Rogue Town.At the Marine branch base.
Kairos Flint and Nami had just exchanged the corpses of several wanted pirates for their bounties. The haul brought them over 20 million Beli in cash.
Kairos couldn't help but sigh.The Great Pirate Era, kicked off by Gol D. Roger, had given birth to an incredibly lucrative industry: bounty hunting.
It was just too profitable.
In the first half of the Grand Line, there were numerous pirates with bounties in the tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions—of Beli.Kairos realized he could casually take out a few and rake in a fortune.
Especially in the New World, where bounty figures soared past the hundred-million mark frequently.Clearly, for bounty hunters, the New World was nothing short of paradise.
But right now, Kairos and Nami were sitting inside Captain Smoker's office.Surprisingly, Smoker had even offered Kairos a cigar.
That alone made Kairos suspicious.
Someone with such a good attitude—especially Smoker—must be up to something.
"Captain Smoker, if you have something to say, just say it. Your friendly attitude doesn't really match your serious face," Kairos said bluntly, rolling the cigar between his fingers.
Cough! Cough!
Smoker nearly choked. He glared at Kairos, clearly holding back a mix of anger and embarrassment."Your attitude doesn't match your serious face." The audacity!
What's wrong with looking serious, huh? You got a problem with that?
Still, Smoker knew there was no point in being coy.
He leaned forward and got to the point.
"Mr. Kairos Flint, have you ever considered joining the Marines?"
Originally, Smoker hadn't paid much attention to Kairos. But over the past month, this bounty-hunting duo had taken down over a dozen pirate crews.
The most notable was the Black Cat Pirates.
The body of their former captain, Baiji Crow, had appeared in Kairos's hands, used as evidence to collect a bounty.At first, Smoker suspected it might not be the real Crow, but a decoy.
But after a thorough inspection, he believed Kairos.The body's musculature—its physiology—didn't lie.
Muscle density, bone structure, internal strength… All indicators pointed to a true captain-level combatant.
For Marines, physical condition was the most direct way to measure combat ability.Lieutenant, captain, commander, colonel… All had specific physical benchmarks.
That was why Smoker believed Kairos's story and now seriously considered recruiting him.
If someone like Kairos were to join the Navy, with his current capabilities, he could potentially become a Marine Colonel at HQ one day—maybe even higher.
But Kairos only chuckled and shook his head.
"Captain Smoker, I appreciate the offer—but I'm not interested in joining the Marines."
His rejection was swift and clear.
The Navy? He had no desire to be part of it.
Even among Marines, those who reached the rank of Admiral had to serve directly under the Celestial Dragons.That's why Vice Admiral Garp, despite his incredible strength, had turned down repeated promotions to Admiral. He wanted to avoid the obligation of serving the World Nobles.
So technically, as long as you stayed below Admiral rank, you wouldn't be directly entangled with the Celestial Dragons.
Even so—Kairos still had no interest.
The Navy's pay was a joke.
A few hundred thousand Beli a month?You expect him to risk his life and work overtime for that?
Not happening.
If he ever did join the Navy, it would be to slack off and ride it out until retirement.
Smoker looked baffled."But why not, Mr. Kairos?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
Kairos tilted his head."Captain Smoker, how much is your monthly salary?"
"Three hundred thousand Beli," Smoker answered.
It was a decent salary. In a year, that added up to 3.6 million Beli.
But Kairos raised an eyebrow and continued.
"Then you already know how much bounty money I've collected in just over a month, right?"
Smoker's expression darkened.
How could he not know?
Over 80 million Beli. Almost 90 million.
Luckily, bounty payments weren't taken from the Marine budget, but from the World Government.Otherwise, Marine Headquarters might've gone into cardiac arrest.
Still, if someone brought in a billion Beli's worth of bounties, even the normally composed Fleet Admiral Sengoku might start flipping desks in his office.
Dasqi, who had been standing silently at the side all this time, suddenly stepped forward.
"Mr. Kairos, justice isn't something that can be measured in money!"
Her tone was firm, filled with resolve.
Kairos turned and glanced at her calmly, his voice casual.
"Justice doesn't feed you. Money does."
Dasqi froze, momentarily speechless.