"Forget it." She took a deep breath to push down her frustration and turned to Zaraki with a strained smile.
"Since I can't buy that one, I'll help you pick out a blade instead. Consider it... an apology for bumping into you earlier."
'This girl is pretty sincere.' Zaraki raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse the offer.
Isuka walked over to the wooden barrel by the door packed with worn-out swords—the shop's "treasure hunting zone" and a classic trap for amateurs.
She sifted through the rusted iron blades, muttering, "Even though these are rejects, you can still find something durable if you look hard enough..."
Her hand reached for a sword tucked deep in the corner of the barrel, one that looked oddly out of place.
The scabbard bore eerie dark-red patterns instead of ordinary wood, radiating an ominous chill even in the dim light.
The moment Isuka's fingertips brushed the hilt—
Hum—!
A sharp ringing pierced the air. Without anyone applying force, the blade came alive, springing straight out of the wooden barrel!
Its icy edge traced a pale arc through the dust, carrying a heavy killing intent as it sliced straight for Isuka's wrist!
"Don't touch it!" Ippomatsu leaped up from behind the counter, ripping the newspaper in his hands to shreds as his face drained of color.
"Get away! That's a cursed—"
Isuka's pupils shrank, her survival instincts screaming at her to jump back, but the blade moved too fast.
The murderous weapon had awakened, seeking its own target.
Just as the razor edge was about to bite into Isuka's skin—a hand shot out from nowhere.
The hand relied on raw strength and perfect timing to grab the vibrating blade without the use of Haki.
Blood seeped between his fingers, dripping onto the damp floorboards.
Zaraki held the struggling Cursed Blade with a deadpan expression. His messy black hair obscured his eyes as a dark smirk curled the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, an aura far heavier and wilder than the cursed sword erupted from Zaraki.
It was pure killing intent forged through countless bloody battles.
The humming Cursed Blade fell silent the second this aura hit, its glow dimming in submission. The temperature inside the weapons shop plummeted to freezing.
Isuka remained seated on the floor, staring blankly at the guy shielding her.
Behind the counter, Ippomatsu slumped deep into his chair. His trembling hand pointed at Zaraki, his teeth chattering.
"This... this feeling..."
The suffocating aura vanished just as fast, pulling back into his body.
The crushing pressure faded, leaving the once-ferocious longsword to emit a faint, submissive hum in Zaraki's grip.
"Interesting."
Zaraki looked down at the blade, ignoring the sting in his palm.
Stirred by the restless agitation of the [Kenpachi Zaraki] template, he felt a morbid thrill from the pain.
With a casual flick of his wrist, the cursed blade known as the Sandai Kitetsu obediently left his hand, plunging right back into the wooden barrel with a crisp, ringing sound.
"Hey, shopkeeper." Zaraki raised his bleeding hand and casually wiped it on his clothes, his tone as calm as if he had just swatted a mosquito.
"This blade has a nasty temper. Will you sell it for fifty thousand Beli?"
Ippomatsu didn't answer right away.
The shop owner fixated on the blood on Zaraki's hand and the suffocating killing intent that just flooded the room, rather than the cheap sword at his waist.
For a man who had spent his life around swords, the terror of that pressure felt way heavier than the cursed blade itself.
"That... that murderous aura..." Ippomatsu swallowed hard, his voice turning raspy. "Young man, you are the exact kind of owner a blade like that waits for."
Isuka looked up from the floor, pushing up her glasses.
As a Marine, she had heard the rumors about cursed weapons, but watching one get cowed into silence by a guy's raw presence was a different level of crazy.
"Are you... a pirate or a bounty hunter?" Isuka's hand moved toward her standard-issue Marine saber—a reflex when facing danger.
"I am Marine Lieutenant Isuka of Loguetown. State your name!"
"Zaraki. As for my identity..." Zaraki scratched his head. "Currently... unemployed? a trainee? Or maybe just wandering around looking for a good fight."
He pointed a thumb at the quiet Sandai Kitetsu sitting in the barrel and raised his chin toward Isuka.
"Instead of interrogating me, didn't you come to buy a sword? That one has a temper, but it's a solid blade. Since I quieted it down for you, you want to give it a try? Fifty thousand Beli is a steal."
Isuka eyed the sword.
The icy feeling of being targeted by the blade made her shudder. Even quieted down, the sword still looked like a lethal threat to her.
"I... am a Marine." Isuka bit her lip, turning pale as she took half a step back. Her voice trembled, but she kept it firm.
"I refuse to use wicked weapons that rely on curses and bloodlust for power!"
"Tsk, how stubborn." Zaraki shook his head.
This girl's rigid principles were almost funny. In a world ruled by raw power, a sharp sword was a good sword—righteous and wicked didn't matter.
"Since she doesn't want it, I'll take it." Zaraki turned to look at Ippomatsu. "Fifty thousand Beli. That's your price."
"Not for sale!" Ippomatsu shouted, leaping from his chair like he just got electrocuted.
Isuka stood stunned, then frowned. "Boss, if I'm not buying it, what's the problem with him taking it? The sword is dangerous, but he clearly just—"
"That's not the issue!" Ippomatsu interrupted her.
His usual calculating face now held a crazed, fanatical look.
He ignored Isuka and rushed out from behind the counter, his large belly bouncing as he moved surprisingly fast.
"What are you doing? Trying to raise the price?" Zaraki frowned.
If this shady merchant tried to jack up the tag, he didn't mind using physical means to haggle.
"Raise the price? Don't be ridiculous!"
Ippomatsu rushed toward the storage room in the back, his voice trembling with manic resolve.
"If the Sandai Kitetsu quiets down in your hands, then no ordinary owner is worthy of standing opposite you!"
Clattering and rummaging echoed from the back room.
Seconds later, Ippomatsu charged back out, clutching a long, black-lacquered wooden box.
He ignored the sweat rolling down his forehead and slammed the box onto the counter right in front of Zaraki.
Then, he snatched the Sandai Kitetsu from the barrel and shoved it straight into Zaraki's hands.
"Take it! Take them both!" Ippomatsu's eyes sat bloodshot, his face locked in that fanatical gaze.
Isuka stood frozen. "Boss, what are you doing?"
Ippomatsu stared right at Zaraki, panting as his trembling finger pointed at the black-lacquered box.
"If a cursed blade acknowledges you..." his voice shook. "Then the Yubashiri should go with you as well."
He threw open the lid.
Inside, wrapped in dark cloth, lay the black-bladed Ryo Wazamono sword he had refused to sell just moments ago.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator