Kingdom of Alabasta.
The capital: Alba.
At the heart of Alba stood the royal palace.
Kairos Flint and his group entered without resistance. After all, they were accompanied by a princess of Alabasta. As long as the palace guards weren't blind, there was no reason for them to block the group's advance.
"Excuse me, are you the bounty hunter and Demon Blade Slayer, Kairos Flint?"
As they entered the inner sanctum of the palace, one of the guards spotted them. His eyes focused immediately on Kairos and then he stood at attention.
"That's me," Kairos nodded calmly.
"Your Highness, Princess… Lord Kairos," the guard said, bowing slightly. "Please come this way. His Majesty the King has been informed of your arrival and has prepared to receive you personally. All the distinguished guests are gathered and waiting for you as well."
He respectfully motioned for them to follow.
"Alright," Kairos responded with a cool nod.
It was clear: Red-Haired Shanks must have told King Cobra about the purpose of their visit, prompting the royal family to prepare a formal reception. With that, the group moved forward, following the guard's lead.
The most visibly anxious among them was Uta.
She hadn't seen Shanks in over a decade. Her emotions were tightly coiled—a blend of longing and unresolved tension. And now, standing on the threshold of that reunion, she was overcome with nerves.
"Don't worry. We're with you," Nami said gently, noticing Uta's tension. She reached out and held her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Mhm."
Uta nodded, grateful for the comfort.
This journey was anything but simple. For unfamiliar outsiders, the palace could easily become a labyrinth. But with the guards guiding them, it wasn't long before they were brought to the grand audience hall.
As soon as they stepped inside—
Whoosh!
All eyes turned.
Dozens of gazes locked onto them.
These were the Red-Haired Pirates.
Their expressions sharpened as they recognized Kairos Flint. Even under the pressure of these battle-hardened warriors—led by one of the Four Emperors—Kairos remained calm. The aura of dominance that came with being a Yonko was no joke, but fortunately, Kairos had awakened his Conqueror's Haki.
Without it, standing here might have left him visibly shaken.
"Red-Haired Shanks… The Yonko really does live up to the legend," Kairos said, walking forward with the three women by his side. He stopped a few paces from Shanks, offering a relaxed smile.
"And yet, this mighty Emperor of the New World," Shanks said with a grin, "was threatened by a kid from the East Blue."
It was a strange truth.
Shanks—one of the world's most powerful men—had been blackmailed. And not by a pirate, but a bounty hunter. A rookie bounty hunter at that.
"That wasn't a threat," Kairos said smoothly. "That was extortion. Big difference."
He grinned.
"I settled the dispute between you and your daughter. Is it so wrong to ask a few infamous pirates for some… compensation?"
Shanks blinked. "…You're unbelievable."
Seriously, this guy had no shame. Shanks didn't know whether to laugh or fume.
A kid extorting one of the Four Emperors? It was absurd.
He had a growing concern: if Uta stuck with Kairos, she'd eventually pick up his twisted logic.
"Enough small talk," Kairos said. "Where are the ten pirates with bounties over 500 million?"
"Bring them in."
Shanks sighed. There was no point arguing—Kairos's skin was thicker than steel. At his command, the Red-Haired Pirates brought forth ten infamous criminals.
They looked… ragged.
Starved. Likely deprived of food ever since their capture. But behind them stood the heavy weight of reputation.
"That's Ghost Leopard Geraltus—bounty: 580 million. And Vulture Barnet: 620 million. That one's Flash Bensent: 530 million…"
Nami recited each name and bounty with practiced ease.
Kairos had said she'd memorized nearly every bounty notice. Seeing her in action, it was clear: she wasn't bluffing. She identified each pirate on sight, like a walking bounty database.
But her voice didn't sit well with the captured pirates.
"You little brat! What do you think we are? Trophies?!"
"Red-Haired bastard! You dare to humiliate us like this?"
"If you've got any honor, just kill us already!"
The angry roars filled the room. These were infamous figures in the New World, feared by many. And yet here they were—beaten, starving, and paraded before others.
Their fury was real. Understandable.
Clang!
Kairos drew his blade.
In one seamless motion, he struck.
The heads of all ten pirates hit the floor.
Gasps echoed through the Red-Haired crew. Instantly, hands moved to weapons. They didn't know what Kairos might do next.
