Put a bounty on Kairos.
Those four words carried enormous weight.
With them, a person's future could be decided in an instant.
What kind of people received bounties?
There was only one answer.
Wanted criminals.
And in this world, once someone became wanted, they were treated very differently.
Bounty hunters coming after them was the least of their problems.
What truly inspired fear was pursuit by the Marines.
Once a person was branded a criminal, they would effectively become the enemy of the whole world.
"Boss…"
The white-suited subordinate's pupils trembled slightly. Lowering his head, he hesitated before continuing,
"Garp and Onigumo have both had contact with Kairos. They think highly of him, and both wanted him to join the Marines."
"Oh?" The silver-masked man suddenly lifted his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the subordinate. "And what exactly are you implying?"
So what if the Marines favored him?
The authority of CP could not be violated.
"N-no, sir. I wouldn't dare speak out of turn."
The moment that gaze touched him, the subordinate shivered violently and hurriedly denied it.
"Kairos' bounty…" The silver-masked man withdrew his gaze and spoke in a calm, thoughtful tone. "Set the initial amount at one billion."
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinate was shaken to the core.
One billion.
A first bounty of one billion!
But after the initial shock passed, he could understand it.
Kairos had defeated Garp.
For a man like that, one billion was not too high.
"You may go."
The masked man waved a hand dismissively.
After the subordinate withdrew, he turned his attention back to Lucci and the others, who had been standing there so stiffly they barely dared breathe.
"You may leave as well."
"Yes, sir."
Lucci lowered his head and walked out of the room in a daze.
Even as he left, a single number kept echoing in his mind.
One billion.
A man whose very first bounty was already worth one billion…
Would he ever really have a chance to defeat him and take revenge?
…
Only a few days later, a piece of news shook the Grand Line.
Kairos, the strongest swordsman of East Blue, had suddenly been placed on the World Government's wanted list for reasons unknown.
Bounty: one billion.
In just a matter of days, with CP's deliberate efforts behind the scenes, the story spread through nearly half the Grand Line.
A one-billion bounty sounded impressive.
And it was.
But the danger hidden behind that title far exceeded the glamour of the number itself.
That bounty pushed Kairos beyond the scope of merely being famous in East Blue.
In a single leap, he became the strongest rookie of this era.
That title made countless pirates see red.
In the past, pirates had to pillage, massacre, and commit endless atrocities while repeatedly escaping Marine pursuit before they could gradually make a name for themselves in the Grand Line.
But now?
There was a shortcut.
All a pirate had to do was kill Kairos—the strongest rookie of this era—and they would become famous across the world.
That was the real reason CP had been secretly amplifying the news about him.
Now, all across the Grand Line, countless people were discussing the name Kairos.
A swordsman who first gained some notoriety in East Blue.
Then rose to fame in a single stroke by defeating Garp.
And now, with a bounty of one billion, had shaken the Grand Line.
It had all happened far too quickly.
Only a few months had passed.
And the name Kairos was already beginning to gather a mysterious aura around it.
Some said he was a hero who saved villages.
Some said he was a wandering swordsman obsessed with challenging the strong.
Others said he was a madman with no bottom line at all—someone who would even beat up children and old men.
But none of it—
not a single word—
affected Kairos in the slightest.
He continued drifting at sea with perfect ease.
To him, this was only the beginning of his journey.
"Hm? There are Marines up ahead."
Kairos looked into the distance, a faint red glint flashing through his eyes.
Observation Haki activated.
Far ahead on the sea—
several Marine warships were surrounding a small wooden boat.
Cannons thundered from the warships, shells crashing into the sea around the tiny vessel. Though the little boat moved nimbly, the waves from the bombardment still tossed it violently.
"So it's you."
With a single glance, Kairos recognized the figure at the helm.
A light breeze stirred.
His small boat dipped slightly into the sea.
And in the next instant—
Kairos was gone from it.
…
Far away, the sea churned and darkened where cannonballs had plunged into the water.
Three Marine warships were closing in from three directions, tightening their encirclement around the little boat.
It was only a matter of time before they fully caught it.
"I can't be captured here."
The young girl at the helm bit down hard on her lip.
There was still childishness in her face, but as she steered through the bombardment, she displayed a calm and composure far beyond her years.
And in those clear eyes burned an unshakable determination.
She was—
Robin.
The warships were getting closer and closer.
No matter how skillful she was at handling the little boat, there was still a massive difference in performance between a tiny vessel and a Marine battleship.
Bang!
A dull crash rang out as the ship on her left rammed into the side of her boat.
Bang!
A second impact followed almost immediately from the right.
In an instant, Robin's little boat was trapped between two warships.
There was no way out.
"Robin, surrender peacefully!" Doberman shouted from the deck of the warship on the left. "I guarantee you won't be harmed!"
And at that exact moment—
a light breeze suddenly rose in front of him.
A tall figure appeared out of nowhere, standing directly before him.
"So it's Vice Admiral Doberman."
A faint smile appeared on Kairos' face, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
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