Bang!
The bullet tore through the air.
Layer after layer of atmosphere split apart in its wake, the heat of its passage washing across Kairos' face like a sudden gust.
Kairos' eyes flickered.
Clang!
Sandai Kitetsu shot forward through the air, tracing a graceful arc.
The bullet split cleanly in two.
The halves struck the ground with a sharp clatter—perfectly divided down the middle, as if sliced by a precision machine.
"Who fired?!"
"That fast?!"
Several bounty hunters sucked in sharp breaths, whispering in shock.
Greed had always lingered in their hearts, but the title of "strongest rookie" had kept many of them cautious.
Now someone had already pulled the trigger.
That single shot had lit the fuse of greed.
More and more hunters felt their restraint slipping.
Dozens of vicious gazes locked onto Kairos.
The killing was about to begin.
But in the very next moment—
everyone froze.
Kairos was gone.
The bow of the boat was empty.
He had vanished.
Whoosh!
A streak of lightning-like motion tore through the air toward the crowd.
The figure radiated razor-sharp intent, like a blade slicing straight through the harbor. The shockwave of his movement blasted outward, knocking several bounty hunters off their feet.
It was Kairos.
And his target—
was the sniper hidden in a loft behind the crowd.
Kairos' eyes had grown cold, though the faint smile still lingered on his lips.
Sandai Kitetsu gleamed in his hand, now coated in jet-black Armament Haki like a demonic blade roaring through the wind.
"You—"
Inside the loft, a short hooded man's pupils shrank in horror.
Kairos had arrived.
Too fast.
In a single breath he had located and locked onto the sniper's position.
There was no time to think.
The man tossed aside his rifle and turned to leap from the building.
Too late.
Kairos was already there.
A black arc flashed through the air.
Sandai Kitetsu cut cleanly across the back of the man's neck.
Slash!
Blood sprayed outward, the blade carving a perfect crimson arc like a blood-red crescent moon suspended in the air.
Then—
thud.
A severed head tumbled from the loft.
It hit the ground and burst like a smashed melon.
Dark blood and pale fragments splattered across the stone.
Above, the headless body collapsed slowly.
Blood streamed from the ruined neck.
At the harbor of Whiskey Peak—
a flower of blood bloomed.
Kairos landed lightly on the second-floor railing of the loft, Sandai Kitetsu still dripping red in his hand. His body remained poised and graceful.
"He… killed him?"
"Instantly…"
The bounty hunters stared in stunned disbelief.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
The sniper who fired the first shot was already dead—without even a final word.
Then—
everyone felt their hearts clench.
A pair of faintly glowing crimson eyes slowly swept across the harbor.
Kairos' gaze.
One… two… three…
Fifteen.
Fifteen targets.
Using Observation Haki, Kairos had already identified every one of them.
Those fifteen bounty hunters were the ones whose killing intent had flared the moment the shot was fired.
Kairos slowly rolled his wrist.
Hummm…
Sandai Kitetsu trembled softly.
It seemed to sense the battle-lust in its master's heart.
Then—
Boom!
A violent gust erupted as Kairos vanished again.
The loft beneath his feet exploded apart. Wood fragments and dust blasted in every direction as the two-story structure shattered from the force of his launch.
"Kairos is coming for us!"
"He's trying to kill us too?!"
Several bounty hunters shouted in disbelief.
They couldn't understand it.
The sniper was already dead.
Why wasn't Kairos satisfied?
Why was he coming for them?
Boom!
Kairos tore through the air again, riding a storm of wind.
Under the sunlight, his body twisted midair.
At some point Sandai Kitetsu had already returned to its sheath.
His right hand rested lightly on the hilt.
Battōjutsu.
Kairos drew his blade in midair.
Clang!
A black crescent exploded into the crowd like the scythe of death itself.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One after another, powerful bodies burst apart.
Blood flowers bloomed into the air, grotesque yet strangely beautiful.
Five people died from that single slash.
"This guy's insane!"
The surrounding bounty hunters erupted into chaos, clutching their weapons and shouting in terror.
None of them had imagined Kairos would explode into violence like this—
slaughtering bounty hunters openly in the harbor.
This was Whiskey Peak.
The home of bounty hunters.
Kairos landed lightly after the strike.
Around him—
no bounty hunters remained nearby.
Only spreading blood.
He stood in spotless white clothing within a pool of crimson.
Every drop of flying blood had been stopped by his Qi, leaving him untouched.
And so—
at the harbor of Whiskey Peak—
Blood blossoms continued to bloom.
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