Chapter 4: Zoro, the Genius
After pondering over the popularity of single-edged swords a little longer, Yuna simply shrugged her shoulders while her gaze returned to the shopkeeper.
"Oh well, I guess I'll go for two good single-edged ones for now instead of bothering about not-so-good double-edged ones. The name is Yuna, by the way."
"Ipponmatsu"
Hearing Yuna's words, Ipponmatsu simply introduced himself as well and didn't comment on Yuna's words any further. In the end, it's Yuna's decision what she wants to buy.
As Yuna's gaze wandered through the shop, it landed on an unsuspecting barrel that had a bunch of damaged-looking swords sticking out of it. However, Yuna could immediately tell that there was something off about one of those swords.
"Hee~ You are quite bold, Ipponmatsu. To think you would sell something like that. Or maybe, you aren't aware of what it is?"
As those words left Yuna's mouth, she made a beeline toward the barrel filler with cheap-looking swords and pulled one of them out. Although it looked old and dusty, a trained eye would immediately notice that it was anything but a cheap sword. In fact, it was a sword of considerable quality if compared to everything else displayed in the shop.
Seeing what Yuna had found, Ipponmatsu groaned loudly. It seemed like Yuna noticed what kind of sword she just had pulled out, but before he could talk about it, Yuna resumed speaking.
"A cursed sword, huh? It's been a while since I've seen one."
Following those words, Yuna slightly pulled the blade out of its sheath and inspected it. Feeling signs of malice coming from the blade, Yuna smiled a little as she nodded to herself.
'My senses were right. This is indeed a cursed sword.'
[Please don't tell me you plan on using that.]
Initially, Kurama couldn't feel anything from the sword, but now that it was partially out of its sheath, he felt a slight sense of discomfort. He felt like it would be annoying to constantly have that kind of feeling in the back of his mind.
Unaware of the conversation between Yuna and Kurama, Ipponmatsu was a little surprised that Yuna managed to figure out the flaw of the blade, but considering how she instantly went for it, he simply assumed that she had some kind of sensitivity toward curses.
"It's impressive, you can tell. Yes, this sword and all other swords of the same lineage are cursed, their wielders doomed to an early death. You seem to be knowledgeable about curses, but I still hope you won't buy this sword. No, in fact, I can't let you buy it!"
Hearing Ipponmatsu's words, Yuna chuckled in amusement as she put the sword back where she had found it.
"Mah, no worries. I'm not interested in using cursed items. Too much of a gamble. However, why even have it out here if you don't plan to sell it?"
The moment Ipponmatsu heard Yuna's words, he couldn't help but become a little depressed, causing his shoulders to sag as he glared at the sword Yuna just returned to its place in annoyance.
Reading his facial expression, Yuna quickly figured out what was going on in Ipponmatsu's head.
"I see; on the one hand, you want to get rid of the sword, but on the other hand, you don't want to be responsible when someone dies due to its curse."
Although Ipponmatsu was surprised at how easily Yuna read him, in the end, he only nodded his head while sighing deeply.
"*Sigh* Indeed. I want to get rid of it as soon as possible since I'm not sure if I'm affected by its curse, and I'm not even sure what would happen if, for example, I toss it into the sea."
Yuna nodded in approval the moment Ipponmatsu stopped speaking. Indeed, curses were a tricky thing. Some cursed objects would simply return to their owner after they tried to get rid of it, and others would put a stronger curse on you if you tried. There could be all kinds of nasty mechanisms imbued into a cursed object.
"Well, I can at least tell you that you won't be affected by its curse as long as you don't use the sword. The strength of the curse is based on how many lives you take using the sword."
Hearing Yuna's explanation, Ipponmatsu looked at her in shock, barely able to understand what he had just heard.
"I-Is that true!?"
Seeing the agitated old shopkeeper, Yuna only shrugged her shoulders and answered him.
"Why should I bother lying to you?"
Visible relief washed over Ipponmatsu's face as soon as Yuna finished speaking. He had been stressing about that damn cursed sword for a while now, causing him to barely be able to sleep at night.
Moments later, a serious expression appeared on his face as he looked at Yuna, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.
"Is something wrong?"
"Your talent to identify a curse is impressive, but what about your skill with a sword."
Although Yuna didn't really get why he was asking that now, she still shrugged her shoulders as she took a huge two-handed sword from the wall.
Holding the sword, Yuna couldn't help herself but frown, as the blade clearly wasn't well-made and unbalanced.
"Well, as I've said, I prefer double-edged two-handed swords like this. I'm pretty decent with single-edged swords but with something like this..."
Yuna slashed the blade down, causing the air to ripple as a small shockwave occurred the moment the blade was swung down, making it clear that if Yuna had swung harder, the shop would have been devastated, causing Ipponmatsu's eyes to bulge and mouth to open.
"... my technique is unparalleled."
Putting the sword she had just used back where she found it, Yuna looked at the utterly astonished Ipponmatsu and chuckled in amusement.
