I have some words, together they are clues for 1 word that is in context with them. I will provide the words and I want you you to give me the word that has to do with all of them and explain me why.

The words:

8, water, ink, fried
The word that relates to all these words is "Octopus".

8 refers to the eight legs of an octopus. Water is where octopuses are commonly found in the ocean. Ink is a defense mechanism used by octopuses to evade predators, as they can release a cloud of ink to obscure their escape. Fried refers to a common way of cooking octopus, where it is sometimes battered and fried.