Boom! Crowe hit the ground hard. He had been defeated—but it was mostly due to bad timing.
He had only gone out to buy groceries and hadn't thought to bring his cat claws with him. But when he returned and heard that his identity had been exposed, panic took over. Before he had time to process what was happening, the enemy acted. Caught off guard, he was injured.
If he had been fully prepared, he would never have been defeated so easily. But unfortunately, the enemy gave him no time to recover. And so, he fell.
Clang! Kairos Flint swung his blade, flinging the blood off before sliding it back into its sheath.
Then he stepped toward Crowe.
"That stab wasn't fatal," Kairos said, coldly looming over the injured man. "Now tell me—how do you normally communicate with the Black Cat Pirates? If you give me a straight answer, I'll give you a quick end. If not... don't blame me for dragging things out."
Kairos had no intention of killing him immediately. Eliminating Crowe would only yield a single ability crystal. But wiping out the entire Black Cat Pirates? That would bring in far more.
"On the night of the full moon each month, the Black Cat Pirates land on the coast near Syrup Village," Crowe finally admitted, his voice weak and trembling.
He had given up resisting. The look in Kairos's eyes told him everything. If he didn't speak, he wouldn't just die—he would suffer. He had lost. There was no point pretending he could hold out.
"Then I'll grant you a quick death."
Without hesitation, Kairos drew his weapon and drove the blade straight through Crowe's heart.
Crowe collapsed with a hollow thud, his eyes frozen in defeat.
And then, as expected, the familiar system prompt appeared:
[Pickable items detected. Do you wish to collect them?]
"Pick up."
[Ding! Successfully collected: Excellent Physique Crystal x4, Excellent Soul Crystal x1, Legendary Talent Crystal x1, Excellent Physical Technique Crystal x2, Excellent Silent Step Crystal x1. All stored in portable space.]
Kairos blinked. This haul had been unexpectedly rich.
"I only killed one guy. How did I get multiple crystals of the same type?"
That had never happened before.
But his system—his Golden Finger—seemed to anticipate the question and promptly answered:
[At each power level, stronger individuals may drop more than one ability crystal. With some luck, it's possible to receive multiple—though never more than ten.]
The explanation made sense. Still, it was odd. In the past, most pirate encounters had only resulted in a single crystal drop.
"Was my luck just bad before? Did I finally get lucky this time?"
Kairos didn't dwell on it. In the end, the only thing that mattered was what he gained.
Next, he retrieved two of the Excellent Physical Technique Crystals and consumed them. A flood of new memories and techniques surged into his mind. He could feel himself making significant strides in physical combat.
Just six more of these, and he'd hit the school-level threshold.
Kairos knew he had to head to the Grand Line sooner or later. And before setting foot there, he had to be strong enough. The Grand Line wasn't a place for the weak. For a bounty hunter like him, even if the Navy wasn't directly hostile, the sea was infested with pirates.
Going there without sufficient strength would be suicide. But with enough power? He could be a wolf among sheep.
After that, he consumed the Excellent Soul Crystal. His mind cleared, his soul feeling light and sharp. He didn't fully understand what the soul enhancement would do yet, but any kind of boost was better than none. Eventually, the benefits would become obvious.
Finally, he retrieved the most impressive item of all: the Legendary Talent Crystal.
This was the real surprise. He had originally only come here for the Silent Step technique, not expecting anything of this caliber.
A Legendary-level crystal. That was general-tier talent.
Kairos was stunned at first. But when he thought more deeply, it made sense.
Crowe, also known as Captain Kuro, might have seemed weak now—especially for the East Blue. But three years ago, he had planned to retire and take over the Keya family's fortune. He had stopped training, stopped fighting. His strength had stagnated.
But talent and current power weren't the same thing.
To develop a move like Silent Step—on par with the Navy's Six Powers technique, Shave—required genius-level talent. So while his strength had dulled, the potential remained.
Kairos considered the meaning behind this. The Legendary Talent Crystal implied that Crowe had the potential to reach major general rank, perhaps even higher, if he hadn't chosen to stop growing.
If Crowe had kept training, if he had met Luffy with full strength and sharpened skills, maybe the outcome would have been different. Maybe Luffy would have lost.
But all of that now belonged to the past.
This victory, and all its rewards, belonged to Kairos.
He glanced at Nami, standing nearby, then quietly stashed the Legendary Talent Crystal away.
For now, he wouldn't use it. Most of his power came from ability crystals, and his general-level potential was being realized through swordsmanship. The ghostly energy he infused into his sword techniques had come after his cursed blade, the Third Generation Ghost, had finally submitted to him and started guiding his mastery.
There was still room to grow. But with today's gains, he had taken another giant step forward.