Time flew by, and before he knew it, Kaito had already been in the training camp for two months. During this time, the name Uchiha Kaito had spread throughout the camp.
No matter the training, Kaito always completed it with ease—and even broke numerous camp records. Especially after his first spar with Zephyr, the name Uchiha Kaito had only grown louder.
It wasn't just the trainees in his cohort who had heard of him—even the upperclassmen knew about this prodigious freshman.
That day, in the training camp cafeteria, a group of upperclassmen were chatting around a table.
"Did you hear? That Uchiha Kaito broke another record. He mastered Soru from the Six Powers in less than a day!"
"Nani?! My god, it took me a full year to barely get it down!"
"That info's already outdated. Word is, he even improved on Soru—faster and covers more distance now!"
"Sigh... That kind of talent is just hopelessly out of reach. I think even we upperclassmen wouldn't stand a chance against him anymore."
Someone clearly wasn't happy hearing that.
"Speak for yourself. He's just a newbie who's been here for less than half a year. No matter how strong he is, how strong can he really be? You guys are buying into your own hype."
As he spoke, he ignored the sour expressions around the table and looked flatteringly at a white-haired young man sitting nearby.
"And when it comes to talent, who could possibly compare to Smoker? He's the only Logia-type Devil Fruit user in the entire training camp!"
Smoker silently ate from his tray, not acknowledging the guy's flattery at all.
Seeing that, the guy awkwardly shut up. The table fell into silence.
"Hey look, that Uchiha Kaito just walked in!"
Someone else, clearly itching for drama, called out—and everyone at the table turned to the entrance.
Kaito entered the cafeteria, leading a group with his three dormmates following behind, chatting and laughing as they made their way toward the food line.
Naturally, Kaito had no idea he'd just become the subject of heated debate. At the moment, he was listening to Glefos excitedly brag about Kaito's performance on the training field earlier.
"I'm telling you, Boss Kaito's Soru just now was ridiculously fast! Even Instructor Zephyr couldn't stop praising him!"
"From now on, you're my idol, Boss Kaito! Whatever you need, I've got you covered!"
On the other side, Glefos's roommate Breach looked at him with disdain and scoffed.
"Yeah, Kaito's amazing. But the way you're going on, it's like you were the one using Soru just now."
"Of course I'm excited he's awesome! Boss Kaito is the real deal! Honestly, with his skills, he could graduate right now. Wasting time hanging around with idiots like you is beneath him!"
"What did you say?!"
That line didn't come from Glefos. Before he could even respond, the guy who was just hyping up Smoker snapped.
His name was Barton—basically a tagalong who had appointed himself Smoker's number-one fan, just like Breach.
"A freshman acting all cocky? I heard that Kaito came from the East Blue, right? No wonder—small-time nobodies have no idea how the real world works! Hahahaha!"
That was crossing a line. Even Smoker, still eating nearby, frowned at those words.
"What did you say? Just because you've been a soldier a year or two longer, you think you're all that? A genius like Boss Kaito could never be lumped in with trash like you!"
Breach wasn't one to back down and shot right back.
"Looks like you need to be taught a lesson. Freshmen should act like freshmen! And that Uchiha Kaito of yours—why doesn't he learn to keep his servants in check? You better apologize to your seniors, and fast!"
...
At a nearby table tucked in a corner of the cafeteria—
"Hey Ain, isn't that Uchiha Kaito, the guy who helped you out the other day? Looks like he's in trouble now."
"Yeah... That upperclassman is way out of line. What, freshmen aren't allowed to exist? Didn't they all start as freshmen too?"
"I know Kaito. He's the top talent in our whole year, but he's always so calm and easygoing. Plus, he's handsome too. They're just jealous!"
"Either way, he's in real trouble this time. That guy's from the upper grades. There's no way a newbie could match up in power."
Ain's dormmates chattered away—some trying to warn her, others feeling indignant on Kaito's behalf.
But Ain didn't join their discussion. She simply watched Kaito with worry in her eyes, already resolved to step in if things went south. Even if she couldn't match the upperclassmen, she'd do her part.
