Kaito pointed to a charred humanoid corpse and said to Tsuru,
"That's Vergo. His true identity is an undercover agent planted in the Marines by Doflamingo. He was killed by Kaido during the battle just now."
Corazon immediately stepped forward to confirm Kaito's words.
Though, to be honest, Tsuru, Momonga, and Yamakaji wouldn't have doubted Kaito even without Corazon's testimony. The problem was the one person who didn't quite get along with the group—Onigumo.
It wasn't that Onigumo was overly paranoid; it was just that his personality tended to overthink everything. So it was better to lay things out clearly.
After finishing with Vergo's introduction, Kaito gestured toward the group of Donquixote Family officers lying in one area. He had made an effort to protect them earlier.
Amid the flames left by Kaido's dragon breath, they had regained consciousness to some degree—only to be knocked out again by the half-body Susanoo.
Not that Kaito suddenly had a saintly change of heart. Even if he had a soft side—big if—it wouldn't be for this lot. To him, they were just a few Devil Fruits worth harvesting.
"Those guys are the Donquixote Family officers. Once the rest of the soldiers land, have them taken aboard the ship."
Tsuru didn't question why Kaito—who was never known for sparing lives—was suddenly taking the "merciful" route. She simply nodded.
Seeing that she had no objections, Kaito didn't say anything else and turned to leave. But as he stepped forward, his legs gave out slightly, and he nearly collapsed.
Startled, Tsuru quickly moved to support him, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. The others hurried over as well.
Looking at Kaito's pale face, Tsuru asked with concern,
"Are you alright? Did you get hurt during the fight with Kaido?"
Kaito shook his head weakly and said,
"No, just exhausted… Oh right, this is the target of the mission—the Ope Ope no Mi. I'm not in the right state to protect it right now, so I'll leave it in your care."
As he spoke, Kaito pulled a box containing the Ope Ope no Mi out of the Door-Door Space and handed it over.
At that moment, Onigumo stepped forward and offered to take responsibility for safeguarding the fruit.
From his perspective, this was an important task assigned from above. Since the Marines' strongest asset—Kaito—wasn't in good shape, it made sense for him to handle it personally.
Tsuru frowned. She didn't want the Celestial Dragons to get their hands on this fruit, and she suspected Kaito probably had thoughts of his own. Would handing it to Onigumo interfere with his plans?
Just as she was about to say something, Kaito, still leaning against her, spoke up:
"That's perfect. I trust Vice Admiral Onigumo will protect the fruit well."
His words were full of confidence in Onigumo. Hearing that, Onigumo couldn't help but straighten his Marine coat with pride, thinking,
See? In the end, they still have to rely on me!
Tsuru glanced at Kaito beside her, feeling like there was more to his words—but since he had said so himself, she let it go.
...
A while later, a large group of Marine soldiers arrived, secured the Donquixote Family members, and returned to the warships under Tsuru's command.
Tsuru helped Kaito into a room and carefully laid him on a bed. Sitting beside him, she asked,
"Feeling any better?"
"Still a little weak, but I'll be fine. I just need a good sleep. Though… I might sleep really deeply. Let's hope nothing major happens in the meantime."
"Alright then. Get some rest. I'll be going now—but you better take care of yourself!"
With that, Tsuru gave him a long, meaningful look, then stood and quietly left the room.
...
Some time passed. Kaito sensed that the area around him had grown completely silent. Tsuru must have deliberately cleared out the nearby soldiers.
With a sharp motion, he sprang upright from the bed in one fluid kip-up.
Who would've guessed that this was the same guy who just looked like a half-dead patient a moment ago? Honestly, that whole "overexerted" thing on the island was total nonsense. He wasn't Sasuke from Boruto—always acting like his chakra bar never got filled.
Kaito stood up from the bed and clapped his hands together.
"Wood Style: Wood Clone!"
A wooden figure with Kaito's appearance slowly emerged from behind him. Then, color filled in over its surface until it looked exactly like Kaito himself.
He examined the clone and gave a satisfied nod.
In the world of One Piece, he rarely used clone techniques—mainly because clones typically weren't as strong as the original. In earlier battles, they were pretty much useless. After all, his strength back then wasn't that high to begin with.
But now, it was the perfect tool. This was a Wood Clone, which carried more of the original's power, looked more realistic, and didn't vanish as easily when hit.
Kaito opened a Door-Door Space and sent the wood clone inside. Then, he controlled it to activate the Asura form of the Mythical Zoan Fruit.
Inside the space, the wood clone's body began to enlarge, though it didn't grow extra arms.
Next, the clone formed a hand seal. With a puff of smoke, the figure was hidden from view.
When the smoke cleared… "Kaido" stood in the exact spot where the clone had been.
That's right—Kaido was Kaito's designated scapegoat for this whole operation.
Originally, he'd planned to pin it on Doflamingo. But that guy was way too cunning. He wouldn't quietly take the fall, and his strength didn't stack up to true top-tier fighters. If someone came knocking, the truth might leak.
Kaido, on the other hand, was different. Not that he was dumb—just hot-headed. As a powerful and short-tempered beast, he was prone to acting on impulse.
Even if he denied stealing the fruit, people would still come after him. And with his personality, he wouldn't bother explaining—he'd just throw hands.
Plus, his strength was unquestionable. And with the Beasts Pirates backing him, if the Ope Ope no Mi really did fall into his hands, even the World Government would be forced to swallow that bitter pill… for a while at least.
With everything ready, the Door-Door Space closed.
"Kaido," the wood clone now transformed, used the Door-Door Fruit's ability to open a portal above the Marine warships—and stepped out into the sky.
...
Descending from the air, he chose one of the two ships—specifically not Onigumo's—to avoid making things too convenient.
The Kaido clone didn't use any aerial technique. He simply dropped like a meteor straight onto Momonga's ship.
Boom! With a deafening crash, a huge hole blasted into the deck of the warship. Momonga and a group of Marine soldiers rushed forward to see what had happened.
Suddenly, an overwhelming aura surged out of the hole.
The soldiers around Momonga rolled their eyes back and collapsed.
Feeling the intensity of it, Momonga's pupils shrank.
"That's Conqueror's Haki! Don't tell me—"
Before he could finish the sentence, a massive figure leapt out from the hole and roared to the heavens:
"Hand over the Ope Ope no Mi!!!"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo