Chapter Seven: The Light and The Lightning
Kaito knew the Marines would already be moving to seal off Sabaody Archipelago. Returning there would be suicide. His underwater escape plan was sound, but to ensure its success, a diversion was needed.
A massive one.
Donning his gold mask once more, he flew not away from the chaos, but toward its heart: the slave auction houses of Sabaody. In a series of blinding, thunderous strikes, he shattered gates and melted locks, creating a tide of panicked, hopeful slaves that flooded into the groves. He provided cover, a storm of lightning holding back the overwhelmed Marine responders, until the formerly enslaved could scatter into the lawless archipelago's labyrinthine streets.
He was monitoring the Marine movements with his Haki when he felt it—a presence moving toward him at a speed that defied logic. Light particles condensed over the water's surface, resolving into the form of a tall, lanky man in a yellow striped suit with a Marine coat draped over his shoulders. Admiral candidate Borsalino, codename: Kizaru.
"Aaaah," the man drawled, his voice a study in lazy disappointment. "Looks like I was still too late. Couldn't catch the escaped slaves. This is going to be such a headache. I might even get reprimanded."
Kaito kept his posture relaxed, a smirk hidden behind his mask. "I wouldn't worry. It was the pirates who delayed your arrival who are truly at fault. There's absolutely nothing wrong with your... inability to catch up."
Kizaru's exaggerated slump straightened almost imperceptibly. His sharp eyes focused on the masked figure. He could sense the youth beneath the facade. "I wonder if you can enlighten me," Kizaru said, his tone losing some of its lethargy. "Why would someone your age attack Mary Geoise, make all those... slaves disappear, and steal from the holy archives?"
Kaito spread his hands in a theatrical shrug. "Well, I woke up yesterday and found myself terribly bored. Then I heard about these Celestial Dragons who buy toys to play with . And here I am, bored and friendless, while they have all the fun. It didn't seem fair. If I'm bored, everyone should be bored, don't you think? So I decided to steal their toys but it turned out to people who became my friends. So I felt anger for my new friends and decided to try to punish them.
So while I was looking for them, I got l lost and entered a place that seemed like a library so I took some books from them and left as a punishment.
But Then their grumpy old man showed up earlier than expected, so I escaped."
Kizaru's mouth twitched. The audacious, ridiculous lie was almost admirable. But it was a stalling tactic. This was the one who had escaped a Gorosei. He had power.
"Well," Kaito said, electricity beginning to crackle around his form. "If you don't want to play, I'll be going. I have lots of new friends to play with."
The lethargy vanished from Kizaru's frame. "Speed of Light: Kick," he intoned, his body dissolving into photons.
The world seemed to freeze. Kaito's enhanced perception, reading the electrical impulses in the air rather than relying on sight, gave him a microsecond's warning. He didn't block; he couldn't. He moved, his own body transforming into lightning and zapping laterally across the water's surface. The force of the kick's wake sent a geyser of steam and water exploding into the air where he'd just been.
The fight was never about winning. It was a crucible. Kizaru, the fastest man alive, was the perfect anvil upon which to hammer his Observation Haki and fruit mastery into a sharper weapon. He would not draw his sword; that part of his arsenal remained hidden.
Kizaru reappeared, eyebrows raised. "Troublesome. Your speed, matched with such potent Observation Haki... I suppose I'll have to get a little more serious."
"Yata no Kagami: Flicker Kick Barrage."
He didn't move. He multiplied. Dozens of afterimages of light appeared around Kaito in a perfect sphere, and from every angle, a solid leg of光子 (kōshi - photons) snapped toward him simultaneously. It was an inescapable cage of light-speed attacks.
Kaito's mind, pushed to its absolute limit, became a supercomputer of prediction. He weaved, ducked, and contorted, his body a blur of motion. He felt a searing impact on his ribs—a kick he'd predicted a fraction too late. The force was immense, driving the air from his lungs and sending a spike of agony through his young frame. He grunted, tasting blood, but held his lightning form, letting the energy dissipate through him.
He endured. This was the training. As the barrage continued, his dodges became more precise, more economical. He was adapting, learning to read the infinitesimal shifts in light before the attacks even fully formed.
Kizaru noticed. The kicks came faster, more complex. But Kaito was now flowing with the rhythm of the assault, getting hit less and less. And then, for a single, glorious second, he saw it—a full second into the future, the precise pattern of the next ten kicks.
His mission was complete. His Haki had sharpened under pressure.
"Rumble: Raigo!"
A sphere of black storm clouds and catastrophic lightning bloomed above Kizaru, forcing the Admiral to break his barrage and flash backward to avoid the cataclysmic blast.
In that opening, Kaito shot upward into the sky, a streak of lightning heading for the cloud layer.
"Do you really think I'll let you get away?" Kizaru's voice followed him, the Admiral transforming into a beam of light in pursuit.
"Of course not," Kaito's voice echoed down, "but I don't believe you have a say in the matter. Thank you for the lesson, Vice Admiral! It's been a genuine pleasure!"
As Kizaru breached the cloud layer, he was met not with a fleeing target, but with Kaito's fist pulled back, crackling with immense energy.
"Rumble: Sonic Boom!"
Kaito didn't fire a bolt. He punched the air itself. The impact generated a concussive shockwave of pure force and sound that hit Kizaru like a physical wall, not causing damage but halting his advance for a critical moment. The反作用力 (hansayōryoku - recoil) launched Kaito backward at hypersonic speed, catapulting him across the sky until he was a mere speck on the horizon.
Kizaru hovered, recomposing himself. He could give chase. He could probably still catch the impertinent logia. But chasing a single, stubborn lightning-user across the entire Grand Line was... troublesome. And it risked leading him into a trap.
He adjusted his sunglasses. "How truly troublesome," he mumbled to the empty sky. He dissolved into light, heading back to file a report.
---
The revolutionary fleet, towed by Fisher Tiger's aquatic allies, made landfall on a deserted island. The mood was tense. Dragon watched the horizon, his worry for Kaito a palpable thing. Even with the fish towing them, they could never outpace the Admiral of Light.
Bru Bru Bru. Bru Bru Bru.
Dragon snatched the Den Den Mushi. "Report. Did you get any information, Bear?" Kuma, needing to maintain his cover, had returned to his kingdom.
"Yes," the snail intoned in Kuma's calm voice. "The Marines have sealed Sabaody. The auction houses were raided by a 'lightning man,' and the slaves escaped. A battle occurred on the archipelago's periphery between this individual and Vice Admiral Kizaru. The lightning man escaped."
Dragon's face cycled through shock and relief. Kizaru was a monster, a confirmed future Admiral.
Fisher Tiger, listening, turned to Inazuma. "Who is this Vice Admiral?"
"A Logia user of the Pika Pika no Mi, the Glint-Glint Fruit," Inazuma explained, their voice grave. "He moves at the speed of light. He is one of the strongest fighters in the world. No one escapes him."
"Hee-haw! Looks like you were worried for nothing!" Ivankov declared, having arrived with revolutionary reinforcements. "That little guy is full of surprises!"
"He also improvised," Dragon mused. "He exposed himself and his fruit to provide a diversion for us. Why?"
"Hee-haw! Probably because he already had to use it to escape from that Elder! Makes perfect sense!"
Kuma's voice added through the snail, "Intel suggests he raided the Science and Defense building and encountered Elder Jaygarcia Saturn."
The group fell into a stunned silence. Provoking the Celestial Dragons was one thing; facing a Gorosei was another realm entirely.
"You think there's a difference?" a familiar, weary voice asked from the tree line.
They turned to see Kaito leaning against a palm tree. His clothes were torn, a dark bruise was already spreading across his ribs, and he was breathing heavily. A trickle of blood dried at the corner of his mask.
"You!" Dragon moved toward him. "You're injured."
