"Why are you running like that? What's the rush?"
"Does it have something to do with that sword you just bought?"
After they had quickly put some distance between themselves and the weapon shop, Nami finally shifted her attention away from the sword in Kairos Flint's hand and gave him a suspicious look.
As someone who'd spent her fair share of time sailing across rough seas, Nami's intuition was sharp. She could easily tell something was off from the way Kairos was acting. He looked like someone who had just stolen a treasure and was now sprinting away before anyone could stop him.
"This sword is called the Third Generation Kitetsu. It's a quick blade," Kairos explained.
He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Ipponmatsu, the shop owner, hadn't come chasing after him. That was a relief. Then he turned his attention back to Nami and introduced the weapon properly.
"Among swords, it's top-tier quality."
In this world, swords are ranked: the Supreme Grade swords (only twelve exist), the Great Grade swords (twenty-one known), the Skillful Grade swords (fifty total), and then the Grade Swords—which are still high quality but more common, about eighty in total. After that, the quality drops significantly.
Any blade that falls into those ranked categories is considered exceptional.
Normally, a quick blade like this would cost at least a million Beli.
Yet somehow, Kairos had just paid 50,000 Beli for it. An absolute steal.
"Quick blade?" Nami repeated, frowning in confusion.
She didn't know much about swords, so the term didn't mean much to her at first.
"This sword easily starts at a value of one million Beli," Kairos added.
That did it. Nami's eyes lit up instantly, shimmering with the unmistakable glow of a gold-loving heart.
"Wait—so we got that thing for just fifty thousand?! Kairos, come on! Let's go back and grab a few more! This is way easier than bounty hunting!" Nami exclaimed, grabbing Kairos's hand and starting to pull him back toward the weapon shop.
"Stop dreaming," Kairos said, rolling his eyes. "You think rare swords grow on trees? You don't just find deals like that every day."
The only reason he'd been able to recognize the Kitetsu was because he had read the One Piece manga back in his previous life.
Nami's expression immediately dropped with disappointment. She looked genuinely heartbroken—probably mourning the missed opportunity to make some easy money.
"Enough about that. We need to focus," Kairos said. "There's just the two of us, and we'll need at least a decent boat if we're going to set sail. We've got to buy one."
You couldn't go out to sea without a ship—that was just common sense.
And not just any ship. It couldn't be something tiny like the little boats Luffy and Zoro had at the beginning of their journey. If they ran into a storm or a giant wave, those boats would flip over in seconds.
"You've got that look in your eye. Don't tell me... you want me to pay for it?" Nami narrowed her eyes at him, instantly catching on.
Trying to take money from Nami, the notorious penny-pincher, was like trying to pluck feathers from a steel rooster.
"Don't forget—we're planning to be bounty hunters. If we can't even get to sea, how do we expect to catch any pirates?" Kairos reasoned with her. "You've got to spend money to make money, Nami. It's called investing."
He still had 1.95 million Beli on hand—enough to buy a decent boat. But if he had to pay for the whole thing by himself, he definitely wouldn't be happy.
"Fine," Nami grumbled. "But we're splitting the cost 50/50."
She looked like she was in pain just saying it.
A basic ship would already run them around a million Beli. And for two people planning to sail the seas, they needed something a bit more robust—likely in the two to three million Beli range.
"Alright then. Let's say 1.5 million each?" Kairos proposed.
"Deal," Nami agreed quickly.
It was close to what she had expected. With three million Beli, they could buy something serviceable.
Of course, Kairos already had an idea of where they could get a ship.
He knew about Keya from Syrup Village. If they could defeat Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, they'd be able to claim the legendary starter ship: the Going Merry.
But with his current level of strength, Kairos knew going there now would be suicidal.
Sure, Luffy had taken down Kuro in the original story with ease—but that was Luffy. Don't underestimate Kuro. He once crushed Axe-Hand Morgan, whose strength rivaled that of a Navy Headquarters lieutenant.
One wrong move could be fatal. Kairos wasn't stupid—he was in a new world and had to act carefully. If he wanted to face someone like Kuro, he needed to get his body, combat skills, and swordsmanship up to at least captain level.
So for now, he wasn't in any rush.
He still had a few groups of pirates he could track down to gradually improve his strength.
The next two days…
Kairos and Nami stayed at a small hotel in Loguetown, running around every day to gather supplies and search for a suitable ship.
It took them about three to five days to prepare everything.
Finally, after buying their ship and stocking it with supplies, the two of them set off to sea.
Their destination?
Not a cash machine—though it might as well be.
They were heading toward infamous pirate crews, planning to represent justice and bring down those wicked pirates.
And with every bounty they claimed…
Their wallets would win.Victory to the bounty hunters!