"Kaito-kun, I made you a bento!"
On the way from the dorms to the training grounds, Kaito was "ambushed."
Smiling, he accepted the lunchbox from a female cadet. The moment he took it, she covered her face and ran off before he could even say a word.
After she left, Kaito opened the Door-Door Space, placed the bento inside, and looked at the growing mountain of boxed lunches and gifts occupying a huge chunk of the space.
Just as he was about to close the Door-Door Space, another girl approached—also carrying a bento.
This one was a familiar face: Ain, the girl he'd met on the training field.
Ain caught a glimpse of the still-open Door-Door Space, and a flash of disappointment passed through her eyes. Hiding her lunchbox behind her back, she teased him with a smirk.
"You're really popular, huh, Kaito-kun? Looks like I showed up a little too late?"
Kaito's smile immediately faded when he saw it was Ain. He made an exaggeratedly pitiful face and looked at her.
"It's not like I asked for this! Ever since that fight with Smoker, I've become some kind of celebrity."
Then he held out his hand to her.
Ain looked at him, puzzled. "What now?"
"Your bento looks pretty good, and I haven't eaten yet. Why not let me have it?"
Of course, Kaito hadn't missed her earlier expression and behavior. He admired this proud, strong girl—and naturally didn't want to see her upset.
Ain looked flustered. "Eh? But you already have so many bentos…"
"I don't even know those people. It's kinda risky to eat theirs. Yours, at least, I can trust."
Before Ain could respond, Kaito snatched the lunchbox from her hands and bolted.
From a distance, his voice echoed back:
"Thanks for the meal!"
Ain watched him run off until he disappeared from view. Then a bright smile blossomed across her face, as if a white orchid had just bloomed.
...
After that day's training ended, Zephyr didn't immediately dismiss everyone. Instead, he gathered all the cadets and made an announcement.
"Your first year of training is about to come to a close. Next month, we'll hold the year-end assessment. It will be a live combat evaluation. The top three performers will receive rewards—Devil Fruits, or grade-quality swords."
The moment those words landed, the room exploded with noise.
Everyone had expected a year-end assessment, so that wasn't surprising. But the rewards? Devil Fruits and grade blades for the top three?!
Everyone knew what a Devil Fruit was. Eating one was the fastest way to gain power in this world. And if it happened to be a powerful one, it could even elevate a regular soldier to monstrous heights overnight!
And then there were the grade swords. For cadets specializing in swordsmanship, that was even more tempting than a Devil Fruit. What swordsman didn't dream of owning a high-grade blade?
Every cadet's eyes burned with determination. They were all secretly swearing to place second or third. As for first place? That spot was already "reserved" for Uchiha Kaito.
Everyone just assumed that first place was his. Even Zephyr thought the same.
Zephyr had expected this kind of reaction. There had been rewards in previous years too—but nothing this outrageous. Even within the Marines, Devil Fruits and grade swords weren't exactly easy to come by.
The only explanation he could think of was that Sengoku was pulling strings again to find a way to reward Uchiha Kaito.
Over the past few months, Kaito's stunning performance again and again had left even the usually-calm Sengoku unable to sit still. Combine that with his connection to Gion and Tsuru, and Sengoku had already started grooming Kaito as the next Admiral.
But honestly, Zephyr didn't mind. Talented individuals should be nurtured. You had to support them while they were still growing. Waiting until they bloomed on their own only made your help feel like an afterthought.
Zephyr was undoubtedly a traditional and upright Marine—but that didn't mean he was inflexible. After losing his wife and child, his views had gradually shifted.
Back when Kaito first joined the Marines, he had crushed the entire Brand Pirates crew into a single black sphere. That completely contradicted Zephyr's old belief of not killing. In the past, he would've looked down on that kind of behavior.
But not anymore. Now, he had no negative feelings about it at all. In fact, he silently approved.
He had been teaching Kaito everything he knew without reservation.
Zephyr firmly believed that Kaito would one day become an Admiral—or maybe even surpass that. Now semi-retired, Zephyr felt a rare sense of fulfillment just watching Kaito grow. At this point, Kaito had become something of a personal hope for the future.
Kaito himself was equally excited.
He didn't really need a grade sword right now—but a Devil Fruit? That would be a huge boost.
Ever since absorbing the Door-Door Fruit, he hadn't found any new abilities worth absorbing. The reward this time was almost guaranteed to be high-quality—and it might be enough to awaken the second tomoe in his Rinnegan.
Each tomoe he awakened drastically increased his ocular power. Kaito could already feel it: once he had three tomoe, his Rinnegan would unlock a unique ability, like Madara's Limbo or Sasuke's Amenotejikara.
Back when Orochimaru ambushed him, his newly awakened Rinnegan had its power depleted instantly. Because of that, he never had the chance to develop his own unique skill. That had always been one of his biggest regrets.
But this time—this time, he was going to get that Devil Fruit. No matter what.
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Just dropped a new fanfic! It's a chill, easy-to-read story with a fun twist, the main character has the Flame-Flame Fruit in the Naruto world. The powers are cool and used in interesting ways, but don't worry, he's not insanely overpowered. There's a good balance, solid pacing, and some nice character moments.
Highly recommend checking it out.
You can find it by the title In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit or just head to my Webnovel profile!
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo