Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Kairos never left the coast during that time.
Instead, he built a simple wooden shelter near a quiet stretch of shoreline and stayed there teaching the Kung-Fu Dugongs swordsmanship.
"Again."
Clang.
More than fifty tiny swords were drawn at once.
The Kung-Fu Dugongs stood in neat rows beneath the blazing Alabasta sun, each holding an iron blade they had scavenged from somewhere.
Some swords were chipped.
Some were rusted.
A few were ridiculously oversized compared to their tiny bodies.
But every Dugong trained with complete seriousness.
"Draw. Step. Slash."
Kairos sat beneath the shade with one leg crossed over the other, occasionally correcting their movements with a bamboo pole controlled through Qi.
Whenever a Dugong's stance tilted too far—
tap.
The bamboo pole smacked its shell.
Whenever one drew too slowly—
tap.
Another hit.
"Moo!"
The struck Dugongs would immediately straighten up and continue training with even more determination.
Not a single one complained.
That alone was impressive.
Even many human swordsmen lacked this kind of discipline.
Three days naturally weren't enough for them to truly learn Iaijutsu.
But Kairos had already taught them the foundation.
The rest depended on their own practice.
By the afternoon of the third day, the Dugongs' sword draws no longer looked awkward. At the very least, they had started to resemble proper forms instead of children swinging sticks around.
Good enough.
Kairos watched them for a while before finally standing up.
The moment he moved, all fifty Kung-Fu Dugongs immediately stopped training and looked toward him at the same time.
Their reactions were frighteningly synchronized.
"Come here."
"Moo!"
The Dugongs quickly gathered around him in a tight circle.
Kairos looked down at the little creatures.
"You all trained seriously. Faster than I expected."
The Dugongs instantly puffed up with pride.
Some even crossed their arms and nodded smugly.
Kairos almost laughed.
Then his tone softened slightly.
"But I'm leaving."
The atmosphere froze.
The Dugongs stared blankly at him.
A few seconds later—
"Moooo…"
Pitiful cries sounded one after another.
Some of the smaller Dugongs already had tears pooling in their eyes.
One directly grabbed Kairos' pant leg and refused to let go.
Kairos looked down at the crying little disciples and suddenly felt a strange sense of accomplishment.
At least these three days weren't wasted.
He crouched slightly and patted the Dugong holding onto him.
"You've already learned the basics."
"Practice properly."
"Don't embarrass me out there."
"Moo…"
The Dugong sniffed loudly and nodded with watery eyes.
Only then did Kairos leave the shore.
The Dugongs lined up behind him in silence, watching his back grow farther and farther away.
The first Dugong he met—the one that originally grabbed his pant leg—suddenly stepped forward.
Its eyes sharpened.
"Moo!"
It slapped its shell proudly, then started gesturing wildly with its little flippers.
The other Dugongs blinked.
Then understanding slowly appeared in their eyes.
Very quickly, all of them became excited.
One Dugong somehow dragged over several cans of waterproof paint from who-knew-where.
Soon, the entire beach became chaotic.
Paint splattered everywhere as the Dugongs began drawing symbols onto their shells.
A simplified emblem of the Demon Sword Thousand Blades gradually appeared across one shell after another.
Crude.
Crooked.
Some even looked completely wrong.
But every Dugong painted with absolute seriousness.
From that day onward, a strange rumor began spreading around Alabasta's coast.
A group of sword-wielding Kung-Fu Dugongs had appeared near Nanohana.
And on their backs—
was the mark of a demon sword.
By the time Kairos reached Nanohana, the afternoon heat had become unbearable.
The desert wind rolled through the streets carrying burning sand, and the air itself looked distorted beneath the blazing sun.
Kairos walked calmly through the heat.
His black trench coat hung loosely open, yet not a grain of sand touched him. A thin layer of Qi quietly isolated everything around his body.
Then—
someone suddenly jumped out and blocked his path.
"I challenge you!"
The voice was bright and energetic.
Kairos stopped walking.
Standing in front of him was a very pretty girl.
Twin tails.
A yellow top stretched tightly across her chest.
A short skirt.
Black stockings.
Cute face.
Slim waist.
The kind of girl who attracted attention the moment she appeared.
Kairos stared at her for two seconds.
Then slowly frowned.
He was certain he had never met her before.
"You're challenging me?" he asked calmly. "Why?"
The girl immediately pointed at him dramatically.
"You defeated the miracle Okama King! I must avenge him and restore his honor!"
Kairos froze.
A strange silence followed.
Then—
his eyelid twitched.
The miracle Okama King.
That title sounded painfully familiar.
Combined with the overly dramatic behavior in front of him, there was basically only one possible answer.
Kairos looked at the "girl" again.
This time, his expression became complicated.
No matter how he looked—
the person in front of him was obviously Mr. 2 Bon Clay.
The user of the Clone-Clone Fruit.
Still…
Kairos had to admit it.
The disguise was absurdly convincing.
Far too convincing.
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