Chapter 48: The Great Sharp Knife: Wind Forest Fire
After some final preparations, King Neptune, Fukaboshi, and the palace generals escorted the Straw Hats to the port aboard a massive whale shark.
"There she is!" Luffy pointed excitedly. "The Sunny! Franky's already there!"
Aboard the Thousand Sunny, Franky stood at the bow, arms raised in his signature pose—elbow spikes gleaming, sunglasses reflecting the harbor lights. He'd arrived early to master the final adjustments needed for the coated ship's ascent.
Shirahoshi had followed them to the port, her enormous form half-emerged from the water as she clutched Luffy close, tears streaming down her face.
"Luffy-sama... you're leaving already?"
"Yeah, Shirahoshi!" Luffy grinned, completely unbothered by the mermaid's emotional farewell. "We're heading to the New World!"
The harbor had become crowded with murlocs who'd gathered to see them off. Some were already loading last-minute gifts aboard the Sunny—barrels of Fishman Island's finest supplies, woven goods, preserved delicacies.
Nami stood by the anchor, her eyes darting across every departing boat, every passing crate, every potential treasure being loaded.
Gotta make sure nothing valuable gets missed...
Nearby, King Neptune and the Left Minister approached Itachi, a long wooden box cradled carefully in the minister's arms.
"Itachi-san," King Neptune began, his deep voice carrying genuine gratitude. "We wish to offer you a token of our appreciation."
Itachi tilted his head. "That's unnecessary. The victory belonged to everyone."
"Please." The Left Minister stepped forward, extending the box. "Fukaboshi told us of your battle. How you borrowed Zoro's sword to fight. It occurred to us—a swordsman should have his own blade."
Itachi hesitated.
"A swordsman's treasure should not gather dust in our treasury. Better it finds a worthy wielder."
Before Itachi could respond, a presence materialized behind him.
Nami's eyes had become berry symbols.
"TREASURE?! There's still treasure?!"
The Left Minister flinched. "Ah! This is—it's not—"
Zoro appeared on Itachi's other side, his visible eye fixed on the box with predatory intensity.
"A sword?"
The Left Minister clutched the box protectively.
"Zoro-san! This gift is for Itachi-san! He should open it himself!"
Zoro's eye snapped to Itachi.
"Well?! Open it! What are you waiting for?!"
Itachi regarded the box—long, narrow, made of dark wood that seemed to absorb light. He accepted it from the Left Minister.
The weight surprised him. Far heavier than its size suggested.
He lifted the lid.
Inside, resting on silk padding, lay a sword.
But unlike any blade Itachi had used before. It was a tachi—a curved sword, but with a straight blade profile that set it apart from the katana he'd borrowed from Zoro. The scabbard was black, unadorned, practical. The hilt wrapping was dark, worn from years of careful use but still perfectly serviceable.
Itachi lifted it. The weight settled into his palm, distributed along the blade in a way that felt... right.
The Left Minister's voice carried quiet pride.
"This is the Wind Forest Fire. A blade of the Twenty-One Great Sharp Knives—one of the finest swords in existence. The hamon pattern is straight tempering, large chaotic grain."
Zoro's eye had gone wide.
"A Great Sharp Knife?! Twenty-One Works?!"
He leaned in, studying every detail of the blade.
"To think I'd encounter another one here!"
Nami had already lost interest, turning away.
"A murder weapon. I thought it was actual treasure."
Zoro whirled on her. "This IS treasure! Real treasure! Worth more than all the gold in that bag!"
Itachi stepped back from the argument, giving the blade a few experimental swings. The weight carried through from wrist to shoulder, engaging muscles he rarely used with his shuriken and kunai.
Heavy, he noted. Heavier than any blade I've used before.
But even in those simple swings, he could feel the edge. The sharpness. The potential.
Zoro materialized beside him, hand extended. "May I?"
Itachi handed over the blade without hesitation.
Zoro held it differently—not just looking, but feeling. His hands moved along the hilt, testing the balance. He raised the blade, examining the steel with a swordsman's eye.
"This has been hardened. Tempered properly." He looked up. "Itachi, this blade can become a Black Blade."
"Black Blade?"
Instead of answering, Zoro's arm darkened—Armament Haki flowing into the Wind Forest Fire. The blade responded instantly, the black coating spreading across its length like it had been waiting for this moment.
Zoro turned to the sea, raised the sword, and swung.
The slash didn't just cut water. It parted it—a deep trench opening in the ocean, extending far beyond anything a normal blade could achieve, before the sea roared back to fill the void.
