating the depths of his mistakes with how he handled Ariel's human obsession when his most trusted squire burst into the room with a despondent expression, a letter poking out of the seahorse's saddlebag.
"Ah, Horace – do you have any news of Ariel? Has she been found?" Triton asked, stroking his beard contemplatively while Horace shook his head.
"No sire, we haven't found any clues as to where Ariel may be. This letter I have isn't from her but rather from Ursula…" Horace said, coming closer to Triton to let him take the saddlebag.
"Ursula? What could that foul woman want with me now? Wasn't it enough that I banished her from this court and let her keep her miserable life?!" Triton grumbled as he pulled the letter out and inspected the message written there, his eyebrows knitting tighter and tighter the farther he got into it.
Dear 'King' Triton,
I am writing this letter to offer you a bargain – you should have received this letter after my darlings got it to your servants. I understand you are looking for your wayward daughter Ariel, who has disappeared without a trace for a day and a half now. I am sure you are wondering how I could possibly know all this after you so magnanimously banished me from the royal court all those years ago? Well the answer is quite simple – that foolish girl made a bargain with me and is now contracted to me. The details of the arrangement I shall keep close to my chest – I can't have you try to bluster your way into where you think I am still hiding. While you won't find me so easily anymore, I simply want to watch you squirm. In one day's time, come to the surface of the ocean to negotiate the safe return of your daughter.
Or don't - I honestly don't mind keeping the girl as a slave. She is beautiful, charming and oh so gullible – I would be a pathetic aunt if I didn't cherish my dear niece, wouldn't I Brother?
Ursula
"Argh! This vile woman has overstepped her bounds this time. Horace, is what she said about not being in her lair true?" Triton said, angrily turning to look at his squire, who only nodded his head with a grim look on his face.
"Indeed sire – the letter was delivered to me by Flotsam and Jetsam but I couldn't detect the foul magic of their mistress on them. She likely penned this letter a long time ago and absconded to some unknown place…" Horace said, huffing a little when he remembered the irreverent attitude of the moray eels, their annoying cackling still ringing in his ears.
"So, it seems Ursula has really outdone herself this time…call off the search. It would be pointless to search for Ariel when she clearly has been kidnapped by Ursula. When the time comes, I will go to meet with her – however, it won't be a diplomatic event. It seems my foul sister needs to be reminded just how potent the power I wield is…" Triton mused, his eyes gleaming with a cold light as he hefted his trident on to his shoulder, the tips of the weapon glowing and sparking with faint arcs of lightning as if it could sense its wielder's unease.
Meanwhile, back with Naruto and company…
Naruto was extremely fleet of foot – it was child's play for him to rush home and warn the women that Ursula had used mind control to send the castle guards to kill them. Of course, Ariel and Sebastian were understandably shocked that things escalated this quickly but were even more surprised when they noticed that Naruto and his wives seamlessly changed their clothes and packed their belongings (with the help of magic of course – Naruto personally didn't really own a lot of stuff but the women had quickly accumulated a respectable hoard of knick knacks) before guiding them out of the house.
"Where are we going? We can't return to the ocean – you humans can't breathe underwater and Ariel here lost that ability when she got her legs…what are you up to?" Sebastian asked, translating Ariel's frantic gestures as they turned to Naruto curiously. Naruto, surprisingly, only smirked before pointing towards his boat, which was floating innocently at the harbor.
Ariel was completely stumped now – how was a humble fisherman's boat supposed to house five people comfortably? Noticing her obvious confusion, Shanti decided to take pity on her and explain.
"Don't worry Ariel – Naruto has this trick with magical seals he makes with his energy that can expand rooms…Alice and Grimhilde also help him with this, although Alice has lost her connection with her magical familiar since coming to this world…"Shanti said, pointing towards Naruto, who was busy tracing his blood into hidden seals inscribed in the wood of the ship while Grimhilde passed her magic through them. With the latent chakra in the blood now activated, the seals activated, revealing that the humble boat was now more akin to a caravel – not a big change but more than sufficient to house the entire group without too much trouble. Suitably impressed with Naruto's resourcefulness, Sebastian quickly scuttled into the ship while Ariel took a moment to reevaluate her friend's selflessness. Unknown to even her, a rosy blush had crawled onto her cheeks – the other women noticed it but paid it no mind. After all, it wasn't the first time their husband's nature had shattered the pre-conceptions maidens had about their pre-ordained 'True Love'. Now it was all up to Ariel to decide on which man to pick, even if the choice was obvious to an observer.
Naruto's caravel, the next morning…
Ursula's forces weren't able to find Ariel and her companions – upon reporting that to their mistress, she didn't react as expected. In her eyes, if Ariel and her human friend didn't interfere with her wedding and three days passed, she would reign supreme over land and sea. She just strengthened her control over the humans – a simple task with Ariel's voice, with siren qualities so powerful that the witch suspected that the mermaid princess herself might have ensorcelled herself without realizing in her many, many solo song sessions about how she wanted to join the world of Man.
