The CP9 members stared at the scene before them in disbelief.
"LUCCI!!!"
A heart-wrenching cry suddenly erupted.
Their emotions collapsed in an instant.
Each of them exploded with violent fury, their auras surging like wild beasts. Their eyes turned blood-red, as if they were ready to fight to the death.
"This is exactly why I don't like dealing with kids…"
Kairos D. Vale slowly stood up and sighed. He casually dug a finger into his ear as if their shouting was simply too noisy.
"I'll kill you!"
Kaku shot forward like a bullet, his face twisted in rage.
He had already stopped thinking.
There was only one thought left in his mind—
Kill the man in front of him.
"…Let's finish this."
A cold glint flashed in Kairos' eyes.
He lowered his stance slightly.
His right hand rested lightly on the bamboo rod.
Phantom…
Sword Dance!
SHING—!
The bamboo rod swung.
A blazing arc of sword light exploded across the sky, so brilliant it resembled a blazing sun falling from the heavens.
This was Phantom Sword Dance, infused with the will of one of the Four Blade Masters—Xiran.
The very first slash unleashed roaring winds and surging waves.
Rustle—
The crystal-like blue trees trembled violently.
Leaves and petals were swept into the air, swirling wildly across the entire battlefield.
Kaku had already arrived.
He unleashed two Tempest Kicks with full power.
These were attacks capable of slicing through a warship's deck.
Yet—
when the air blades met the sword light…
they popped like fragile bubbles.
Not even a sound remained.
They vanished completely.
The sword light carried an overwhelming, tyrannical pressure.
Anything standing before it—
would simply be erased.
Kaku's mind froze.
His charging body was forced to stop mid-stride by the sheer momentum of the sword aura.
Before such a breathtaking scene—
even heaven and earth seemed to dim.
Everything in the world had become nothing more than Kairos' backdrop.
Only his arm could be seen moving lightly.
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
Each movement of the bamboo rod produced another dazzling blade of light.
Every slash streaked across the sky like a blazing comet.
"How… could anyone win against this…?"
Kaku muttered blankly.
As the second strongest member of the team, he could think of no solution whatsoever.
Before absolute power—
everything was meaningless.
Just like his Tempest Kick.
Completely useless.
But this wasn't the end.
Kairos' presence continued to rise.
It was as if he had become one with the bamboo rod.
At this moment—
he himself was the sword.
Sword intent surged upward like a waterfall, crashing into the sky.
Each slash grew stronger than the last.
In moments, Kairos had unleashed over a hundred strikes.
Hundreds of sword arcs surged across the shoreline like roaring dragons.
The sight was both magnificent—
and filled with killing intent.
Trees.
Flowers.
Soil.
Reefs.
Everything was torn apart.
Even seabirds flying hundreds of meters away were struck down by invisible sword intent, their bodies shredded into blood mist before falling into the sea.
It was a world-shaking spectacle.
Sword light erupted across the coast, sweeping forward like a blazing tide.
Their brilliance illuminated the entire sky.
In the face of such overwhelming sword light—
the CP9 team could only look up.
They were nothing more than dust.
Even the thought of resisting vanished.
Finally—
the sword storm descended.
Like a collapsed dam releasing a raging flood.
Figures began falling one after another.
Boom… boom… boom…
Nearly ten seconds later, the overwhelming sword radiance finally faded.
All seven CP9 members had collapsed.
Their clothes were shredded.
Dark blood stained their bodies.
Yet—
each of them still had a faint breath remaining.
None of them had died.
"Ding. Host has defeated CP9 Squad (Young). Reward obtained: Ichigo Kurosaki Card (Bankai Version — 1 Use)."
Hearing the system notification, Kairos slowly exhaled.
The bamboo rod in his hand faded away.
The power of the Xiran Card had ended.
He hadn't killed the CP9 team.
After all, they were still children.
For noisy brats, a good beating was enough.
Killing them would have been unnecessarily cruel.
That wasn't Kairos' style.
Of course—
he had only left them with a single breath of life.
Whether they survived afterward would depend on their own luck.
Kairos was also somewhat surprised that the CP9 team counted as a repeatable special opponent.
He looked down at the unconscious Lucci beneath him.
"Is it because of you?"
Kairos raised an eyebrow.
Thinking about it carefully, the one with the greatest future among CP9 was Lucci.
The repeatable reward was probably because of him.
…
At the edge of the Blue Kingdom—
houses had collapsed.
War had swept across the land.
The beautiful crystal-blue trees were gone.
Only flames and blackened earth remained.
Crater marks from artillery bombardment scarred the ground.
Soldiers wearing white uniforms—the government forces of the Blue Kingdom—walked across the scorched land.
They were checking corpses, searching for survivors.
"Kill these dogs serving the tyrant government!"
Suddenly, a squad of armed rebels burst out from a nearby alley.
Their clothes were scorched from battle.
They opened fire immediately with flintlock rifles.
Gunfire erupted.
Both sides unleashed their firepower without restraint.
After half an hour of brutal combat—
the rebel squad finally won.
But at a terrible cost.
Half their men had died.
Just as the survivors began cheering—
a set of calm footsteps echoed from the direction of the coast.
Step.
Step.
Step.
"Who's there?!"
The armed squad instantly raised their rifles and aimed at the approaching figure.
Then—
everyone froze.
Beside the man—
a fish was floating in midair.
The sight was so strange it was almost surreal.
Kairos pointed at the floating fish and asked cautiously,
"…Mind lending me some fire?"
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