Starting from One Piece with the Rinnegan

Kaito's battle with Mihawk had come to an end, leaving behind a massive crack stretching from the frozen inner bay all the way beyond the outer wall.

Except for Mihawk, the remaining Shichibukai had all departed.

As for Mihawk, he had no reason to leave—he was currently lying in a hospital bed at Marine Headquarters, recovering from his injuries.

Right now, Mihawk sat silently, head lowered, staring at the terrifying wound that extended from his lower abdomen to his right shoulder, still far from fully healed.

It was clear he had lost that fight.

Back then, facing the sword slash unleashed by Susanoo, he had countered with a simple, straightforward strike. Yet the slash that came from his blade was a deep emerald green, laced with fine arcs of green lightning.

The two sword slashes collided in midair—but ultimately, Mihawk was defeated.

Even though he had followed up with several more sword attacks, they still couldn't compare to the one he had poured all his strength into.

Susanoo's blade landed on him, leaving behind the ghastly scar he now bore.

Severely wounded, Mihawk had no choice but to stay behind and recover. With injuries like his, taking that little dinghy of his back to his own territory would take until the Year of the Monkey.

As he stared blankly at his wound, a knock came at the door.

Mihawk snapped out of his daze and said coolly,"Come in."

The door creaked open, and Kaito walked in.

Upon seeing Kaito, Mihawk's usual cold expression softened.

He held no resentment toward the man who had bested him—in his eyes, only the strong were worthy of respect.

Kaito looked at the wound on Mihawk's upper body and sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected Mihawk to be so stubborn back then, insisting on clashing head-on with the sword aura unleashed by Susanoo.

That slash, though ultimately weaker than Susanoo's attack, had still been something Mihawk could have dodged once it started to falter.

Mihawk was undeniably strong, but his power was almost entirely centered around his swordsmanship. Compared to other top-tier powerhouses, he lacked in physical prowess and special abilities. In short, he had dumped all his stat points into offense.

His Haki wasn't weak by any means, but it still wasn't on the level of Red-Haired Shanks or Rayleigh.

That's why Kaito had pegged Mihawk's strength at just below the level of a full-fledged Yonko—he was a bit too specialized.

He tended to meet enemy attacks head-on, relying on his overwhelming swordsmanship to crush opposition. Up until now, that approach had never failed him.

But against Kaito, it had.

And Kaito's current strength wasn't just Yonko-level—it was beginning to surpass even that.

To be specific, in a one-on-one fight, Kaito could now defeat any Yonko.

Even against two Yonko at once, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage—he still had a decent chance of winning.

Now, very few in the world could withstand even a single strike from Kaito's Susanoo. The fact that Mihawk had taken it head-on and remained conscious already spoke volumes about his power.

Standing beside Mihawk's bed, Kaito stared into his strange eyes, deep in thought.

Those eyes really did look a lot like Imu's.

Back on Earth, there had been speculation that Mihawk might be Imu's child—who knew whether that was true or not?

But honestly, it wasn't impossible. Mihawk had that noble aura about him—he didn't look like someone from humble origins.

Still, that wasn't what was bothering Kaito the most.

Ever since awakening the Rinnegan, the more he thought about Imu's eyes, the more they reminded him of a golden version of Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki's Rinnegan.

Just a degraded version—missing a few concentric rings, and the gold didn't cover the entire eye.

A wild idea popped into Kaito's head.

"Could Imu be related to the Ōtsutsuki Clan? If that's true, then she should know about the Rinnegan... She should've sent someone—or come herself—to find me by now."

The reason this thought even crossed his mind was because, despite absorbing more and more Devil Fruits, his Rinnegan had shown no signs of rejection. On the contrary—it had evolved, producing tomoe.

Everything about this felt... way too natural.

Now, seeing Mihawk's eyes—so similar to Imu's—his doubts only grew deeper.

What exactly was the relationship between Mihawk and Imu? And those eyes... did they really have some connection to the Rinnegan?

If they did, why couldn't he sense even a trace of Six Paths chakra?

And—

Why was the Rinnegan's power so compatible with Devil Fruits?

Do Devil Fruits grow on trees? And if there really is a Devil Fruit Tree...

Could he absorb that too?

Would that let him fully evolve into an Ōtsutsuki—no, even surpass them?

The more Kaito thought about it, the wilder it sounded. His gaze toward Mihawk grew increasingly intense—so much so that Mihawk's hairs stood on end.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Mihawk finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Vice Admiral Shikiryū, is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Uh, nothing. You look alright. Seems like you're recovering well, haha."

"Thanks for the concern. I'm doing fine. Are the food supplies running low again? You here to kick me out?"

Mihawk still remembered what Kaito had said back during the meeting—and now he was even cracking jokes about it. Rare as it was, Mihawk actually showed a bit of a mischievous streak.

...

Having "dealt with" Mihawk, Kaito made sure to say goodbye before leaving.

He didn't ask Mihawk anything about his origins.

Their relationship wasn't that close yet, and his theory about Imu was just a guess for now.

If a question like that leaked out, it could easily alert the World Government. For Kaito, it just wasn't worth the risk yet.

As for using genjutsu on Mihawk—that was nonsense.

People in the One Piece world didn't have chakra like in Naruto. Genjutsu works by disrupting the opponent's chakra flow.

Even though Kaito could still mimic the effects of genjutsu using the Rinnegan's powerful ocular abilities, that only worked on weaker opponents.

For a strong-willed fighter like Mihawk, genjutsu would barely do anything.

Even in Naruto's late stages, when Kage-level and Six Paths-level fighters clashed, who still used genjutsu?

Even Infinite Tsukuyomi only worked because everyone in the Naruto world had chakra—it made them susceptible to the God Tree's control.

Never underestimate the powerhouses of the One Piece world.

When Kaito transmigrated, the One Piece story hadn't even finished. When facing the unknown, caution was still the better part of survival.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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