All this meant that Naruto and his group were able to rest peacefully for the night before waking up the next day to strategize on how to storm the faux Ariel's wedding. Alice and Grimhilde wanted to storm the wedding by force – with the combined effect of Grimhilde's magic and Naruto's incredible strength (even if it was sealed by the Grimm Lords in this world, it still didn't change the fact that the ninja was effectively a super soldier). Shanti and Naruto were a little more deliberate with their planning since they didn't want to hurt the people unnecessarily. The people were turned to thralls against their will so it would be unfair to hurt them to get to Ursula. In the midst of all of this, Ariel found herself unable to contribute much to the discussion as even Sebastian was stumped with the level of strategizing that was going on (a side effect of Naruto's presence in each world he visited was the mental liberation of the people he interacted with – no longer would they have cardboard cutout personalities or mindsets…it would take time for Ariel to be a true critical thinker).
"Alright – here's the plan. Ariel will be taken to the ship as a 'prisoner' by Alice and Shanti after they are disguised by Grimhilde's glamour magic. In the meantime, I will sneak to the rear of the ship and pounce on Ursula when her guard is down. After that, all I have to do is break the amulet she is wearing to give Ariel her voice back, with a bonus effect of dispelling the mind control on the town and the prince." Naruto said, the women nodding at the simple elegance of the plan. It was a relatively surgical operation in their minds – if things went awry, they could always call Grimhilde over from the caravel to open a portal for them to escape (at least for the women since Naruto was confident in his ability to fight Ursula on his own).
His piece now said, Naruto walked out to the ship deck to shoot the breeze, missing Ariel walking over to him before standing behind him, unsure of how to communicate the thoughts that were churning in her troubled heart.
Thankfully, Naruto was perceptive enough to foresee this – with Grimhilde's help, he had already learned how to use minor telepathic magic with the fading embers of his fairy magic (he had to revisit Neverland to reconvert his energy back to blue pixie dust). Turning to Ariel, he then focused on her, opening a connection so they could have a conversation.
'What's wrong Ariel? Don't worry so much – the ladies and I are old hands at taking down dastardly villains…did I ever tell you about how Grimhilde used to be a villain before I redeemed her?' Naruto thought, smiling as Ariel jumped in surprise before looking at him with sparkling eyes.
'Is this magic too?! Amazing! Why didn't you do this yesterday? Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me…'
'No problem! You're my friend and I couldn't let your soul get plucked out your breast like that…besides, I want to you to experience the wonders this world has to offer. You shouldn't have to settle for the current situation when you really don't have to!' Naruto thought, walking closer to Ariel and clapping his hands on her shoulders while giving her a closed eye smile.
Ariel gasped, the rising sun's rays having framed Naruto's face in such a way that for a second, she could see his true form. In combination with his pure and heartfelt emotions and smile, the mermaid princess was now torn on whom her heart desired. At the same time, she was questioning the strength of her conviction if it could be shaken this easily. All these thoughts bouncing around in her head made her make a hasty retreat to her room, leaving Naruto alone, a quiet smile on his face.
"Yes…the world is quite large indeed. It would be shame if she shackled herself to Eric as soon as she got the opportunity to explore the surface world…" Naruto murmured, turning to the open ocean, where his keen eyes caught sight of Ursula's ship off in the distance…
Meanwhile, back with Ursula…
The sea witch was currently waiting for Triton's arrival – the time for the contract's expiry was imminent. In only one more day, she would have Ariel as her slave and total domination was no longer a dream of hers. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for long – she knew her brother quite well and using his 'weakness' for family, it wasn't a half hour later before the King of Atlantica came to the surface, his torso popping out of the surface as his magically enlarged body (easily as big as the ship) stopped in front of Ursula, who watched him approach with a smug grin.
"Ursula!! You dare wear the face of my lost daughter! Where is she? You've overstepped for the last time sister – tell me why I shouldn't blast you into oblivion right now?!" Triton roared in anger, his eyes sparking with lightning as his trident pulsed with magical energy.
"Ah-ah-ah…cool your jets Triton. I haven't the slightest clue where the girl is…I don't have to care too much since I'll have her soul by midnight tonight. The better question is, how are you going to convince me to spare her?" Ursula said, pulling out the contract with a flourish.
"You want to bargain?! Foolish! I'll simply destroy the document instead!" Triton said, aiming the trident at the contract before blasting it with lightning. After shocking it for a few minutes, Triton put the trident away, only to be met with the unmarred document, pristine and crisp as ever.
"Hahaha! It doesn't matter if you wield the Trident of Poseidon! Even the very gods are helpless before the power of the law. The legality of my accords with Ariel is beyond reproach so you better start thinking with your brain than that flashy toy next to you…" Ursula said, smirking even more at her brother's anguished expression before he shrank to her size with a resigned look on his face.
"Enough. I will take Ariel's place – spare the girl. She's the last memory and gift her mother entrusted me with…" He said, signing the contract and allowing Ursula's magic to wrap around him.
"How noble of you! Too bad I am a cutthroat business woman! I will simply turn you into a polyp in my collection and take your trident to boot! I am now the most powerful being in the world!!" Ursula cackled as she hoisted the trident in the air, the clouds above turning dark and the trident's magic feeding Ursula's power as she pulsed with power. Flotsam and Jetsam were transformed into hydras (with one head though) as the familiars of Ursula and roared in triumph.
It was time for the wedding then, as Ursula saw no reason to cut things close. She had the trident for power, Ariel's voice for charm and soon the crown of Man as Eric's wife (she thought humans only had one royal family like Atlantica – a little short sighted but still a part of her motivation)…
A few hours later…
The wedding was about to start – Ursula had set everything up to her liking. Before the priest could begin his sermon though, she received some great news.
"Oh Ariel, how nice of you to come to my wedding. Any objections to this act of matrimony dear? Hmm…I am not hearing anything, you'll have to speak up dear. Oh~you can't talk can you? Too bad for you then. Just sit tight and enjoy what little time you have left – I'll be collecting your soul soon." She said, laughing at the 'struggling' Ariel in the arms of two 'guards'.
Just as she turned around to stand next to Eric though, a loud shout had everyone looking around in confusion.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!"
Ursula was kicked into the ocean with a kick of titanic strength as her body blasted through the handrails and skipped on the ocean's surface before sinking into the water. Everyone turned to see the perpetrator, only to find it was Naruto, who was holding Ursula's necklace before he crushed it in his hand, returning Ariel's voice back to her as everyone on the boat came back to their senses.
"Naruto! You've done it – I have my voice back and I still have my legs somehow!" Ariel said, jumping into Naruto's arms while the 'guards' that held her turned back into Alice and Shanti.
"You can thank Ursula's impatience for that – she didn't absorb your voice and decided to marry a day earlier than she was supposed to. Speaking of the wedding though, Eric – you okay there buddy?" Naruto asked, watching as Eric got to his feet holding his head in pain.
"Ughh…my head. What's going on Naruto? Who's the girl with you?" Eric asked, his memory having been wiped by the forceful dispelling of Ariel's voice (off to the side, Ariel breathed a sigh of relief – she had been having thoughts of how simple and plain Eric was…even if he was a prince, she had someone else in mind for a husband now…).
"Take it easy man. Things aren't done just yet – brace yourselves!" Naruto said – not a second later, the ship rocked violently as Flotsam and Jetsam slammed into it before trying to crush it. They didn't get far though, as two blasts of magical power blasted their heads into a fine mist.
"Thanks Grimhilde!" Naruto said, giving her a thumbs up as she could be seen readying her magic from the caravel nearby.
"YOU DARE ATTACK MY DARLINGS! I WILL DESTROY YOU NARUTO! YOU AND ARIEL – I DON'T CARE WHAT MALEFICENT SAYS…NO ONE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN I AM!!" Ursula said, bursting out of the ocean with a body as big as a Kraken. She then shot a burst of lightning at Ariel, who looked frozen with fear before Naruto blocked the shot with his body.
"NARUTO!!" Ariel screamed as she, Shanti and Alice rushed to him, only to be surprised when they heard him laughing in joy, the lightning arcing all over his body as the energy broke the curse on his body. He now lost the old man look and was now in his true form (much to Ariel's extreme joy – she was feeling weird about loving a man who looked like he could be her father).
"OH YEAH BABY! I am back – that trident's power really is something else. Now…this farce can end. HEY URSULA! Don't blink – you might miss what I am about to do!" Naruto said, just before his body disappeared in a flash of gold, reappearing in front of Ursula before his right hand burst into a giant golden clawed paw that he slashed the witch's head with.
Ursula had no time to react – her head was turned into a pulpy mess of flesh and blood and without her magic to hold her body together, her body exploded in a shower of gore, leaving Naruto standing on the ocean's surface, holding the trident as the clouds broke above him, the sun's rays illuminating his body.
Ariel rushed to the ship's rails to look for him and was just in time to see the sun shine down on Naruto's head – combined with the trident in his hand, the poor girl was bedazzled. Much like her mother before her, she fell for the veritable 'god' before her. This time though, this god had feet, not fins…
And that was chapter 69! A big chapter this time for your reading pleasure!
PS: Are power stones really so important? This story is basically invisible in the harem fanfic listings...maybe help a struggling author out?
If you'd like to support me you can find me on Patreon on the 'search for creators' bar under DudeWithaMac (I only get free time on Sundays since money's extremely tight-details on Panacea chapter 14). Alternatively, you guys can follow this link:p#at#re#on.#com/DudeWithaMac (remove the hash tags). Reviews and comments are always welcome!