On the scorched ground, arcs of purple lightning crackled sporadically. A charred humanoid figure lay sprawled out in the shape of a cross.
That figure was none other than Blackbeard, who had just clashed head-on with Kaito
There was not a single patch of unburned flesh left on him. A foul stench of scorched flesh rose from his body.
His eyes had rolled back into his head — completely unconscious.
Crackle!
A bolt of purple lightning flashed in front of Blackbeard, coalescing into Kaito's body.
Looking down at the pitch-black and thoroughly fried Blackbeard on the ground, Kaito could still sense the faint breath left in him, despite how miserable he looked.
"Still alive? Your Physique is surprisingly durable."
He casually waved away the pungent burnt stench in the air, then used Universal Pull to lift Blackbeard from the ground, once again gripping him tightly in his hand.
This time, Blackbeard could no longer resist in the slightest. Kaito directly activated the Preta Path to extract the Dark-Dark Fruit, and another black tomoe appeared in his left eye.
...
...
Kaito stretched out a hand and attempted to activate his newly acquired Dark-Dark Fruit ability.
In an instant, his hand turned jet black, streams of darkness rising from it, exuding a terrifying gravitational pull — as if trying to suck everything around into it.
Kaito already possessed the abilities of the Rinnegan's Deva Path and the Gravity Fruit. Now, with the addition of the Dark-Dark Fruit, his control over gravity had reached an absolute peak.
He even felt that just by standing here, he could use Universal Pull to drag Sengoku — who was probably still sipping tea back at Marine Headquarters — straight over to him!
Tossing aside Blackbeard's lifeless corpse, Kaito was just about to dispose of it when suddenly, a fluctuation came from the Heavenly Net.
Kaito raised an eyebrow. He remembered the one who had slipped through the cracks — Lafitte, whom he'd ignored earlier.
That guy was no saint. Kaito had looked into him before — supposedly the nation's "Sheriff," but in truth, he was no different from Shiryu of the Rain. He slaughtered people indiscriminately, not even sparing innocent civilians.
Someone like that? Kaito had no intention of letting him go.
According to the intel from Heavenly Net, Lafitte was airborne and fleeing fast into the distance.
Clearly, he was also a Devil Fruit user. From what Kaito remembered from the anime, Lafitte could transform his arms into a pair of white wings — likely a Zoan-type.
During Kaito's fight with Blackbeard, Lafitte had already flown several miles away. His speed wasn't bad.
But to Kaito, that distance was meaningless.
He stretched out his hand, originally intending to use Universal Pull to reel him back. But then, a thought struck him — why not let Lafitte serve as the first offering to his newly acquired Dark-Dark Fruit?
With that in mind, Kaito looked toward the direction Lafitte had flown. A trace of darkness curled out from the corner of his left eye.
...
Over the distant sea—
Lafitte had transformed entirely into a pure-white swan, flapping his wings furiously as he soared through the sky.
Just as Kaito had predicted, Lafitte was a Devil Fruit user — specifically of the Zoan-type: Bird-Bird Fruit, Swan Form.
Swans are known as high-altitude champions, and as a Swan-type Zoan user, Lafitte's flight capabilities were exceptional. At this moment, he had already ascended over ten thousand meters.
This kind of altitude should've been very safe. Yet Lafitte still felt it wasn't enough. The innate danger sense granted by the Zoan fruit kept him from slowing down.
The pressure Kaito gave off was simply too overwhelming. And Lafitte knew full well that, given all he'd done, the Admiral would never let him off the hook.
One thought dominated his mind now: It's not high enough. Not fast enough.
As he flew, he muttered to himself,
"Faster! I have to go faster!"
Suddenly, the world before him dimmed.
A swirling black vortex had somehow formed around his head.
Startled, Lafitte came to a sudden halt, screaming in terror,
"W-What is this...?!"
Squelch!
Before he could finish his sentence, the black vortex twisted and ground his head into pulp. Blood gushed from the stump of his neck.
Thud!
Over the empty sea, a headless corpse plummeted from the sky, splashing into the ocean below.
The surface was instantly dyed red. Moments later, swarms of sharks were drawn in by the scent. Lafitte's body was devoured whole — not even bones remained.
...
Lafitte's life signature vanished from the Heavenly Net. The darkness in Kaito's left eye dissipated along with it.
The technique he had just used was similar to Obito's Kamui. The darkness generated by the Dark-Dark Fruit could be understood as a type of dark dimension.
The difference was, while Obito's Kamui space might offer a slim chance of survival, Kaito's dark space would crush and obliterate anything that entered. Almost no one could escape alive.
In terms of effect, it was more akin to Kaguya's Amenominaka!
Kaito had already named it:
〖Dark Prison〗.
Having dealt with Lafitte, Kaito activated the Door-Door Space. With his modifications, the door had grown massive — covering half the island.
Immediately, a sea of people surged out from it. They were the civilians of this nation.
Turns out, when Blackbeard used the Dark Hole in an attempt to swallow the entire country, Kaito — hovering in the air — had instantly used ROOM to transfer all the civilians into the Door-Door Space.
That explained why Blackbeard never heard a single scream — they had all been relocated in time.
From the crowd, a man wearing an ornate crown stepped forward — the king of this nation.
He approached Kaito, and with a thud, dropped to his knees. Behind him, the entire crowd followed suit, bowing down to Kaito as one.
The king raised his head to look at Kaito, eyes brimming with gratitude and awe.
"Admiral! Thank you for saving my people. Words cannot express how grateful I am!"
As he spoke, the king bowed three times — hard — to Kaito. When he lifted his head again, his forehead was already bleeding, a testament to the sincerity of his gratitude.
He wished he could offer all the nation's treasure to Kaito — but unfortunately, everything had already been swallowed up and ground to dust by Blackbeard's darkness.
So he could only express his thanks in the most humble, human way possible.
Seeing the king's gesture, many others in the crowd broke down in tears, clutching their loved ones tightly. After surviving such devastation, everyone felt reborn.
Kaito looked at the countless civilians kneeling before him, a pang of emotion stirring in his chest. In a world ruled by supernatural power, the fate of ordinary people was truly tragic — a single blow from the strong could wipe out everything they held dear.
Almost without thinking, Kaito placed a hand over his Rinnegan.
Thanks to these eyes, he had obtained everything he now possessed — and gained the power to change the fate of others.