Frankly, the old man was not a swordsman, so there was a limit to how knowledgeable he was about swordsmanship. However, he has been the owner of this weapon shop for a long time, and he has seen a lot of people swinging swords. Since he started working here, not once had he ever seen such a clean, beautiful slash.
There was a sword in the back of his shop that he really wanted to give to someone worthy of it, but unfortunately, it was not the kind of blade Yuna would prefer, making him hesitate.
However, after pondering the situation a while longer, a serious expression appeared on his face as he had made a decision.
"Please wait a moment. I have something I want to give to you."
Seeing Ipponmatsu briskly walk through a door towards the back of the shop caused Yuna to tilt her head in confusion. She thought about the situation for a brief moment before simply shrugging her shoulders.
'Oh well, I bet he wants to give me his daughter after seeing how amazing I am.'
[Sure, that's only reasonable.]
'IT IS!?'
[OF COURSE, IT'S NOT!!!]
Moments later, Ipponmatsu returned with a beautifully decorated sword sheath containing a sword with a black handle and golden decoration.
"This sword's name is Yubashiri; it's one of the 50 Skillful Grade swords and the best weapon I have in my shop. I've been searching for a long time for someone worthy of using this sword, and you are the most skilled swordsman I have ever seen.
My heart aches to give the Yubashiri to someone who doesn't specialize in it, but I think you are the best person to carry on its legacy. I would rather someone carries it, who knows what they are doing than have it rust away here in my storage room. So, please take it with you and make use of it."
Yuna chuckled in amusement when Ipponmatsu mentioned the sword rusting since, after reaching a certain level of quality, it was basically impossible for a sword to rust.
Anyway, as soon as Ipponmatsu stopped speaking, Yuna took the Yubashiri and revealed its blade, looking at it with curiosity. Obviously, she had seen better swords made out of all kinds of otherworldy materials in her life, but she had to admit that it was pretty well-made.
'Well, I would have been satisfied with something decent to play around with, but since I get something good for free, I won't complain~.'
"Very well. My name will be known all over the world soon anyway, so I might as well carry a famous sword with me."
Hearing Yuna's declaration, Ipponmatsu was briefly stunned before a wide grin appeared on his face. Frankly, if Yuna had been happy to stay in the East Blue, he would have been quite disappointed. However, since she claimed she would be renowned all over the world, it could only mean one thing.
"The Grand Line, right?"
Yuna grinned widely as she fastened her new sword to her right side while getting a feel for having additional weight attached to her side.
"That's right. What's the point of being strong if you can't even travel the world and make a huge harem?"
"H-Harem!?"
"Yup, the biggest there has ever been~."
Hearing Yuna's words, Ipponmatsu couldn't help but groan in displeasure, as he had just given away his most-priced possession to a pervert. However, as ridiculous a dream as Yuna might have, there was no doubt that she had to travel the world and make a name for herself to get what she wanted.
If Ipponmatsu had to choose between someone with no great ambition and someone with a great one that was perverted, he would still choose to give the Yubashiri to the second person.
"*Sigh* I really was hoping you would aim for something more normal, but I guess it can't be helped."
"Mah, no worries. For someone like me, becoming the world's strongest is just part of the course."
Ipponmatsu couldn't help but shiver a little as he saw nothing but pure confidence radiating out of Yuna's eyes as she made such a grand statement casually. Although he still wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about Yuna's ambition to create a harem, at the very least, he took getting stronger seriously, which pacified him at least a little.
A few minutes later, Yuna left Ipponmatsu's shop with two new swords hanging on her left and right side. Although the second sword she got couldn't compare to the Yubashiri, it was at least of decent quality, satisfying Yuna.
The moment she left the shop, she briefly saw Zoro running in yet another random alley, but after a few seconds, Yuna decided that she hadn't seen anything and kept moving.
'Well, there are lots of things to do~ First of all, I need more information about this world in general. The snippets Nami gave me were helpful, but I want to have more than a rough idea about this world before I do anything big.'
[That sounds surprisingly reasonable.]
'That being said, let's break into this town's Marine base and steal as much information as we can.'
[I'll take back my previous statement.]
'While we are at it, I might as well steal some money from them to get over the rounds.'
[Yeah, I admit that statement was pretty silly.]
'Mhh, maybe I should kidnap a few important people as well? People like that should have plenty of important information, right?'
[Could you stop!?]
'Mhh? Sorry, did you say something, Kurama?'
[... No, I just temporarily forgot how much of a nutcase you are.]
'Oh? How do you manage to still forget about that after all these years?'
[I honestly have no clue.]
While Yuna and Kurama were chatting, a familiar figure approached the duo. It was Tashigi, who just finished buying a few things and was now here to get her sword back, which she gave to Ipponmatsu for maintenance.
"Oh? If it isn't Yuna. What a coincidence that I met you here aga..."