After all... maybe it was a way to repay Kaito for helping her up on the training field—or even just for those few kind words of comfort.
...
Barton's trash talk grew louder and more arrogant. With his nose practically pointing at the ceiling, he started shouting in Kaito's direction, drawing the eyes of the entire cafeteria.
But before he could finish gloating, the air suddenly went still. The people around him stared stiffly at the space beside him.
Sensing something off, Barton whipped his head around—only to find Uchiha Kaito, who had just been standing at the entrance, now directly in front of him.
"When—?" The thought flashed through both Barton's and Smoker's minds at the same time.
"You sure like to run your mouth," Kaito said calmly. Then he raised his hand—and slapped him.
Smack!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the spacious cafeteria.
"You... bastard! You just assaulted an upperclassman!?" Barton clutched his face, staring at Kaito in disbelief, screeching hysterically.
His buddies couldn't stay seated any longer. No matter what, Barton was still one of theirs—and Kaito's move had rubbed them the wrong way.
Seeing this, Kaito's dormmates rushed over without hesitation, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
Several other students—some from the same year, including Ain and her friends—gathered as well. They'd seen the whole thing: it was the upperclassmen who picked the fight and provoked Kaito.
Kaito was well-liked among his peers. He was easy to get along with and had helped many of them during training. So now that he was surrounded, none of them would just sit back and watch.
"Oh? So, are all upperclassmen as disgusting as you?" Kaito scanned the rising seniors with an indifferent expression. "Filth deserves to be beaten down."
"You bastard! I'm gonna kill you!!!"
Barton, red with rage, shot to his feet and jumped back, launching a Rankyaku kick.
A pale blue slicing wave shot out, cleaving through tables and chairs as it tore toward Kaito. The onlookers' expressions changed dramatically.
"Shit! That's Rankyaku!"
"Dammit, we're all still trainees—using that move is way over the line!"
"This is bad. Rankyaku's deadly. If it lands, that guy's either maimed or dead!"
But Kaito's expression didn't shift in the slightest. He simply raised his left hand and brought it up to his chest.
Zzzzhk!
A spine-tingling sound rang out as the Rankyaku wave stopped dead—caught in Kaito's palm.
It couldn't advance another inch.
Within two seconds, it completely dissipated in his hand.
"What the—?" Barton's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Before he could react, Kaito swung his leg in a sweeping arc.
Buzz!
A deep-blue slicing wave, wider and longer than Barton's, erupted from Kaito's foot—his own Rankyaku.
I'm done for. There's no way I can block that. Barton shut his eyes in despair.
But after a few seconds, he realized nothing had happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white-haired figure standing in front of him, shielding him.
It was Smoker.
Realizing things were spiraling out of control, Smoker had finally stepped in.
But blocking that Rankyaku wasn't easy. Unlike Barton's cheap version, Kaito's strike didn't vanish after a second or two.
The cafeteria was now frozen in a surreal scene—Smoker, drenched in sweat, standing in the center of the room, bracing both hands against a massive blue blade of compressed air as it slowly pushed him back.
Smoker was struggling.
"Move, now!" he shouted at Barton, who was still frozen behind him.
Snapping back to reality, Barton scrambled away as fast as he could.
Fwoosh!
Smoker's body split in two as Kaito's Rankyaku tore through him and blasted into the cafeteria's far wall—carving out an improvised new doorway before it finally dissipated.
"That kind of power… no wonder everyone's talking." Smoker, now sliced in half, stared at the destruction with alarm.
Of course, as a Logia-type user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, he hadn't actually been cut—he'd turned into smoke to avoid the damage.
"Elemental transformation, huh? Kinda like Suigetsu Hozuki's Hydrification Technique..." Kaito mused, watching the white smoke reform.
The smoke drifted together, and Smoker reconstituted his body. He looked at Kaito and said firmly,
"That's enough. He was in the wrong and paid the price. We're all trainees here—let's not escalate this further."
Kaito chuckled, face full of mockery.
"You think a bit too highly of yourself. If you really wanted to stop this, where were you earlier? Now you want to play the good guy? Please—you?"
Smoker's expression darkened. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy mess to clean up.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo