Shabondy Archipelago, Area 66, inside the Marine base—
Whoosh!
Kaito and Kalifa appeared inside the office. As soon as they arrived, Kaito grumbled,
"Is that Shalria girl sick in the head or something? Are all Celestial Dragons like that?"
Kalifa stood silently behind Kaito, watching him with a strange look in her eyes. She had started to suspect something, but couldn't be certain, so she chose to remain quiet.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on the desk let out a bubbly gulu-gulu sound.
Kaito casually picked it up, and Sengoku's voice came through.
"Kaito? What did you do tonight? Even the Gorosei personally contacted me about you. They said you've been performing your duties diligently... and that your current rank is too low?"
Kaito was stunned. Performing his duties diligently? Were they talking about the Almighty Push combined with Planetary Devastation that wiped out an entire zone of Shabondy, or the giant slap he gave Shalria tonight?
"I just met with a Celestial Dragon named Shalria. That's all."
"What? You mean that Shalria from the Rosward family?"
"That's right."
There was a brief silence from Sengoku on the other end.
He was well aware of the Rosward family. They were textbook examples of Celestial Dragons—every vile trait the Celestials were known for, they had in spades.
Shalria, the daughter of Saint Rosward, head of the Rosward family, had always looked down on other races with utter disdain.
And yet, just one meeting between Kaito and her had the Gorosei pushing for him to be rewarded? No way that was a coincidence.
Still, the result was what mattered. The faster Kaito climbed the ranks, the more openly Sengoku could delegate power to him. The future of the Marines would undoubtedly belong to this new generation.
"Alright then. Come back to Marine Headquarters tomorrow. I'm planning to promote you to the rank of Commodore. You'll need to attend a brief promotion ceremony."
"Yes, understood."
After hanging up, Kaito looked up to find his secretary, Kalifa, staring at him with that same strange expression.
He glanced down at himself, checked for anything unusual, then asked with confusion,
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Kalifa shook her head helplessly. "It's nothing."
Of course it was something.
My boss slapped a Celestial Dragon across the face tonight, and came back to be rewarded for it. This is pure fantasy, right?
Kaito rubbed his temples and caught sight of the box on the table that held the Asura Fruit. Only then did he remember he still had that Devil Fruit on hand.
He'd left a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit just sitting here for over a day. That was pretty careless, even for him.
He opened the box, revealing a golden, mushroom-shaped fruit—with three heads. It looked bizarre, almost alien.
Kalifa walked over, curiously studying the fruit.
"Boss, are you going to eat that one?"
Kaito nodded. It was a Mythical Zoan—exactly what he was looking for.
This time, he didn't hide it from Kalifa. He placed his hand on the central mushroom head and activated the Preta Path to absorb its power directly.
Before long, the energy was fully drawn out, and what remained on the table was an ordinary mushroom.
Kalifa covered her mouth in awe, watching this surreal moment unfold before her.
As expected of my boss. Everything about him is out of the ordinary.
Kaito closed his eyes to feel the new power surging within him. When he opened them again, a fourth tomoe had appeared in his right eye.
Kalifa noticed the change immediately and asked curiously,
"Boss... is that symbol in your eye from absorbing the Devil Fruits?"
"As expected from my smart little secretary. Bingo!"
"So... those four symbols mean you've already absorbed four Devil Fruits? Including that gravity one?"
"Yeah. That's why I need more Devil Fruits. But don't worry—I'll find one that suits you too."
Kalifa nodded and leaned in closer to Kaito without saying more. Truthfully, whether she got a Devil Fruit or not didn't matter anymore. All she wanted was to do her job well—as Kaito's secretary.
...
The next day, on Tsuru's battleship—
Just like the last time they went to Sabaody, Kaito lay with his head resting on Gion's lap, enjoying the sun in total relaxation.
Gion gently stroked his hair, a soft smile on her lovely face as she gazed down at him.
Suddenly, Kaito opened his eyes—his Rinnegan glinted with a divine radiance in the sunlight, making Gion momentarily dazed.
With a slight smile, Kaito patted the spider tattoo on Gion's thigh and said,
"What's the matter? Haven't seen enough yet?"
"Nope. I could keep looking at you forever."
Kaito chuckled, sat up, stretched, and turned around.
"When I become an admiral, I'll have you transferred to my ship. You can stare at me all you want and see if you ever get tired of it."
Gion stood up as well, stepped in front of him, and helped smooth out the wrinkles in his Marine uniform. Smiling, she said,
"Alright. I'll be waiting for that day. Just don't keep me waiting too long, okay?"
"Don't worry. That day isn't far off."
...
Inside the Marine Fleet Admiral's office—
Knock knock knock!
"Come in."
The door swung open, and Kaito walked in with one hand in his pocket. He smiled as he saw Sengoku buried in paperwork.
"Long time no see, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
As Kaito's time in the Marines grew, his relationship with Sengoku and the others had become more relaxed. He didn't need to stand on ceremony anymore.
"Kaito! Good, good. Here, these are your Commodore epaulettes and uniform."
Sengoku pushed a small box and a coat—one of those iconic Marine coats with the kanji for "Justice" on the back—toward him.
Kaito barely glanced at the box. His eyes were locked on the coat.
Let's be honest—anyone who's watched One Piece probably loves that classic Marine coat. Putting it on feels just like when the Fourth Hokage wore his cloak—one word: badass!
He'd always been a little jealous of the one Zephyr wore. Now, he could finally wear one of his own.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the shoulders of the coat with both hands and—
Whoosh!
He threw it over himself. Standing over two meters tall with long black hair, Kaito looked imposing and dignified in the coat. A commanding aura radiated from him.
Sengoku was briefly stunned. Then, regaining his senses, he shamelessly thought,
"Not bad. Though... still a bit behind what I looked like back then. Maybe ten times better-looking than Garp though."
Kaito gave himself a little shake. The coat felt surprisingly sturdy. No wonder those Marines in the Summit War were flipping and flying around without their capes flying off.
After soaking in the experience, Kaito remembered he should probably visit Zephyr while he was back at headquarters.
Zephyr had always treated him well—something Kaito never doubted.
Thinking of this, he asked,
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, is Instructor Zephyr still in the training camp? I'd like to pay him a visit."
Hearing that, Sengoku looked at Kaito with a warm, satisfied expression.
This was one of the reasons he held Kaito in such high regard. A man who understands gratitude and respects his teacher—people like that are always admired.
But unfortunately, this time, Kaito's good intentions would go unfulfilled.
Sengoku shook his hand and said,
"No need. This year's recruits are especially dedicated, and Zephyr decided to take them out to sea early for field training. They've already departed."
"What?!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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