[Ding! Today's gains have been multiplied. Multiplier: 80x.]
The notification flashed through Sean's mind, causing his eyes to light up.
Eighty times!
Due to the unique materials used, the reforged Kinkunro had already reached the level of a Skillful Grade Sword the moment Sean finished crafting it. Its initial state was even superior to the blade Gion had taken previously.
Although the multiplier was lower by nineteen, the base quality was far stronger.
Sean could feel it intuitively. While it was still inferior to his own personal blade, it was significantly more powerful than Sode no Shirayuki. Even without being released, it had already reached the threshold of a Supreme Grade sword, though likely at the very bottom of that tier.
With a thought, Sean channeled his Reiryoku into the blade.
There was a reaction. It was indeed an Asauchi!
"Looks like my luck is holding up today. This is a... uh!"
Having confirmed the quality of the sword, Sean turned around to speak, but he was cut off as Gion approached him. Before he could finish his sentence, she began patting him down and inspecting him from head to toe, seemingly searching for something.
"I say, Vice Admiral Gion, what on earth are you doing?"
"Confirming whether you are actually human!"
"Of course I'm human!"
"I'll decide that once I've finished my inspection!"
"Fine, have it your way."
Sean threw his hands up in surrender and simply lay flat, letting her do as she pleased.
Right at that moment, the door to the forge opened once again. This time, it was Fleet Admiral Sengoku, followed closely by Captain Antonio.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became excruciatingly awkward.
"Carry on. I'll come back later!"
Taking two steps back, Sengoku promptly slammed the door shut.
"Antonio!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"You saw nothing today!"
"Understood!"
"Good. Wait here. When Sean comes out, tell him to come to my office tomorrow morning!"
"Yes, sir!"
Sengoku walked away, leaving Antonio standing there. It was only then that Antonio remembered something. He had definitely just seen a few things he wasn't supposed to.
'Once Vice Admiral Gion comes out... will I actually survive?'
Meanwhile, Sengoku's expression had become grave.
'This is bad. I need to go talk to Tsuru immediately. Sean is only fifteen; Gion is practically committing a crime!'
If Gion had heard Sengoku's internal monologue, she likely would have lost her mind, drawn her sword, and chased him down—though she probably couldn't beat him.
'''
Inside the forge.
"Pfft... Hahaha!"
After a minute of silence, Sean finally couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter. This situation was just too ridiculous.
"You have the nerve to laugh?"
"Vice Admiral Gion, you can't blame me for this! I tried to stop you, but you wouldn't listen!"
"Then why didn't you stop me more firmly?"
"Well... at the time, it actually felt pretty good, so..."
...
A few moments later, Antonio stood outside the forge, trembling as he listened to Sean's screams echoing from within.
'Soon... it'll probably be my turn!'
'''
The next day.
Somehow, word had leaked. Many Marines were gossiping about the events that had transpired at the forge the previous day. However, the protagonists of the rumors weren't Sean or Sengoku.
They were Gion and Captain Antonio.
The rumor claimed that Captain Antonio had peeked at Vice Admiral Gion, and in a fit of rage, Gion had beaten him half to death. He was supposedly still lying in the infirmary.
Such was the terrifying nature of rumors.
The truth was far simpler: after leaving the forge, Gion had given Antonio a terrifying glare. Overcome with fear, Antonio had barely taken a few steps before tripping over a stone. Because he was so paralyzed with fright, he didn't even try to break his fall and took a nasty spill.
When Sean heard the other Marines discussing the "tragedy" on his way to the office, he nearly choked from laughing.
A few minutes later, Sean arrived outside Sengoku's office.
'Knock, knock, knock...'
"Come in!"
"Old man Sengoku, why did you want to see me?"
"Regarding these."
Sengoku pointed to a side of the office where over twenty swords were neatly arranged on a set of combined sword racks.
"Can't you just decide what to do with those yourself, old man?"
"Normally, I would. But I wanted your advice, since you're the one who crafted them."
"Hmm, in that case... I think you should use these swords to recruit some skilled swordsmen to bolster the Marine's strength. After all, a Skillful Grade Sword is enough to tempt almost any master swordsman."
Sengoku's eyes lit up. This kid's way of thinking was remarkably similar to his own.
Originally, Sengoku had only asked out of politeness. Regardless of Sean's answer, he had already decided to use the majority of the blades to win over powerful swordsmen. Now that Sean had suggested it himself, the plan was even easier to implement.
"Fine, we'll do it your way," Sengoku nodded, appearing entirely respectful of Sean's input.
Sean didn't particularly care what Sengoku was actually thinking. These were just Skillful Grade Swords; while they might attract some attention, they weren't significant enough to make the Five Elders or the Celestial Dragons target him.
"There's one more thing to discuss, and it concerns you as well."
"What is it?"
"The matter of the Campbell Family. We've been investigating secretly for the past six months, and we finally have some leads."
"Oh?"
"While it's not fully confirmed, it seems to be linked to the Marine's 16th Branch in the East Blue. Tsuru found some clues pointing toward the Branch Head, Nezumi."
"So that's how it is, huh?"
"Hmm? You already knew?"
Sengoku was surprised. Tsuru had spent half a year meticulously uncovering these clues. Given how much time had passed and the need for secrecy, it hadn't been easy. But based on Sean's tone, he had already suspected it?
How?
"I don't know for sure. I just remember old man Garp mentioning that you dumped the mission on him, and since he was too lazy to handle the search and rescue, he dumped it on Nezumi."
"What?! That bastard Garp told me he searched for months and only returned to headquarters after finding nothing!"
"That's weird. Bogard mentioned that Vice Admiral Garp never actually left Foosha Village during that entire period..."
With one sentence, Sean had completely sold Garp out.
"That bastard... 'huff'... Fine, let's put him aside for a moment. Tell me, how did you know something was wrong with Nezumi?"
"Isn't it obvious? Who names a good person 'Nezumi'? One look at that name and you can tell he's rotten to the core!"
Sengoku had to admit, he was genuinely stunned by Sean's logic.
So... the sole reason you suspected Nezumi was because of his name?
And yet... it actually made a strange kind of sense!
Could anyone named 'Nezumi' actually be a good person?
Without even realizing it, Sengoku found himself being swayed by the boy's reasoning.