But Kairos just grinned.
"What's the big deal? I only killed some pirates."
He had a purpose behind the killings. Once slain by him, these powerful enemies would drop Ability Crystals—his golden finger system would absorb them.
The pirates had been kept alive—but starving—for that exact reason. Their weakened states made it easier for Kairos to finish them cleanly.
The moment they fell, a golden system prompt lit up before his eyes:
[Pickable items detected. Do you wish to collect them?]
"Yes."
[Items successfully collected:
Legendary Physique Crystals ×51
Legendary Soul Crystals ×42
Legendary Talent Crystals ×32
Epic Talent Crystals ×3
Legendary Taijutsu Crystals ×49
Legendary Swordsmanship Crystals ×38
Perfect Conqueror's Haki ×14
Legendary Conqueror's Haki ×9
Perfect Armament Haki ×32
Legendary Armament Haki ×6
Perfect Observation Haki ×21
Legendary Observation Haki ×8]
Stored in Portable Inventory.
It was a windfall.
Every aspect—body, soul, skills, Haki—was upgraded with legendary-tier resources. Even more impressively, most of the Haki drops were at Perfect level.
He quickly used some of the crystals:
10 Legendary Physique
10 Legendary Soul
9 Legendary Taijutsu
10 Legendary Swordsmanship
14 Perfect Conqueror's Haki
9 Legendary Conqueror's Haki
11 Perfect Armament Haki
11 Perfect Observation Haki
His strength surged. But it wasn't chaotic or overwhelming. These upgrades were controlled, allowing him perfect mastery of the power he gained.
Standing silently, his presence grew heavier.
Shanks could feel it.
How…?
Kairos Flint was just a rookie from East Blue. Yet the pressure rolling off of him felt real. Dangerous.
He opened his status window:
[Host]: Kairos Flint
[Talent]: Royal Class (0/10)
[Physique]: Emperor Class (0/10)
[Soul]: Emperor Class (0/10)
[Skills]: Emperor-level Taijutsu (1/10), Supreme Swordsman (0/10), Silent Step (0/10)
[Haki]:
Conqueror's Haki: Emperor-level
Armament Haki: General-level (0.05/10)
Observation Haki: General-level (0.02/10)
[Weapon]: Third Generation Kitetsu (1/10)
[Ship]: Rare-Class Large Vessel (6.91/10)
The gains were massive. With these drops alone, Kairos had pushed himself to the threshold of Yonko-level strength. He still had a stockpile of crystals he hadn't used—he intended to save those for his companions.
His rise was sudden, but not reckless.
He wasn't invincible yet. Among the top ranks, power was layered—rear admirals, vice admirals, full generals. And Yonko stood at the top. He had just reached the entry level of that league.
But he had time.
And he had cheats.
If needed, he could go to the New World, slay more notorious pirates, and harvest more crystals. He'd get stronger still.
"Devil Fruit user?" Shanks asked curiously as Kairos waved and stored all the pirate corpses into thin air.
It was clear.
Only someone with a Devil Fruit could erase corpses so cleanly. It wasn't magic—Shanks would've sensed that. It had to be a spatial fruit or something similar.
Still, this meeting wasn't just about extortion.
Shanks wanted to show this arrogant upstart who he was dealing with.
"Kairos Flint," Shanks said suddenly. "Do you know how vast this world really is?"
Kairos blinked, not quite sure where he was going with this.
Then it hit him.
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki burst forth from Shanks, pressing down like a tidal wave.
Instinctively, Kairos answered with his own Emperor-level Conqueror's Haki.
BOOM!!!
The air exploded with invisible pressure. The floor cracked beneath their feet, sending fractures racing outward. The room trembled.
Shanks raised a brow.
Even after all that, Kairos stood tall.
"Damn," Kairos muttered. "This guy's a monster. No wonder he's one of the Four Emperors."
Shanks exhaled slowly.
"And to think… a monster like you walked out of East Blue."
He pushed harder, raising his Haki even more.
Kairos didn't back down—he pushed his own Haki to match. What began as a general-level clash rose higher and higher until…
BOOOOM!!!
Two Emperor-level Conqueror's Haki collided.
This time, the walls cracked. The entire palace began to split clean down the middle.
Alabasta's royal palace would never be the same.