"Uchiha Kaito."
As he spoke his name, a streak of violet eyeshadow appeared at the corner of Kaito's eye, and both backs of his hands lit up with Armament Haki. Ever since the battle with Tokikake, Kaito had mastered the ability to enter an advanced dual-arm Armament Haki state.
Without a doubt, this was Kaito's strongest combat mode. After all, his opponent was the Dark King, Rayleigh. One careless move could easily cost him the fight—even Kaito wasn't confident of walking away unscathed.
Once he confirmed he was in peak condition, Kaito opened withVacuum Strike. Twelve Haki-infused fist-shaped shockwaves erupted at once, completely sealing off Rayleigh's movement path, giving him no room to dodge.
But Rayleigh was still Rayleigh. Facing the very same move that had once obliterated Tokikake in seconds, he remained utterly calm.
With a single hand gripping his sword, he made a casual swing. The twelve Vacuum Strikes formed a wall of compressed air, but it was effortlessly split in half by that simple swing. Kaito's attack brushed past Rayleigh's sides and vanished into the distance.
It looked like Rayleigh had swatted away the attack with ease, but only he knew how much power had been packed into that move. Holding down the subtle trembling in his blade, Rayleigh paused slightly, then muttered,
"You compressed your Haki... and added something else, didn't you? Things are getting interesting."
As expected from a renowned veteran of the seas—he instantly sensed the unusual nature of the Vacuum Strike after just one exchange.
Kaito stayed silent, but Rayleigh didn't press further. In a flash, he vanished from sight. His speed was so fast that even Kaito, with the Rinnegan active, couldn't fully track his movements for the first time.
Still, with Sage Mode's danger sense and advanced Observation Haki, Kaito instinctively dodged. With a burst of repelling force and a flash step, his speed peaked, and he reappeared over a hundred meters away.
Boom!
The next second, the ground where Kaito had just stood split open into a deep, endless chasm. The darkness below seemed bottomless.
Rayleigh maintained his sword swing, offering Kaito a faint smile.
From afar, Kaito stared at the gaping chasm with lingering fear.
"That was close. If that hit landed, I'd be done for. And it just looked like a casual normal attack…"
For someone like Rayleigh, who stood at the pinnacle of strength, every strike had returned to a state of natural simplicity. A casual slash, a swing, or a chop could cause terrifying destruction.
Especially for swordsmen—anyone who'd seen the anime knew just how monstrous Mihawk's so-called "basic attacks" were.
Just look at Kaido's "Thunder Bagua"—sounded flashy, but in execution it was just him swinging a spiked club with all his might. And that was enough to nearly kill Pirate King Luffy.
Clearly, Kaito wasn't Rayleigh's match in close combat. He understood this well. His Haki training time had simply been too short. Using his weakness to target Rayleigh's strength would be a fool's move.
With that in mind, Kaito suddenly clapped his hands together with a loud slap, leaving Rayleigh briefly stunned.
As Rayleigh frowned, puzzled by the odd gesture, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet start to tremble violently. In the distance, Kaito locked eyes with him and shouted:
"Deep Forest Emergence!"
Kaito wasn't just a Rinnegan wielder—he also possessed Hashirama's cells.
Though he couldn't use advanced techniques like Wood Human Technique or True Several Thousand Hands, something like Deep Forest Emergence was well within his reach.
Crack! Crack!
The ground beneath Rayleigh's feet split open as an endless wave of giant trees erupted upward, surging toward him like they had a will of their own.
Even Rayleigh was caught off guard by this absurd spectacle. Vines lashed around his waist, and the instant they touched him, he realized something terrifying—his stamina was being drained through the vines.
Taking advantage of the momentary restraint, Kaito finished weaving hand signs. He raised both palms, index fingers and thumbs forming a triangle as he took a deep breath and unleashed:
"Fire Style: Majestic Blaze Annihilation!"
A torrent of flame shot from Kaito's mouth. The moment it touched the air, it expanded into a sea of fire that swallowed the entire forest. The trees acted as fuel, making the inferno even more savage.
"What the hell?!"
Even someone as composed as Rayleigh couldn't help but curse aloud. A moment later, the firestorm consumed him completely.
And he wasn't the only one stunned. Watching from a distance, Kalifa's glasses reflected the burning forest—her pupils wide behind the lenses.
To her, every move Kaito made defied logic. The shift in fighting style had been so abrupt that it shattered her composure. At this point, only one thought echoed in her mind:
"Who am I? Where am I? And is that Kaito even human?"
Vrrrmmm!
A wave of power burst out from within the flames. The raging inferno was instantly extinguished by the force.
A moment later, several terrifying slashes ripped through the dense forest, carving a massive corridor through the trees.
Rayleigh appeared at the far end of the newly-formed passage. The calm and casual demeanor from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
His upper garments were burnt to tatters, hanging from his body in shredded strips. Only a pair of boxer shorts remained intact—probably something he had deliberately protected. After all, even legends have reputations to maintain, don't they?
Huff!
Exhaling a cloud of black smoke, Rayleigh shot Kaito a cold glare. After that kind of ambush, there was no way he could remain friendly.
"Looks like you've got a lot of secrets. Just who the hell are you… Marine?"
Kaito shrugged.
"Actually, I'm a ninja."
"A ninja? So you're from Wano? Do you know Kozuki Oden?"
Here we go again. Every time someone hears "ninja," they think of Wano.
But come on—those clowns in Wano dare call themselves ninjas? Just because they wear some flashy outfit and go around claiming the title? What next, spit a little water and call it Water Style?
Kaito clicked his tongue in disdain.
"Don't lump me in with that trash from Wano, dumbass. And Oden? That guy was a total joke. The worst of the worst."
"What did you say?!"
Kozuki Oden had once sailed on the same ship as Rayleigh, so hearing his comrade insulted set Rayleigh off instantly.
Gripping his sword with both hands instead of one, Rayleigh's anger erupted. His speed now eclipsed his earlier burst several times over. He appeared above Kaito in an instant, blade poised to cleave down on his head.
Kaito could tell—Rayleigh was truly enraged this time.
But that was exactly what he wanted. Because next, he'd need someone as strong as Rayleigh to test out his new power.
He shouted in his heart:
"Modis!"
"Understood, Master!"
As Kaito's bonded summon, Modis didn't need extra instructions. She opened her mouth toward the airborne Rayleigh and unleashed a massive plume of black flames that immediately enveloped him, freezing him solid.
Rayleigh wouldn't stay trapped for long—but that was more than enough time for Kaito.
A portal shimmered open beside him in the air. He reached in and laid his hand on the Gravity Fruit he'd just acquired at the auction.
No one could see what his hand was doing.
The Preta Path activated—drawing the power of the Devil Fruit into his body.
As the new power surged through him, Kaito's ocular power exploded. The intense wave of energy made him instinctively clutch his right eye.
Crack!
The icy prison shattering around Rayleigh marked his return to the battlefield. He flipped through the air and landed not far from Kaito, eyes narrowed as he studied him.
His instincts screamed that something dangerous had changed about Kaito during those brief moments of ice.
"Ha… Haha… Hahahahahaha!"
Clutching his right eye, Kaito let out a wild, manic laugh. The sound sent a chill through Rayleigh's spine, and he tightened his grip on his sword.
After laughing for a while, Kaito slowly lowered his hand. In the Rinnegan of his right eye, a third black tomoe had appeared.
A cold voice slipped from his lips:
"The real show is just getting started, Dark King Rayleigh."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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