Chapter 72: The Town of the Beginning and the End! The Cursed Blade Kitetsu!
Under the massive arched gate, the Going Merry slowly sailed into this bustling port city.
Loguetown.
It is known as "The Town of the Beginning and the End" because of the man who once possessed everything in this world—the Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
He was born here and was also executed here.
As soon as they docked, the clamor of voices and the bustling streets rushed toward them.
"Oh! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!!"
As soon as Luffy stepped onto land, his eyes fixed on the towering execution platform in the center of town. He let out an excited shout and dashed forward ahead of everyone:
"I'm going to see the execution platform!!"
"That idiot..."
Nami let out a helpless sigh and shouldered her backpack. "I'm going to buy some clothes suitable for the Grand Line's climate."
"I'm going too! I'm going too! This great me needs to procure some equipment!" Usopp followed closely behind.
"Then I'll go buy some ingredients; I heard the seafood market here is excellent." Sanji adjusted his tie and walked off the ship elegantly.
Seeing that everyone had their plans made, Tatsuya casually grabbed the Crow Clay from his shoulder and tossed him to Nami like a beanbag.
"Caw?!" Clay flapped his wings in the air.
Tatsuya watched Nami catch Clay, then turned around and called out to Zoro, who was about to head in the opposite direction:
"Hey, moss-head. Where are you going?"
"To the weapon shop, obviously." Zoro pointed forward. "Two of my swords are broken; I need to buy new ones."
"The weapon shop is definitely inside the city."
Tatsuya pointed in the completely opposite direction and sighed.
"Forget it, I'll go with you. If I let you go alone, you'll probably still be spinning in circles by the time we leave Loguetown."
"Shut up! I won't get lost!"
...
The streets of Loguetown were intricate and crowded with people.
"This way."
"Hey! That's a dead end!"
"To the left!"
"That's the right!"
Tatsuya, with a forehead full of black lines, grabbed Zoro by the collar and forcibly corrected his sense of direction.
He felt that this guy's road-blindness was practically a law of causality; the moment he let go, Zoro would vanish into another dimension.
Just as the two were passing a secluded alleyway.
"Stop! Put the sword down!"
A sound of arguing drifted over.
Several men who looked like thugs were surrounding a girl with glasses and short deep-blue hair, seemingly trying to snatch the famous sword in her hands.
"That's my Shigure! No!" Although the girl had been pushed to the ground, she desperately protected the sword in her arms.
"Tch, what a pain."
Zoro frowned. Although he didn't want to meddle in others' business, as a swordsman, he couldn't stand the sight of such bullying.
"Hey, you pieces of trash over there."
Zoro rested his hand on his sword hilt and walked over with a fierce gaze:
"What kind of skill is bullying a woman? If you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish."
The thugs were scared witless by Zoro's terrifying killing intent and scrambled away in a panic.
"Tha... thank you..."
The girl adjusted her glasses and looked up flusteredly.
The moment Zoro saw that face clearly.
BOOM—
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Zoro's entire body froze in place, his pupils dilated violently, and a look of ghost-seeing shock appeared on his usually resolute face.
That face... that look in her eyes...
She looked exactly like the deceased Kuina!
"Kui... Kuina?!" Zoro subconsciously blurted out that name.
"Eh? My name isn't Kuina, I'm Tashigi, a Master Sergeant of the Marine Headquarters."
Tashigi picked up her glasses and put them on, explaining with a bit of a dazed expression.
To the side, Tatsuya leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, observing the reaction of the two with great interest.
Seeing Zoro looking like he'd seen a ghost and being somewhat at a loss, the corners of Tatsuya's mouth curled slightly:
"Tsk tsk, is this the legendary'stand-in trope'? This plot development is even more melodramatic than a novel."
"It seems this is moss-head's destiny."
After some explanation, although Zoro was still a bit awkward.
The warm-hearted Tashigi, to repay them for saving her, took the initiative to offer to lead them to the best weapon shop in town.
...
"Ipponmatsu" Weapons Shop.
This was an old shop that looked like it had been around for years.
The owner, Ipponmatsu, was a middle-aged man with a hairstyle like a broom. At the moment, he was sitting with his legs crossed, sizing up the entering Zoro with a snobbish look.
Seeing Zoro's shabby appearance, Ipponmatsu curled his lip and pointed to a barrel of junk by the door:
"If you want to buy a sword, pick whatever you want from there, 50,000 Berries each. If you don't have money, don't come in and wander around."
Zoro touched his empty pockets, his expression looking a bit strained.
Clink.
Just then, a heavy pouch of money was tossed onto the counter, making a crisp and pleasant metallic clinking sound.
The mouth of the bag fell open, revealing the glittering gold coins inside.
Ipponmatsu's eyes instantly bugged out.
"Bring out the good stuff."
Tatsuya walked in with a smile. "Don't try to fool us with that junk. We want real 'famous swords'."
"Oh my! So it's a distinguished guest!!"
