Staring at the strangely-behaving Kaito, Rayleigh didn't dare make a move. After all, Kaito's endless stream of bizarre techniques had already left a deep impression on him.
Meanwhile, Kaito was using the time to digest the power of the Gravity Fruit he had just acquired.
He discovered that after absorbing the fruit, the most obvious enhancement was a massive surge in ocular power—especially in the Deva Path's abilities.
With his current Deva Path strength, he was confident that if he launched a Universal Pull or an Almighty Push at someone of Tokikake's level, even if they coated their organs with Armament Haki, they'd still take heavy damage on the spot.
And more than that...
Kaito looked up toward the sky. He could feel that the power of his Rinnegan could now pierce the atmosphere and reach outer space. That meant... he could now activate a skill of terrifying destructive capability.
...
Not making Rayleigh wait long, Kaito raised his hand and once again activated Universal Pull. This time, the gravitational force was so immense that even Rayleigh struggled to stay anchored.
He jammed his sword into the ground, relying on the resistance of the soil to keep from being dragged forward. But the massive trees and boulders behind him weren't so lucky—they were all rapidly sucked in, carried by the force of gravity.
During the process, Rayleigh's back was struck over and over by chunks of debris, forcing him to coat himself in Armament Haki.
He was no longer young. At his age, taking repeated blows like this without defense simply wasn't an option.
Countless shattered trees and stones converged before Kaito's palm, compressing into a massive ball. His eyes flashed sharply—Almighty Push erupted from his palm, and the massive sphere was blasted forward, hurling toward Rayleigh.
Seeing this, Rayleigh didn't dare underestimate the attack. He yanked his sword from the ground and swung it sideways, unleashing a powerful slash to meet the incoming mass.
He thought it would be easy to slice apart a ball made of rubble and splintered wood—but was that really the case?
The sword energy left a deep gash across the surface of the ball, but it didn't split apart. It kept charging toward Rayleigh at full speed.
Damn it... Did he create something with absurd density through intense compression?!
He understood the cause—but the ball was seconds away from slamming into him.
Rayleigh's face darkened. A surge of energy flowed along his arm into his blade, which began crackling with red-black lightning, releasing a terrifying aura.
A slash wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and black lightning burst forth, its power multiplied. The moment it struck the incoming sphere, it shattered it into dust.
But the slash didn't stop there—it kept going, slicing straight toward Kaito.
...
"The power of that strike... it's Conqueror's Haki infusion, isn't it?"
Kaito narrowed his eyes with excitement.
"I, Uchiha Kaito, acknowledge you. Of all the opponents I've fought... I'll call you... not bad."
He was going to say "the strongest," but he figured the road ahead was still long—saying that now would ruin the vibe.
"Heh, say what you want. Let's see you block this next one, then!"
Rayleigh believed that even if Kaito had used some method to increase his strength, there was no way he could withstand a slash infused with Conqueror's Haki.
His gaze shifted briefly to the distant Kalifa, wondering if he should finish her off while he was at it.
He still had remnants of his pirate-era ruthlessness. After being provoked repeatedly by Kaito, killing intent surged in his heart.
Kalifa's body froze with fear.
She could feel Rayleigh's murderous aura—his gaze locked on her like a death sentence. Her heart threatened to stop.
But... she had an inexplicable trust in Kaito.
She didn't know where it came from, but somehow she believed she'd be okay. Every time those eyes of his flashed through her mind, she felt an overwhelming sense of security.
Forcing her stiff body to move, Kalifa retreated another several hundred meters. She knew the only thing she could do now was not drag Kaito down.
If Rayleigh tried to stop her, she might at least slow him down—buy Kaito a few seconds.
As long as Kaito lived, there was hope. If he died, she'd be doomed anyway.
...
Back on Kaito's side, he watched the slash rush toward him.
He stretched out both arms wide in a cross shape. His eyes surged with tremendous power.
Just as the slash was about to connect, an immense repulsive force exploded from his body.
"Super Almighty Push!"
In an instant, time seemed to freeze.
A tidal wave of repulsion engulfed everything within several kilometers. All life, all matter, all terrain—completely obliterated. Only barren, scorched earth remained.
...
A long silence followed the devastation.
Suddenly, a pile of rubble burst open—Rayleigh jumped out, coughing blood violently.
Even with Armament Haki protecting him, Super Almighty Push had left him with serious internal injuries.
But he had no time to care about that. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind—Kill Kaito.
If a Marine this gifted were allowed to grow, he'd become something even scarier than the three current Admirals.
Conqueror's Haki surged wildly around his sword. It howled, vibrating uncontrollably. Black lightning wrapped tightly around the blade.
Rayleigh had made up his mind.
He would end Kaito with this next strike.
...
But this time, Kaito wasn't going to give him the chance to charge it up.
Lifting his head, Kaito glanced at the sky, then used a few flickers of Body Flicker to appear a kilometer away—beside a dirt-covered Kalifa.
He pulled her into his arms.
This time, Kalifa leaned into his chest naturally, feeling the heat of his heartbeat. In a soft voice, she asked:
"Did you win?"
Kaito chuckled and shook his head.
"You're giving me too much credit. I'm still not strong enough to beat him. But one day, I'll personally take him down. A dead Dark King is far more valuable than a living one."
"I believe you... But do you really think he'll just let us leave?"
Kaito glanced behind him, then said meaningfully:
"Oh, he'll let us go. After all... I left him one—no, two very special gifts."
Kalifa tilted her head in confusion but didn't ask further. She simply nestled closer into Kaito's chest.
Kaito looked down at the ground. Yomotsu Hirasaka activated—a black hole opened beneath them.
Holding Kalifa tight, Kaito vanished into the void.
...
Elsewhere—
Just as Rayleigh prepared to unleash his final strike, his Observation Haki screamed a dire warning.
He jerked his head up.
And what he saw froze him in place.
A massive meteor, easily 200 meters in diameter, had already pierced the cloud layer and was plummeting toward the ground.
This disaster-level event didn't just alarm Rayleigh. Even people in distant regions saw it.
"Look up there! What is that?!"
"Oh my god—it's a meteor!"
"How can there be a meteor here?! This is terrifying!"
Unlike the average person, the hidden powerhouses in various areas could tell something was very wrong.
Meteorites simply didn't fall in the Sabaody Archipelago. The appearance of one was already unnatural.
And sure enough—what happened next confirmed their fears.
Just as the meteor was about to hit, a terrifying slash flew up and sliced it clean in half.
It was Rayleigh. That slash had originally been meant for Kaito.
Using Conqueror's Haki again, Rayleigh's breathing turned ragged. He was exhausted—but his Observation Haki still hadn't stopped warning him.
And then...
A second meteor—twice the size of the first—broke through the clouds and came crashing down on the same spot.
Rayleigh let out a bitter laugh.
He had no choice but to stand again and unleash two consecutive Conqueror-infused slashes.
The second meteor shattered in a deafening explosion as it struck the ground.
Rayleigh fell back, sitting heavily with one hand on his sword for support. He looked up at the place where Kaito had vanished and muttered:
"Captain Roger... I think I've just left the next generation with one hell of a monster in the Marines."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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