"Capturing pirates is the Marines' duty."
Onigumo's voice was low and heavy.
As soon as he finished speaking, he began directing his men to clean up the battlefield and arrest the pirates.
The surviving pirates had already lost all will to resist. They let themselves be taken without a struggle, and the whole process lasted barely more than ten minutes.
The headless corpses, the trembling pirates—
everything vanished from Cocoyasi Village's harbor, leaving behind only pools and streaks of blood as proof of how brutal it had been.
"By the way… where are the local Marines?"
Once that was done, Onigumo looked at Kairos D. Vale and asked with a faint frown.
He had sharp eyes. He could already tell these pirates had been dead for nearly five hours.
Five hours.
That was more than enough time for any nearby Marine branch to arrive.
And yet, as far as the eye could see, not a single branch Marine was here.
"Let him explain," Kairos said, pointing at Genzo.
The story was a little messy, and Kairos couldn't be bothered to walk through all of it himself. Better to let Genzo do the talking.
Onigumo turned to look at Genzo.
It wasn't that he hadn't noticed him before. He simply had more important matters to deal with first.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo…"
Onigumo's vicious appearance put immense pressure on Genzo. Even his tone came out awkward and stiff.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and slowly began explaining everything.
From the Krieg Pirates shelling the forest…
to Kairos arriving and wiping them out…
Genzo recounted the entire sequence of events exactly as it happened.
Naturally, that included the part where the local Marine branch ignored their pleas for help.
"So something like this really happened."
Onigumo's expression changed.
For the first time, barely restrained fury appeared in his eyes.
He knew the Marines had their share of rot.
But most of his time was spent enforcing order in the Grand Line. He had never expected the East Blue branches to be rotten to this extent.
The Marines of East Blue had simply ignored a village under pirate attack.
"Trash like that doesn't deserve to wear the uniform."
Onigumo's voice dropped so low it almost rumbled. His black hair stirred without wind—a sign that Life Return was on the verge of activating.
He was dangerously close to exploding in rage.
Among the Marines, every officer strong enough to reach the rank of Vice Admiral carried some form of justice in their heart.
Their ideas of justice differed.
Their methods differed.
But none of them would ever include standing by while the weak were slaughtered by pirates.
"Take it easy."
Kairos smiled faintly and patted Onigumo on the shoulder.
He wasn't mocking him.
And he wasn't being indifferent, either.
It was just that—
Kairos had already made up his mind.
Right then, synchronized marching footsteps echoed from the eastern side of Cocoyasi Village.
"Welcome, Vice Admiral Onigumo, to your East Blue inspection!"
A shrill shout cut through the air.
"Welcome, Vice Admiral Onigumo, to your East Blue inspection!"
One loud greeting after another rolled in from the horizon, gathering into a showy, coordinated chorus.
Onigumo narrowed his eyes and looked over.
Captain Nezumi was approaching from the east with a neatly arranged Marine formation behind him.
Every soldier in the line was shouting Onigumo's name as they marched.
To Onigumo, those bootlicking cries were grating.
His expression darkened further.
Kairos' eyelid twitched slightly.
Nezumi really did have a world-class talent for courting death.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo, sir!"
Nezumi trotted up to him, removed his cap, and gave a solemn salute.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo truly lives up to his reputation as one of the Marines' finest Vice Admirals. Even the infamous Krieg Pirates of East Blue were captured by you with ease."
By the time he straightened up, his face was already plastered with a fawning smile.
He had noticed the blood all over the harbor and immediately assumed Onigumo had personally fought Krieg's fleet before he arrived.
"Is that so?"
Onigumo lowered his gaze and looked down at him.
His face was completely calm.
There was no visible anger. No joy. No emotion at all.
"Vice Admiral… you…"
For some reason, just meeting Onigumo's eyes threw Nezumi into a panic.
Onigumo's expression was perfectly normal, yet Nezumi felt a chill so sharp it seemed to pierce his bones.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
What went wrong?
Nezumi screamed that question over and over in his heart.
His mind had already collapsed into chaos. Onigumo merely looking at him was enough to make his entire body shake and cold sweat pour down his back.
"The one who defeated the Krieg Pirates… was him."
Onigumo finally spoke, glancing toward Kairos.
Nezumi flinched.
He had never seen someone like Kairos before.
And this man had defeated the entire Krieg fleet?
"This must be one of your subordinates, Vice Admiral. Truly young and promising!"
Nezumi immediately launched into another round of shameless flattery.
