Across the entire field, Kaito and Gion were exchanging heated glances, all of which Tokikake, standing on the platform, took in with full clarity.
The moment he saw his goddess's eyes practically dripping with affection, he hurriedly grabbed the microphone and shouted loudly,
"I now declare the evaluation… officially underway!"
With that interruption, Kaito finally averted his gaze. In the next instant, his figure appeared on the platform.
Gion, clearly unsatisfied with the abrupt end to their moment, licked her red lips and shot a fierce glare at Tokikake.
That bastard ruined it.
Feeling Gion's piercing gaze stabbing into his back like needles, Tokikake jolted, but he didn't dare look back. All he could do was focus his full attention on Kaito standing before him.
Kaito noticed the announcer still hadn't stepped down and asked,
"Excuse me—where's my opponent?"
Tokikake let out a cold chuckle. With a swift tug on his collar, he flung off his coat. The Justice cloak whipped through the air—except he used too much force, and it sailed into the audience, causing an uproar.
"Seriously? What's the point of flinging a tattered coat like that?!"
"Yeah! That thing almost smacked me in the face!"
"If you don't want your clothes, maybe donate them to someone in need. Just a suggestion."
"Did that guy just snap or something? Why's he stripping?"
"Who knows—maybe he's hyperthyroid or something."
But Tokikake didn't care about the crowd's reaction this time. His almond-sized eyes locked firmly onto Kaito's Rinnegan as he said,
"I'm the Vice Admiral assigned by Headquarters to evaluate you, Uchiha Kaito. Let me reintroduce myself—Tokikake."
The moment those words left his mouth, both the higher-ups and the spectators began to stir.
Anyone who knew Tokikake also knew that despite his flaky appearance, his strength ranked among the top Vice Admirals. His prowess was widely acknowledged—especially by Gion.
She was now casting a mournful look at her sister Tsuru, thinking Tsuru was deliberately making things difficult for Kaito by assigning such a tough opponent.
She'd finally found someone who made her heart flutter—couldn't they at least let her relationship get off to a smooth start?
Tsuru looked just as innocent. She agreed it was a harsh matchup. After all, are Mihawk and Moria really the same level, just because they're both Warlords? But the truth was—
This arrangement had nothing to do with her!
The senior officers seated on the high platform generally agreed that the difficulty was excessive—except for Zephyr and Sengoku, who sat there calmly, arms crossed like meditating monks, not responding to anyone.
It was obvious who had arranged this.
...
Down below, when Kaito heard that his opponent was Tokikake, he felt a rare surge of excitement.
Ever since arriving in the One Piece world, Kaito had never truly gone all-out. Even he didn't know the full extent of his power. So when the higher-ups approached him with an alternate form of evaluation, he'd agreed without hesitation.
To be honest, he didn't think much of most Vice Admirals. Judging by the anime, the only ones worth paying attention to were guys like Strawberry, and Onigumo. Garp? He didn't count as a typical Vice Admiral in terms of power.
He'd assumed his opponent today would be one of those mid-tier names at best—but the higher-ups had given him a surprise.
Who was Tokikake? A character who appeared later in the story, by which time he was already a candidate for Admiral—his strength just below that of the Admirals themselves.
That level of power was definitely enough to excite him.
"Looks like… this will be an interesting fight."
Kaito brushed his bangs aside, fully revealing his Rinnegan. As battle intent surged in his heart, ripples began to move within his eyes, like a stone dropped into water—concentric waves spreading outward.
Noticing the subtle shift in Kaito's gaze, Tokikake's expression grew serious. As a senior officer himself, he knew at least a little about the strange power of Kaito's eyes.
The sheer variety and weirdness of those abilities were enough to make anyone's scalp tingle. So just because Kaito was technically still a recruit, he wasn't going to underestimate him.
Kaito raised one hand, forming a seal as he asked,
"Can we begin?"
Tokikake gave a nod. The air grew still for a few seconds—and then the battle erupted.
Tokikake's entire right arm was instantly coated in pitch-black Armament Haki as he used Soru, slamming a fist toward Kaito's abdomen.
Kaito immediately countered with Almighty Push—but this time, it didn't blast Tokikake away like usual. It only slowed his momentum.
That alone said a lot. For an elite Vice Admiral like Tokikake, Kaito's current ocular strength wasn't enough to repel him instantly.
Still—it was enough.
In the brief moment Tokikake's movement slowed, Kaito's figure vanished from sight.
Tokikake noticed his attack miss, but didn't panic. He spun and struck behind him with a backhand.
Smack!
The sound of fist meeting palm rang out. Kaito had reappeared behind Tokikake and caught the blow with his hand.
Tokikake smirked. The fist held in Kaito's palm trembled slightly. Kaito's expression changed, and he quickly let go. Then—activating Deva Path—he shot into the sky.
...
Stopping mid-air, Kaito looked down at the hand that had just caught Tokikake's punch. His palm was red and swollen, his entire arm aching faintly. Even with Hashirama cells, he couldn't heal it immediately.
He flexed his numb arm and looked down at Tokikake, asking,
"That wasn't normal Armament Haki, was it?"
Tokikake chuckled but didn't answer. Instead, he kicked off with Geppo and closed in fast.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed through the air. In no time, the clouds over the evaluation arena were blasted apart, leaving only a clear blue sky.
The spectators were dumbfounded. One thought ran through everyone's mind simultaneously:
Is this Uchiha Kaito really just a trainee? Why does it feel like he's something… way beyond that?
...
The aerial clash went on for nearly ten minutes, ending when Kaito's figure descended back to the ground.
His appearance was a bit disheveled now—both sleeves gone, collar torn open, chest slightly exposed—but from his bare skin, it was clear he wasn't badly injured.
Tokikake landed right after, standing across from him. Compared to Kaito, Tokikake looked far better—his clothes only a little wrinkled.
From appearance alone, it looked like Tokikake had the upper hand in their earlier exchange.
But Tokikake didn't see it that way. He knew Kaito hadn't gone all-out—and neither had he.Their battle had seemed intense, but for both of them, it had just been a warm-up.
The real fight… was just beginning.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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