When morning came, Kai woke up, put on his white blindfold, and headed to training as usual.
However, when he arrived, he was surprised — he could not sense Sakazuki, who always arrived before him.
Just as Kai was about to start training, he felt a familiar presence approaching.
"Good morning, Vice Admiral Momonga," Kai greeted politely.
"Do you know why Vice Admiral Sakazuki isn't here today?"
Momonga nodded and replied calmly,
"Kai, there will be no training for you today."
Hearing this, Kai was shocked at first and even felt a little anxious, afraid that he might have disappointed Sakazuki.
But Momonga continued,
"Today, you're coming with me to sea. Get ready — we depart in ten minutes."
After saying that, Momonga turned and left.
Kai was filled with excitement.
This would be his first time going out to sea — and his first real battle against pirates.
Ten minutes later, Kai was fully prepared. With the white blindfold covering his eyes, he walked toward the pier, guided by the fog sensing Momonga's presence.
When he arrived, he felt it — a ship.
His fog spread instinctively, surrounding the vessel, and an image of a medium-sized warship formed clearly in his mind.
Suddenly, he heard Momonga's voice,
"Kai, what are you waiting for? Let's go."
Kai quickly climbed aboard.
As the ship sailed across the sea, Kai felt a cool, salty wind brush against his face.
The scent of the ocean filled his senses.
When his fog confirmed that no one was nearby, Kai quietly removed his blindfold, revealing the horrible scars surrounding his eyes. He let the wind hit his face freely.
…It felt good.
Just then, his fog warned him — someone was approaching.
Kai quickly put the blindfold back on and turned toward Momonga.
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Momonga, for taking me with you," Kai said sincerely.
Momonga nodded slightly.
"You need real combat experience against pirates. I believe this will be good for you."
With that, Momonga began issuing orders to his men.
The Marines noticed Kai and began whispering among themselves.
"Hey, isn't that the blind kid from the cafeteria?"
"Yeah, what's he doing here?"
"No way… is he really going to fight?"
"Don't joke around. How can a blind kid fight?"
"Hahaha! Where did he even come from?"
Kai heard everything — but ignored it completely.
Momonga observed him closely. Seeing that Kai didn't react at all, he nodded silently to himself.
The ship continued sailing for over an hour without encountering any pirates.
Kai began to feel a little bored and played with his fog to pass the time.
Suddenly, he sensed one of the Marines running toward Momonga.
"Rear Admiral Momonga!" the Marine reported urgently.
"We've received information from a nearby base. A pirate known as Greatsword Pirate, with a bounty of 25,000,000, has been spotted. He is currently on an island with ancient villages and civilians."
Momonga's expression turned serious.
"All hands, prepare for battle," he ordered firmly.
"We're going after the pirate."
Hearing this, Kai felt excitement surge through him.
Finally…
He would show what he had achieved through all this training.