"Don't fuss. It's just a few bruises. Kaff..." He coughed, wincing.
"You don't look 'fine' at all!" the group and the Den Den Mushi yelled in unison.
Kaito managed a pained grin. "I'll live. What you do with them is what's important now."
Fisher Tiger stepped forward. "I will take my people to Fish-Man Island."
Kaito shook his head immediately, pushing himself upright. "A bad idea. The Celestial Dragons will be raiding islands looking for their 'property.' If they find escaped slaves on Fish-Man Island, they will use it as an excuse to attack. You would bring disaster to your home."
Fisher's face fell. "Then what do you suggest?"
"Form a pirate crew. Train. Gain power and notoriety. It gives you two advantages: first, your strength becomes a shield that makes the Dragons and slave traders think twice about attacking. Second, you distance yourselves from Fish-Man Island, making yourselves as rogues, not representative of your kingdom."
"I have that thought too but I didn't decide on it yet. But with your words, I feel more at ease. But I have a question,Do you believe fish-men will ever walk on the surface without fear?" Fisher asked, his voice low.
Kaito's answer was swift and brutal. "It's not about fish-men or humans. The Celestial Dragons see everyone beneath them as objects. Kingdoms can be enslaved, kings can be humiliated and their wives can be taken.
But powerful pirates claim territories and are left alone. Why? Because the World Government knows the price of fighting them is too high. This is a jungle. The strong eat the weak. You cannot depend on others for your freedom. Only your own strength will force them to respect you."
Fisher Tiger was silent, the truth of the words settling heavily upon him.
Dragon spoke next. "I propose a partnership, Fisher. A pirate crew allied with the Revolutionary Army. We have similar goals. What do you think?"
"Give me time to think," Fisher said after a long pause. "I must discuss this with my crew, once I have one."
"Of course."
Dragon then turned to Kaito. "And you? What is your plan?"
Kaito's eyes glinted with cold intent. "First, I train my Armament Haki. I've to see its limits. Second... I start hunting the Celestial Dragons when they leave Mary Geoise."
A chorus of "WHAT?!" erupted from everyone present.
"They will be desperate to restock their slaves," Kaito explained, his voice chillingly logical. "They will leave in force. I will make the seas a living hell for them. My Observation Haki and fruit make me nearly impossible to ambush. I can strike and vanish faster than they can respond. The World Government will be forced to assign God's Knights, Cipher Pol, or Admirals as escorts."
He paused, letting the strategy sink in. "But God's Knights won't take orders from mere Celestial Dragons. An Admiral—specifically Kizaru—is the only one fast enough to catch me. And Kizaru is, by nature, lazy. He will avoid the duty whenever possible. So, I will simply avoid the ships he is on. I will make them so afraid to leave that they eventually stop. And I will do it all masked. This isn't just vengeance; it's a strategy to protect the innocent by focusing the government's wrath solely on me."
"You can't do this!" Dragon and Ivankov said in unison, their voices a mixture of alarm and disbelief.
Kaito frowned, studying their faces. "Why not? It's the most logical way to contain the threat."
Ivankov fell silent, deferring to Dragon, whose expression was grim. After a heavy moment, Dragon spoke. "Ivankov. Gather everyone we saved. Bring them here."
Ivankov nodded and moved to the ships, soon returning with the thousands of newly freed people. They stood on the beach, their eyes downcast, their postures still carrying the invisible weight of chains.
Dragon's voice boomed across the shore, sharp and deliberate. "My masked friend here knows that by saving you, he has invited a calamity upon other innocent people. The Celestial Dragons you escaped from will now need to find new... toys. He believes the only way to stop this is to hunt them down himself, to become a lone shield for the world."
A tense silence was the only response. The crowd remained passive, their spirits still shackled by the slave mentality beaten into them—speak only when spoken to.
Dragon's composure finally broke. "Why aren't you angry?!" he roared, his voice cracking like a whip. "Don't you understand? Let me make it clearer!"
