Upon hearing the words,
Kairos Flint's fist halted just inches from Whitebeard.
The man had admitted defeat.
So continuing the fight now…
Would be overkill.
More importantly, this wasn't the same as the old days when Kairos stood diametrically opposed to the Navy and the World Government.
So, he backed off.
"Whitebeard," Kairos smirked, "I preferred your usual fiery attitude. Try and get that back, would you?"
As soon as he said it, Whitebeard's weathered face flushed red.
Who would've thought that a legendary emperor of the sea would be thoroughly beaten by a young man barely in his twenties?
If it weren't for all his years of braving storms and battlefields, he might have jumped into the sea in shame right then and there.
But faced with Kairos's teasing, Whitebeard stayed silent.
After all—he was the loser.
And the victor always gets the last word.
That's how it's always been in these waters.
Only strength speaks.
Kairos, however, clearly had no interest in taunting the old man for long.
At that moment—
"Dad!!"
Marco and the rest of Whitebeard's "sons" came rushing toward them in panic.
"Your sons are here," Kairos said, glancing over at them. "Perfect. Time to settle the bill."
"Settle what?" Whitebeard asked, confused.
It wasn't fake confusion.
He genuinely didn't understand what Kairos was talking about.
In his mind, saying he admired someone and wanted to call them his son wasn't offensive—it was a show of respect. A compliment.
So what did Kairos mean by settling a bill?
Kairos, calmly and with a straight face, laid it all out:
"You insulted me twice—2 billion Beli.
I beat you just now. Your head's worth over 5 billion. I'll be generous and round it up to 6 billion.
Also, that recovery item I gave you? That's 2 billion.
All in all—you owe me 10 billion Beli.
You paying in cash? Or offering valuables?"
Silence.
The entire Whitebeard Pirates crew was dumbfounded.
Was this how debts worked now?!
He was pricing everything like a merchant in a back-alley bazaar!
And where exactly was the "discount" in rounding 5 billion up to 6?!
As for that so-called "medicine"?
Was it made of diamonds and phoenix tears?!
Marco and the rest nearly lost their minds.
Sure, they had money—well, they used to.
But pulling together 10 billion Beli at a moment's notice?
Impossible.
Still, none of them could argue with the logic.
This was the law of the sea:
The strong eat the weak.
Their father had lost.
That said everything.
Kairos asking for money instead of blood? That was generous.
Back when they ruled the seas, they didn't even bother with discussions like this.
Whitebeard's pirates never negotiated with the weak.
They conquered, looted, and moved on.
So now, when the tables had turned, they had no right to complain.
In fact—Marco thought to himself—this was actually a great deal.
Paying some money to stay alive?
That was a bargain.
The only problem was…
"Um… could we pay a little less?" Marco asked weakly.
It wasn't that they didn't want to pay.
It was that they had a very… generous lifestyle.
Whenever they had money, they spent it—booze, women, parties, ships.
And they rarely saved.
Even when their father, Whitebeard, made huge sums, he sent most of it back to help his people.
Which meant right now… they were broke.
Kairos looked at Marco and the others with a strange expression.
"You guys… you're the Whitebeard Pirates. One of the Yonko. You rule over half the New World.
How do you not have 10 billion lying around?"
He sounded almost disappointed.
Marco, Jozu, and the others could only hang their heads in shame.
Yeah, normally they had cash.
Just… not now.
"If you'd warned us a few weeks ahead," Marco mumbled, "we'd have it ready…"
"Well then," Kairos said, turning his eyes toward Whitebeard's massive weapon—Murakumogiri.
He reached out and casually picked up the legendary blade.
"This sword… I'll take it. Let's say it's worth 100 million."
And just like that, he stored away one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades of the world.
He had been working to upgrade his Third Generation Kitetsu for a while now, and this weapon—this supreme blade—was a perfect source of enhancement material.
There was no way he'd let this opportunity slip.
"100 million Beli?!" Whitebeard choked.
Are you kidding me?!
This was Murakumogiri.
A priceless sword.
One of the twelve supreme blades.
It wasn't just rare—it was legendary.
How could that possibly be worth just 100 million?!
That wasn't a valuation. That was an insult.
More than that, the sword had been his partner for decades.
It had fought alongside him through countless wars.
It was practically part of his soul.
And now… Kairos Flint had just taken it as change.