Starting from One Piece with the Rinnegan

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Shalria’s Gift



After dinner, Shalria summoned a man in black—he was holding an ornate little box.

Once she took the box from him, she dismissed the black-clad man. Holding the box in her arms, she approached Kaito with a deliberately mysterious tone.

"A gift for you! Try guessing what's inside."

Kaito gave it a quick glance and immediately knew—it was definitely a Devil Fruit.

He wasn't all that interested in Devil Fruits anymore. He already had someone in mind for the last open spot in his left eye.

Still, since this one was hand-picked from the Celestial Dragons' treasure vault, its ability probably wasn't bad. Might as well take a look.

Seeing the proud expression on Shalria's face, Kaito said bluntly,

"I know. It's a Devil Fruit."

"Uh…"

Shalria's expression crumbled. She'd been hoping to build up some suspense.

She didn't know much about Devil Fruits. Most of her collection consisted of Zoan-types—she used to enjoy feeding them to slaves and watching them fight like beasts.

After hearing that Kaito was into Devil Fruits, she did some research and learned about the various classifications within the Zoan category—especially the extremely rare Mythical Zoans.

So, she spent a long time going through the treasure vault with a Devil Fruit guide in hand. But Mythical Zoans really were hard to come by.

Aside from the Asura Fruit she'd already given Kaito, she couldn't find a second Mythical Zoan in the whole vault.

But she was a Celestial Dragon, after all. To her, money was just a number.

She issued a bounty worth two billion Belly, and not long after, a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit was delivered to her desk.

She thought Kaito would definitely love this one—it might even help smooth things over between them.

But judging by his current expression, he seemed to have lost interest in Devil Fruits entirely. Shalria suddenly felt like all her effort had been for nothing, and stood there looking a little dejected.

Kaito, meanwhile, realized he might've been a little too cold toward her—probably because she was a Celestial Dragon, and also due to her slightly unhinged personality.

But truth be told, she'd always treated him well. Whether it was that promotion back in Sabaody or this Devil Fruit, it was clear she genuinely wanted to get on his good side.

Thinking that, Kaito's expression softened a bit. He accepted the box and said,

"Thanks. I'll take it."

"Eh? Oh—no need to thank me! I got it just for you…"

Seeing Kaito accept the fruit and even thank her, Shalria lit up.

This was the first time Kaito had ever praised her—and now he was even thanking her. Did this mean he was starting to warm up to her?

Kaito opened the box right away. Inside was a black cantaloupe-shaped fruit, with a very distinctive feature: a stem shaped like a pair of bull horns at the top.

Shalria suddenly leaned in close, eager to show off what she'd learned. She'd put in real effort this time.

"I already checked the guide for this one. It's a Mythical Zoan-type—Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Ox Demon King!"

Ushi Ushi no Mi…

He didn't plan on eating the fruit himself, but he did have someone in mind for it.

His teacher—Zephyr.

The best fit for Zephyr would've been the Vampire Fruit owned by Redfield, but specifically going after that one wasn't realistic.

He wasn't Blackbeard—he wasn't going to spend twenty years waiting around for a Dark-Dark Fruit.

This Ox Demon King fruit was still a Mythical Zoan. It couldn't be bad.

If Zephyr got this fruit, his strength would definitely rise by a large margin—possibly even back to Admiral level.

And if that happened, maybe Zephyr would have to put his retirement plans on hold.

Not that Zephyr was even seventy yet—what was he doing thinking about retirement already? Get back to work, old man! This reemployment gift is yours, so take it!

Looking at the Ox Demon King Fruit in his hands, Kaito couldn't help but grin with a wicked smile.

Shalria was standing very close. Seeing his smile up close, she found it impossibly charming—it had a magnetic pull on her.

Her eyes darted around. Encouraged by Kaito's improved attitude, she grew bolder. She stood on tiptoe and slowly leaned her face toward him.

Kaito noticed and frowned.

"What are you trying to do?"

Shalria froze mid-lean, face still tilted toward him, completely stiff.

Kaito found her reaction pretty funny—he could easily guess what was going through her head.

After a moment of thought, he suddenly bent down and tapped her on the forehead.

Shalria reacted like she'd been struck by lightning. Her face turned visibly red, steam practically rising from her head. Honestly, she looked kind of cute.

Kaito shook his head and stored the Ox Demon King Fruit inside the [Door-Door Space].

"I want to give this fruit to my teacher, Zephyr. You mind?"

"..."

"No answer? So that means no?"

"..."

No matter what Kaito said, Shalria just stood there like she couldn't respond. In the end, he had to knock on her head.

That finally snapped her out of it. She quickly waved her hands and said,

"It's already yours. Do whatever you want with it!"

Then she looked at Kaito with a flushed face and stayed silent.

Kaito smiled at her again. She really was becoming more and more likable. If it ever came time to wipe out the Celestial Dragons… he'd definitely spare her.

After chatting for a bit, Kaito headed off to rest in the room Shalria had arranged for him.

The moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by an absurdly large bed, covered with what were clearly expensive, luxurious sheets.

But what stood out the most… was a plush toy that completely clashed with the rest of the elegant décor.

It looked just like the one he already had—bizarrely abstract, with its most defining feature being the sky-high hair.

Yeah. No mistaking it—it was modeled after Shalria.

Sitting on the bed, Kaito picked up the plush, stared at it blankly, and commented,

"Ugh. So ugly. Didn't I tell you to stop keeping that ridiculous hairstyle?!"

...

The next day, Shalria obediently took Kaito to meet the Five Elders.

She had already delayed things by a full day—any more and it would have drawn the wrath of the Gorōsei.

On the way, Kaito looked around at the surroundings. He had to admit, the Celestial Dragons' residence was ridiculously lavish. There were even plenty of people constantly cleaning the place—it looked spotless.

Too bad most of the people living here were Celestial Dragons—just looking at them made him sick. What a waste of a beautiful place.

Not that it mattered. This whole place was destined to turn to rubble anyway.

Kaito had no intention of living in a second-hand house.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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