Kaito sat idly in the spectator stands, eyes half-closed as if dozing off. He no longer needed to participate in the upcoming matches.
Don't get the wrong idea—it wasn't because he'd been eliminated. The rules of the assessment had changed. Due to the overwhelming gap between Kaito's strength and the others, the higher-ups had decided to pull him out of the regular competition and assess him separately.
Because of this, Kuris—the unlucky guy who went up against Kaito in the very first round—was allowed to re-enter the tournament.
Kaito's assessment had been changed from fighting fellow cadets to facing a Vice Admiral sent directly by Headquarters. They had already consulted Kaito beforehand, since this kind of adjustment was clearly unfair from his perspective.
Still, regardless of his performance in the battle, Headquarters had already promised to award him a Devil Fruit.
Kaito had no objections to this arrangement. It saved him trouble—and spared him the awkwardness of having to eliminate people he knew.
...
Today was the third day of the competition. The four cadets who emerged as the winners of Groups A, B, C, and D were Ain, Smoker, Binz, and Glefos.
In the end, Glefos was eliminated. Smoker, Binz, and Ain placed first, second, and third respectively.
Smoker didn't choose a Devil Fruit or a high-grade sword. Instead, he requested a weapon with Seastone as his weapon of choice.
Headquarters agreed. After all, Smoker was a Logia-type user, and he had taken first place in the tournament—even though Kaito didn't participate in the final round.
Binz chose a great blade with a green hilt called Aokusa.
What puzzled everyone was that Ain, a Devil Fruit user, actually chose... another Devil Fruit. And since she placed third, she could only choose one that wasn't listed in the registry—an unknown fruit.
Holding the fruit in her hands, Ain silently returned to the spectator stands. Her roommate immediately leaned in and asked why she'd chosen it.
Ain pursed her lips and recalled a conversation she'd had with Kaito before the assessment.
"What kind of reward do you want from this assessment? I mean, let's be honest—besides you, I can't imagine anyone else taking first place."
"A Devil Fruit, I guess. It holds a special meaning for me."
"A special meaning?"
"Heh, that's a secret. Let's just say it'll be a huge help to my strength."
"You're gonna eat it?"
"No way! If I did, I'd become a landlubber!"
"...Who are you calling that?"
"Uhh, sorry... my bad."
"Whatever, if it's your secret, I won't press. But... I figured it out."
"You figured out what?"
"Hehe... secret."
"..."
Shaking off the memory, Ain smiled and said to her roommate,
"There just wasn't anything else I really needed. Maybe I can sell the Devil Fruit for some cash later."
Her roommate thought about it and nodded in agreement. No point dwelling on it.
"Fair enough. You really are a little money-grubber. Anyway, watch the match—this next one's the real highlight. Uchiha Kaito versus a Vice Admiral from Headquarters. Tch, this kind of thing has never happened before. That Uchiha Kaito is a total monster—he's on a whole different level from us."
Hearing her call Kaito a monster, Ain gave her a playful scolding glance. Her roommate suddenly remembered—this girl was basically Kaito's number-one fan. She'd just gotten caught red-handed.
With an awkward laugh, she quickly changed the subject.
"Ahaha! Right, right—let's watch the match! It's starting!"
Ain didn't take it to heart. She tucked the Devil Fruit away and quietly waited in her seat for the match to begin.
...
By this time, the arena had been cleared and mostly repaired. Tokikake, wearing his "Justice" coat, stepped onto the platform. Today, instead of his usual black suit, he wore a comfortable brown casual outfit.
He took the mic, cleared his throat, and made an announcement to the crowd.
"Up next is the match between Uchiha Kaito and a Vice Admiral from Headquarters. Due to the significant gap in strength between Cadet Kaito and the others, this special arrangement was made—with his full consent."
Everyone already knew this was coming, so there wasn't much of a reaction. Seeing the calm response, Tokikake continued.
"This match will award Cadet Kaito a Devil Fruit, win or lose. Additionally, if he wins, then..."
He deliberately paused to build suspense. But the audience wasn't interested in theatrics. In moments, banana peels and eggshells began landing around him. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Tokikake quickly cut to the chase.
"If Cadet Kaito wins, he will graduate with the rank of Rear Admiral at minimum!"
The announcement set off a frenzy in the stands. Even in the elite training camp, first place would typically be awarded at most the rank of Colonel. The jump from Colonel to Rear Admiral was massive—a nearly insurmountable gap.
After all, Rear Admiral meant you had one foot inside the Navy Headquarters' high command. And Kaito... he was only seventeen. A seventeen-year-old Rear Admiral?
But then again—he'd have to beat a Vice Admiral. Which seemed even more absurd. Vice Admirals were firmly embedded in the upper echelons of Navy command. Even if they underwhelmed in the anime, their strength was very real.
Maybe the higher-ups were just dangling a carrot for show. That's what most people figured.
Not just the spectators—even the high-ranking officers in the VIP box had similar thoughts... all except Zephyr and Sengoku.
Tsuru turned toward Sengoku in surprise and asked,
"Sengoku, what's the point of this? Just a publicity stunt?"
The other high-ups also turned to Garp, clearly wanting the same answer.
Sengoku shook his head, eyes focused on the platform.
"I've confirmed it with Zephyr—Uchiha Kaito currently possesses at least Vice Admiral-level combat power."
"NANI?!"
His words dropped like a bombshell. Everyone stared, stunned.
All eyes turned to Zephyr, who solemnly nodded.
Such rapid growth was unheard of. And with Zephyr's personality, he wouldn't joke about something like this. So Kaito... at just seventeen... already had the power of a Vice Admiral?
...
Beside Tsuru, Gion sat with her legs together, hands resting on her thighs. Her peach blossom eyes were fixed on Kaito in the stands, her expression complicated.
Sensing her gaze, Kaito looked up toward the VIP box—and locked eyes with Gion.
He gave her a small smile and mouthed a few words, causing a faint blush to rise on her cheeks. With her strength, she could easily read his lips—and understand what he was saying.
"Don't forget our promise, Gion."
Of course she hadn't forgotten. She remembered it better than anyone. She replied in kind, mouthing back:
"Of course I didn't forget. But aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? Are you that confident you'll beat a Vice Admiral?"
Kaito didn't offer any more explanation. He just mouthed three more words:
"Trust in me."
Satisfied with that answer, Gion didn't continue the silent conversation. She'd gotten what she came for.
Even though she didn't know the exact extent of Kaito's power, he always gave her a sense of security.
It was that feeling that had drawn her to him.
She whispered softly,
"You're really going to do it, Kaito."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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