That day, the news spread across the Grand Line.
Kairos had stormed into Hannabal alone and fought ten thousand pirates by himself.
The name Super Rookie Kairos exploded into fame once again.
The first time, his name had spread because of his outrageous bounty.
This time, it spread because of his strength.
One man against ten thousand?
That was the kind of power—and madness—ordinary people could not even imagine.
From that day on, the name Kairos became inseparable from words like ruthless, decisive, and merciless.
After Hannabal, no one dared look down on him anymore.
And no one thought that billion-berry bounty was inflated.
He had earned it.
…
The sea was vast.
Even if Hannabal had turned into a river of blood, it still could not leave much of a mark on the endless Grand Line.
The ocean remained blue and clear.
The weather was calm.
Kairos lay back on the boat, chewing on a loaf of local bread he had taken from Hannabal, humming to himself while going through the system notifications in his head.
This time, he was actually a little excited.
After killing that many notable pirates, the rewards had to be good.
Right?
"Ding. Host has killed Bear King, Steel Fruit user. Reward obtained: Assassin Wu Liuqi Card (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version — 1 Use)."
"Ding. Host has killed Mushul, Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit user. Reward obtained: Assassin Wu Liuqi Card (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version — 1 Use)."
"Ding. Host has killed bounty hunter Mad Treasure. Reward obtained: Assassin Wu Liuqi Card (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version — 1 Use)."
"Ding. Host has killed Breed, Pet-Pet Fruit user. Reward obtained: Assassin Wu Liuqi Card (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version — 1 Use)."
Kairos: "…"
Suddenly, the bread in his hand did not taste nearly as good.
What the hell was this?
Four straight Wu Liuqi cards?
For a second, Kairos felt like he had somehow wandered into a matching game. Everywhere he looked, he could practically see Wu Liuqi's smug face.
"Hm? There's more?"
Kairos' brow twitched.
Below those four notifications, several more messages had been buried.
He immediately focused on them.
"Ding. Host has accumulated 10 Assassin Wu Liuqi Cards (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version). Achievement reached."
"Ding. Assassin Wu Liuqi Card (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version) has upgraded to Permanent Form."
"Ding. Achievement completed. Random reward granted: one Wu Liuqi skill or weapon."
"System drawing reward…"
"3…"
"2…"
"1."
"Draw successful. Host has obtained Wu Liuqi weapon: Magic Blade Thousand Blades."
Kairos fell silent for three whole seconds.
Then—
Yeah. This was amazing.
He finished the rest of the bread in two bites.
With a thought, a pale blue glow bloomed in his palm.
"Hm?"
Robin, who had been quietly reading nearby, noticed the shift in the air and instinctively looked over.
A blade had appeared in Kairos' hand.
It looked ancient and understated, but its edge was covered in countless cracks, as though it might shatter with the slightest touch.
A weapon like that could actually be used in battle?
That was Robin's first thought.
"This blade is going to surprise you."
Kairos glanced at her and smiled, as though he had read her mind.
Before Robin could reply, he carefully sheathed the Magic Blade Thousand Blades and hung it at his waist beside Sandai Kitetsu.
Every movement was deliberate.
Gentle, even.
Nothing like the rough way he usually handled Sandai Kitetsu.
Robin's gaze drifted to the new sword at his waist, and she gave a faint smile.
"Then it must be something extraordinary. You only get this careful with things you truly value."
Kairos did not answer.
Robin also did not ask how a sword had suddenly appeared in his hand.
She had already seen him conjure weapons out of nowhere more than once.
At this point, she was used to it.
Ignoring her curious look, Kairos called up the system panel in his mind.
Name: KairosSkills: Qi Control, Swordsmanship Techniques, Swallow Return, Sword Pressure, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, BattōjutsuWeapons: Wooden Sword, Sandai Kitetsu, Magic Blade Thousand BladesCards:Assassin Wu Liuqi (Magic Blade Thousand Blades Version — Permanent)Killer B (Tailed Beast Version — 1 Use)Kenpachi Zaraki (Unsealed Version — 3 Minutes)Soderos (DNF Version — 1 Use)Sasaki Kojiro (Fate/stay night Version — 1 Use)Ichigo Kurosaki (Bankai Version — 1 Use)
After looking over the updated panel, Kairos let out a long breath.
This trip to Hannabal had paid off in a big way.
Not only had the Wu Liuqi card been upgraded to a permanent card—
he had also obtained the actual Magic Blade Thousand Blades.
And more importantly, he had finally figured out how duplicate cards worked.
Ten copies.
That was the threshold.
Once a card was accumulated ten times, it upgraded to a permanent card and granted either a related skill or the character's weapon.
"The next stop is…"
Kairos rose to his feet and looked out over the open sea, murmuring to himself.
…
At the same time—
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The soba shop was unusually lively that day.
Two major figures from Marine Headquarters had arrived at the same time.
Sengoku.
And Garp.
Sengoku sat on a wooden stool, slurping up a mouthful of hot soba.
But his mind was somewhere else entirely.
The thing shaking the Marines lately was obvious.
Kairos had challenged nearly ten thousand pirates by himself—and killed three thousand of them.
That news had sent a shockwave through Marine Headquarters too.
And after that shock came the headache.
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