The screams echoed one after another—then suddenly fell silent.
It was as if a gardener, wielding a chainsaw, were trimming leaves off a tree. Only, these "leaves" were people.
Like falling foliage, the agents of Baroque Works stood no chance against Kairos Flint. One by one, they collapsed under his relentless assault.
Hundreds—no, possibly more—of Baroque's outer-rank members were utterly powerless before him.
After all, Kairos' body, martial arts, and swordsmanship had all reached the level of a seasoned officer—what the Navy would consider school-tier expertise. On top of that, he had accumulated a vast amount of combat experience.
The power he now commanded was comparable to that of a Marine Headquarters Colonel. Proficient in both close combat and swordplay, wielding the Third Generation Kitetsu, a cursed blade sharpened for death—it was a massacre.
Some of the enemies may have reached the level of sergeant, but most were mere foot soldiers. Against Kairos, they might as well have been unarmed.
Within minutes, he had cut down every last one of them.
Those who hadn't yet been caught in the carnage could only watch in terror.
So ruthless.
The man who attacked without a word—so cold, so brutal—it shook them to their core. They had never encountered anyone like him before. Still, some turned their attention toward Nami and Uta, believing the two women who arrived with Kairos might be leverage.
Capture them, they thought, and perhaps the man would hesitate.
That was the idea, at least. Reality, however, was far crueler.
As a few pirates lunged toward Nami and Uta, intending to take them alive, the two women acted first.
Both had bodies trained to a lieutenant's level, and possessed combat and swordsmanship skills ranging from sergeant to lieutenant class. It went without saying—once they made a move, the fate of those pirates was sealed.
Nami fought with zero hesitation. Her experience had hardened her resolve.
Uta, though, was still green.
She had seen battle before—once aboard Shanks' Red-Haired Pirates ship. More recently, she had witnessed Kairos Flint decimate a pirate crew during what could only be described as a cinematic "hero-saves-the-beauty" moment.
But real, firsthand combat? She had none.
Even with high-level skills aiding her, Uta's fighting was clumsy and unpolished—nowhere near what one would expect from someone of her rank. To put it bluntly: her performance was terrible.
Still, the enemies weren't strong. Most were soldiers at best, with only a few at sergeant level. Maybe one or two reached the rank of captain—but Kairos hadn't encountered them yet.
It was only a matter of time.
Ten minutes later.
The battlefield was littered with corpses.
Those who live by the sword, die by it.
Kairos held no sympathy for people who viewed others as prey. They had approached him with obvious ill intent—if he hadn't been strong enough, he and his companions would have died. Nami and Uta, being women, would've faced even worse.
So, was he being overly ruthless? Not in the slightest.
In this lawless sea, those who hesitate are the first to die. Power rules, and mercy is often weakness.
Anyone who threatened him would face one outcome—death. Some of it was also about the loot—crystals that improved his abilities.
And some of it was practical: this was textbook bait-and-smash enforcement.
They made the first move—he just finished it.
A familiar message appeared before him:
[Detected pickable items. Do you want to collect them?]
"Collect."
[Ding! Successfully collected:]
Ordinary Body Crystals ×122
Excellent Body Crystals ×233
Rare Body Crystals ×88
Exceptional Body Crystals ×26
Ordinary Soul Crystals ×143
Excellent Soul Crystals ×301
Rare Soul Crystals ×132
Exceptional Soul Crystals ×43
Ordinary Talent Crystals ×98
Excellent Talent Crystals ×376
Rare Talent Crystals ×211
Exceptional Talent Crystals ×44
Ordinary Combat Technique Crystals ×189
Excellent Combat Technique Crystals ×266
Rare Combat Technique Crystals ×109
Exceptional Combat Technique Crystals ×38
Ordinary Swordsmanship Crystals ×177
Excellent Swordsmanship Crystals ×226
Rare Swordsmanship Crystals ×81
Exceptional Swordsmanship Crystals ×32
(All stored in inventory.)
Despite facing fewer than 300 people, Kairos had reaped an impressive haul.
Not quite on the level of the massive Creek Pirates—but still valuable. If he could've taken on a force that size, his rewards would have been astronomical.
He took another breath.
"Let's gather their weapons too."
He stood up, collected every weapon from the fallen pirates, and tossed them into his storage space. Last time in Elegia, he had recovered 51 ordinary weapons.
This time?
577 ordinary weapons
291 refined weapons
56 exceptional weapons
The reason was simple—he found their warehouse. Naturally, he looted it clean.
Whiskey Peak had proven to be a very worthwhile stop.
Meanwhile, Nami and Uta were scavenging through the bounty hunters' belongings. They were bound to find money and valuables, as the base itself likely housed a stash of cash.
As they searched, Kairos began synthesizing his gains—converting low-level crystals into more powerful ones. These processes barely drained him, especially the low-level ones.
The time and effort were worth it.
He ended up synthesizing a number of perfect-grade ability crystals—and even created a Legendary Talent Crystal.
More importantly, he synthesized all his weapons and ended up forging a true High-Grade Blade.
Using it as material, he upgraded the Third Generation Kitetsu. When the upgrade completed, the cursed blade let out a low hum—as if it were alive, thrilled by its new form.
Kairos smiled and whispered to it.
"You're not done evolving yet. Big-name swords? Supreme blades? Forget them. From today on, you'll be the one and only divine weapon in this world."
The sword vibrated eagerly in response.
He sheathed it with a grin. Everything was now in order.
Not long after, Nami and Uta returned, bags of treasure in hand—spoils from what must have been months of Baroque Works operations. Now all of it belonged to them.
If the dead knew, Kairos thought, they'd probably vomit blood.
As for dividing the loot?
He didn't mind. Nami was already his woman, and Uta, well—she had agreed to travel with them. Food, lodging, and travel were all free, but she wasn't entitled to a share. She had agreed to that up front.
After all, he'd told her she'd be the world's number-one singer someday.
He had said:
"We're not keeping your share. We're saving it. You'll need it when you start releasing albums and holding concerts. It'll be expensive at first. We're just managing it for you."
And Uta bought it.
To be fair, Kairos wasn't lying—he did plan to help her build her career. But once the investment was in, the returns would be massive. After all, Uta had the power to draw 70% of the pirate world into her song world.
She was a sensation.
If she ever realized her true value, she could demand her fair cut.
But under Kairos' careful persuasion, she never thought to ask.
So everything worked out. The enemies were dead. The gold was secured.
The place? Still littered with bodies.
But cleaning up wasn't their problem.
They turned to leave—until a voice called out.
"Stop."
Kairos turned.
Ah. Wasn't that the princess of Alabasta?
Neferutari D. Vivi herself.
She arrived with a companion: a man wearing a crown, his mustache styled into two loops like the number 9.
Mr. 9—a mid-level agent of Baroque Works.
His partner, of course, was Vivi, currently operating undercover under the codename Miss Wednesday.
She looked... hot.
Kairos stared.
Damn Uta. Refusing to sleep in her own room and instead bunking with Nami during this leg of the trip—he was going insane with pent-up frustration.
So when Vivi appeared in those shorts, with her fit figure on display... let's just say Kairos was very distracted.