Kaito followed behind Rayleigh until they reached a vast clearing. Rayleigh came to a halt, turned to Kaito, and said:
"This spot will do. Before we fight, I have a question. How did the Marines find my location?"
From Rayleigh's perspective, even a young Marine like Kaito knowing about him meant his whereabouts had clearly spread throughout Marine Headquarters.
But he had hidden himself well—he couldn't think of any way he might have been exposed. Of course, no matter how much Rayleigh wracked his brain, he would never guess that Kaito was a transmigrator—someone who had watched One Piece.
Naturally, Kaito wouldn't admit he knew the script. He replied with a mocking tone:
"Just a pirate—don't underestimate the Marines."
That comment sent a chill down Kalifa's spine.
My god, please don't start bragging about the Marines now! she thought nervously. When it comes to intel work, that's the World Government's domain. If even they don't know where Rayleigh is, how would the Marines?
And for the love of everything, don't provoke Rayleigh! If he gets angry, the two of us—and the nekomata—might not leave here alive!
Rayleigh gave a faint smile and wasn't offended in the slightest. He had lived long enough to be unfazed by such minor jabs.
"Looks like I've underestimated the Marines, huh? Since you're so eager to fight me, let's start with this. If you can withstand it, then maybe you're worthy of a battle."
As he finished speaking, Rayleigh's eyes snapped wide open.
Buzz! A surge of invisible pressure exploded from him—it was his Conqueror's Haki.
As the right hand of the Pirate King, there was no doubt about the strength of Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki. Kalifa was hit head-on, her eyes rolled back, and her body slumped as she lost consciousness.
Kaito reached out and caught her, then gently pried her eyelids open. His Rinnegan flashed brightly—and Kalifa snapped awake.
She blinked in confusion, glancing around, and only then realized she had somehow ended up in Kaito's arms. Reflexively, she squirmed away.
Surprisingly, Kaito didn't stop her this time, which threw her off slightly. But then she remembered what had just happened: she had been knocked out by some invisible force from Rayleigh, and it was Kaito who caught and woke her.
A slight blush crept across her cheeks. Shyly, she murmured,
"Thanks… Sorry for being a burden..."
That caught Kaito off guard. He hadn't expected his usually cold and proud secretary to show such vulnerability. But honestly, it felt kind of nice.
Still, he didn't look at her. He just waved it off casually.
"That was Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki. This fight is out of your league—stay back."
Kalifa wasn't the type to be unreasonable. She knew she couldn't do anything in a fight like this—she'd only get in the way.
So without hesitation, she used Soru to retreat to a relatively safe corner, dropped low to the ground, and fixed her eyes on the standoff between Kaito and Rayleigh.
...
Rayleigh didn't stop any of that. Someone who passed out from a burst of Haki wasn't even worth his attention. His interest was solely on the young Marine before him.
After all, the strength of his Haki just now was enough to knock out many rear admirals—and even vice admirals would feel its effects. Yet this young Marine? He stood there like it was just a breeze.
Seeing that Kalifa was now safely out of range, Kaito turned to Rayleigh and smiled.
"That was Conqueror's Haki, right? As expected of the Dark King. I nearly passed out from that."
Rayleigh chuckled in return.
"Now, now, don't lie. You looked completely unfazed."
Kaito's smile faded, his eyes growing serious. His Rinnegan glinted with flickers of violet light. In his right eye, two black tomoe began rotating slowly along the ripple pattern.
"Then how about this?"
A burst of pressure erupted from Kaito—it was his own Conqueror's Haki. After being struck by Rayleigh's Haki, Kaito had awakened his own.
Rayleigh's expression didn't change. Arms crossed, he calmly withstood the pressure and remarked:
"Not bad. Looks like you have the qualifications of a king. That's rare among the Marines."
Kaito's lips curled into a smirk. He hadn't expected his newly awakened Haki to affect Rayleigh—someone who had been honing it for decades. But holding it in had been uncomfortable, and he needed to let it out.
Besides, his Haki wasn't just at this level.
The aura from Kaito's Rinnegan intensified. Suddenly, his pressure surged to several times its original level, and from around him, countless blade-like shockwaves burst out in every direction.
Like a 360-degree explosion with Kaito at its center.
Towering trees over a hundred meters tall were instantly sliced clean in half by the shockwaves, as if they were tofu.
Even Rayleigh was shaken by the sheer destructive force. He was forced to dodge repeatedly using Observation Haki, weaving between the waves of slashing energy. As he evaded, he thought to himself:
This… this is Conqueror's Haki too? It's causing real, physical damage—how is that possible? Didn't he just awaken it? But that earlier burst was definitely real…
Of course, the sudden surge of pressure and the appearance of shockwaves weren't purely from Kaito's Conqueror's Haki. This was the power of his Rinnegan.
The technique was called Rinnegan: Overwhelming Pressure—a move that amplified his Conqueror's Haki in both aura and destructive output, allowing it to unleash tangible, slicing shockwaves.
The ability's effects lasted for a full five minutes. When Kaito finally ceased, everyone (and the nekomata) was stunned.
Everything within sight had changed. The once lush, vibrant forest was now a wasteland. Every hundred-meter-tall tree had been sheared in half. The ground was carved with crisscrossing ravines, gouged deep by the shockwaves.
Modis, who had quietly perched on Kaito's shoulder the entire time, looked at her master with reverence.
As expected of the one who created me... My god, he really is a god...
In the distance, Kalifa was completely dazed. Everything she saw shattered her understanding of reality.
Kaito hadn't even lifted a hand, and the entire landscape had been devastated. Was this really his true power? Was someone like this truly just a mere Marine captain!?
Even Rayleigh had dropped his previously casual stance. From under his cloak, he slowly drew his sword, gazed at Kaito seriously, and said:
"Young man... Your strength has earned my respect. Name yourself."
Kaito raised a hand and gently brushed away the hair hanging over his forehead.
"Uchiha Kaito."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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