If he translated his strength into "pirate terms"—
Kai believed he could now contend with a 300,000,000-Berry level pirate.
He wouldn't be inferior.
That was his confidence.
He was no longer the weakling he had been a year ago.
Even across the sea, he could be called a true powerhouse.
A top-tier powerhouse.
Not just in the first half of the Grand Line—
Even if he stepped into the dangerous waters of the New World, he'd still stand among the top tier.
This level of power was enough to let him move freely.
From now on, he didn't need to fear the sea's "monsters" anymore.
Because—
He himself had become a monster.
Now the ones who should be afraid were the pirates.
The pirates of the new era.
They were the ones who should pray they never met him.
To rookie pirates in this age—
Kai was an untouchable taboo.
If they ran into him…
They were finished.
"At my current strength…"
"I shouldn't need to fear the Seven Warlords either."
"I could even defeat a few of them."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
In a blink, he had grown to the point where he could clash head-on with the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And he was only five.
No one would dare believe it.
"Right now, I can go almost anywhere I want."
"No powerhouse can casually erase me."
"Even an Admiral…"
"Even a Yonko…"
"If they want to kill me, it won't be easy."
Kai was confident.
A year had changed everything.
At that moment, the sealed chamber's lights flickered softly.
Led by the research team leader, nearly ten researchers walked out from the control room and approached Kai with respectful expressions.
"Mr. Kai… are you alright?" the team leader asked carefully.
He couldn't see any sign of injury.
But with Level Ten current, he still had to ask.
"Of course I'm fine."
Kai nodded, then spoke sincerely.
"This past year, I've really troubled all of you."
"If it weren't for you, my strength wouldn't have reached this level."
He meant it.
These researchers constantly adjusted the capsule and refined the stimulation method for him.
Without them, he couldn't have grown this fast.
In truth—
His explosive growth came from two things together:
The Ghost Back System's 100x effect…
And the electrotherapy training he did day and night.
Both were essential.
Helping him was an honor, the researchers hurried to respond.
Then one of them couldn't help asking:
"Mr. Kai… what level do you think your strength has reached now?"
Instantly, everyone's eyes locked onto him.
They had always suspected "Vice Admiral level."
But without hearing it from Kai himself, they couldn't be sure.
"My strength…"
Kai's eyes flashed and he chuckled, not hiding anything.
"It's very likely I've reached Vice Admiral level."
"Of course, I haven't tested it with an actual Vice Admiral yet."
"If I can fight one, I'll know exactly where I stand."
"But for now, my conservative estimate is that I'm not weaker than Vice Admiral level."
The moment he said it—
The researchers froze.
Even though they had suspected it, actually hearing it still hit them like a cannon.
"M-My god…"
"It really is Vice Admiral-level!"
"And Mr. Kai is only five!"
"In just one year, reaching Vice Admiral level…"
"That's terrifying!"
"Unbelievable…"
"This is what a monster looks like."
Even the team leader's brain turned blank.
A five-year-old with Vice Admiral combat power—
He had never heard of such a thing in his life.
This was truly—
Unprecedented.
No one before, no one after.
"And…"
"He said that's his most conservative estimate."
"So his true strength might be even higher!"
"He might be among the strongest even within Vice Admirals!"
The team leader's heart shook harder the more he thought.
While they were still in shock, Kai suddenly asked:
"By the way—during my closed training, did anything major happen outside?"
"Tell me in detail."
This whole year, he'd been buried in stimulation training.
He had completely missed the outside world's news.
Now that he was about to leave, he wanted to get caught up—so he wouldn't be out of touch.
A year was a long time.
The sea had to have seen major changes.
Marineford too.
The team leader began reporting what he knew.
"Mr. Kai, the sea has been full of chaos."
"Pirate crews are slaughtering each other everywhere…"
"The whole ocean is a mess because of them."
"Ever since the Pirate King Roger's final words, more and more people have gone to sea to become pirates—every year it increases."
"The Marines have been struggling more and more to deal with it."
"In this time, the Marines have also lost quite a lot of manpower…"
Kai nodded. That part didn't surprise him.
The "Great Pirate Era" would only get more violent with time.
But then the team leader's expression turned heavy.
"There's something else."
"Not long ago, Marine Headquarters had a major event that shook the entire sea."
"Rumor says…"
"It was initiated by the World Government's top ranks."
"The Marines are just the executors."
Kai's interest rose.
"What event?"
The team leader inhaled slowly and spoke.
"The World Government proposed…"
"That because the number of pirates has become impossible to reverse—and even the Marines are struggling to contain it…"
"And because a growing number of extremely powerful pirates have been wreaking havoc…"
"They want a method to deter pirates, and restrict the worst crimes."
"So…"
"The World Government drafted a plan and delivered it to Marine Headquarters not long ago."
"They propose…"
He paused, eyes solemn.
"Since pirates can't be eliminated completely…"
"Then choose seven pirates from among them—pirates whose strength and influence are so great they can rival a kingdom."
"Form a group with them, and have them cooperate with the World Government and the Marines."
"Between them, they won't fight each other."
"They become 'officially recognized' great pirates."
"These seven pirates will be the sea's deterrent—seven top-tier powerhouses to suppress the chaos."
"With these seven as a deterrent, plus the Marines' power…"
"It becomes possible to suppress the endless emergence of pirates."
"And these seven pirates…"
"The World Government has named them…"
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Kai narrowed his eyes, surprised—yet not surprised.
He had long sensed that the Warlords system would be proposed around these years.
He just didn't expect—
That during his year of closed training, the draft proposal had already arrived at Marine Headquarters.
And the Marines would be the ones to implement it.
"Coming out of closed training and immediately running into something like this…"
"The sea really is getting more and more interesting."
Kai's eyes flashed with excitement.
If nothing went wrong—
The Seven Warlords of the Sea would soon be formally established.
Visit my patreon for more chapters
Advance 60+ Chapters Available
patreon.com/ZeusOp