Chapter 79

The City of Water, Capital of Seven Waters.

A large ship steadily docked at the harbor.

Several figures stepped off the vessel. Leading them was an exceptionally handsome man, flanked by four stunning women. Their arrival immediately caught the attention of some pirates lounging nearby. Lust glimmered in their eyes—such exotic beauties were a rare sight.

But the moment the man waved his hand, the ship behind them vanished into thin air.

Silence fell.

Those who had considered making a move were now frozen in place, dread creeping into their bones. Making a whole ship disappear without a trace—this wasn't something ordinary people could do. They may not know who this man was, or if he was famous, but with power like that, he was clearly no weakling.

In the world of pirates, arrogance was common.

But it came in two flavors—those born of powerful bloodlines or unique races who were naturally strong… and those who simply didn't know how big and dangerous the world truly was.

However, those who reached the Grand Line were rarely that ignorant. The weak, naive ones were weeded out before they even made it this far.

This particular group?

It was none other than Kairos Flint and his companions.

Having wrapped up their business on Skypiea, they spent some time vacationing in the sky before finally descending and continuing their journey. Following the record pointer's direction, they arrived at the City of Water—an intermediary stop along their voyage.

Kairos had no intention of staying long. This place didn't offer him much.

In fact, it didn't even have a Marine base—which was a problem. His personal space was still packed with the corpses of pirates he'd taken down, and he needed to exchange them for bounty rewards. Otherwise, what was the point of keeping them?

"Weiwei, Uta, Robin—let's go shopping!" Nami's eyes lit up as soon as they touched ground.

Arriving in a new place meant one thing: shopping. Clothes, cosmetics, sunscreen—you had to be prepared. Sure, they'd stocked up in Skypiea, but each island had its own unique goods. Missing out would make the trip feel incomplete.

"Here's some money—spend it however you like," Kairos said casually, handing Nami a suitcase full of Bailey from his personal inventory. "I'll handle the bounty hunter work. Find me when you're done."

There was no need to keep track of expenses at this point.

Nami and Vivi were already his women. As for Uta—things had progressed quickly between them during their vacation. They were on the brink of becoming more.

Only Robin, for now, remained an outsider.

But Kairos was confident. Winning her over wouldn't be too difficult.

"Thanks, darling." Nami gave him a sweet kiss before linking arms with the other girls and heading toward the vibrant city.

Kairos didn't worry about their safety. With their current strength, even a low-level Marine wouldn't pose a threat—let alone the petty World Government agents scattered around town.

Once the girls were gone, Kairos turned his attention to the pirate ships docked nearby. His hand drifted toward the hilt of the Third Generation Kitetsu at his waist.

Time to begin the slaughter.

Elsewhere in the City of Water…

The moment Robin and the others entered the bustling streets, hidden agents of the World Government took notice. They immediately relayed the information up the chain of command.

Inside a dimly lit bar, a Den Den Mushi began to ring.

Bulu bulu bulu... click.

Bruno, a CP9 agent posing as a bartender, quietly excused himself and stepped into a secluded back room. He picked up the line.

On the other end was his superior—Spandam, commander of CP9.

The order was simple and clear: capture Nico Robin.

Bruno had no objections. Orders were orders.

Robin's strength, while decent, wasn't anything CP9 couldn't handle. Any one of them could take her down solo.

Bruno disconnected and immediately passed the directive to the rest of CP9.

Meanwhile, back at the harbor…

Kairos's killing spree was in full swing.

As a professional bounty hunter, he remembered every face and name on the bounty lists. Killing pirates without cashing in was just bad business.

And today, the pirates of the City of Water were having a very, very bad day.

The ones who had made it this far into the Grand Line weren't weak. Most captains held officer-level power. Some even possessed Devil Fruit abilities.

But Kairos? He didn't find a single Devil Fruit user among them. Just brute strength, swordsmanship, and some impressive physical techniques.

None of it mattered.

He cut them down in seconds, one after another.

He arrived around noon—and by sunset, a trail of corpses lay behind him.

Word spread fast. Pirates who hadn't been caught yet fled into hiding, terrified. Dozens of crews had already been wiped out. No one believed they could stand a chance.

Once the last pirate fell, Kairos finally paused to tally his spoils.

Crystals Gained:

Rare Body Crystals: 1,242

Excellent Body Crystals: 311

Perfect Body Crystals: 66

Rare Soul Crystals: 1,333

Excellent Soul Crystals: 224

Perfect Soul Crystals: 51

Rare Talent Crystals: 481

Outstanding Talent Crystals: 877

Perfect Talent Crystals: 177

Legendary Talent Crystals: 3

Rare Taijutsu Crystals: 1,112

Excellent Taijutsu Crystals: 449

Perfect Taijutsu Crystals: 122

Rare Kendo Crystals: 1,512

Excellent Kendo Crystals: 261

Perfect Kendo Crystals: 33

Weapons Gained:

Standard: 2,114

Refined: 891

Excellent: 321

And let's not forget all the treasure these pirates had looted—now in Kairos's hands. Their ships? Also his now.

Of course, sorting and synthesizing all this loot would take time.

Despite the massive bloodshed, Kairos's clothes were spotless. Not a drop of blood had touched him.

Pathetic. They were just too weak.

He stored the bounty-worthy corpses and made his way into the city briefly before returning to the harbor.

During that time, he visited the Bounty Hunter Information Center.

It was no surprise that one existed here. Back in Loguetown, before entering the Grand Line, he'd purchased a list of all bounty hunter offices in the first half of the route.

Any nation or large city—like the City of Water—had one.

And they couldn't be wiped out easily. The Bounty Hunter Network rarely conflicted with other factions. They were neutral. However, getting access to the second half of the Grand Line's office locations required a stop at the Sabaody Archipelago—and a hefty fee.

Of course, the locations you paid for were accurate, but who was to say there weren't secret or backup offices in some places?

That wasn't Kairos's concern.

He had come here to buy things—record pointers, magnetized needles for shorter routes, even permanent log poses. Everything cost a fortune: record pointers started at 500,000 Bailey, permanent poses at over a million.

No wonder the agency thrived.

Later that evening…

Nami and the others returned, arms full of shopping bags. Each one struggled to carry their loot, clearly having bought half the town.

Kairos smiled to himself. Shopkeepers must've had the best day of their lives.

But he didn't care about the money.

He'd raked in a fortune from Skypiea alone—gold from Enel's ark, the golden bell, even the treasure hoarded by the giant snake.

By now, his net worth was in the tens of billions.

Money wasn't an issue.

But then his expression changed slightly.

"…Looks like we picked up some uninvited guests."

His observation Haki had already locked on to several auras closing in on them. They had begun tracking Nami and the others after their return.

"Handle them, will you?" Nami said with a wink, sliding close to him. "We're dead tired from shopping. Vivi and I are going for a nice, long bath. Come find us later~"

She winked again—teasing, seductive.

Damn. She knew exactly how to mess with him.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. I'll take care of it."

Kairos forced down the primal urges surging inside him and gave her a casual wave.

The girls boarded the ship.

Just then, a black blur rushed toward them—fast.

It was Bruno, aiming to bypass Kairos and seize Nico Robin directly.

"Nico Robin, you're under arres—"

BOOM!

Before he could finish, Kairos snatched him mid-dash by the head and slammed him into the ground with a thunderous crack.

"You know," Kairos said, calmly sitting on a stone nearby, "people these days have no manners. No greetings, no introductions—just straight to attacking my crewmates. Didn't their mothers teach them anything?"

Bruno groaned, face-first in the dirt, his consciousness slipping.

He'd been instantly crushed.