His words silenced Nami.
The excitement in her expression began to fade.
Clearly, what he said had struck a chord.
Nami didn't see anything wrong with his logic.
"Sorry, I got carried away," she admitted, lowering her guard.
"It's fine," Kairos Flint replied, casually waving her off. "Let's just focus on figuring out how to handle the current crisis."
Now that he was certain the world he had traveled to was One Piece, there was no need to overanalyze. He already understood about 80 to 90 percent of the plot. So why waste time digging deeper?
"Let's run away. Just the two of us," Nami suggested without hesitation. "There's no way a whole pirate crew would chase down just two people. They just finished looting a passenger ship anyway."
It was classic Nami—cut and run when things got dicey.
And who could blame her? She wasn't strong enough to fight back. If she didn't flee when danger struck, she would've been dead long ago.
"I don't think we need to run," Kairos said, shaking his head. "If we take out these pirates, we'll be safe."
He wasn't being reckless. Now that he understood what his golden finger—the mysterious cheat-like ability he'd gained—could do, he knew this was the moment to act.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.
You don't get a second chance at life just to live in fear. If you've been handed power, why not test your limits? Who's to say the bicycle can't become a motorcycle?
Kairos had already tested his golden finger in a small way: defeating enemies granted him special crystals that boosted his strength.
Of course, he wouldn't attack civilians. That was out of the question.
But pirates? Pirates were perfect targets.
If he ran now, he'd be walking away from a golden opportunity to grow stronger.
Sure, killing someone for the first time was terrifying. But when the target was a scumbag pirate, it didn't weigh on his conscience nearly as much. Still, he braced himself for the discomfort of seeing a corpse up close—it wasn't something he looked forward to.
"Are you insane?" Nami snapped. "There are at least twenty pirates on this ship. You want to take them all on alone? Do you have a death wish?"
Kairos looked unshaken. "They say when two paths cross on a narrow road, the brave will win. I'm not the type to run. 'Escape' isn't even in my vocabulary."
"Well, I am the type to run," Nami huffed, rolling her eyes. "You can be crazy all you want, but I'm getting out of here."
"Wait," Kairos called out.
"What? You changing your mind?" she asked, hopeful he'd finally come to his senses.
"Not exactly," he said. "Look, these pirates aren't exactly elites, but they still have bounties worth millions of Berries. If you stay and help me take them down, I'll give you the entire bounty reward. All of it. What do you say?"
It was a tempting offer, and Kairos knew it.
He'd only just arrived in this world and knew no one. Nami was the only familiar face. If he was going to sail these seas, he'd need a skilled navigator. Otherwise, no matter how much power he gained, he'd be stuck.
Yes, she was a thief, stealing for the sake of her hometown, Cocoyashi Village. She might try to make off with some treasure, but the benefits of keeping her around outweighed the risks.
Besides, he knew where her home was. If she did bolt, he could track her down easily enough.
Nami's gaze hardened.
She knew how much the treasures she had just grabbed from the passenger ship were worth—maybe a few hundred thousand Berries at most.
But this pirate crew? She recognized them. She made it a point to study bounty lists across the East Blue. Any serious pirate navigating these waters would've done the same. You never wanted to pick a fight without knowing who you were dealing with.
The Great Sword Pirates.
Captain: Belluc.
Bounty: 4.5 million Berries.
That number hit her hard.
"Alright," she said coolly. "Since you're so desperate for my help, I guess I'll stay."
She didn't want to admit how tempted she was, but 4.5 million Berries was no joke. It would take her years to steal that kind of money. If Kairos could actually pull this off, she'd walk away with a small fortune.
"By the way," Kairos added with a grin, "Name's Kairos Flint. Nice to officially meet you, Nami. Here's to a fruitful partnership."
"What do you need me to do?" she asked, arms crossed.
"Simple," he said. "You lure the pirates over here one by one. I'll be hiding. As soon as they're close enough, I take them out quietly. If we do this a few times, their numbers will thin out, and then we go in for the finish."
"You want me to be the bait!?" Nami's eyes widened in disbelief.
Of all the nerve—he wanted her to act as live bait? Was he even human?
Did he not understand what it meant to value a lady's safety?
But Kairos wasn't done selling her on the plan.
"Think about it," he said smoothly. "These pirates loot and pillage everywhere they go. What if their ship is carrying more treasure? We could be talking millions of Berries. Do you really want to pass that up?"
As much as she hated to admit it… he had a point.
If there was a haul waiting on that pirate ship, this could be her biggest payday ever.
"I'm in," she said, her eyes flashing with determination.
Without another word, she strode off toward the hallway.
"All it takes is the right motivation," Kairos said to himself, watching her go with a smirk.
Then he got back to work.
He took out all but one of the ability crystals he'd collected. The last one was a basic body crystal—he'd save it for later.
Soul.
Martial arts.
Swordsmanship.
Each of those three skill areas had improved. The normal-level ability crystals gave him a noticeable boost. The two lower-tier crystals for swordsmanship, though, were a bit disappointing—barely any improvement.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching fast.
Kairos tensed. Nami was back—and she wasn't alone.
Just as planned, Nami burst into the room, making sure to run past him and draw the pirates' attention in the opposite direction. It worked perfectly. The pirates didn't even notice him.
That's when he struck.
In one swift motion, Kairos drew his sword and lunged.
The first of the three pirates dropped instantly, badly wounded before he even knew what hit him.
The other two froze in panic, too stunned to react.
Kairos didn't hesitate. His blade flashed again.
Another pirate collapsed.
Only one remained.
"Bert! Grant! You bastard! Attacking us from the shadows!? I'll kill you!" the last pirate howled, raising a machete and charging straight at Kairos.
"You're wide open," Kairos said coldly. "You're clumsy, uncoordinated… and weak."
With a swift parry, he knocked the attack aside and countered with a powerful downward slash.
Splurt.
Just like that, all three pirates lay motionless on the floor.