The moment the laser appeared, a sharp sound split the air—Kaito had arrived, floating above the deck.
"Kaito!? Why are you here!?"
Seeing Kaito appear, Zephyr didn't feel the slightest relief—only fear.
He had just gone all out to protect a few of the cadets and was already covered in wounds. In his current state, could he even protect Kaito?
In his mind, although Kaito had once injured Rayleigh, that had clearly been an exaggeration of the circumstances—and even then, it was only an injury.
The monster before them now might not be as powerful as Rayleigh, but its tireless, pain-immune body was, in some ways, even more troublesome than Rayleigh himself.
Miss Buckin, seeing that the newcomer was just a young Marine, relaxed immediately. She looked up at Kaito in the sky and said with a mocking sneer,
"Oh? A little Marine brat? You're not that old, but already have a pretty high rank. Must be some Marine prodigy. Well, you can stay here with Zephyr today. With him by your side, you'll be famous across the seas in no time."
Kaito glanced coldly at the small boat where Miss Buckin stood. Just looking at her disgusting face and outfit was enough to make him nauseous.
He raised his hand—Universal Pull activated.
Miss Buckin was instantly yanked into the air, screaming in panic,
"Damn it, a Devil Fruit user!? Son, save me!!"
"Mama!"
That Weevil really was a devoted son. Seeing Miss Buckin in danger, he ignored Zephyr completely, blinking into the sky and extending a massive hand to catch her.
Once he confirmed Miss Buckin was unharmed, a look of true rage crossed his fat face for the first time. He turned toward Kaito and roared,
"You dare hurt my mama!? I'm gonna twist off your arms and legs!!"
Kaito ignored the threat, sizing the pair up.
Weevil couldn't fly, so he fell back to the deck shortly after.
Kaito followed him down. Zephyr was still injured on the deck.
As soon as he landed, Kaito didn't waste time with formalities—he unleashed an Almighty Push, sending Weevil flying. Then he rushed over and helped Zephyr up, concerned.
"Zephyr-sensei, are you okay?"
"I'll manage... but I can't fight much longer. Let my guard down for a second and took a blade to the back."
Hearing this, Kaito glanced at the wound on Zephyr's back. It was deep enough to expose bone.
Thankfully, people in the One Piece world were built differently. If this had been one of those fragile glass-cannon types from Naruto, they wouldn't just be unconscious—they'd probably be dead.
Izanagi had already been used once—to save the dying Ain. He didn't regret that decision at all.
After thinking for a moment, Kaito opened a Door-Door Space and gestured for Zephyr to go in and rest.
But Zephyr refused. There was no way he could let his favorite student face a monster like this alone while he went off to take a break.
Kaito shook his head and smiled confidently.
"Trust me, Zephyr-sensei. If I can't handle an enemy of this level, how could I ever live up to your expectations? Go rest for now. You can still monitor everything from inside. If things really go south, you can jump back in."
Zephyr stared at him for a long moment. His student suddenly felt different—unfamiliar, not emotionally, but in the sense that he'd truly grown from a cadet into a real Marine leader.
"Alright... I'll trust you. But if anything seems wrong, you have to retreat. With your abilities, escaping should be easy, right?"
Kaito nodded.
Zephyr patted his shoulder and walked into the Door-Door Space.
...
"You bastard Marine! How dare you sneak attack me!"
Zephyr had just vanished into the portal when Weevil came barreling back, holding the unconscious Miss Buckin.
He'd been launched several kilometers by Kaito's Almighty Push, but the guy was built like a fortress—besides the flight, he was more or less unharmed.
Weevil stood nearly seven meters tall, and with his massive frame, he looked like a mountain of meat. Kaito, even at over two meters, only came up to his waist—and that was only because Weevil's legs were short.
Now that Kaito had no more distractions, he didn't waste time talking. He activated Sage Mode and ascended Armament Haki at the same time, slamming a punch toward Weevil.
Weevil was surprisingly quick. One hand still protecting Buckin, the other lashed out to meet Kaito's punch head-on.
BOOM! The moment their fists collided, a shockwave exploded outward. The warship beneath them couldn't take it—it shattered into floating slabs of steel that scattered across the sea.
After a brief stalemate, they both leapt apart. Kaito landed on the water, shaking his arm from the impact. His whole forearm tingled with a strange numbness.
No wonder Borsalino once said this guy had Whitebeard's power in his youth. He really was a monster.
Turns out Borsalino wasn't exaggerating—Kaito could confirm that personally now.
On the other side, Weevil carefully laid Buckin down on a slab of steel, then turned around and yelled,
"You're pretty strong, little guy. But if that's all you've got, you might as well lie down and die!"
"'Little guy'?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow. He was over two meters tall—hardly short. The guy calling him "little" was just grotesquely proportioned.
Still, the nickname made Kaito's skin crawl a bit. The fourth tomoe in his Rinnegan began to tremble violently.
In the next instant, a radiant golden light exploded from his body, enveloping him entirely.
The flash was so intense that Weevil instinctively raised a pudgy arm to shield his eyes. When he lowered it—
His eyes went wide.
Before him stood Kaito—now over twenty meters tall.
His cloak of justice and pants had expanded along with his body. The black kanji for "Justice" on his cloak shimmered with a golden sheen.
The top half of his uniform had been shredded by four newly grown arms—each covered in Ascended Armament Haki, and all glowing gold.
Hoo... Kaito exhaled and opened his eyes. His Rinnegan gleamed, shadows and light intertwining across their surface.
This was his power after consuming the Asura Fruit.
The Asura Fruit had the same giantification capabilities as Sengoku's Buddha Fruit. Kaito's twenty-meter height was deliberate.
The strength boost from this fruit was immense, though not infinite. But for a fight with Weevil, this size was just right.
Weevil's jaw hung open, drool pouring out. He pointed at his chin and asked blankly,
"Who are you? Where's the guy from earlier?"
No response came.
What answered him was a colossal golden fist descending from the sky—
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive crater opened in the ocean, deep and bottomless. Seawater rushed inward from every direction.
Miss Buckin, still unconscious, was pulverized into fragments. Weevil's figure vanished into the abyss.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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