After throwing a fit for a while and realizing that Kairos Flint was completely ignoring her, Nami eventually gave up. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to get her hands on those hundreds of millions of Beli.
Kairos, lounging comfortably in a beach chair on the deck, was slowly enjoying himself, the Tyrannosaurus Rex Devil Fruit resting in his hand. He noticed a line of text appear with it: "Can be synthesized." That gave him pause.
He had no plans to eat the Devil Fruit himself.
After all, there was no reason for him to willingly take on such a major weakness. However...
He had a feeling that in the future, Nami wouldn't be the only one joining him on his ship. And if his crew turned out to be too weak, they'd only hold him back.
If he wanted to strengthen his crew...
Ability Crystals? His current stash of Ability Crystals wasn't enough for himself—let alone crafting high-tier ones for others. So now, this Devil Fruit, which was utterly useless to him personally, might actually prove beneficial.
His golden finger was synthesis.
He could synthesize anything.
From grass to Devil Fruits—anything could be merged or enhanced.
So, in theory, he could combine Devil Fruits together to create more powerful ones.
"If I were to find a Logia or Paramecia-type Devil Fruit and combine it with this Tyrannosaurus Rex Fruit... could I synthesize a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit?"
Kairos thought aloud.
Of course, for now, that was just a theory. Until he actually tried it, it was all speculation.
But based on his logic...
If he combined the Tyrannosaurus Rex Fruit with something like Mr. 5's Bomb-Bomb Fruit, maybe—just maybe—he could create something like a Mythical Zoan: Explosive Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Still, those were only ideas. He'd need at least two Devil Fruits to even attempt it.
That said, the fact that he pulled a rare Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit from a random wooden box floating on the sea was already incredible. Honestly, it bordered on the absurd.
Yet, the truth was right in front of him.
It had happened.
Which made Kairos wonder: Was he really some kind of chosen one? A European Emperor of luck?
Back in his old world, when he played gacha games, he could go ten pulls in a row without landing a single Legendary unit. But ever since arriving in the world of pirates, his fortune had completely flipped.
He didn't get it.
But he didn't bother dwelling on it either.
Instead, he relaxed for a bit longer, then got up to train.
His training wasn't long—only about four hours the entire day.
Honestly, for someone with a golden finger, grinding day in and day out didn't make much sense. If you still had to put in insane effort while having a cheat code... what was even the point?
After sailing for half a day, they ran into another pirate crew.
The Alvida Pirates.
The very first pirate crew Luffy had encountered when he set out to sea. In gaming terms, they were basically the "starter boss" of the East Blue region.
But unfortunately for them, this time they crossed paths with Kairos Flint.
And that meant trouble.
"Handsome boy, if you agree to be mine, I'll spare your life~"
Alvida's pirate ship drew near, and the moment she laid eyes on Kairos's appearance, she was instantly smitten.
But the moment she said those words, Kairos's expression darkened.
You're fat and ugly.
How dare you say that to me?
Did she really think she was on the same level as Nami or Robin?
"Fat hag," Kairos sneered coldly, pulling out the Third Generation Kitetsu, "you're asking for death. I'll be glad to send you there."
Bang!
"How dare you call me that! I'll smash you to pieces!"
Alvida lost it immediately.
She absolutely hated being called out for her looks.
Ittoryu: Ghost Qi—Clear Light!
Kairos slashed with his sword.
One move.
That was all it took to instantly kill her.
The so-called starter boss, who was supposed to be Luffy's warm-up opponent, was effortlessly wiped out.
"The captain's dead! Run for your lives!!"
"..."
The rest of the pirates panicked when they saw Alvida fall, trying desperately to flee.
But this was the open sea—there were only two ships, and their enemies had already boarded theirs.
There was nowhere to run.
Not even the ocean could save them.
Kairos swept across the ship with his Third Generation Kitetsu. One after another, the pirates fell beneath his blade.
In no time, it was over.
All of them were dead.
And then the familiar prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Detected pickable items. Would you like to collect them?]
"Collect."
[Ding! Collection successful: 2x Excellent Physique Crystals, 62x Ordinary Physique Crystals, 1x Excellent Soul Crystal, 66x Ordinary Soul Crystals, 1x Perfect Talent Crystal, 61x Ordinary Talent Crystals, 2x Excellent Martial Arts Crystals, 65x Ordinary Martial Arts Crystals, 55x Ordinary Swordsmanship Crystals — all stored in portable space.]
—
Sure, Alvida didn't have a high bounty.
But that didn't mean she was weak.
She still had strength on the level of a Marine Lieutenant. The only problem was… she ran into someone way above her league—especially Kairos, whose own physical strength had reached the Commander tier.
So one-shotting her was no surprise.
And the loot?
Not bad at all.
The best part was the drop of two Excellent Martial Arts Crystals.
Kairos was thrilled.
He now had six in total.
His Martial Arts skill was already at the Lieutenant level, with four stored experience stacks.
Only six more were needed.
And now, thanks to this lucky fight, he had exactly that.
He and Nami took their time clearing out the pirate ship.
Afterward, Kairos used the enemy vessel as material for synthesis. With just one more higher-quality ship, their own would be upgraded to rare grade.
Later, he reclined on his chair again.
This time, he took out the six Excellent Martial Arts Crystals and casually swallowed them.
Instantly, his Martial Arts level jumped from Lieutenant to Commander.
Memories and knowledge about advanced physical combat flooded into his mind, dramatically boosting his combat power.