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The Straw Hats in Loguetown
It turned out that Smoker's restlessness was entirely self-inflicted.
From beginning to end, the Straw Hat Pirates never took him... or the Marines of the East Blue seriously!
They didn't even leave anyone to guard the Going Merry!
Red and the others knew very well that with their captain's trouble-making style, it wouldn't be long before the Marines in Loguetown became busy and overwhelmed with headaches.
...
...
"Chief Petty Tashigi! We've found Straw Hat Luffy's location!"
"Where!?"
On the streets of Loguetown, Tashigi, who had just returned from the suburbs, had no time to rest. She immediately led the Loguetown Marines to search for the Straw Hat crew without pause.
Captain Smoker had given her orders to keep the Straw Hats in Loguetown and not allow them to escape.
The Marine soldier reporting hesitated for a moment. He glanced at Tashigi uncertainly, then slowly said:
"It's the execution platform!"
"According to our men over there, the Straw Hat boy seems to be asking people all over the street for directions to the execution platform!"
"The execution platform!?" Tashigi was stunned for a moment. "You mean the square where the Pirate King Roger was executed?"
"That's right! That's the place!"
The Marine soldiers looked equally puzzled.
"What are they doing there!?" Tashigi frowned, but quickly relaxed. "Never mind, it doesn't matter that much!"
"Now that we know their destination, it will be easier to handle!"
"Deploy troops immediately around the execution platform and wait for further orders!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Marine soldiers immediately ran to deliver the orders.
But Tashigi paused.
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly pulled out Shigure from her waist.
Because of the earlier confrontation with Bartolomeo's barrier, Shigure's blade was now somewhat bent.
"With Shigure in this condition, it's impossible to fight against a pirate with a 50 million Berry bounty..."
"It's too late to repair it now!"
Tashigi gritted her teeth and finally made a tearful decision:
"I'd better go to the sword shop and buy a new sword!"
To have suitable weapons in hand for fighting pirates later, Tashigi had to prepare to spend heavily.
There happened to be a weapons store she frequented not far ahead.
Tashigi didn't hesitate and ran quickly.
However...
When she pushed open the door of the weapons store, an extremely shocking scene appeared before her!
In a shop filled with various weapons, a young man wearing a baseball cap was holding a sharp katana pointed at the arm of a green-haired swordsman.
Seeing that the baseball cap-wearing boy was about to slash him with the sword, Tashigi quickly shouted:
"Stop!!!"
"Stop!!!"
Two voices sounded simultaneously, one after the other.
Surprisingly, the shop owner was also making panicked noises.
However, the two people in the store seemed not to hear them. The shouts did not stop the boy in the baseball cap from swinging the sword!
The sharp blade suddenly emitted a scarlet cold light in the air.
Tashigi subconsciously covered her eyes.
Clang!!!
With a crisp sound like metal striking metal, she slowly opened her eyes.
To her surprise, Tashigi discovered that... the severed limbs and blood she had imagined didn't appear.
Instead, the katana in the boy's hand suddenly flew upward, spun several times in the air, and then plunged straight into the shop's floor.
Only a plain hilt remained visible above the floorboards.
"Heh!"
The green-haired swordsman, Zoro, grinned and immediately dissipated the intimidating aura from his arms.
And the baseball cap-wearing boy in Tashigi's view was naturally Red, who had brought Zoro to look for swords.
The two of them looked at the shop owner in unison.
Because the scene just now was so frightening, the shop owner, despite being a sword seller, was so scared that he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing that Zoro was unharmed, he was even more shocked and pointed with a trembling finger:
"How... how is this possible!?"
"That sword is extremely sharp!!!"
"It is indeed a sharp sword!"
Zoro smiled slightly, reached out and pulled the katana from the floor, then held it up to examine it with satisfaction.
"So, will you sell it to me now, boss?"
"Who... who are you guys?"
The sword seller didn't answer but continued questioning.
As soon as these two entered his shop, they didn't ask or say anything. They just picked out the "Cursed Blade" Sandai Kitetsu from the pile of ordinary swords that had been giving him headaches.
Although the sword seller had always wanted to get rid of that sword, his conscience had finally made him refuse to sell the Sandai Kitetsu to the young swordsman.
Unexpectedly...
After hearing his explanation about the "cursed blade," the baseball cap-wearing boy suddenly said:
"I see."
"So you're saying that as long as we can prove this sword won't harm the swordsman who wields it, you'll agree to sell it to us!?"
The sword seller hadn't thought much about it at the time and just nodded casually.
Then...
These two madmen actually performed a scene of testing fate with the sword right on the spot!
The sword seller, with his expert eye for blades, could clearly see that the baseball cap boy had definitely swung the blade at the swordsman's arm.
But in the end... the Sandai Kitetsu was directly repelled by the swordsman's bare arm!
At this moment, the sword seller felt his head buzzing, completely losing his ability to think.
Until Red slapped 50,000 Belly on the counter and said with a smile:
"Well boss, I'll leave the money here, and we'll take the sword!"
"Wait... wait a minute!!!"
The sword seller suddenly stood up.
Although he didn't understand what had just happened...
The aura of the two people before him had undoubtedly shocked him!
Especially the green-haired swordsman who had stretched out his arm to be cut without hesitation!
So he made a decision that went against his ancestors' teachings!
After a moment, the sword seller ran off and returned with a long package.
After lifting the dusty cloth, a black-lacquered sword instantly appeared on the counter.
"This blade is the Yubashiri, forged with black lacquer technique, with a small T-shaped guard!"
The sword seller's expression was extremely solemn as he announced loudly: "It's one of the finest swords, ranked among the 50 Skillful Grade Blades!"
"Although this isn't a famous store, this is the best sword I have!"
"It's rare to meet such a great swordsman like you. I'll give you this sword!"
"Huh?"
Zoro was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the boss who had been suspicious of them earlier and thought they were poor would suddenly become so generous.
But...
"Thank you for your kindness, boss!"
"But I have enough swords now!"
Zoro secured the Sandai Kitetsu at his waist, then smiled softly and showed his three swords to the shop owner.
"Those are..."
At this moment, Tashigi, who had been standing at the door, finally snapped out of her daze.
With her love for famous swords, she immediately recognized the Wado Ichimonji on Zoro's waist and another sword that Zoro temporarily called "Thunder."
Tashigi quickly pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and flipped through it:
"I can't be wrong!"
"That's one of the 21 Great Grade Blades in the world - the Wado Ichimonji, and the one known as the sharpest Skillful Grade Blade - the Narukami!"
"Soen?!"
Tashigi's words made Red and Zoro pause.
Red, who had already figured out her identity, suddenly showed a playful expression and asked her curiously:
"Miss, can you tell us more about this sword?"
After all, this was the treasure that Nami had picked up when her special abilities first manifested. Red wanted to use this information to speculate on what level Nami's abilities might reach in the real world.
"You... don't know about this sword!?"
Tashigi was confused for a moment, but she still explained enthusiastically:
"Although it's rare for legendary swords of the same grade to appear together in the same era, and each has its strengths depending on the user's skill."
"Among the 50 Skillful Grade Blades, Narukami's name has always been at the top!"
"It's said that the swordsmith who created Narukami used a special method of capturing lightning to infuse the power of thunder into it during the forging process, making it easier for the swordsman wielding it to comprehend the way of the thunder sword."
"Of course!" Tashigi, realizing she was getting too carried away, suddenly smiled awkwardly:
"That's just a legend after all, so it can't be taken too seriously."
"But the power of this sword will definitely stand the test of history!"