"It's Uchiha Kaito!"
"Boss Kaito!"
Everyone on the ship froze for a moment when they saw Kaito suddenly appear. Then, as they snapped out of it and recognized him, the cadets and roommates who knew him rushed forward.
To them, seeing Kaito at this moment was like seeing a savior. But Kaito simply waved them off, pushing through the crowd to reach Ain.
He gently held Ain's cold hand, his voice soft.
"Sorry… I came too late."
Ain forced a faint smile. Her eyes were filled with nothing but Kaito.
"It's not your fault… I'm just too weak. I can never catch up to you…"
Kaito shook his head and carefully took Ain from Alice's arms, letting her rest against his chest.
Ain slightly moved her head. Her consciousness was slipping fast. She took a few deep breaths and lifted her trembling hand to touch Kaito's cheek. Using the last of her strength, she spoke—fearing that if she didn't say it now, she never would.
"I think… this is it for me, Kaito. Actually, I've always… always admired you. I…"
"Don't say anything else. I understand what you mean. Just look into my eyes."
"…Okay."
Even on the verge of passing out, Ain instinctively obeyed his words, forcing her eyes wide open to look into his.
In Kaito's right Rinnegan, four tomoe rapidly rotated. Izanagi Activated. In Ain's eyes, four tomoe briefly appeared as well. A sudden, cool energy surged through her entire body.
Everyone else on the ship was completely stunned as they watched Ain in Kaito's arms.
Right before their eyes, the terrifying wound on Ain's abdomen began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Her pale face regained color. It looked like… a miracle.
As the one experiencing it, Ain suddenly sat upright from Kaito's arms. She looked down at her stomach in disbelief. Though there was still blood, the skin underneath was perfectly intact.
"It's done. Whatever you want to say, wait until we're back at Marine Headquarters and tell me in person. Got it?"
Ain stared at Kaito blankly, then subconsciously nodded. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, a thunderous boom drew everyone's attention.
Kaito turned in the direction of the sound. Beside him, Ain said worriedly,
"That's Instructor Zephyr… He's still fighting that pirate. That guy's incredibly strong. I don't know how Instructor Zephyr is holding up…"
Hearing this, Kaito turned back to her and gently patted her shoulder with a smile.
"The upcoming fight might spread this way. You all need to get out of here—now."
Before Ain could respond, others on the ship quickly spoke up.
"Boss Kaito! That pirate's unbelievably powerful. Even Instructor Zephyr is struggling against him. We should go get reinforcements together!"
"Yeah, Kaito! You're Instructor Zephyr's favorite student. He wouldn't want you walking into something this dangerous!"
Since everyone was saying it, Ain didn't argue further. She just looked at Kaito, her eyes full of silent pleading.
She had witnessed the fight between Weevil and Zephyr firsthand. She knew exactly how dangerous Weevil was. She was the one who least wanted Kaito to go up against him.
But Kaito had no intention of listening to them.
Helping Zephyr survive this ordeal had been his goal from the start. There was no way he'd back down just because the enemy was strong.
For the Uchiha clan, who held emotions above all else, such betrayal was unthinkable.
Kaito turned his back to them, raising one hand as if to say, no more words.
His Marine coat flapped wildly in the sea breeze. The word Justice on his back stood out boldly.
"I'm going."
With just those three words, Kaito shot into the sky, flying straight toward the source of the noise.
...
BOOM!
Another deafening explosion rocked the sea. The surface split open with a deep fissure as two figures fell from above, landing on the battered deck of a warship.
Zephyr was panting heavily, his face grim as he stared at the monster in front of him—a seemingly tireless opponent. His thoughts lingered on the cadets he had helped escape moments ago.
Standing across from him was Edward Weevil—Whitebeard Jr.—shouting dumbly,
"Mama, this guy's really strong! He's a tough one!"
On a small boat beside the warship, a short woman in a leopard-print coat—Miss Buckin—let out a few scornful chuckles and called out to Weevil,
"My precious son, don't worry. He's just a former Marine Admiral! There's no way he's your match! You're the son of Whitebeard—the world's strongest man!"
"That's right! I'm Whitebeard's son! I'll kill this guy for sure!"
Weevil suddenly became fired up, pounding his chest hard with one arm. His two legs—ridiculously skinny compared to his massive frame—kicked off violently as he vanished from sight.
Seeing Weevil charge again, Zephyr snapped back into focus. He activated Observation Haki to its fullest, trying to anticipate Weevil's next move.
But after a prolonged battle, Zephyr's body had taken damage while protecting the cadets earlier. Even with Ain's fruit ability enhancing him, he was clearly running out of steam.
Thud! Zephyr failed to read Weevil's move this time. A heavy slash landed across his back. Severely injured, Zephyr immediately used Soru to escape the battlefield.
Staggering as he landed in a corner of the deck, Zephyr nearly collapsed. The blow had been severe—his fighting strength was seriously diminished.
Down below, Miss Buckin's eyes lit up with joy. She shouted excitedly for Weevil to finish Zephyr off while he was down.
Weevil let out another frenzied roar and raised his blade to strike.
Zephyr, helpless, had no choice but to drag his wounded body out of the way—barely dodging the blow.
But this time, Weevil suddenly showed a flash of cunning. He had purposely held back a bit on the first strike, leaving almost no lag after the swing.
He knew full well that with Zephyr's current state, dodging once was already pushing it—dodging twice would be impossible.
Seamlessly chaining into a second strike, Weevil's longsword aimed straight for Zephyr's right arm.
Zephyr's pupils shrank. This is bad. There was no way he could dodge this time.
A mix of resignation and regret filled his heart.
Resignation—because he could finally reunite with his wife and child.
Regret—because he would never live to see his proudest student, Kaito, rise to the rank of Fleet Admiral.
Just as Weevil's sword was about to land, a beam of laser light shot in from the distance, striking the blade dead-on.
Weevil's attack was thrown off-course, slicing into the railing instead. The side of the already-ruined warship cracked open even further.
Miss Buckin narrowed her eyes.
"Laser? Could it be… Kizaru's here? We need to think about retreat."
Even though Weevil was strong, there was no way he could handle both Zephyr and Kizaru at once.
She knew her idiot son's limits well.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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