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A year ago, when he'd traveled to Egghead Island, he'd met Vegapunk. Somehow, against all expectations, the two had become friends. As a result, Kyle had been given a detector capable of locating Devil Fruits within a limited range.
Over the past year, the Navy ship he traveled on had been all over the seas. Yet the detector had never reacted once.
Just as Vegapunk had said back then, it was basically useless.
"There should still be some time before the execution," Kyle murmured.
He knew for certain that the Goro Goro no Mi was on Skypiea, ten thousand meters above Mock Town.
The islands connected to the fruit weren't large. With enough time, finding it shouldn't be too difficult.
Right now, aside from Observation Haki, Kyle was practically maxed out in every other area. His muscular body contained power that didn't lose out to even the giants.
His Armament Haki had reached its peak, allowing him to coat every inch of his skin with ease.
As for the Six Powers, his mastery was unprecedented.
Judging purely by physical ability, he was beyond superhuman. A monster, plain and simple.
So that very afternoon, Kyle set off.
He didn't want to waste time. Since he was on leave anyway, he might as well do something worthwhile.
Besides, Devil Fruits were better obtained sooner rather than later. The earlier he had it, the more time he'd have to develop its potential. More importantly, Kyle was painfully aware of his own shortcomings.
Conqueror's Haki was something you were born with. Armament Haki, physical combat, swordsmanship—he had real talent in all of those.
But Observation Haki?
He was a complete and utter disaster.
Even after nearly a year of training under Gol D. Roger on Batelilla Island, he'd gained nothing at all.
And this was Roger, a man who could hear the Voice of All Things. Whether it was swordsmanship or Observation Haki, Roger had held nothing back and trained him thoroughly.
Kyle felt like he'd regressed to his early days learning Paper Arts, hopelessly stupid no matter how hard he tried.
Roger had even tried to comfort him.
"It's fine. You're already amazing."
Those words only made Kyle's expression darken further.
He wanted to become a true all-rounder, like Roger himself, standing at the very peak of the world with no equals.
But right now, he had an obvious weakness. His perfect hexagon had a massive hole in it. And the Goro Goro no Mi might be the key to filling that gap.
When Kyle left Marineford's harbor, he didn't take a ship.
Douglas Bullet and the others were training, and he didn't disturb them.
"Vice Admiral Kyle?"
A field officer at the port clearly recognized him and greeted him with excitement.
"Mm."
Kyle nodded politely.
That casual acknowledgment alone was enough to make the officer feel like he might pass out from happiness.
Then the officer froze, eyes bulging.
What… what did he just see?
Right in front of him, the Vice Admiral leapt straight off the port.
"Vice Admiral Kyle?!"
The officer sprinted to the edge of the dock and shouted.
"I'll be away from headquarters for a while."
Kyle's voice drifted back a moment later.
The officer's face filled with shock.
Out on the calm waters of the inner bay, a long white wake tore across the surface. Ripples spread outward in all directions.
At the very tip of that white trail was a tall, imposing figure.
Vice Admiral Kyle.
He was running on the sea.
"This is unbelievable…"
"How could anyone do something like that?"
The officer sucked in a sharp breath, utterly stunned.
Even decades later, until the end of his life, he would never forget that sight.
In the blink of an eye, the figure at the front of the white wake passed through the Gates of Justice and vanished.
"If you reduce how often Soru strikes the surface, you can create this effect and run across the sea," Kyle said lightly as the scenery flew past him.
Running on water was actually simple once you got the hang of it. After adapting, he increased his stepping frequency.
In the next instant—
Whoosh.
His movement became almost teleport-like.
The white wake vanished. From afar, it looked as though a ghostly figure was flickering through space.
Kyle pushed max-level Soru to its absolute limit, compressing vast distances into single steps.
Even at such extreme usage, his stamina barely dipped at all, which surprised even him.
Compared to the weak body from his previous life, this one could only be described as monstrous.
No ship. No tools. Just flesh and blood, dominating the sea.
And at an absurd speed.
Two days later, he reached Water 7.
Five days later, Long Ring Long Land.
Ten days later, Jaya Island.
The relentless running, day and night, made Kyle fully realize just how terrifying his current body was. With such minimal consumption, combined with Life Return, he could practically use Soru endlessly.
A single burst of movement covered five kilometers.
Geppo was no different.
"Could I just… kick off my own foot and fly straight up to Skypiea?"
Kyle stood still, deep in thought.
In theory, it was completely possible.
With his current, absurd physical condition, ten thousand meters was nothing more than a brief effort.
So, under the gradually widening eyes of a young man stepping out of a house nearby, Kyle took off straight from where he stood.
"Hey!!!"
Nineteen-year-old Mont Blanc Cricket shouted at the top of his lungs.
Kyle looked down, his feet rapidly kicking the air and sending ripples through it. Spotting someone below, he smiled and waved.
"If I go up from here, this should be Skypiea, right?"
Cricket froze. "You're going to Skypiea? You actually believe it exists?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"In this world, the strangest things happen all the time!"
Kyle laughed.
By then, he was already a hundred meters off the ground. He tilted his head upward, and the rhythm of his kicks suddenly accelerated.
The next second, his body shot skyward like a cannonball.
Cricket stood there, completely dumbstruck.
"That Marine… is he really trying to reach Skypiea like that?"
Moments passed, yet Kyle never fell back down. Cricket stared at the sky, unable to see anything anymore.
"That guy…"
"Did he really succeed?"
High above, Kyle looked down and could no longer make out Jaya Island at all.
Above him was an endless sea of clouds.
"The higher you go, the greater the pressure."
"But for me, it's nothing."
With a light chuckle, Kyle plunged straight into the clouds.
Seconds later, the world ahead of him changed completely.
"Skypiea."
The thin air made him dizzy for a brief moment, but Life Return adjusted instantly, and his body adapted to the environment.
Chapter 70: Logia — Goro Goro
Layer upon layer of white clouds spread out like a vast ocean, rising and falling like endless mountain ranges.
Brilliant, multicolored light shimmered above the cloud sea, blooming into dazzling cloud-rainbows.
There was no doubt about it. This was the place closest to the sun, where all kinds of surreal beauty could exist.
Kyle took out the Devil Fruit detector, shaped like an orange. A green light blinked steadily.
He sped across the cloud sea, heading forward.
For nearly two hours, he encountered no one in the boundless White Sea. Eventually, he landed on a white island.
Along the shore were winged people everywhere.
The women were gentle and beautiful. The men handsome and mild-mannered.
All of them stared at him with open curiosity.
"..."
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