Next Bonus, 100!!
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On the Going Merry.
"Hey! Island ho!" Usopp shouted, adjusting his goggles.
"An island?" Viola said. "We're getting closer to the Grand Line!"
Luffy's face was filled with anticipation. "Is that Loguetown up ahead?"
"Yeah," Zoro nodded. The wound on his chest had mostly healed. "Loguetown. The Town of the Beginning and the End."
Sanji came out of the galley. "That's where the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, was born... and where he was executed."
"Heh heh! I wanna go see it!" Luffy laughed.
The Going Merry docked at the port.
Luffy and the others disembarked. "So this is Loguetown!" he said, looking around.
A sign with the word "LOGUETOWN" hung on an arch between two buildings. The streets were bustling with people, the shops filled with all sorts of goods.
Sanji leaned against the rail. "We're out of supplies. This is our last chance to stock up before we head into the Grand Line."
"We'll have to be careful of the Marines," Zoro said, "and the bounty hunters' guild on this island. I'm going to go buy some swords. You guys be careful."
He leaped from the ship.
"I'm gonna go see where Roger was executed!" Luffy said with a grin.
"I'll stay here and watch the ship," Viola said. "And I need to find someone to do some maintenance on the Merry."
"Maintenance?" Luffy asked.
"That's right," Viola said. "It's important to have a ship regularly inspected and maintained. Didn't you know that?"
Luffy shook his head.
In the original story, from the time they got the Going Merry to the time they reached Water 7, about two months had passed.
A new ship, with proper repairs and maintenance, could easily sail for twenty years.
Look at the ships of the Four Emperors, like the Moby Dick. They had been through far more intense battles and sailed through far more treacherous seas than the Merry.
So, for a new ship like the Merry to sink after only two or three months at sea due to a broken keel...
It wasn't just that Luffy and his crew had faced strong enemies and the harsh environment of the Grand Line.
It was that they were reckless and lacked basic seamanship, putting an immense strain on the Merry.
In fact, other than their farewell at Water 7, Luffy had never shown any real care for his ship.
The ones who had caused the most damage to the Merry... were the Straw Hats themselves.
The only one who knew anything about ship repair was Usopp. He had always taken care of the Merry. But he was no different from a novice, only able to do the most basic repairs—patching a hole with a piece of wood.
It wasn't enough to save the Merry.
So, while the scene of the Merry's sinking was certainly moving, the ones who were most moved were the very ones who were responsible for it.
Viola, being older, was naturally more thoughtful and careful than Luffy and the others.
"In that case," Usopp said, "I'll stay too. We're going to be running into a lot more trouble in the future."
He meant that he wanted to learn how to properly maintain a ship.
"Heh heh! Alright! I'll leave it to you guys!" Luffy said with a laugh.
"Then I'll be in charge of getting supplies," Sanji said.
With their tasks assigned, they split up.
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Ipponmatsu's Shop.
Perhaps because the timing was off, Zoro didn't run into Tashigi.
He walked into the shop and asked about the prices. The owner's eyes lit up when he saw Zoro's one remaining sword. He tried to buy it for a low price.
Zoro ignored him and pulled a sword from a barrel.
The owner was still rambling on, trying to trick Zoro out of his Wado Ichimonji. When he saw the sword Zoro had pulled out, he jumped.
"Hey! No, not that one! I can't sell you that one!"
Zoro stared at the blade. It was long, with a pronounced curve and no blood groove. The hamon was a typical flame pattern. It was a folded steel blade.
"This is a cursed sword," Zoro said.
"You knew?" the owner said, surprised.
"No," Zoro said. "I could feel it."
"You're right," the owner said. "The Kitetsu school, starting with the Shodai Kitetsu... they're all cursed swords. Many famous swordsmen have died because of them... I want to get rid of it, but I'm afraid the curse will harm someone..."
A grin spread across Zoro's face. "I like it. I'll take it."
"What?" the owner said, shocked. "You idiot! I won't sell it to you! If you die, it'll be as if I killed you!"
WHAM!
A stout woman punched him in the head. "Hey! Just sell him the damn sword!"
Zoro smiled. "Alright. Then let's test my luck against the curse of the Sandai Kitetsu."
He tossed the sword into the air. "If I lose, it just means my luck is bad..."
He held out his arm in the path of the falling sword.
"Don't do it, you fool!" the owner shouted. "That sword is sharp! You'll lose an arm!"
In the next instant, the owner's eyes widened in disbelief.
The spine of the Sandai Kitetsu passed just over Zoro's arm, and the tip plunged into the floorboards as if they were tofu.
"This sword is mine," Zoro said.
His spirit had not only subdued the Sandai Kitetsu, but had also stunned the owner.
"Looks like my luck is stronger," Zoro said, pulling the sword from the floor.
"Hey, wait!" the owner's wife shouted.
The owner brought out the shop's treasure. He believed that Zoro was destined to become a great swordsman, and he wanted to entrust his own dream to him.
And so, not only did he not charge Zoro for the Sandai Kitetsu, but he also gave him one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, the Yubashiri.
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Zoro left the shop, feeling refreshed.
"Hey! Go check it out! There's a guy about to be executed at the execution platform!"
"What?"
"Who is it?"
"A pirate!"
At the execution platform, Buggy, who had been defeated by Luffy, had teamed up with Alvida. They had caught Luffy off guard and were about to execute him.
Just like in the original story, even in the face of death, Luffy was smiling, shouting his catchphrase to the crowd.
And just as Buggy was about to bring his sword down, a bolt of lightning struck the platform, and Luffy took the opportunity to escape.
The commotion in Loguetown caught the attention of the Marine commander, Smoker, and the bounty hunter's guild.
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