Before Tashigi could finish speaking, her gaze was drawn to the sword hanging on Yuna's side. She took a closer look while squinting her eyes before taking out a small book and rifling through it.
Moments later, she switched her gaze from the book towards Yuna with an excited expression, while her eyes turned into stars due to excitement.
"That's Yubashiri, right? It's one of the 50 Skillful Grade swords! It's a really famous sword and can't even be bought for millions of Belly!"
Hearing Tashigi's excited tone, Yuna chuckled in amusement as she drew her sword, showing the blade to Tashigi.
"That's right. You have good eyes, Tashigi."
Tashigi looked at the blade in front of her in fascination, resisting the impulse to snatch it away from Yuna and give it a closer look. Obviously, even if she did that, she wouldn't keep it, but it would still be impolite to just snatch someone's weapon away like that.
After around a minute of Tashigi inspecting Yuna's sword from every possible angle, Tashigi realized what she was doing as her cheeks became slightly pink.
"*Cough* Sorry for staring like that. I can't help myself but get excited whenever I see a famous sword."
"Mah, no worries. You can stare at my sword as much as you want. I wouldn't even mind if you were to touch it. Hell, You can even give it a lick or a suck if you want to."
"L-Lick? S-Suck?"
While Tashigi was somewhat confused due to Yuna's words, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as her innuendo flew over the young woman's head.
'So pure and innocent~'
[We haven't even been here for a full day, and you are already causing this world's morals to rot.]
'My, thank you for the compliment~.'
[That... you know what? Sure, whatever. You're welcome.]
As Yuna and Kurama had a brief conversation, Tashigi continued gushing about this world's famous sword with an excited expression on her face.
"You know, it's my dream to collect all the famous swords in the world. There are so many of them that are being wielded by filthy pirates, which I really can't stand. Aren't those swords crying due to being held by evil?"
After Tashigi finished speaking, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement while shaking her head in denial.
"You got something wrong there, Tashigi."
"Something wrong? What do you mean."
"Swords don't care whether they are held by evil people or good people. All a sword wants is to serve its purpose. The reason they were created. As Yuna resumed speaking, Yuna yet again showed off her Yubashiri.
"Yubashiri. Snow Chaser. This sword was made to hunt. Chasing after a target and cutting it down; That is this sword's purpose. Whether the people it hunts are good or evil, it couldn't care less."
Tashigo got into a daze the moment Yuna finished speaking, while the sword Yuna was holding seemed to hum in satisfaction. However, before Tashigi could react to Yuna's words, Yuna had already resumed speaking.
"Besides that, what makes you think that only pirates are the bad guys? Marines can be just as evil as pirates, if not even more evil."
Although Tashigi was still somewhat confused about Yuna's words, thinking about the purpose of her own blade named Shigure, but the moment Yuna claimed that Marines could be just as bad or even worth than pirates, she couldn't help but get angry.
"There is no way Marines could be like that!"
Seeing the anger on Tashigi's face, Yuna chuckled in amusement as she petted her head as if she was a child.
"My~ Your innocents is quite cute. I like it."
However, Tashigi slapped Yuna's hand away, still glaring at her, giving Yuna the image of a small cat hissing at her.
"Hehe, very well. How about this, then? Let's have a little bet."
"A bet?"
"Yup. If you win the bet, I'll give you my Yubashiri, no questions asked."
Hearing that Yuna would give her Yubashiri to her, Tashigi's eyes widened in shock, as she didn't expect Yuna to give away such a great sword willingly. Simultaneously, she could help but be on guard about what Yuna wanted from her in return.
"And if I win, then you have to share a kiss with me~"
"A k-k-kiss!?"
Obviously, Tashigi was shocked by that kind of price. On the one hand, only having to bet a simple kiss for the chance to get one of the Skilled Swords was incredible, but on the other hand, the only people Tashigi had ever kissed were her parents, so she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Obviously aware of Tashigi's embarrassment, Yuna continued talking as if she didn't notice anything.
"Yup! How about this? I'm sure you will enter the Grand Line at some point, as the longer Marines are in office, the stronger they become and the more dangerous areas they are assigned to.
So, after entering the Grand Line, if no event happened that made you doubt the Marines might not be as great as you think they are within one year, then it's your win. Otherwise, it's mine."
Naturally, there was no way for Yuna to know whether something like that would happen or not, but she honestly didn't care too much. She never planned to use the Yubashiri as her main weapon, so the worst-case scenario of this bet was that Yuna wouldn't gain anything.
[I'm surprised that you are satisfied with a kiss.]
'Hehe, this tongue of mine that is dexterous enough to untie complex knots is all I need to make women fall for me.'
[I see, yet again, the trust in your own degeneracy is uncontested.]
'I wonder if there are any interesting Devil Fruits I could make use of~.'
[...]
'Luffy's fruit would have been nice, but I guess that's taken~ Mhh~ I wonder if there is a Tentacle Tentacle Fruit?'
[F*cking degenerate.]
'Yup, but you already knew that~.'
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