The final decision of the meeting was to have Kaito lead the team, with Tsuru, Momonga, Yamakaji, and Onigumo accompanying him.
As they walked out of the conference room, Tsuru called out to Kaito.
Kaito felt a little uneasy—had Gion already told Tsuru about his secretary and personal guards? Still, he kept his expression calm and asked,
"Is there something you need, Vice Admiral Tsuru?"
Tsuru glanced around, confirming that everyone else had left. Then she stepped up to Kaito and lowered her voice.
"I heard from Gion that you're very interested in Devil Fruits. Do you have any thoughts about the Ope Ope no Mi this time?"
Hearing that, Kaito was a little confused. What did she mean by that? Was Tsuru testing him? Or was there something else going on?
Seeing Kaito remain silent, Tsuru seemed to understand what he was thinking. She pulled a small video Den Den Mushi from her coat and said to him,
"I know what you're worried about. Everything I say from now on will be recorded by this Den Den Mushi. You can relax."
As expected of someone known as the "Great Staff Officer of the Navy," Tsuru instantly saw through Kaito's concern and even came prepared.
Kaito could only nod, curious to hear what she had to say.
"Kaito, do you know why the Celestial Dragons are so desperate to get their hands on the Ope Ope no Mi?"
Kaito shook his head. Of course, he already knew. But in this situation, silence was the safer option. First, he wasn't supposed to know such a secret. Second, the Den Den Mushi was still recording.
Seeing his reaction, Tsuru gave a mental nod of approval. She didn't mind Kaito's caution—in fact, she appreciated it.
She continued, her voice extremely serious.
"It's said that once the Ope Ope no Mi is developed to a high level, it can perform the Perpetual Youth Surgery—at the cost of the user's life."
Kaito already knew this, but given the circumstances, he still put on a convincingly shocked expression.
Tsuru had expected that reaction and went on.
"I suspect the rumor might be true. Even I don't know how long the current Five Elders have been alive. If these people just keep on existing, along with the Celestial Dragons, they'll only become an increasingly unbearable burden on the world."
That finally cracked Kaito's composure a bit. Damn. Did she really just say that out loud? And from Tsuru, no less?
After saying that, Tsuru shut off the video Den Den Mushi...
And handed it to Kaito.
Kaito took it silently and looked at her, trying to understand what she really intended.
Seeing that he accepted it, Tsuru relaxed and said,
"That's all I wanted to say—this fruit is no ordinary matter. You better make sure it stays protected."
When she said "protected," she put special emphasis on the word. The implication was crystal clear.
With that, she walked past Kaito and left.
Kaito stood there, running through everything he had just learned. To be honest, it was far beyond anything he'd expected.
He came to one solid conclusion—there are quite a few people in the Navy who are secretly opposed to the Celestial Dragons. Garp is the obvious one, and now the hidden ones were starting to surface too.
...
Meanwhile, Sengoku had returned to his office when the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang.
He picked it up, and a voice came through.
Hearing that voice, Sengoku's expression immediately softened. That was the secret passcode between him and his adopted son, Corazon.
Corazon then told him that Doflamingo had already learned about the Ope Ope no Mi and was planning to take it.
Sengoku also passed on the location of the deal.
But before hanging up, Sengoku gave Corazon a serious warning.
"The one in charge of connecting with the Barellus Pirates this time is Vice Admiral Kaito. You can trust him completely—don't take any action on your own!"
Vice Admiral Kaito?
The moment he heard that name, Corazon immediately remembered the global broadcast from a year ago—those Rinnegan eyes had left a deep impression on him.
Not to mention Kaito's terrifying feats: injuring Rayleigh and killing Weevil.
But that didn't put Corazon at ease.
He needed that fruit to treat Law's Amber Lead Syndrome. He'd have to act early—well before the deal even went down—to make sure he got the Ope Ope no Mi.
...
At that moment, Kaito had no idea that his very existence had once again changed history.
He was busy assembling forces and preparing to move early to the deal location.
When he arrived at the naval port, Kaito scanned the warships docked there. There were five warships participating in this operation, with his own ship docked in the very center.
To be honest, this kind of deployment was almost on the level of a Buster Call.
Since Tsuru's ship had temporarily been given to Gion, another one was arranged for her.
Momonga, Yamakaji, and Onigumo were already waiting. When they saw Kaito, they all came forward to greet him before heading to their respective ships.
Kaito narrowed his eyes and looked at the backs of the three Vice Admirals, analyzing them based on what he remembered from the anime.
Momonga was a good man—he cared deeply for his subordinates. In the anime, when he went to summon Hancock, his men were wiped out, and he single-handedly protected their petrified forms for days. Even in the end, he begged Hancock to undo the petrification.
In One Piece Film: Z, he even cried when Zephyr died. Clearly, he was a righteous and emotional soldier.
Yamakaji always wore a smile, giving off a very approachable vibe.
According to the manga, he had a strong sense of justice... though he was also a bit of a lecher. The fact that he got turned to stone during the siege on Hancock was a stain he'd never wash off.
Overall, Momonga and Yamakaji were easy to get along with. They wouldn't pose much of a problem to Kaito's plans.
The one he really had to watch out for was Onigumo.
That guy was extreme. He'd even hurt his own men in the middle of battle. He was a hardcore supporter of Akainu's brand of justice.
You couldn't apply normal logic to someone like that. If he sensed that something was off, it would be a major headache.
Fortunately, among the other four participants in this operation, Onigumo was the only one Kaito had to worry about.
If he did become a threat to Kaito's plans, well... Kaito would just have to resort to some unorthodox methods.
Not killing him, of course—Onigumo was still a Marine. But if he happened to get injured or pass out during a battle, that would be perfectly reasonable, right?
After all, fists don't have eyes in the heat of combat. Who he fought with, and why, would be anyone's guess.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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