Luffy, who had been saying his goodbyes to Shirahoshi, bounded over like an excited monkey.
"WOW! Zoro! Did you get a new sword?!"
Zoro quickly handed the Wind Forest Fire back to Itachi, clearly unwilling to let Luffy anywhere near it.
"No. It's Itachi's now."
He turned back to the shinobi.
"It's perfect for you. The more Haki you can channel, the more this blade will respond. It's built for someone with strong will."
Itachi slid the blade back into its sheath, securing it to the fastenings on his back.
Now I won't need to borrow from Zoro.
"Thank you," he said simply. "I'll put it to good use."
Luffy, oblivious to the significance of the moment, had already moved on. His arm darkened with Armament Haki, forming a black fist.
"See, Itachi? This is Haki!"
Itachi observed the transformation with interest.
"You don't know what Haki is?" Zoro's eye narrowed. "A fighter like you doesn't know Haki?"
Itachi shook his head. "In my world, we had chakra. Different techniques. But this... no."
Luffy brightened. "Then I'll teach you! When we're sailing!"
Zoro stared at Luffy.
You? Teach someone else?
Luffy caught the look.
"What? I can teach!"
"...We'll see."
As the farewells continued, King Neptune and the Left Minister drifted slightly apart from the group, their expressions troubled.
The Left Minister whispered urgently. "Should we tell them? About the Jade Hand Box?"
King Neptune's massive brow furrowed.
"If Big Mom opens it herself..."
They both imagined the scene: Charlotte Linlin, the Empress of Totto Land, her enormous face blackened by an explosion, her rage shaking the seas as she declared eternal war on the Straw Hats.
The Left Minister shuddered.
"Your Majesty... do explosives expire?"
King Neptune considered this carefully.
"Dragon Palace City is quite humid..."
"So it's possible the powder has degraded?"
They exchanged glances—hopeful, uncertain, and deeply afraid to bet on either possibility.
The Left Minister gestured subtly toward the Sunny, where two figures lay draped over the railing like wilted plants.
Chopper and Usopp had succumbed to complete despair. Their faces were gray. Their eyes stared at nothing.
"The New World..." Usopp moaned. "Hunted by an Emperor..."
"Darkness..." Chopper whispered. "Eternal darkness awaits..."
King Neptune and the Left Minister watched this display, then looked at each other.
"...Perhaps we shouldn't mention it," Neptune decided.
The Left Minister nodded solemnly.
"Yes. Let's not."
On the opposite side of the gathering, the Right Minister was demonstrating something to Nami—a device she held with intense focus.
"This is a Log Pose for the New World," he explained. "Different from the one you used in Paradise."
Nami studied the instrument—three separate pointers arranged in a triangle, each one drifting independently.
"In the first half of the Grand Line, a single pointer was sufficient. But the New World..." He gestured vaguely. "Too many islands. Too many magnetic fields interfering with each other. Too many unpredictable weather patterns."
He pointed to the three needles.
"You follow the stable one. That points to the next island. The shaking ones indicate danger—the more violently they shake, the more chaotic the island's climate and magnetic field."
Nami's expression grew serious.
"So a good navigator must choose the safest path when the pointers shift."
"Precisely!"
Behind them, Usopp and Chopper overheard.
"Safe path..." Usopp's voice cracked.
"Dangerous islands..." Chopper whimpered.
They sank deeper into despair.
Nami's bad feeling grew.
And then—
"What's that?"
Luffy's head appeared between them, blocking her view of the pointers entirely.
"Let me see!"<｜end▁of▁thinking｜>I'll continue with Chapter 49. Here's the translation with proper One Piece terminology:
Chapter 49: Departure
Luffy's sudden intrusion startled everyone.
"Luffy! Get out of the way! I'm trying to understand the Log Pose!" Nami pushed his face aside.
"But I wanna see too!" Luffy persisted, his rubber face stretching comically under her palm.
The Right Minister chuckled at their antics. "There's no rush. You'll have plenty of time to understand it during your voyage."
He pointed toward the three needles, two of which were still shaking violently.
"See how only one points steadily? That's your next destination. The others indicate dangerous waters—islands with unpredictable climates or powerful inhabitants."
Luffy squinted at the shaking needles. "So the shaking ones are the scary ones?"
"Essentially, yes."
"Then why would anyone go to them?" Luffy asked with genuine confusion.
The Right Minister laughed. "Because sometimes the greatest treasures and adventures lie in the most dangerous places. That's the nature of the New World."
