Sengoku scrutinized the tall woman standing before him—she had to be at least two meters and sixty centimeters tall. He deliberately ignored the two prominent red horns on Yamato's head and focused instead on her eyes.
Her amber eyes were indeed quite beautiful, but after a moment, Sengoku shook his head, leaving Yamato thoroughly confused.
She instinctively touched her face to make sure there wasn't something weird on it, then turned her gaze to Kaito. In this unfamiliar place, her only option was to follow Kaito's lead whenever she felt uncertain.
Unfortunately, Kaito didn't even glance her way. After all, she had taken the liberty of calling herself "Uchiha Yamato"—might as well have gone all the way and used "Uchiha Kaito" instead. The way she changed her name made it feel like she had married him or something.
Seeing that Kaito was ignoring her, Yamato puffed out her cheeks and chose to lower her head and play ostrich.
Sengoku didn't actually have any ill intent. He just wanted to check whether Yamato had the same eyes as Kaito. If she really were from the Uchiha clan, then the Marines would've hit the jackpot.
Even though Kaito had once claimed to be the last of his clan, Sengoku wasn't ready to give up hope. It felt like such a waste for such a powerful bloodline to go extinct. What if... what if there were still survivors?
Unfortunately, so far, across the entire ocean, no one but Kaito had ever shown up with the Uchiha name. Sengoku had to reluctantly accept that harsh reality.
Truth be told, Sengoku had tasted the Uchiha "sweetness" and become a little greedy. Uchihas like Kaito—so agreeable and easy to work with—were few and far between.
If you rubbed the wrong one the wrong way, they'd just glare at you with those terrifying red eyes.
Watching Yamato sulk like an ostrich, Kaito couldn't help but feel a little helpless. She was, after all, someone he brought back. Now that she was staying silent, the responsibility of introduction naturally fell to him.
With that in mind, Kaito mimicked Sengoku and cleared his throat. He pointed to the girl hanging her head low.
"Her name's Yamato. I brought her back from Kaido's place."
From Onigashima? Sengoku froze for a second. Wasn't that Kaido's stronghold? Anyone coming from there would have to be part of the Beasts Pirates, right?
That thought made Sengoku eye Yamato once more. This time, he finally noticed the red horns on her head.
Sengoku was sharp—on par with Tsuru in terms of intellect. The moment he saw those horns and considered where Yamato had come from, a burly figure immediately formed in his mind: the Yonko, Kaido of the Beasts.
He was starting to piece things together. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
Kaito noticed Sengoku's gaze lingering on Yamato's horns and knew he must've figured something out. He didn't plan to hide it.
"She's Kaido's daughter. In terms of potential, she's definitely got it."
As soon as those words left his mouth, both Sengoku and Garp—aside from Ace, who already knew—turned their stunned gazes to Yamato once again.
Yamato looked even more uncomfortable. She slowly stepped behind Kaito and wrapped her arms around his arm, looking every bit like a bullied little wife.
Kaito didn't shake her off. Instead, he raised an arm and gently held her. Considering her age and the fact that this was her first time leaving home, her reaction was understandable.
Being embraced like that filled Yamato with a warm feeling inside. She stole a peek at Kaito's profile and thought to herself,
Sensei really does care about me... just a bit tsundere, that's all!
Kaito looked calmly at everyone around him. He had no problem revealing Yamato's identity because he no longer feared the World Government.
In terms of power, his Rinnegan now held seven tomoe—its eye power alone was already monstrous. And that was before factoring in his numerous abilities and top-tier Devil Fruits.
On top of that, from Kaido, he had gained mastery of Destructive Armament. His physical power had reached the pinnacle of Yonko-tier strength. Among the known powerhouses, he was already the strongest individual in terms of raw combat ability.
As for the World Government, their attitude toward him had always been ambiguous. Kaito suspected that Imu—the secret ruler behind the scenes—had some plan involving him. Otherwise, they wouldn't let him run so wild without interference.
That hands-off approach suited Kaito just fine. It saved him plenty of headaches.
As for whatever intentions Imu might have... Kaito wasn't too worried. He stuck to one belief: all fear stems from insufficient firepower.
His left eye still had five empty slots—that meant his potential wasn't even close to maxed out. Since Imu had given him so much time to grow, he wouldn't waste that "kindness."
Once he gathered all twelve tomoe, he'd be paying a personal visit to Mary Geoise to see what kind of person Imu really was.
And if Imu turned out to be from his old world?
Well... then that'd be hilarious.
Two old friends meeting in a foreign land—first thing they'd do is draw their guns!
...
Kaito may not care much about the World Government, but Sengoku certainly did.
Right now, Sengoku was wearing a torn expression as he looked back and forth between Yamato and Ace. The inner turmoil was written all over his face.
Unbelievable, he thought. Kaito went out for a bit, beat up Kaido, and came back with not one but two rookies—and both have outrageous backgrounds.
One was the daughter of Yonko Kaido of the Beasts, and the other was the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Kaito's latest stunt had completely fried Sengoku's brain.
Just accepting Ace had already felt like pushing his limits. Now there was Yamato too?
He was about to snap.
But could he reject either of them? Absolutely not.
First of all, they were brought in by Kaito. That alone meant Sengoku would stake even his rank as Fleet Admiral to keep them.
Second, their potential was practically screaming at him.
Sure, the idea of inherited strength was a bit abstract—but let's face it. The odds were stacked in their favor. And Yamato already looked like she had solid combat skills.
Thinking about all this made Sengoku's eyes go green with envy.
He slapped his thigh.
To hell with the World Government—these two are mine!
Straightening up, he looked directly at Ace and Yamato.
"Excellent! I trust Kaito's judgment. As long as your hearts are in the right place, the Marines will welcome you with open arms. These two—the Marines are taking them!"
At that moment, the aura of the Fleet Admiral radiated off Sengoku in full force. Even Garp gave him a few surprised side glances. He had to admit—Sengoku looked kinda cool right now.
But that was a thought Garp would never say out loud.
He shook his head. He still owed Sengoku a punch. There was no way he'd let Sengoku show off in front of him right now.
He glanced over at Ace, who was currently beaming with excitement at the thought of joining the Marines.
Then, with no warning, Garp reached out and yanked Ace up by the back of his little red vest.
Before Ace could react, he was already dangling in the air, held up by his dear grandpa.
Ace blinked in confusion, staring at Garp's face. He had no idea what was coming.
Garp leaned in close, ignoring how his bristly beard made Ace frown in discomfort. With a wide grin and a "kindly" expression, he said:
"Ace, I'm so happy you've decided to join the Marines. Grandpa has decided—he's going to train you personally! What do you think? Surprised? Happy?"
He was already looking forward to seeing the joy on Ace's face. Surely, hearing that he'd be personally trained by the Hero of the Marines would make the kid ecstatic.
Except... Ace looked anything but happy.
In fact, his expression only grew more annoyed.
He curled his lip and said with obvious disdain:
"You only know how to bully kids. Who wants your training? I'm following Kaito-san! Kaito-san is the best!"
"Nani!?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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