Kairos glanced at him and smiled oddly.
"I'd love to recruit him into the Marines," Onigumo said, eyes narrowing as his hand slowly rubbed the hilt of the sword at his waist, "but I'm not qualified to be his superior."
In that instant, an extremely dangerous aura rose from Onigumo's body.
"Did you receive Cocoyasi Village's distress signal?"
A cold gleam burst from Onigumo's eyes like a drawn blade, stabbing straight into Nezumi's chest.
"This…"
Nezumi felt his mind explode.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Now he understood.
Onigumo was here to hold him accountable.
He had come over hoping to flatter the Vice Admiral and leave a good impression.
Instead, he had jumped straight into the frying pan.
"Forget it," Onigumo said, waving a hand. "You don't need to answer."
He had lost patience.
He didn't even care to hear Nezumi's name.
One rat turd was enough to spoil the whole pot.
The Marines had no place for this kind of filth.
"Men. Execute him."
Onigumo's cold command rang across the harbor.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo—!!"
Nezumi panicked. He stumbled backward several steps and instinctively turned to run.
Genzo clicked his tongue inwardly.
He resented Nezumi too, but even he hadn't expected Onigumo to go straight for the man's life.
Kairos' faint smile still hadn't faded.
His finger twitched slightly.
The wooden sword he had brought with him from Foosha Village moved.
Qi Control.
Slash.
Clang—
A cold sword-light flashed across the harbor.
Night had fallen.
That made the arc of the blade all the more obvious—
like a crescent moon dropping from the heavens to the earth below.
Beautiful.
And so cold it inspired despair.
"Ugh…"
Nezumi touched his throat.
His fingers came away wet.
Warm.
Bright red.
Blood.
"Ugh—ugh—ugh—!"
Nezumi tried to scream, but his windpipe had already been sliced open. No complete words could leave his mouth. Blood sprayed wildly from his throat.
A wooden sword hovered behind his head.
Fresh drops of blood slid from its tip.
Thud.
Nezumi's voice cut off.
His head tilted, and he collapsed to the ground.
Dead.
Blood spread out beneath him.
But the harbor had already been soaked crimson.
One more corpse changed nothing.
"Captain Nezumi… is dead?!"
The Marines he had brought from the branch base stood there with their mouths hanging open.
Yet what rose in their hearts wasn't fear.
It was relief.
His death meant the oppression was over.
The wooden sword hummed softly.
The blood on it shook free, and it drifted calmly back to Kairos' back.
"You made a move?"
Onigumo raised a brow, clearly surprised.
That sword belonged to Kairos.
It was obvious that Kairos had killed Nezumi.
Even Onigumo's subordinates were taken aback. They had already been preparing to carry out the execution themselves, only for Kairos to step in and finish it even faster.
"Think of it as helping you take out the trash," Kairos said lightly, squinting at Nezumi's corpse. "Honestly, I hate this kind of corruption too. It stains the name of Marine justice."
That was what he said aloud.
But the real reason he'd moved at all was the cold mechanical notification echoing in his mind.
"Ding. Host has killed Captain Nezumi."
"Reward obtained: Ikki Kurogane Card (1 Use)."
There was a card on the line.
That meant Nezumi had to die.
Even if Onigumo hadn't given the order, Kairos would have killed him anyway.
That was why he had smiled earlier and told Onigumo to calm down.
Why bother getting angry at someone who was already as good as dead?
But to Onigumo, Kairos' words carried a very different meaning.
A bright glint flashed deep in his eyes.
"If you ever decide you want to join the Marines," Onigumo said, clapping Kairos hard on the shoulder, his tone low and serious, "call me."
"Sure," Kairos replied with a nod.
After a few more simple words, Onigumo departed with the surviving remnants of the Krieg Pirates under arrest.
Kairos stood in the harbor, gazing at the bright white Marine flag in the distance.
"…Ikki Kurogane."
He let out a sigh.
This card seemed a little weak.
Ikki Kurogane, at least at first glance, looked weaker than Kairos' own natural strength without using any card at all.
Still, it made sense.
Nezumi had been so weak Kairos killed him in a single move. Getting a card at all was already decent luck.
"Mr. Kairos, would you like to join us for dinner?"
Genzo, standing nearby in the cool sea breeze, shivered slightly.
"Sure."
Kairos was hungry too, so he agreed readily.
At the same time, he spoke inwardly.
"System. Use the Ikki Kurogane Card."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.