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Chapter 82 - Chapter 82: Journey to the East Blue

After finishing the treatment, Kaito dispelled the ROOM space and waved to Corazon in the distance, signaling that he could come over.

Corazon, seeing Kaito's gesture, rushed over at a sprint. He hurried to Law's side, picked him up, and examined him over and over again.

When he saw the white spots on Law's face had completely disappeared, Corazon was overcome with emotion. He shouted loudly at Law, who was still being held up in the air by him:

"Law! You're cured! Your fate has changed!"

"Huh?"

Law was still in a completely dazed state. From start to finish, all he had seen was Kaito summoning a mysterious space to envelop him, glaring at him once, and then Corazon came running over all excited telling him that his illness was cured.

Ignoring Corazon, Law stiffly turned his head toward Kaito, confusion written in his eyes.

Kaito gave him a small smile and nodded.

Law's expression began to shift dramatically—twisting with emotion. The sheer magnitude of this surprise had completely short-circuited his thoughts.

Corazon pulled Law tightly into his arms. The two of them dropped to their knees on the ground, crying uncontrollably.

Kaito watched them silently. Back when he first watched the anime, he had been deeply moved by Corazon and Law's story. These two characters had been incredibly well written, leaving a lasting impression.

Now, he had thoroughly altered their destinies. Corazon had survived. And with Corazon's guidance, Law would almost certainly join the Marines—maybe even become a highly capable combat medic in the future.

Fixing some of the regrets in the pirate world on his road to the top... Why not?

Without disturbing the emotional moment between the two, Kaito flickered and vanished from the spot.

...

Whoosh! Kaito reappeared in his office. Kalifa only glanced up once before continuing her work—she had long since gotten used to her boss's ghost-like comings and goings.

Kaito stared at Kalifa for a moment and asked curiously:

"Kalifa, are you happy working with me?"

Kalifa blinked, surprised by the sudden question. She thought Kaito was acting a bit strange today, but still answered very seriously:

"Happy!"

"What exactly makes you happy?"

"Because you're here, of course."

"Uh..."

Alright, Kalifa was still unbeatable when it came to catching Kaito off guard. He had originally intended to say something more, but instantly lost his momentum.

There was a brief silence before the Den Den Mushi on the desk rang.

The moment it rang, Kaito picked up the call.

Before he could say anything, a rough voice came through:

"Moshi moshi, is this Kaito? It's Garp. Do you have time lately?"

Hearing it was Garp, Kaito was taken aback. Garp usually shared an office with Sengoku, so he always had access to information right away. Did something important happen?

With that in mind, Kaito's tone turned serious.

"This is Kaito. I'm free for now. What's going on, Vice Admiral Garp?"

"Well... could you make a trip to the East Blue?"

"The East Blue? Has a powerful pirate appeared?"

The first name that popped into Kaito's mind was Shanks. But Shanks was already one of the Four Emperors, which meant he had already been to the East Blue. Could history have changed? Had Shanks made a return trip?

"No, no! I just want you to go to a little place called Foosha Village in the East Blue... and help me educate my grandson. His name is Luffy!"

"Oh. Not going."

"Wait, Kaito! I heard from Sengoku that you have a unique way with kids. That shut-in brat was like a little lamb in front of you!"

Shut-in brat? Was he talking about Law? Kaito thought to himself—he'd let Law experience the thrill of sitting in a Gundam cockpit. Did Garp have a Gundam?

Kaito was speechless at Garp's words and was about to hang up the call.

Realizing this, Garp hurriedly shouted from the other end:

"Don't hang up! Don't hang up! That little punk Luffy got brainwashed or something by that bastard Shanks. All he does is shout about becoming the Pirate King. I've tried giving him some tough love, but it's not working. Can't you just treat it like a vacation to the East Blue?"

Garp sounded so sincere, like he was ready to kneel and beg.

Then another voice came through the Den Den Mushi:

"Kaito, it's Sengoku. There's intel that Golden Lion was recently seen in the East Blue. If possible, you should go check it out. The Golden Lion crippled himself to escape Impel Down, so his strength is definitely weaker now. If you can defeat or capture him, it would be a big merit for your future."

Sengoku's meaning was clear—he was handing over the Golden Lion as a stepping stone for Kaito to rise to the rank of Admiral.

As for whether Kaito could actually beat the Golden Lion, Sengoku hadn't even considered that.

Based on Kaito's combat record and the pressure he gave off a few days ago, Sengoku fully believed Kaito had the strength to take down the current Golden Lion.

Of course, whether Sengoku also wanted to help out his old buddy Garp a little by pushing Kaito to the East Blue—that was hard to say. After all, the former Fleet Admiral had always been a bit tsundere.

Sengoku's words made Kaito start seriously considering the trip to the East Blue. He knew his rise in the Marines had been fast, but another promotion in the short term would still be difficult.

The biggest issue was his age—he was just too young.

This wasn't the post-Battle of Marineford with the massive recruitment campaign where strength alone could launch you to the top.

Even Fujitora and Ryokugyu, who were directly appointed as Admirals, weren't young. Fujitora was over fifty, and Ryokugyu, though younger in appearance, wasn't that young either.

And the Golden Lion wasn't just a merit for Kaito—he was also top-tier raw material.

First, the Float-Float Fruit. That Devil Fruit granted the user flight and allowed them to make objects float.

From the movies, it looked like the Golden Lion could control floating objects with total freedom—extremely versatile in combat.

Kaito figured the reason the Float-Float Fruit seemed so overpowered was partly because it appeared in a movie, and partly because its user was just that strong.

There was no doubt that the Golden Lion had awakened the powers of the Float-Float Fruit.

In terms of pure ability, Kaito's Gravity Fruit combined with the powers of the Deva Path would definitely surpass the Float-Float Fruit.

So he didn't plan on absorbing the fruit—but he also wouldn't waste it.

With the Float-Float Fruit still inside the Golden Lion's body, that would make him the perfect raw material for a Deva Path Puppet.

If Kaito really did manage to kill him, he could just leave the fruit in his body and project the Deva Path's abilities onto him.

The resulting Deva Puppet might reach—or even surpass—the Golden Lion's original power. That would be a genuine Emperor–level force.

Don't forget, the only reason the Golden Lion got wrecked by Luffy's Gear Third was because it was in a movie. In movie canon, even if Gol D. Roger resurrected, Luffy would smack him back into his coffin.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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