Nami groaned. "Please don't encourage him."
Nearby, Jinbe approached the group, his expression thoughtful.
"Luffy, before you depart, there's something I must say again."
Luffy turned. "What is it, Jinbe?"
"I cannot join you yet. I must return to Big Mom's territory and properly sever my ties with her crew. If I simply abandon them, they may take it as an insult—and Fishman Island would suffer the consequences."
Luffy's face fell slightly. "You're not coming now?"
"No." Jinbe's voice was firm but kind. "But I will come. Once my obligations are fulfilled, I will find you. That is my promise."
Luffy studied him for a long moment, then grinned.
"Okay! I'll wait!"
Jinbe blinked. "Just like that?"
"Sure! You said you'd come, so you'll come!" Luffy stretched his arms wide. "I've got plenty of strong crew members already! Itachi's here now, so we're fine!"
Jinbe shook his head, but he was smiling.
"Your trust is both admirable and terrifying."
On the Sunny's deck, Franky called out. "Hey! Everyone ready? We need to catch the right current to ascend!"
Robin, who had been quietly observing the farewells, turned to Itachi.
"How are you feeling? Your eyes?"
Itachi touched the corner of his eye briefly.
"Better. Rest has helped."
Robin studied him with knowing eyes. "You pushed yourself far beyond your limits. That kind of strain doesn't heal in hours."
Itachi said nothing. She wasn't wrong.
"But," Robin continued, "I'm glad you'll be traveling with us. Your presence changes things."
"Changes things?"
Robin smiled enigmatically. "The Straw Hats have always been strong. But we've never had someone like you. Someone who sees battle not as chaos to be embraced, but as a problem to be solved."
Itachi considered this.
"In my world, battle was all I knew. There was no room for anything else."
"And now?"
Itachi watched Luffy—still arguing with Nami about the Log Pose, still laughing, still utterly carefree despite having just provoked one of the most powerful people in the world.
"Now..." Itachi's voice was soft. "Now I'm not sure what battle means anymore."
Robin's smile widened. "Then you'll fit in perfectly. None of us are sure what anything means. We just sail forward and find out."
Shirahoshi's tears had not stopped. If anything, they'd intensified.
"Luffy-sama! Itachi-sama! Everyone!" She waved both enormous hands, causing small waves in the harbor. "I'll never forget you! Never!"
Luffy waved back from the Sunny's railing.
"Take care of Fishman Island, Shirahoshi! And don't let anyone kidnap you again!"
"I won't!" she sobbed.
King Neptune stood beside his daughter, his expression proud and sad in equal measure.
"Straw Hat Pirates! You will always be welcome here! This island is your home whenever you wish it!"
The crowd of murlocs took up the call.
"STRAW HATS! STRAW HATS! STRAW HATS!"
Usopp, still draped over the railing in despair, perked up slightly.
"Hey... they're cheering for us..."
Chopper lifted his head. "They really like us..."
Brook struck a pose. "Of course they do! We're heroes! Yohohoho!"
Sanji lit a cigarette, exhaling slowly. "Not a bad send-off."
Zoro leaned against the mast, arms crossed. "It's fine, I guess."
Nami clutched the new Log Pose protectively. "As long as we don't run into Big Mom immediately, this should be fine..."
Itachi stood apart from the others, watching the farewell with quiet observation. These people—these strange, chaotic, wonderful people—had accepted him without hesitation. Had fought beside him. Had trusted him.
And now they were sailing toward danger, toward emperors and ancient weapons and things he didn't yet understand.
Sasuke, he thought. Naruto.
I hope you're both okay.
Because I think... I'm going to be okay too.
The Sunny's engines roared to life. Bubbles formed around the hull, preparing for the ascent through the Fishman Island membrane and into the waters above.
"EVERYONE HOLD ON!" Franky shouted. "WE'RE DEPARTING!"
Luffy leaped to the figurehead, one foot planted on the lion's mane, his straw hat held in place by the wind.
"SET SAIL! NEXT STOP—THE NEW WORLD!"
The Sunny surged forward, breaking through the harbor's calm waters, rising toward the membrane that separated Fishman Island from the sea above.
Behind them, the cheers of Fishman Island faded into the depths.
Before them, the unknown waited.
Itachi Uchiha stood at the railing, one hand resting on the hilt of his new sword, and watched as the bubble carried them upward.
This world, he thought. This strange, impossible world.
Let's see what it has in store.
END OF FISHMAN ISLAND ARC
(End of Chapter)
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