Whoosh! You can't run away!" the pirate leader snarled, his single claw raised high. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Linnana he had to kill her here and now. Anything less wouldn't quench the burning hatred twisting in his chest like sea king venom.
"Sakura Cross Chopper!"
Suddenly cutting through the moment like a flash of steel Passat, now rebandaged and battle-ready, raised his bone-etched blade. A wave of Conqueror's Haki trembled faintly in the air around him. The technique had evolved. With a fierce swing, he unleashed another cross-shaped cherry blossom slash. The petals shimmered unnaturally ghostly remnants of his spiritual energy coiled into the blade.
"No!"
The pirate leader's pupils shrank to pinpricks as the glowing pink slash sailed toward him like divine retribution. He knew that aura, it carried a deathly echo, like the cursed aura of Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu. Too late. The cross-shaped blade of energy carved directly through his body, head, torso, limbs cleanly severing flesh and bone. His body split into several jagged pieces mid-air, and he collapsed, expression frozen in disbelief.
"Whew finally done."
Linnana exhaled in relief. Her shoulders slumped slightly as the threat vanished in cherry blossom fragments. The pirate leader had been fierce, too persistent like one of Big Mom's errant homies. She feared the fight would never end.
"Linnana, clean up the mess and take down the vine barriers outside. We can't draw attention."
Passat sheathed his sword and surveyed the carnage with a tired sigh. Their house stood outside of town, thankfully no civilians had wandered near but the pile of corpses scattered like rotting driftwood made him uneasy. If the Marines caught wind of this…
"Hmm."
Linnana nodded without hesitation. Her fingers glowed faintly green as she summoned her Mori Mori no Mi powers again. Thick vines slithered across the ground, curling around the broken bodies of pirates and dragging them into the forest floor swallowed without a trace.
"This guy we don't need to bother with him. The ghost-slashing energy I left on his corpse will devour him completely. Cough, cough…"
Passat's voice cracked with fatigue. Faint purple-black smoke lingered around the remains of the pirate leader, now motionless. The curse energy similar to Brook's soul-powered techniques accelerated now that its host was dead. His eyes still glared wide open, but life was long gone.
Passat turned his back on him and walked away.
"Now," Passat said, stepping over to the swordsman still lying nearby, "you gonna tell me who you really are?"
The wounded man looked up, face pale, breath shallow. His kimono was soaked in blood again his earlier injuries had torn open during the fight, and the Ghost Slash he'd used had clearly drained him.
"I… I… ahem "
Before he could speak another word, his body went limp. He collapsed completely unconscious, blood pooling beneath him.
"Passat! Is he dead?!"
Linnana gasped and hurried over, heart pounding. The man was barely breathing, and his skin had gone nearly white.
"He's alive just fainted from blood loss. Help me lift him."
Passat gently pulled the man up, careful not to jostle the reopened wounds. Linnana formed a cushioned cradle from vines nearby and wrapped him securely. The swordsman's chest rose and fell slowly.
"Let him rest. We'll question him later."
---
A day later…
The injured man, who had been in a coma for a day, woke up the next day around noon.
"Ugh… it hurts." He groaned softly, instinctively trying to sit up but the sharp jolt of pain in his ribs made him hiss through clenched teeth. He'd touched one of his deeper wounds without realizing it.
"You're awake."
Linnana, who had been nearby tending a basin of water mixed with herbal salves likely from her vine-based powers noticed his movement and walked over, placing the basin down gently.
"How long was I out?" the injured man asked, his voice dry and raspy.
"Just a day," Linnana replied calmly. "I already treated your wounds with forest medicine and closed them with healing vines don't move too much, or they'll reopen." She eyed him with concern, noting the sweat forming on his pale face.
"Thank you.really." The man bowed his head as much as his pain would allow. "Without you and Passat, I wouldn't be alive right now. If that pirate captain caught me alone…" His voice trailed off, filled with quiet dread.
"No need," Linnana said simply. "Even if we had handed you over to that crew, we would've been killed next. That pirate leader wasn't the kind to spare people, no matter what deal was made, it was just as much for us as it was for you."
"You rest here. I'll get Passat."
Linnana turned gracefully, vines brushing against the wooden floor as she stepped out of the room, her hands still faintly glowing from her Mori Mori no Mi abilities.
Left alone, the injured man glanced around, silently taking in his surroundings. The home that had once been wrecked in battle now looked nearly untouched restored with meticulous effort. The bodies of the pirate crew were gone, and the vines that had once barricaded the house were no longer visible. The only evidence of what had happened was the faint smear of blood drying on the floor though even that, he knew, would vanish in time.
"You're awake."
Passat entered a moment later, his expression calm but still battle-worn. Linnana hadn't returned with him she was probably outside dealing with something else.
"Yeah… thank you. You and your wife you saved me. Your house took the hit, and I dragged trouble to your doorstep." The injured man looked sincerely apologetic.
"It's fine," Passat replied with a wave of his hand. "Nothing special. That pirate crew wasn't exactly saints. Think of it as justice for the weak." He smiled casually, but there was a quiet steel in his voice.like Zoro when brushing off injuries after a battle.
"Don't you want to know who I am?"
The injured man shifted slightly, his tone shifting from gratitude to something heavier. The weight of his story had clearly been bottled up for too long.
"I figured you were about to tell me before you passed out," Passat said, raising an eyebrow. "You've got techniques I've never seen before… and that bone-eroding knife, it has a strange aura. Not normal steel."
"I'm from a dojo not far from this city," the injured man began, his voice steadying. "It's a secluded school where young swordsmen are trained—not just in basic swordplay, but in ancestral techniques. Our school held two treasures: the Sakura Sword Style and the Bone-Eroding Knife both forbidden outside the dojo."
Passat listened closely, folding his arms. The tone reminded him of Wano's secretive sword traditions and how many ancient skills had been lost to history.
"One day, a powerful pirate crew attacked us strong, maybe New World level. Their captain came for those two treasures. He wanted our scrolls and the knife you used last night."
Passat's eyes narrowed, now fully alert. "So they were after your relics?"
"Yes. Our dojo master fought their captain himself. He… he didn't survive. Before he died, he gave me the Bone-Eroding Knife and the Sakura scroll. He ordered me and my senior brothers to escape through a hidden tunnel beneath the dojo. We ran… but their captain noticed. He sent men after us."
The injured man's voice broke slightly. His hands trembled, not from injury but from memory. He had lost everything his teacher, his home, his brothers.
Passat was quiet for a moment. The story hit close he too had known loss at the hands of pirates.
"And… what happened to your brothers?"
His question was quiet, but heavy with meaning. Passat hadn't seen anyone else escape with him and there were no other bodies.
The injured man lowered his gaze. "That's what I don't know… we were separated during the escape. I haven't seen them since."
---
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