"The man who killed our Baroque Works agents still thinks he can walk away?"
Mr. 9 roared at Kairos Flint.
He and his companion had been the first to respond after receiving the report. Naturally, they had come ready to kill.
"Another one rushing to their death," Kairos muttered with a shake of his head.
They were weak. Nowhere near his level.
But even the smallest scraps are still meat.
Ghost Blade Technique: Sting of the Cold Rain!
He struck.
In a flash—
He vanished from view.
In the next second, a head spun into the air. A headless body thudded to the ground. Blood spurted and painted the earth red.
Instant kill.
Mr. 9's strength was laughably low compared to his.
No contest at all.
As Kairos turned away, a familiar system prompt appeared in his mind.
[Pickable items detected. Would you like to collect them?]
"Pick up."
[Ding! Successfully collected: 4 Rare Physique Crystals, 3 Rare Soul Crystals, 2 Excellent Talent Crystals, 4 Rare Combat Crystals. Stored in Portable Space.]
Not a bad haul—some decent rare crystals and a couple excellent-grade ones.
Meanwhile—
Princess Vivi stood frozen, trembling. She hadn't moved a muscle.
Because Mr. 9 had died far too fast.
She didn't even think of retaliating. She was terrified that if she moved, Kairos would cut her down just as quickly.
Suddenly—
She felt the icy press of steel against her neck.
So cold. So close.
It made her flinch with immediate realization—
Kairos had placed his blade right against her throat.
"No, no! I surrender! Please don't kill me!" Vivi cried. "Say whatever you want—just don't kill me!"
She chose honesty over pride. She surrendered completely.
"Talk? What is there to talk about?" Kairos said coldly.
"Don't forget you and your partner came here to attack me. We're enemies. There's nothing left to say. Honestly, I liked you better when you were all arrogant and shouting for backup."
"So now, sit tight for a moment—then I'll send you off properly."
Plop!
Vivi collapsed to her knees, legs trembling.
"No—no! It's all a misunderstanding!" she cried. "I'm not really from Baroque Works. I'm the Princess of Alabasta!"
"I only infiltrated Baroque Works to investigate their plans to trigger a civil war and overthrow the kingdom!"
"I'm not your enemy—please spare my life!"
She was terrified Kairos wouldn't give her time to explain.
But before she could finish—
"Ah... I see. So you're Princess Vivi." Kairos's eyes narrowed. "Didn't expect that. A surprise, for sure."
"But the little undercover game ends now."
From not far away, two more figures appeared.
Kairos turned his head to look.
One wore a flashy outfit like a rock singer. A large number 5 was emblazoned across his chest. The other carried a yellow umbrella and wore a lemon-patterned dress.
"Mr. 5… and Miss Valentine," Vivi muttered, paling even more.
Senior agents.
She hadn't expected reinforcements from Baroque Works—and definitely not at this level.
Now she was truly trapped—
A wolf in front, a tiger behind.
Despair settled over her.
But then—
From the ship nearby, Nami called out loudly:
"Kairos! These two have bounties!" she said. "The guy's name is Jem—worth 10 million beli. The girl is Michita—7 million."
"Don't let them go. Take them out, and I'll give you a reward tonight."
She even winked at him.
No need to spell it out further.
Hearing that—
Kairos felt an instant surge of motivation.
It had been a while since he'd been "rewarded" by Nami.
She'd been avoiding him, partly because of Uta, and partly… well, because last time, Kairos had been a little too strong. It was her first time, and she'd cried for a long while after.
But tonight—he'd reclaim his pride. She wouldn't be able to hide anymore.
So these two were dead already.
Even without Nami's teasing promise, he had no plans to let them live.
After all, both were Devil Fruit users.
Last time, he'd synthesized two Devil Fruits into the Epic-grade BattleGreymon Zoan Crystal. He hadn't used it yet—but just possessing it was thrilling.
Why stop now?
Two more Devil Fruit crystals from high-ranking agents? That was a jackpot.
"No problem," Kairos said with a smirk. "They're dead men walking."
"Hmph! Arrogant fool," Mr. 5 snapped. "Just because you took out some low-tier trash doesn't mean you can stand up to us."
