Starting from One Piece with the Rinnegan

Before leaving, Kaito still couldn't help but ask Makino one more time,

"Shanks and Luffy came here?"

"Yeah. A bunch of mountain bandits came that day too. They beat up Luffy!"

"That makes sense now!"

"What does?"

"Uh, I mean… What happened to those mountain bandits in the end?"

"Of course they were arrested by Garp-san!"

Garp?! Wait, was he even supposed to show up at that time?

Kaito felt like everything was spiraling out of control and continued,

"Why did Vice Admiral Garp come back that day?"

"He said he came to take a new recruit to enlist at Marine Headquarters. So he stopped by to check on Luffy first... Huh?"

As she spoke, Makino lightly tapped her fist into her palm, suddenly realizing something.

"That recruit must've been you, Kaito-san! What a coincidence. Both Luffy and I owe you big time. If it weren't for you, Garp-san probably wouldn't have made it back!"

So it really was because of me!?

This time, Kaito was honestly stunned. Wasn't Garp usually the kind of guy who just went wherever he wanted?

In the original story, Sengoku didn't approve his leave around that time, right?

Kaito rubbed his forehead and said wearily,

"So then? Vice Admiral Garp couldn't have just done nothing when he saw Shanks, right?"

"Garp-san and Shanks fought and broke a bunch of stuff in here!"

Just some damage? Sounds like those two held back—otherwise, who knows if the village would even still be standing.

"And then what? Shanks got away?"

"Yeah. But Vice Admiral Garp said he had to go pick you up, so he left in a hurry. Not long after he left, Shanks came back and stayed with Luffy for a bit. After Shanks left, Luffy kept shouting about wanting to be the Pirate King. Oh, and Luffy's body started getting all weird—like rubber!"

After listening to the full story, Kaito nodded thoughtfully. Honestly, he'd also thought it was a bit too early for this version of Shanks to become an Emperor. It looked like his arrival had triggered another chain reaction.

With that in mind, Kaito looked up and gave Makino a smile.

"Alright, got it. I'm going to go see Luffy now."

"Mm-hmm! Once you're done, come back for a drink, okay? Everything's on the house today!"

"Heh, I won't hold back then. See you later."

With that, Kaito downed the orange juice in one gulp, narrowed his eyes slightly, and activated ROOM.

He sensed the general direction of the eastern forest, and in a flash, his figure vanished from the seat.

Makino stared blankly at the spot where Kaito had just been sitting, unable to figure out how he had disappeared so suddenly.

After snapping out of it, she looked down and saw the Belly he'd left on the counter. Frowning, she grabbed the money and rushed out of the shop, shouting from the doorway,

"Kaito-san! I told you—you don't have to pay!"

She stood there with hands on her hips, puffing up with indignation. After a moment, she let out a soft laugh and shook her head lightly.

"What a weirdo."

...

In a forest on the eastern side of Foosha Village...

Young Ace stood over a battered Luffy lying on the ground, sneering.

"That's all you've got, Luffy? You better just stay in the village where you belong."

Fired up by Ace's taunt, Luffy shouted furiously,

"I will get stronger! For Sabo too—I'm going to become the Pirate King!"

At the mention of Sabo, Ace fell silent. Sabo's "death" had become a nightmare the two of them couldn't shake.

These past few days, they'd been sparring non-stop, trying to vent their grief through punches. But even so, Sabo's name still came up—stupid Luffy!

Clenching his fists, Ace was just about to speak when a voice interrupted them.

"Brat, what did you just say you were going to become?"

Ace's eyes flew open. He suddenly realized he was now standing in someone's shadow.

Cold sweat broke out across his body. He stiffly turned around and looked up—only to see Kaito's face.

Kaito's expression was veiled in shadow, but his Rinnegan glowed faintly with a purple light.

A crushing pressure surged toward him. Ace froze on the spot, mouth opening to say something—but once again, Luffy interrupted with that single-track mind of his.

"I said I'm going to become the Pirate King!"

Crap!

Ace instantly sensed the danger. He raised his arm, ready to strike, but just as his fist was about to touch Kaito's body, an invisible force burst forth.

Bang!

Ace was flung back, crashing into a tree with a heavy thud before sliding down into a sitting position.

Even then, he used every ounce of strength to shout at Luffy,

"I can't move—Luffy, run!"

Kaito glanced at Ace, who still had enough strength to yell, and was a little surprised. That Almighty Push he used had been extremely weak, yet even a grown man would've been bedridden for weeks after taking it.

"He's still conscious? Well, I guess he is Roger's son."

Whatever he thought inwardly, Kaito's expression didn't change. He simply said in a flat voice,

"If you dare raise your hand against me again, you won't get the chance to speak next time."

"Damn it… Who are you!?"

"A Marine."

When Ace heard Kaito was a Marine, he didn't even know how to respond. Everyone knew Marines and pirates were born enemies, so this reaction… kind of made sense.

Luffy had gotten back on his feet by then. Seeing Ace unable to move, his face twisted in anger. He spun his arm into a circle and muttered,

"Gomu Gomu no..."

Sensing what Luffy was about to do—and remembering what Kaito just said—Ace ignored his own condition and yelled again,

"Stop, Luffy! If you do that, you'll die!"

"Eh? But Ace, you..."

Luffy looked at him, confused, but didn't stop moving.

Seeing Luffy still intent on attacking, Ace panicked. He felt an unfamiliar power surging up from within. He shouted at the top of his lungs,

"I said STOP! Didn't you hear me!?"

Whummm!

As Ace's emotions surged, an overwhelming wave of Haki exploded from his small body, sending gusts of wind whipping through the air. Kaito's black cloak flapped wildly in the gust.

Luffy's rubbery face twisted comically from the blast—it looked ridiculous.

The shockwave lasted a few moments, then faded. Ace collapsed on the spot, unconscious. Luffy's face returned to normal, and he looked around in a daze.

"Huh? Something crazy just happened… What was it again?"

Only Kaito stood still, arms crossed, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Of course he knew exactly what had happened. Ace had unintentionally released Conqueror's Haki.

But of the three people present—himself excluded—Luffy also had the potential to use Conqueror's Haki. So naturally, neither of them was affected. From the outside, it looked like nothing had happened at all.

Was this Ace's first time awakening his Conqueror's Haki?

If so… what did that make him now? Kaito, the elite mentor?

But in the original story, wasn't it supposed to be Kaito attacking Luffy, and then Ace awakening his Haki in a desperate moment?

How did it end up being Ace getting too emotional yelling at Luffy and that triggering it?

All he could say was: everything's completely off the rails now.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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