— — — — — — —
"Speaking of which, Lord Kaito, how did you know we were planning to capture Vander Decken?"
"This should be your first time on Fish-Man Island, right?"
"Not many people actually know the truth about Vander Decken and Shirahoshi."
As Neptune ate, he looked at Kaito with curiosity and asked.
"Just think of it as me having the ability to foresee the future, knowing all the details in advance."
Kaito gave a mysterious smile and glanced at Neptune with deep meaning.
Hearing this and seeing Kaito's expression, Neptune's heart skipped a beat.
It was as if he suddenly understood—Kaito knew exactly why Vander Decken was after Shirahoshi, and he was also aware of Shirahoshi's true identity.
"You... I..."
For a moment, Neptune hesitated, unsure of what to say.
His heart was filled with anxiety.
He was deeply worried that Kaito might have ulterior motives for Shirahoshi.
But in the next moment, Kaito reassured him: "Don't worry. I have no ill intentions toward Shirahoshi, and I don't plan on doing anything to her."
"That thing may be powerful, but it's not something I take seriously."
Neptune understood what Kaito meant and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him with gratitude. "Thank you for your reassurance."
"You truly are extraordinary!"
Even the power of Poseidon didn't seem to impress him in the slightest.
This man was truly different.
His confidence was overwhelming.
And yet, he had every right to be confident!
A few months ago, the Navy deployed both Marine Hero Garp and an admiral-level powerhouse, the elite Logia user Aokiji, but they failed to capture Kaito and his group.
Instead, they were seriously wounded and forced to retreat.
With strength like that, it was no surprise that Kaito could say he had no interest in Poseidon's power.
— — —
After the banquet, Kaito didn't bother to meet Shirahoshi.
There was no need—she was still too young.
When the time was right, he would meet her.
After all, with the favor he had done for her family today, he was sure that Shirahoshi, with her innocent nature, would develop a deep fondness for him over time.
It wouldn't take many years before her affection for him reached the desired level.
By then, things would naturally fall into place.
That would also be the perfect time to strengthen his ties with Fish-Man Island.
Next, accompanied by Prince Fukaboshi, Kaito made a trip to the Sea Forest to take an imprint of the Poneglyph there.
After that, he returned to Fish-Man Island, spending a day exploring with Mikoto, Hancock, and the others.
They didn't linger for long, and under Neptune's farewell gaze, they boarded their ship and set sail once more, heading toward their next destination.
Of course, shortly after leaving Fish-Man Island, Kaito left behind a shadow clone on the pirate ship while his real body returned to the Ninja World.
It would still take half a day to reach their destination, and it was already getting late.
No need to waste time—he could return in a few days when the Uchiha Pirates officially started claiming territory in the New World.
— — —
Early the next morning, while he was training on Shimotsuki Village, Rayleigh suddenly arrived, bringing Roger with him through teleportation.
"Huh?"
Kaito paused mid-practice, slightly surprised.
"Rayleigh? Roger? What brings you two here?"
"Good thing Ace isn't around today—otherwise, things would get really interesting! Haha!"
Recently, Garp had returned to Foosha Village, so Ace couldn't come over and had to stay in the Foosha village training there.
Of course, in front of Garp, he wouldn't practice the techniques Kaito taught him.
He just focused on Haki training and basic physical exercises.
As for where he learned his techniques?
He had long used the excuse of training under an old retired pirate from the Gray Terminal, along with a bit of help from Luffy's dad, Dragon.
Garp, not bothering to investigate too deeply, accepted this explanation.
Well, Dragon actually had met with Ace and Luffy before.
Garp knew about it.
Of course, Dragon's real goal wasn't just to visit his son and Ace—it was to further the Revolution.
Currently, the Revolutionary Army had completely infiltrated the Goa Kingdom, secretly taking control of the entire country.
The king and high-ranking officials were already puppets.
Revolutionary reforms were quietly beginning in the kingdom.
But it wasn't time to reveal their control yet.
"Ahaha!"
Roger laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Ace, huh? Yeah, now's probably not the right time to see him."
"Actually, we came here for Ace's sake—we want to ask for your help in bringing my wife, Rouge, back using Edo Tensei. Is it possible?"
"I believe that if I show up with Rouge when we meet Ace, he'll be much more willing to forgive me!"
"Please, I'm begging you!" With that, Roger bowed deeply to Kaito.
"No need for formalities!"
