Ipponmatsu straightened his posture and looked up at Karl.
"Vice Admiral Karl…"
"This sword is free!"
"But… I have one small request."
"I want to admire your blade—Shusui!"
"Please!"
He clasped his hands together and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
As expected of a descendant of Wano Country.
The spirit of craftsmanship truly flowed in his blood.
Karl laughed.
"Boss, you're pretty generous."
"But I'm not the kind of person who takes advantage of others."
"If you want to admire Shusui, go ahead."
"But I'll still pay for the sword."
"Since you won't name a price, I'll just decide myself."
As he spoke, Karl pretended to reach into his pocket before casually pulling out a handful of Berries from his system storage.
All of them were 5,000-Berry notes.
Altogether, it was roughly around one million Berries.
He tossed the stack onto the counter.
"This is what you deserve."
"Take it."
"The Marines do not take even a needle or thread from civilians for free."
Ipponmatsu was instantly moved to tears.
As expected of the Marine Hero!
What incredible character!
"T-Thank you!"
"Thank you very much!"
Karl waved casually before drawing Shusui from his waist and placing it on the table.
At that moment, money became no different from scrap paper in Ipponmatsu's eyes.
He inhaled deeply, then professionally put on gloves and a magnifying monocle.
With a solemn expression, he carefully lifted Shusui and placed it onto a prepared sword stand.
"So this is the blade that once slew a dragon…"
"It's breathtakingly beautiful."
"Heavy. Durable."
"As expected of the sword wielded by the Dragon-Slaying Samurai."
"Ahem… of course, the fact that it is wielded by you is also its honor."
Karl merely chuckled softly.
Truthfully, he rarely used Shusui nowadays.
The sword had already been deeply engraved with Ryuma's will.
Its true master had always been Ryuma alone.
And as Karl's swordsmanship continued to deepen, that feeling became stronger and stronger.
It indirectly caused him to feel somewhat uncomfortable whenever he used Shusui.
It didn't affect combat—
but psychologically, it just felt… strange.
He never experienced that sensation when using Raven or Raiu.
Of course, this only happened with truly exceptional swords.
Blades like Yubashiri or Shigure simply didn't possess such overwhelming wills.
After admiring the sword for a while, Ipponmatsu sighed emotionally.
"If only my father could have seen the blade of the Dragon-Slaying Samurai…"
"He would have died without regrets."
Karl smiled faintly without saying anything.
Perhaps this was simply the influence of Wano's unique samurai culture.
Meanwhile — The Straw Hat Pirates
After leaving Shells Town, Luffy and Zoro somehow ended up at Orange Town.
There, together with Nami, they defeated Captain Buggy.
Although Nami still hadn't officially agreed to join the Straw Hat Pirates, she had already begun accepting Luffy deep down.
He truly was different from other pirates.
But she still had her own concerns.
After all, Cocoyasi Village had once been saved by the Marines when she was a child.
And she had also promised that man they would meet again someday on the seas.
Everything she had done until now was for the sake of successfully reaching the Grand Line—
and seeing that man again.
However…
Nami did not want to meet him as a pirate.
So staying beside Luffy was merely a temporary measure.
But after the events at Syrup Village, her resolve had begun to waver.
Because now—
Luffy had obtained a ship.
A ship capable of carrying her all the way to the Grand Line.
The Going Merry.
And since she was going to become a navigator anyway—
what difference was there between working on a merchant ship and a pirate ship?
Merchant ships even required experience and qualifications.
Would anyone really trust a young beautiful girl like her?
Most importantly—
Nami felt that the Straw Hat crew weren't bad people at all.
They were simply a group chasing their dreams.
How many evil intentions could such idiots possibly have?
Going Merry
After rescuing the "Blade God" Johnny and the "Sword Saint" Yosaku, the Straw Hat crew held a small meeting.
Well…
Calling it a meeting was a stretch.
It was more like discussing the logistics of life at sea.
Finally, Luffy slammed his hand onto the table excitedly.
"I've decided!"
"Let's find a cook for the ship!"
Usopp immediately nodded in agreement.
"Yeah!"
"That way we can eat delicious food on board too!"
Johnny rested his chin in his hand and struck a dramatic pose.
"If you're looking for a sea cook…"
"I know the perfect place."
"Where?!"
"It's close to the Grand Line."
"And there are even rumors that the man Big Brother is searching for—Hawk Eyes—has appeared there."
"The direction is northeast by north!"
"Our destination…"
"The Sea Restaurant, Baratie!"
Meanwhile — Karl's Side
Karl and Ain were also heading toward the Sea Restaurant Baratie.
With the speed of the Holy Light, they would arrive very quickly.
"East Blue really deserves its reputation as the weakest sea."
"Guess what the highest bounty Smoker captured last year was?"
Karl rubbed his chin.
"Eighteen million Berries?"
Ain shook her head proudly.
"Hehe, wrong!"
"It was twelve million."
"A pirate like that wouldn't even make a splash in the first half of the Grand Line."
"But in East Blue, they're already considered major pirates."
"The gap between worlds is really huge!"
Ain shook her head dramatically as she sighed.
Karl merely smiled silently.
The weakest sea?
Perhaps.
"What about you then?"
"How have things been on your side?"
Ain puffed out her chest proudly.
"How do you think I became a Vice Admiral?"
Karl laughed.
"Sigh…"
"You used to be my little tagalong."
"And now you're already the same rank as me."
Ain immediately pinched him angrily.
"Who's your tagalong?!"
"Nielsen is obviously your tagalong!"
Nielsen: ???
How did I get caught in the crossfire?!
"Hahaha!"
"Alright, enough joking."
"We're almost there."
"Hm?"
Karl narrowed his eyes slightly.
"There seems to be something happening ahead."
Appearing on the sea before them was a massive pirate ship.
It was around twenty percent larger than the Holy Light.
But strangely—
the ship looked utterly wrecked.
As though it had just crawled out of a battlefield.
There were barely any visible people aboard.
And if there had been some sea fog surrounding it, it would have looked exactly like a ghost ship.
Baratie
Luffy, who had become a waiter after damaging the restaurant, stared in surprise.
"That ship is huge!"
"Hey Sanji, do you think that guy Gin came back to repay you?"
Sanji, cigarette hanging from his mouth, wore a serious expression.
"I don't think so."
"The atmosphere feels strange."
"Yeah…"
"That ship really does look weird."
"It doesn't look damaged by cannon fire…"
"And it doesn't seem man-made either…"
Luffy suddenly added:
"Maybe a tornado blew through it?"
At that moment, a tall figure appeared aboard the ruined ship.
Sanji's eyes sharpened.
"They're coming out."
Supported by his subordinate Gin, Krieg slowly walked to the entrance of Baratie and weakly raised his head.
"S-Sorry…"
"Could I please have some water… and food?"
"I have money…"
"As much as you want…"
"I… I don't even know how long it's been since I last ate…"
"Please…"
"Please give me water… and food…"
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