Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Journey to Skypiea
"I never expected the East Blue would become my grave..."
Kaito simply gave a faint, indifferent smile in response. Many people regarded the East Blue as the weakest sea—but had they forgotten that Roger's hometown was in the East Blue too? That Garp and Dragon were also born there?
The strength of people from the East Blue had a wide variance. The lower bound was laughably low, but the upper limit reached near the peak of the world. The newer generation setting out from there in recent years did seem comparatively weaker. Perhaps it was because Garp liked to visit home often.
Susanoo faded into a hazy mirage and gradually vanished into the air. Kaito landed on the water's surface below.
Extending his hand, Kaito used Universal Pull on Golden Lion once again. At this point, even hovering in the air using his Devil Fruit powers was a struggle for Golden Lion. As soon as the gravitational force hit him, his body was yanked straight toward Kaito.
Smack! Kaito grabbed Golden Lion by the neck in one swift motion. Golden Lion's eyes bulged in fury, glaring at Kaito with all his might. His lips moved as though to speak, but no sound escaped—his throat was locked tightly in Kaito's grasp.
Kaito didn't give him the chance to say a word. With a slight squeeze of his hand, Golden Lion's head twisted to the side with a sharp crack, and he stopped breathing. His eyes remained wide open, dying with a look of unwillingness.
The infamous Golden Lion, a legend of a former era, died so unceremoniously at Kaito's hand—without even a final word.
With Golden Lion's death, Kaito pressed his hand against the man's corpse and used the power of the Human Path to forcibly rip out the soul that hadn't yet escaped his body.
A black mass of energy could be seen struggling at the soul's edge, just about to break free.
A Devil Fruit user's ability leaves their body upon death. Kaito had already anticipated this. If the Float-Float Fruit truly escaped, the puppet he planned to make from Golden Lion's body would be far less effective.
While others might be helpless against the formless black energy of a Devil Fruit, Kaito was different. Coming from the Naruto world, he had learned numerous sealing techniques from Minato.
He floated Golden Lion's body in front of him using the Deva Path's power. Then, with one hand, he quickly formed a series of hand seals and pressed his palm against the soul.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
A vortex-shaped sigil surrounded by engraved markings appeared above the Devil Fruit energy. The moment it appeared, the black energy immediately calmed down.
The Four Symbols Seal was the same jutsu Minato used to seal half of the Nine-Tails into Naruto's body—a sealing technique from the Uzumaki Clan specifically designed to restrain evil forces. Using it on a Devil Fruit power was a perfect fit.
With the Float-Float Fruit now sealed, Kaito ignited a mass of black flames and pushed it into Golden Lion's heart. His body twitched... then slowly rose into the air on its own.
Kaito then glared at Golden Lion, and the man's eyes turned into the same Rinnegan pattern as his own.
Kaito had successfully projected the Deva Path's power into Golden Lion's body—but it didn't hinder his own use of the ability.
He studied his creation for a moment, satisfied, then opened a space-time gate. The puppet-like Golden Lion drifted through it lifelessly and came to a stop beside a large, imposing figure within. There it hovered silently, awaiting Kaito's orders.
Kaito shut the gate and returned to his warship.
Kalifa draped his Justice cloak over his shoulders and asked softly,
"You've dealt with Golden Lion already?"
Kaito smiled and nodded, relaxed.
Kalifa and the others were stunned. That was the Golden Lion—a legendary pirate from the same era as Roger—defeated so easily?
Kalifa couldn't help asking again, "So, does that mean you're strong enough to defeat a Yonko now?"
"One-on-one, I might have a chance. But if you factor in their entire crew, it'd be a lot tougher."
"That's still incredible!"
Everyone on the deck looked at Kaito with reverent awe. This man now possessed the power of a Yonko. When had they ever stood this close to someone of that caliber?
Seeing their reactions, Kaito helplessly waved his hand.
"No need to look at me like I've turned into some kind of monster."
Kalifa and Ain, however, stared at him with dead-serious expressions—as if to say, You kinda are.
Rubbing his forehead, Kaito decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he issued a few orders:
"Notify Fleet Admiral Sengoku and let him know that the mission to capture Golden Lion is complete. He's been dealt with on the spot."
"Yes, sir."
Kaito then handed Kalifa a special kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God technique.
"If things get dangerous on your return voyage, just call my name while holding this. I'll be there immediately."
"What about you, Boss? Aren't you coming back?"
"I have somewhere else to go. Taking the ship along would be too much trouble."
"Somewhere else? Up?"
"Yeah. Ever heard of Skypiea?"
Skypiea? Kalifa tilted her head thoughtfully. She remembered reading about that place in the World Government's classified records. But she didn't know exactly where it was—just that it floated in the sky.
After witnessing Golden Lion's ability to keep islands afloat, Kalifa wasn't particularly surprised by the idea of a floating island anymore.
If the Boss wanted to go, he must have his reasons. Maybe there was a Devil Fruit up there that he had his eyes on?
As expected of Kaito's smart little secretary, Kalifa had already guessed his intent.
She was right—Kaito was headed to Skypiea for one reason: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit that belonged to Enel.
Among all the natural-type Devil Fruits, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit ranked among the most destructive. Many believed it to be the strongest of all Logia Fruits.
Its lightning-based attacks packed devastating power. Sure, it seemed ineffective against Luffy—but that was only because Luffy's rubber body was of the Nika variety.
But raw damage wasn't even what Kaito valued most. More than that, the fruit could expand his Observation Haki's range, enhance his attacks, and even strengthen his body using lightning.
A fruit with such all-around capabilities? Of course Kaito had to claim it.
With his final instructions given, Kaito took to the skies—heading off in search of the legendary Skypiea.
(T/N: I strongly recommend you to read my new fanfic "Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!"
Quite an interesting fanfic. What really caught my attention is that the protagonist becomes stronger through a gradual process — this is not a brainless power fantasy. It's the first time I've seen something like this, and I have to say, I'm satisfied.
The main character has a pretty unique background, he's an Uchiha who was adopted by Tobirama (which is already unusual) thanks to Hashirama. As you might've guessed, the story takes place in the early timeline of the Naruto world. He's in the same generation as Hiruzen, which is another plus.
The MC is talented and works hard, but his efforts only make him slightly stronger than Hiruzen (at least for the first 100 chapters). He also has a well-developed personality, he's not a madman, but he is ruthless toward his enemies. One particularly interesting aspect is that he uses poison, a very underrated element in the Naruto world. We know from canon that poison can be deadly even to powerful shinobi, yet it's mostly associated with Sunagakure and usually used against genin or chunin.
The only downside is that the fanfic gives more attention to cooking than necessary (the MC is apparently very impressive at it, and everyone praises his cooking). It's manageable for me, but still a bit much. There's even a whole chapter about it at the beginning. For readers who aren't into that, I noted at the top that the chapter focuses on cooking and can be skipped. Thankfully, after that, the fanfic doesn't dwell on it this much.)
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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