Kaito immediately helped Roger up, patting his arm. "Bringing someone back with Edo Tensei is no big deal for me. I'll do it."
"So, I assume you've already retrieved Rouge's remains?"
Otherwise, they would have come to him yesterday.
Since they took a day, it must have been to retrieve her bones.
"That's right!"
Rayleigh and Roger both nodded.
Roger then pulled out a small cloth-wrapped bundle from his coat and unwrapped it in front of Kaito. "This is a small piece of Rouge's remains. Will it be enough?"
"It's enough."
Kaito took a glance and nodded affirmatively. With a wave of his hand, Roger suddenly felt the weight in his palm disappear.
The bone vanished from his hand and reappeared on the ground nearby.
Then, Kaito stomped lightly on the ground.
Countless sealing patterns spread from beneath his feet, centering around the remains, quickly forming a summoning array for the Edo Tensei technique.
Next, with another wave of his hand, he summoned a White Zetsu and placed it in the center of the formation.
Bang!
Then, he made a few hand signs.
The entire array lit up, and countless paper-like fragments surged from the formation, enveloping both White Zetsu and the remains.
Soon, the two began merging.
Moments later, a tall and beautiful woman appeared before everyone.
"Wow! She's gorgeous!"
Mikoto and the others, who had already been drawn to the commotion, couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
There was no denying it—Portgas D. Rouge was stunning.
Seeing the familiar face, Roger's eyes filled with longing and love. He muttered softly, "Rouge..."
At that moment, Rouge, now successfully revived, slowly opened her eyes.
She seemed to hear Roger calling her, and the confusion in her eyes quickly faded. She turned toward him, her eyes lighting up with joy. "Roger!"
"It's me! It's been so long! I'm so sorry!"
Roger nodded, stepping forward and pulling Rouge into a tight embrace.
What followed was a heartfelt reunion between the two, reminiscing and catching up.
Understanding the moment, Kaito and the others quietly stepped away, giving them their space.
---
Even Rayleigh followed Kaito to the side. Watching Roger and Rouge from afar, he took a swig of his drink and said gratefully, "Thank you, Kaito."
"It's nothing!"
Kaito waved it off nonchalantly. "This is just a small matter."
"Besides, reviving Rouge is beneficial for both Ace and Roger."
"And it also helps me bind Roger to a contract more easily, so you don't need to thank me."
"Just focus on setting up the material collection channels for me. Gathering more materials every month is the real priority!"
"Understood."
Rayleigh nodded. "Shakky is already working on it. We should have good news soon!"
"She's handling it? That's good—it means I don't need to worry about it."
"Oh?"
Kaito glanced at Rayleigh and said, "In that case, why don't you start splitting off a Shadow Clone every day to teach the contracted members how to train their Haki? Roger can help too. How about it?"
A great tool like him shouldn't go to waste, right?
Even though Rayleigh wasn't as efficient a teacher as Kaido, he was undeniably well-versed in all three types of Haki 🙃.
With his guidance, Kaito was sure the contracted members would have a much smoother time improving their skills.
"That works."
Rayleigh thought for a moment before nodding. "I have no problem with that! I'll work on mastering the Chakra Refinement Technique soon so I can extract Chakra and use the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Since it would only be a clone teaching, it wouldn't disrupt his own training.
Now that he was young again and had obtained so many powerful techniques, he wanted to focus most of his time on self-improvement.
Once he was strong enough, he was eager to challenge Whitebeard in the New World, or even take on Garp over at the Marines.
Or perhaps, he could head to Wano and beat Kaido into the ground—to avenge Kozuki Oden.
Having gained knowledge of the original timeline, Rayleigh was well aware that Oden had nearly been killed by Kaido's schemes.
And that infuriated him.
No matter what, Kozuki Oden had once been their companion, the one who helped them reach Laugh Tale and complete their journey.
He was an important member of the Roger Pirates.
Now that Kaido had been responsible for his death, Rayleigh couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
As for asking Kaito to revive Kozuki Oden as well?
Rayleigh thought it over and ultimately dismissed the idea.
Oden was just too reckless. He figured Kaito wouldn't be willing to revive him.
Besides, Oden's perverted son, Momonosuke, was an utterly disgraceful individual.
In fact, one of the messages Kaito had passed to him specifically mentioned Momonosuke.
"You can lose a battle, you can fail at anything—but Momonosuke must die."
That one line alone showed just how much Kaito despised him.
.
.
.