As a user of the Boom-Boom Fruit, Jem considered himself superior. He hadn't fully mastered the fruit yet, but even in his early stages, he outclassed most rookies.
He scoffed at the idea that Kairos could be any different.
"Well, this is annoying," Kairos muttered.
An ant passing by? He wouldn't bother it.
But if an ant taunted him?
He wouldn't ignore that.
Especially not when the ant was carrying gold, and even more so when that ant was evil.
Time to end this.
Ghost Blade Technique: Nether Rainfall!
Kairos raised his blade with both hands. A sweeping arc of ghostly energy slashed through the air, cold and full of killing intent.
Mr. 5 instantly felt it.
Real danger.
"BOOGER GRENADE!"
Mr. 5 pulled something from his nose—yes, literal snot—and hurled it. Under his fruit's power, even that became an explosive weapon. Upon contact, it would detonate.
But—
Kairos had already dodged.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Mr. 5.
Slash!
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
One cut—and Jem was critically wounded.
He had underestimated Kairos, thinking he was just another grunt.
But now he realized—
He'd made a fatal mistake.
"AIR MINE!"
In a desperate move, he expelled air from his lungs, trying to weaponize it into a bomb.
Too late.
"You're too slow," Kairos said coldly.
The third-generation Kitetsu blade flashed again—
And Mr. 5's head hit the ground.
Jem—Mr. 5 of Baroque Works—was dead.
Next to him—
Michita—Miss Valentine—watched in horror.
Her heart skipped a beat. "Don't—" she tried to speak.
Too late.
Ghost Blade Technique: Nether Rainfall!
Kairos didn't hesitate.
He didn't care how beautiful she was—an enemy is an enemy.
So what if she was gorgeous?
Still going to hell.
He cut her down in an instant.
[Pickable items detected. Would you like to collect them?]
"Pick up."
[Ding! Successfully collected:
Rare Physique Crystals ×2,
Excellent Physique Crystals ×4,
Rare Soul Crystals ×4,
Excellent Soul Crystals ×2,
Excellent Talent Crystals ×2,
Perfect Talent Crystals ×3,
Rare Combat Crystals ×3,
Excellent Combat Crystals ×5,
Legendary Explosive Fruit Crystal,
Legendary Light Fruit Crystal. Stored in Portable Space.]
Not the biggest haul—but still pretty damn solid.
The most important part?
Two legendary-grade Devil Fruit crystals from these senior agents.
The potential synthesis options? Limitless.
Though... he had no idea what the Light Fruit and Explosive Fruit might create when combined.
Last time, his Goldfinger didn't follow any logic. No one could've guessed that combo would create BattleGreymon.
So maybe… this one would be even weirder.
He decided to wait before fusing them.
They were stored safely in his Portable Space.
He didn't touch them yet.
Instead, his gaze turned to Vivi.
And she immediately stiffened—heart racing.
Kairos had already shown his terrifying power.
Mr. 9? Dead in one strike.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine? Senior agents—slaughtered.
If Kairos had only killed Mr. 9, it would've been scary.
But killing senior agents with ease?
That wasn't just strength.
That was overwhelming dominance.
So when his eyes met hers—
Vivi's body trembled.
Her life…
Hung entirely on his whim.
"Now," Kairos said, his voice steady, "I give you two choices."
"First— I kill you."
"I choose the second one!" Vivi blurted out instantly.
She didn't even wait to hear what it was.
She just didn't want to die.
Kairos blinked, then laughed.
"Smart answer."
"So… what's the second choice?" Vivi asked, her curiosity finally catching up to her panic.
She hadn't listened earlier—just made a desperate pick.
"Simple," Kairos said, sheathing his cursed blade with a smile.
"Option two: Work for me for free… for twenty years."
"Or… if you prefer, as Princess of Alabasta, you can pay five billion beli to buy your life."
Vivi's face turned ghostly pale.
Twenty years?
She was only eighteen.
She'd be thirty-eight by the time her debt was repaid.
Most of her life—gone.
And five billion beli?
She knew exactly how much money her kingdom had.
Which meant—she really had no choice.
Just one path left.