Raiden Ei looked at the old man, who was completely different from before, looking eager. "Never mind, I'll go prepare some supplies instead!"
Fellaf said, "I really can do it, my back is fine now."
Raiden Ei still refused, "No, I already told you my understanding of a Sword Master yesterday. Whether you can become one or not is up to you."
Fellaf felt like he had lost tens of billions of Berries. He had actually given up the chance to truly spar with a Sword Master. Raiden Ei had already made her stance clear, and she obviously didn't want to change her mind, so he could only suppress his disappointment.
Fellaf forced a smile. "Alright then! If there's anything you need help with, just tell me. I still have some status in this kingdom, so perhaps I can assist you."
Raiden Ei thought about it and found nothing she needed help with, so she refused, "No need. Well, I should go now. Take care of yourself."
"Raiden Ei, the sea is full of dangers, you must be careful. Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you."
Raiden Ei was a little curious. "What is it?"
Fellaf became serious. "It's about the demon blade zanmian you bought at the auction that day. It is a true demon blade, very sinister. The two swordsmen who bought it before truly died unnatural deaths. As for how the auction house retrieved this demon blade, I cannot tell you, as it concerns the kingdom's secrets."
Raiden Ei took the demon blade zanmian from her backpack and examined it from all sides, but found nothing wrong! She drew the sword from its sheath, and a clear 'clang' echoed in the quiet hall. The cold gleam of the blade still captivated the mind.
Fellaf's eyelids twitched as he watched from the side, quickly reminding Raiden Ei, "Raiden Ei, I know you are very strong, a Sword Master, many times stronger than us swordsmen, but you must also be careful with this blade. It is very sharp, but it can also harm you."
Raiden Ei sheathed the blade with a swish. She had taken Fellaf's words to heart; even if she hadn't found anything amiss, it didn't mean there was nothing. At least, rumors weren't entirely baseless. "Okay, I understand. I'll be careful. So, after I die, will this blade return to the auction house?"
Fellaf thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, as long as this blade loses its owner, it will return to the auction house."
Raiden Ei now understood a little. In this world, any unusual occurrence could be attributed to a Devil Fruit. "The kingdom has a Devil Fruit User, right?"
Fellaf's eyes widened, and he stammered, "How... how... do you know?"
"Isn't it simple? Just think about what's most special in this world and capable of doing that, then it's easy to figure out."
Fellaf's brain was almost crashing. He even somewhat felt that Raiden Ei was right, but how could that be? How could someone guess it with just a few words?
Raiden Ei watched the old man stand completely dazed, unable to recover for a while. She decided not to disturb his mood and quietly left the hall, walking towards the entrance of the Kendo Hall. On the way, she met many apprentices from the Kendo Hall, all looking at her with curiosity and admiration.
Raiden Ei wondered, "What's wrong with these people? Never mind."
She walked straight out of the Kendo Hall and headed to a nearby shop to see if there were any supplies she could use. Anyway, putting them in her backpack wouldn't be a bother. After spending half an hour buying everything she could use, she went to the port alone.
Following the familiar road, she arrived at the port, which hadn't changed much from before. The surrounding noise didn't drown out the sound of the morning waves. Some ships that arrived last night needed workers to unload cargo, while others preparing to sail needed workers to load cargo, bustling tirelessly.
When Raiden Ei entered the port, she once again attracted many gazes. As before, she paid no mind, walking steadily towards an open stretch of sea. Some people who recognized her were discussing her.
Several workers resting on the side were seeing Raiden Ei for the second time. Once seen, she was unforgettable in a short time, let alone seeing her twice in less than three days. They recognized her at first glance.
One man said, "It's that woman, the one who sailed alone on the sea that day..."
Another quickly covered his mouth. "Don't talk nonsense, didn't you see she has some unfamiliar abilities?"
The two beside them agreed, "That girl can walk alone on the high seas, which proves she has real skill."
Seeing that the man stopped struggling, the other lowered his hand from his mouth. The man also stopped speaking loudly, silently watching Raiden Ei reach the sea and conjure the single-masted sailboat they had seen that day out of thin air.
They all stared in disbelief as the ship sailed away from the port and out to sea. Only then did someone say, "I heard there's a fruit called the Devil Fruit, and eating it grants a special ability."
Another person continued, "You missed one thing: those who eat Devil Fruits are abandoned by the sea and become 'hammers' (unable to swim)."
One man said, "Did that girl eat a Devil Fruit? Can we find a Devil Fruit?"
"Probably! But forget about Devil Fruits, their price now exceeds one hundred million Berries."
"Then let's just go back to moving cargo!"
"Sigh... I guess we have no choice."
As she continuously sailed across the sea, Raiden Ei encountered different islands, different villages, and the same pirates. Occasionally, she would also encounter the Marine, but if she told them she was a Bounty Hunter, as long as she had no bounty, they wouldn't pursue her.
On the third day after Raiden Ei left the Hilton Kingdom, the sky was gloomy, the sun hidden, and the sea wind howled fiercely, as if something was about to happen.
That afternoon, she encountered some uninvited guests. On a large three-masted sailboat, a group of people, dressed differently from the ship's sailors, gathered at the bow.
Five men in white suits, varying in height, size, and build, stood around a man wearing a suit similar to a spacesuit and a fishbowl-like helmet, who was leering at the ship ahead.
They were Celestial Dragons and members of the CP Organization, an organization specifically established under the World Government to protect the Celestial Dragons.
When Raiden Ei discovered there were Celestial Dragons among them, she didn't want to cause trouble right now. Her current strength wasn't that great; in her normal state, she was not much different from an ordinary Navy Vice Admiral, and in some aspects, she might even be inferior. She just wanted to develop herself for a while.
She wanted to stay away from them, but those few people on the ship seemed to have fixated on her. She sighed, "Since I can't avoid them, I'll just kill them all!"
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