He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "You return home. You find a moment of peace. And then you see them again—the same Celestial Dragons, sailing into your harbor to drag you and your families back to hell. But you remember that the man who saved you once could have stopped them... and you remember that I was the one who told him not to."
A ripple of palpable fear and dawning anger went through the crowd. A few brave souls shouted out, "Why would you do that?!" "Do you want to torture us?!"
"Good!" Dragon's voice cut through the outcry. "You feel something! That means you still remember you are human beings, not the livestock they tried to turn you into!"
The crowd fell silent once more, now hanging on his every word.
"So I ask you this," he continued, his tone lowering but losing none of its intensity. "You return home. My friend protects you. You live a happy, long life, while he lives a life of constant war and suffering on your behalf. He does it because he believes in something greater than himself."
He paused, letting the image sink in. "Then time passes. My friend dies—in battle, from sickness, alone. You die peacefully of old age. But then your children, your grandchildren are captured by the descendants of those very same demons. And while torturing them, those monsters say: 'We heard your ancestors were slaves too. But they hid behind a protector, and when he died, they did nothing. Now you will pay for their cowardice.'"
The color drained from countless faces. The horror of the thought was a physical blow.
"How does that make you feel?" Dragon's voice was merciless. "Disgusted? Ashamed? Your own descendants would curse your memory more than they curse their captors! They would say, 'Our ancestors knew this evil and did nothing to fight it!'"
He stared them down, his own conviction burning like a fire. "But today, we have proven they can be beaten! They have power, but they have also made endless enemies! So I ask you again: is it better to be saved, or to fight? Is it better to live a safe life knowing your children may inherit your hell, or to face that hell yourself so that they never have to? Am I wrong?"
A few voices rose from the crowd: "No!"
"Am I wrong?" he demanded again, his voice rising to a thunderous pitch.
"NO!" the crowd roared back, their fear now forged into a single, defiant purpose.
"Good." Dragon's voice finally softened, but the intensity remained. "I lead an organization dedicated to fighting this evil. I am not forcing you to join. I only ask that you remember this feeling. Remember what you are truly fighting for—not just your own lives, but the future of every generation that comes after. With us, or on your own, fight."
He turned and walked back to Kaito and the others, the cheers and cries of the freed people swelling behind him.
He stopped in front of Kaito, his expression stern but not unkind. "Listen. What you proposed—it would have eased your conscience, but the long-term consequences would have been a disaster. You cannot protect everyone alone. You would only create a new cycle of dependency. This is a war. There will be casualties. People must learn the truth of this world and choose to fight for themselves. Only then will we be able to accomplish something ."
Kaito listened, and for the first time, he found he had no rebuttal. Dragon was right. His heart had been in the right place, but his judgment had been clouded by a desire for a simple, direct solution. Lasting change required more. It required a people willing to fight for their own future.
Yeah, he thought, a new resolve crystalizing within him. Yeah, I'm not wrong, it's just a lapse of judgment on my part. I can't win alone and I will need companions to fight with me.
Just as he thought of that, he thought of straw hat crew. Yeah, I know about the plot and even though I don't know everything about it I know that for some reason they fear Luffy fruit and the legend circulating about the sun god nika.
So instead of trying to form a crew or join another crew , why don't I just join them instead as I know they will be driving force to fight against the world government.
I had this idea when I tried to find Robin after I came down from the Sky islands.
The thought was so powerful, so absolute, that it resonated with the very core of his being. And without conscious command, a wave of immense spiritual pressure erupted from him—a torrent of pure, domineering will that washed over the people nearby him
In the sudden, profound silence that followed, The group all turned to stare at the source.
Kaito stood alone, his eyes wide with surprise, the last echoes of his conquering will fading into the sea breeze. He hadn't even known it was there.
Dragon was the first to break the silence, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face. "It seems," he said, his voice filled with a new respect, "you have decided your own path. So go forward and follow your heart."