Ipponmatsu's attitude instantly did a 180-degree turn. His face was covered in a fawning smile as he rubbed his hands and ran out:
"Of course, of course! Please wait a moment, sir! I'll go bring out the shop's treasure right away!"
While Ipponmatsu went to rummage through his stock, Zoro still walked over to the wooden barrel filled with discarded swords.
Perhaps it was a swordsman's intuition, but among the pile of scrap metal, his gaze locked onto a long sword with a red and black scabbard.
"This sword..."
Zoro drew it out, and a chill instantly spread through the air.
"Hummm—"
Standing behind him, the tomoe in Tatsuya's Sharingan suddenly spun.
In his vision, this sword didn't have the spiritual light of an ordinary weapon; instead, it was shrouded in a crimson aura of malice.
That aura was like a hideous demon, baring its fangs and claws, thirsting for blood.
"Oh? Interesting. This one must be the Kitetsu."
Tatsuya looked at the sword, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful arc:
"Inside this sword... dwells a beast thirsting for blood."
"Hey! Don't touch that!!"
When Ipponmatsu saw the sword in Zoro's hand, his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly ran over to try and snatch it away:
"That's a Cursed Blade! The Sandai Kitetsu!!"
"All of its previous owners met with untimely deaths! It's a cursed sword! Even I'm too afraid to sell it, so I could only hide it among the junk to try and get rid of it!"
"You'll die! Put it down!"
However, Zoro did not put it down.
He looked at this Cursed Blade emitting an ominous aura, and instead, an extremely arrogant smile appeared on his face:
"A Cursed Blade... this is exactly what I want."
"Let's give it a try."
Zoro extended his left arm, holding it out flat in front of him.
Under everyone's shocked gazes, he tossed the incredibly sharp Sandai Kitetsu high into the air.
"Let's see if my luck is better, or if this fellow's curse is stronger!"
"Hey! Are you crazy!" Ipponmatsu shouted anxiously.
Tashigi watched the scene before her, not knowing what to do.
The blade spun in the air, flashing with a bone-chilling cold light, then fell straight down, aimed right at Zoro's arm!
At this moment, the air seemed to freeze.
Tashigi covered her mouth, not daring to look at this bloody scene.
Ipponmatsu also collapsed to the floor in fear.
But Tatsuya's finger twitched slightly.
The Chakra within his body instantly condensed at the soles of his feet, his muscles tensing.
If the blade's trajectory deviated even slightly, if it truly intended to sever Zoro's arm, Tatsuya would immediately launch the Body Flicker Technique to kick the sword away at the critical moment.
Although he believed in Zoro's luck, he would never gamble with his companion's arm.
Swish—!!
The Sandai Kitetsu spun as it fell.
The blade's edge passed right against the skin of Zoro's arm, missing it by a mere hair's breadth.
Thud!!
The long sword sank deep into the floorboards, biting into the wood.
Zoro's arm was completely unharmed.
Phew...
Zoro withdrew his arm, looking at the Cursed Blade that was still vibrating, and the corners of his mouth turned up:
"I'll take it."
Seeing this, Tatsuya dissipated his gathered Chakra, the red light in his eyes fading as he returned to his spectator expression.
"It seems... you won, moss-head."
At this moment, Ipponmatsu was completely won over by Zoro's amazing spirit.
He ran into the back room and brought out a black-lacquered tachi.
"Take it! This is the Skillful Grade Blade 'Yubashiri'! It's my family heirloom!"
Ipponmatsu spoke with tears in his eyes:
"Even though I'm just a sword seller, I also hope to entrust a good sword to a real man! These two swords... consider them my gift to you! I don't want the money either!"
...
A few minutes later.
With three swords hanging at his waist (Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri), Zoro walked out of the weapon shop with satisfaction.
Tatsuya followed behind, still tossing the bag of unspent gold coins in his hand.
He hesitated for a moment but still left it at the doorstep.
"Wa... Wait a minute!"
Just then, Tashigi, who had been in a state of shock nearby, suddenly saw something on a bounty poster that had been blown down by the wind.
She picked up the bounty poster, looked at the photo on it, then looked at the moss-head with three swords and the black-haired boy with red eyes in front of her.
Tashigi's face instantly turned pale.
Clang!
She suddenly drew her famous sword "Xiao Ye Shigure," her hand trembling as she pointed it at the two, her voice filled with disbelief and anger:
"Three Sword Style... the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!!"
"And... Crimson Lotus Victor, with a bounty of 28 million!!"
"So you two... are actually pirates!!"
Looking at the glinting blade tip and Tashigi's look of grief and indignation at having her feelings deceived.
Tatsuya did not panic.
He tilted his head with a smile, pointing at himself with an innocent face:
"Crimson Lotus? Who's that?"
Then, he said in an extremely sincere tone:
"You have the wrong person, Marine lady. I'm Luffy!"
Zoro beside him: "..."
He looked at Tatsuya with a face full of black lines, his grip on his swords almost faltering.
You guy... this lie is just too perfunctory!
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