Kaito walked up to the kneeling man in black with the buzz cut, towering over him.
The man trembled as he kowtowed frantically, slamming his forehead to the floor like a jackhammer.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have disrespected you! Please don't kill me!"
Seeing how pitiful he was—and how he'd behaved fairly well earlier—Kaito lost all interest in punishing him further. He simply crouched down and patted the man on the shoulder, signaling for him to raise his head.
The man looked up in confusion, still pleading with his eyes, thinking Kaito was about to strike.
"I'm asking you—are you one of the Five Elders' guards?"
"No, no, no! We're not even qualified to be their guards. We're from Saint Shalria. That Devil Fruit was given to you on the Five Elders' orders. They instructed her to take it from her personal collection and present it to you as a reward!"
"Then what was with that arrogant attitude just now?"
The man paused, realizing Kaito was referring to how the two of them had acted earlier. He stammered, trying to explain.
"Saint Shalria felt... it was a bit inappropriate to give that fruit to you. She told us to mind our tone..."
At that, Kaito understood. This so-called Saint Shalria—a Celestial Dragon—was upset that a piece of her collection was being handed over to a mere Navy sailor. So she sent her underlings to mess with him, trying to provoke a reaction.
Kaito's lips curled into a cold smirk. He stood, waved the surrounding Marine soldiers to stand down, then turned and walked past the kneeling man, heading back into his office.
Even after Kaito left, the black-clad man didn't dare move an inch. He was terrified of doing anything that might give Kaito a reason to kill him. He stayed frozen until Kaito's voice came from inside the office.
"You can go. But pass along a message to your master: Tell her I appreciate the Devil Fruit. I'm very satisfied. Tomorrow night, I'll pay her a visit to thank her in person."
"Yes! Yes, I'll remember! Thank you, Kaito-sama!"
"Now get lost."
The moment those words landed, the man acted like he'd been granted divine pardon. He slung his half-dead companion over his shoulder and scrambled out of the Marine base like his life depended on it.
...
After the black-clad men left, Kaito stood in the center of his office, arms folded, deep in thought. He needed to consider how to deal with this Saint Shalria woman.
He'd practically made an enemy of her now. Tomorrow night would likely end in a fallout. If things got completely out of hand... it would all come down to how much the Five Elders valued him.
If they sided with Saint Shalria, then there'd be nothing more to say. He'd just have to grit his teeth and face the consequences.
Suddenly, he felt something soft press against his back—arms wrapping around his waist, gentle and warm.
He turned his head and saw who it was—his secretary, Kalifa.
At that moment, Kalifa felt a warmth she'd never known before.
She'd been sent by her father to train with the World Government from a young age, molded into a spy. Her childhood was cold, devoid of kindness. Everyone around her was ruthless and heartless. No one had ever truly helped her.
Growing up in that environment, she'd become more machine than person. Assigned to monitor Kaito's every move, she started off numb... but over time, something changed. His presence began to melt the ice inside her.
And then he saved her—from Rayleigh, of all people. The Dark King.
That battle... if Kaito had made even the smallest mistake, he could've died right there.
Yet he still made the effort to protect her and get her out safely. From that moment on, she began to rely on him, deep down.
Now, after seeing him punish someone just for being rude to her—completely ignoring that they were subordinates of the Celestial Dragons—she felt her heart swell.
All of it... just because of someone as insignificant as her.
Kalifa buried her face against Kaito's back and began to laugh softly. But before she knew it, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Feeling the wetness against his back, Kaito frowned slightly and said in a low voice:
"What's wrong? Still angry? Or worried about Saint Shalria retaliating? Don't worry—they can't do anything to me."
There was such unwavering confidence in his tone, and it made Kalifa fall for him even more.
She lifted her head from his back, her eyes overflowing with emotion as vast and deep as the sea. The look in her gaze made Kaito's heart skip a beat.
She rose on her toes, her face slowly drawing closer to his, and then kissed him gently on the lips.
Watching all this unfold, Modis—who had seen similar scenes before—rolled her eyes once and perched herself on Kaito's shoulder, silently enjoying the show.
...
After a long moment, their lips parted.
Kalifa reached out and caressed Kaito's face. Tears still lingered on her cheeks, but now her smile radiated a beauty that stole the breath.
Her lips moved softly.
"Boss... from now on, I'm yours."
Kaito was still dazed from the kiss. Her words brought him back to his senses—but his brain was still lagging behind. For some reason, all that kiss seemed to have sucked away his emotional intelligence, and he blurted out something completely tone-deaf:
"Why... why do you call me boss?"
Even Kalifa was caught off guard by how slow Kaito was being. But looking at him—so clueless and awkward—she just found him all the more adorable. She covered her mouth and laughed.
"Because I was sold to you. You're my boss now, aren't you?"
"Ah? Oh. Yeah. Sure. Boss. Sounds good."
Finally, Kaito's EQ came back online. Realizing how awkward he'd just been, he tried to brush it off with a half-hearted chuckle to hide the embarrassment.
Kalifa kept her gaze fixed on Kaito for a long time, like she couldn't get enough of looking at him.
Her intense stare made him uneasy. He rubbed his face subconsciously and asked:
"What is it? Is there something on my face?"
Kalifa squinted slightly and said seriously:
"Nothing. I just think... my boss is really handsome. I could stare at you forever."
"..."
Alright. At this moment, Kalifa's combat power was way too high—even higher than Rayleigh's. Not even Kaito, who had faced the Dark King himself, could keep up. He was utterly speechless.
Seeing that Kaito had fallen silent, Kalifa stopped teasing and gently brushed the dust off his clothes from earlier.
Then she asked softly:
"Boss, how are you planning to handle that meeting with her tomorrow night?"
Now that the topic came back around, Kaito didn't really care anymore. Honestly, what he was more worried about... was Gion.
Just thinking of Gion gave him a headache. He frowned again.
Seeing his expression, Kalifa thought he was still troubled over tomorrow's situation. She bit her lip, concern in her voice.
"Boss... are you worried about tomorrow night? I'm sorry. It's my fault for dragging you into this."
Kaito blinked in surprise, realizing she'd misunderstood. He quickly explained.
"No, no. That bunch isn't worth worrying about. I'm thinking about... sigh. I'm thinking about Gion."
"...Huh?"
Kalifa froze.
She hadn't expected Kaito to still be hung up on that at a time like this. That offbeat remark caught her completely off guard, and she couldn't help but laugh again.
Kaito looked at her, puzzled.
"What's so funny?"
Kalifa laughed for a while, then calmed down. She reached out a finger and tapped his chin.
"What are you worried about? You're my boss. I'm just your secretary."
"..."
Kaito fell silent.
He understood what Kalifa meant. She didn't want him to worry. She wouldn't come between him and Gion. In other words... she was putting herself in the lowest position possible.
Sigh... my Kalifa... Kaito couldn't help cursing himself in his heart.
"I really am a damn bastard..."
Well, in the Uchiha clan, this kind of situation would be unheard of. For a group of diehard romantics, having someone like Kaito—this absolute scumbag—among them was almost a legendary disgrace.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo