Kael. He stands in the center of a scorched marine base plaza. His twin custom flintlocks are holstered, his heart begins to thud like a steam engine, and his eyes lock onto a shimmering pillar of light.
The air hums as Borsalino, Admiral Kizaru, materializes out of a beam of light, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. "Oh? The 'Ghost Marksman' Kael... Your bounty is quite frightening for a gunslinger, kowai ne..."Before Kizaru can finish his drawl, Kael's chest violently heaves. His heart rate skyrockets into the triple digits, pumping adrenaline through his veins. To Kael, the world slows to an absolute crawl. His perception matches the speed of light.Kizaru raises a leg, light condensing at his foot. "Have you ever been kicked at the speed of—"Kael moves first. Utilizing his master-level physical training, he doesn't drop his stance. He draws his dual flintlocks in a blur, snapping his wrists in a violent, sweeping arc. Two Armament Haki-coated bullets roar from the barrels. Instead of flying straight, the bullets catch the momentum of his curved swing, bending wildly through the air in a crescent moon trajectory.
Kizaru's eyes widen slightly behind his tinted sunglasses. The curved bullets loop around his line of sight, aiming directly for his blind spots. Kizaru is forced to cancel his kick, shifting into a pillar of light to flash backward. The black bullets tear through the space he occupied a millisecond prior, shattering the stone towers behind him."My, my," Kizaru murmurs, reappearing twenty feet away. "Bending the path of a bullet? What an annoying trick."Kizaru crosses his arms. Yasakani no Magatama (Eight Shaku Jewel). Hundreds of deadly, piercing light beams rain down from the sky like a meteor shower.Kael's eyes suddenly flash a pale, steady blue. Sakunosuke Oda's ability, Flawless, triggers inside his mind. A flawless vision of the next five seconds plays out: he sees exactly where every single beam of light will pierce the earth, and he sees Kizaru using the distraction to blitz him from the left.Armed with the future, Kael moves before the light even falls.He shifts his weight, executing flawless, fluid Vice-Admiral level footwork. He dances through the microscopic gaps between the descending light beams, the explosions scorching his coat but never touching his skin. As the barrage ends, Kizaru instantly teleports to Kael's left flank, forming the light sword, Ama no Murakumo."Got you," Kizaru says, swinging the blade of pure light down toward Kael's shoulder.But Kael is already ducking. Because of his future vision, he anticipated the exact angle. He drops beneath the blade, spinning on his heel. He doesn't even use his guns; instead, he hardens his fist with advanced Armament Haki, driving a brutal, Vice-Admiral tier shockwave strike right into Kizaru's ribs.Kizaru blocks the punch with a Haki-infused forearm just in time
The impact creates a massive kinetic boom, cracking the plaza for hundreds of yards. The sheer physical power of Kael's physical training forces the Admiral to slide backward across the pavement, his yellow stripes smoking from the friction.Kael stands his ground, twin guns spinning back into his holsters, his chest pounding with the rhythm of his hyper-accelerated heart.
Kizaru stands opposite him, lifting a hand to adjust his sunglasses, his usual lazy smirk replaced by a look of sharp focus.The two face each other in the wreckage, completely matched.
Kizaru's lazy demeanor vanishes completely.
He spits a speck of dust from his lip, his sunglasses reflecting the harsh glare of his own rising energy."You really are a monster, Kael," Kizaru drawls, but his voice carries a dangerous weight. "I suppose I can't hold back against a man who can see the future."The Admiral clasps his hands together. A blinding, golden dome of light erupts from his body, expanding outward at an impossible velocity. It is his Devil Fruit Awakening.The entire Marine base plaza dissolves.
The stone beneath Kael's boots transforms entirely into solid, shimmering light photons. The air grows intensely hot, and every shadow disappears. Kizaru now completely controls the environment, capable of materializing a light-speed construct or clone from any square inch of the battlefield.Kael's chest heaves with a violent rhythm. His heart beats so fast it sounds like a roaring engine, pumping hyper-oxygenated blood to his muscles.
He steps onto the glowing, awakened floor, his boots sizzling.His eyes flash a brilliant, pale blue. Flawless triggers.In his mind, a terrifying vision of the next five seconds plays out: Kizaru will merge into the light floor, sending dozens of light-clones to attack Kael from every angle simultaneously, while the real Kizaru prepares a lethal beam from a blind spot directly above."Let's do this," Kael mutters.
Kael draws both flintlocks. He infuses them not just with standard Haki, but with Advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo). A thick, flowing aura of black-and-purple spiritual armor wraps around the barrels and flows into the chambers, coating the bullets in a dense, invisible layer of pure destruction.The real-world seconds begin to tick.
Second One: Kizaru melts into the floor. Instantly, eight light-clones materialize in a circle around Kael, swinging swords of pure light. Kael executes a rapid-fire sequence, snapping his wrists violently.
Second Two: The bullets leave the barrels. Because of his extreme heart rate, Kael curves his arms in perfect, sweeping trajectories. The advanced Haki-coated bullets bend mid-air, looping into impossible, corkscrew paths. They weave around the light swords and pierce through the heads of the clones. Because of the Advanced Armament, the bullets don't just pass through the light—they shatter the Logia element from the inside out, dispelling the clones into harmless sparks.
Second Three: The real Kizaru materializes in the air directly above Kael, his leg glowing with catastrophic energy. "Taste the speed of light!" Kizaru roars, unleashing a massive, concentrated beam downward.
Second Four: Knowing the exact trajectory from his future vision, Kael does not dodge. He crosses his arms, aiming both guns upward. He fires his final, most powerful curved shots. The two bullets spiral around each other, creating a drill-like vortex of flowing, advanced Haki.The bullets collide with Kizaru's light beam mid-air. The invisible, flowing armor of Kael's Advanced Armament Haki acts as a barrier, refusing to let the light pass. The kinetic force creates a deafening explosion, splitting the sky and shattering the awakened light-floor beneath them back into ordinary, cracked stone.
Second Five: The smoke clears instantly. Kizaru, shocked that his ultimate beam was deflected, descends rapidly to regain his footing.But Kael is already exactly where Kizaru is about to land.Having seen this final second five seconds ago, Kael has already reloaded, stepped forward, and spun his body to generate maximum torque. He doesn't pull the trigger.
Instead, he uses his Vice-Admiral tier physical mastery.He hardens his fist, coating it in a massive, visible shroud of flowing Advanced Armament Haki. The black armor ripples with explosive force.
Before Kizaru can turn back into light, Kael drives his fist straight into the Admiral's jaw. The fist doesn't even make physical contact; the flowing Ryuo armor penetrates Kizaru's body, bypassing his Logia defense and blasting directly into his internal organs.BOOM!A massive shockwave ripples through the entire island. Kizaru is launched backward like a cannonball, crashing through three reinforced Marine fortresses before burying deep into the side of a coastal mountain.
The mountain groans and collapses over him, sealing the Admiral away.Silence falls over the destroyed base.Kael stands in the center of the crater, his chest slowly rising and falling as his heart rate returns to normal. He holsters his smoking flintlocks, turns his back on the rubble, and walks away. The era of the 2 Billion Berry marksman has officially arrived.
The news of Admiral Kizaru's defeat sends shockwaves across the Grand Line, throwing the World Government into absolute panic.
Shortly after, a new, massive bounty poster is printed, bearing Kael's face and an astronomical number: 2,200,000,000 Berries.
Below his name, a terrifying new moniker is written in bold text: "The No. 1 Gunslinger."Instead of sailing alone, Kael makes a strategic move that threatens the global balance of power. He joins forces with the newly formed Cross Guild, stepping onto their flagship alongside Crocodile and the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
The tent on the Cross Guild's main island is thick with the scent of cigar smoke and expensive wine.Buggy the Genius Jester sits at the center of the table, sweating profusely as he stares at the newspaper headline.
Behind him, looking completely unimpressed, stand Crocodile and Mihawk."F-Fuffi..." Buggy stammers, his red nose twitching as he looks up at the newest member of their alliance. "You actually beat an Admiral? And now the Marines think you're working under me? This is... this is fantastic! The world will tremble before Buggy the Emperor!"
Crocodile exhales a thick cloud of smoke, ignoring Buggy entirely. His golden hook glints in the torchlight as his eyes lock onto Kael. "An impressive feat, Kael. Defeating Borsalino means the Marines will think twice before hunting our lower ranks. Your reputation makes the Cross Guild a true military superpower.
"Mihawk stands leaning against a wooden pillar, his sharp, hawk-like eyes fixed on the dual flintlocks resting at Kael's hips. He crosses his arms, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips."The world's greatest swordsman and the world's number one gunslinger under the same banner," Mihawk says, his voice low and dangerous. "The Marines wanted to hunt us down. Now, they are the ones who should be looking over their shoulders.
"Kael walks up to the table, his heart beating at a perfectly calm, resting rhythm. He takes his own newly printed bounty poster and tosses it onto the map of the New World, right next to Mihawk's and Crocodile's."Let the Marines put prices on our heads," Kael says smoothly, his eyes flashing a brief, pale blue as he glances five seconds into the future, seeing the entire world order begin to crumble.
"From now on, we are the ones issuing the bounties. If a Marine wants to collect my head, they'll have to survive a bullet that can see where they run."Crocodile chuckles, a dark, low sound. Buggy cheers in the background, completely oblivious to his status as a figurehead.With the No. 1 Gunslinger officially entering the fray, the Cross Guild is no longer just a faction of powerful remnants—it is a terrifying alliance capable of bringing the World Government to its knees.
The news of Kael's 2.2 Billion Berry bounty and his official alliance with the Cross Guild spreads across the oceans like wildfire, completely shattering the illusion of Marine absolute control.
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise: The GoroseiInside the Room of Authority, the five highest-ranking Celestial Dragons stand around a massive round table, staring down at Kael's new poster. The atmosphere is suffocatingly tense."First Mihawk, then Crocodile, and now the No. 1 Gunslinger," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro mutters, his hand tightly gripping the hilt of his massive blade. "An Admiral has fallen in direct combat. The balance is not just tipping; it is collapsing.""A marksman who can bend the trajectory of Haki and peer into the future..." Saint Topman Warcury slams his fist onto the table, cracking the wood. "He bridges the gap between the lethal precision of the old era and the chaos of the New World.
Increase the Marine patrols around the Red Line. The Cross Guild has become an existential threat.
"New Marineford: Fleet Admiral AkainuIn his grand office, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki (Akainu) stands by the window, a lit cigar tightly clenched between his teeth. Thick, black smoke rises from his shoulders as his logia magma drips onto the floor, scorching the carpet.
He crumbles Kael's bounty poster into ash with his bare, molten hand."Borsalino was careless," Akainu growls, his voice vibrating with absolute fury. "Defeated by a pirate gunslinger... The Marines' absolute justice will not be mocked by these bounty-hunting criminals. Assemble the remaining Admirals. If the Cross Guild thinks they can hunt my men, I will personally turn their entire island into a sea of melting slag.
"The New World: The Straw Hat Pirates (The Thousand Sunny)Out on the open sea, Nami screeches in terror, holding the morning newspaper up as Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji crowd around her."Two billion two hundred million?!" Nami gasps, her eyes transforming into giant berry signs before shifting back to sheer panic. "And he joined Buggy?! Buggy is practically a billionaire kingpin now! We can't ever go near them!"Luffy tilts his straw hat back, a massive, excited grin spreading across his face. "Whoa! The No. 1 Gunslinger! His heart beats like a steam engine too? That sounds so cool! I want to fight him!"Zoro leans against the ship's railing, a sharp smirk crossing his lips as his eye locks onto the poster. "The world's greatest swordsman and the world's best marksman on the same ship. Sounds like our crew has a direct matchup waiting for us.
"Usopp, however, is on his knees, clutching his head and shaking violently. "A bullet that can see the future and loop around corners?! How am I supposed to snipe against a guy who already knows where my pop greens are going to land?! I'm retiring! I have the 'can't-go-to-Cross-Guild-island' disease!
"Sphinx Island: Marco the PhoenixSitting on a stone wall overlooking Whitebeard's peaceful home village, Marco reads the paper with a soft, melancholy smile. He looks at Kael's flawless marksman stance, recalling the legendary sharpshooters of the past."Izo would have loved to see a gunslinger reach these heights, yoi," Marco murmurs, folding the paper and looking up at the sky. "The Marines wanted to hunt the remnants of the old era. Now, a new monster has rewritten the rules of the sea.
1 week later
The announcement from the Cross Guild drops like a localized nuclear option on the World Government. Overnight, thousands of bounty posters are distributed globally via underworld news couriers, throwing the entire Marines network and global bounty hunters into absolute chaos.
At the center of the operation, Kael, Crocodile, and Mihawk oversee the massive rollout that flips the world order completely upside down.
The Cross Guild's New Bounty StructureThe official manifesto, printed under Kael's sharp strategic vision and signed off with Buggy's flashing, intimidating face, reads as follows:
The Five Elders (Gorosei): 4,000,000,000 Berries each. The highest price ever issued by a non-government entity. Dead or alive.
The Holy Knights (God's Knights): 2,000,000,000 Berries each. Targeted specifically to strip the Celestial Dragons of their ultimate defensive line.Cipher Pol (CP0 through CP9): 1,000,000,000 Berries each. A sweeping bounty intended to turn the World Government's own assassin network into hunted prey for the global underworld.
The Celestial Dragons (World Nobles): 100 Berries each.
The Underworld Reaction to the BountiesInside the smoky backrooms of the New World's criminal syndicates, bounty hunters look at the posters with wild, greedy eyes."Four billion for an Elder?!" an underground assassin screams, slamming his mug on a table. "That's Emperor-level money! We don't even have to fight the Marines, we just need to infiltrate Mary Geoise!""But look at the Celestial Dragons," another hunter laughs darkly, pointing at the 100-Berry price tag. "One hundred berries? That's barely enough to buy a loaf of bread! It's the ultimate insult.
The Cross Guild is telling the world that those spoiled nobles are worthless without their guards."Inside the Holy Land: The Ultimate HumiliationIn the pristine, gilded halls of Mary Geoise, a terrified CP0 agent kneels before the Five Elders, trembling as he presents the Cross Guild's latest printing."Report!" Saint Topman Warcury demands, his mustache twitching with rage."They... they have placed a bounty on your heads, My Lords!" the agent stammers. "Four billion berries each! Furthermore, every member of Cipher Pol is marked for one billion. The underworld is already mobilising. Even worst...""Speak!" Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro commands, his icy gaze cutting through the room."They have valued the Celestial Dragons at exactly one hundred berries," the agent whispers, breaking into a cold sweat. "The World Nobles are furious. They are demanding the execution of the No. 1 Gunslinger immediately, claiming their lives are worth more than pocket change!"Saint Jaygarcia Saturn narrows his eyes, tapping his cane heavily against the floor. "This is a psychological war.
By putting a massive bounty on us and our assassins, but declaring the Nobles worthless, Kael and the Cross Guild are telling the entire world that the gods are nothing but defenseless livestock once their shields are broken.
"Back on the Cross Guild FlagshipKael stands at the bow of the ship, the salty sea wind whipping through his dark coat. Next to him, Crocodile takes a long drag from his cigar, staring out at the horizon."A masterstroke, Kael," Crocodile says, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "The CP0 will be too busy looking over their own shoulders to hunt us. And insulting the Celestial Dragons with a hundred-berry price tag will drive them to make foolish, desperate decisions."Mihawk steps up beside them, adjusting the black brim of his hat. "The world is shifting. Hunters are becoming the hunted. What is our next move, Gunslinger?"Kael casually draws one of his twin flintlocks, letting his heart rate spike slightly as his eyes flash blue, looking five seconds into the future to see the exact point where the World Government's defense will fracture first.
"We wait," Kael says smoothly, spinning the gun back into its holster. "They're going to send the Holy Knights or Cipher Pol to try and assassinate us to prove their worth. And when they come, we collect the bounties ourselves."The world order is completely unraveled. With the underground actively hunting the World Government, what happens next?