The next day, at noon.
The sky was cloudless, the weather bright and mild. Birds wheeled through the blue, painting a peaceful scene overhead.
Kairos D. Vale walked through the streets once more. Well-rested and well-fed, he had gone back out to continue searching for Ipponmatsu's sword shop.
And just as Mohji and the others had found so strange—
Kairos really had spared them.
The first reason was simple: killing them wouldn't have earned him any card rewards. He had already confirmed that back when he wiped out the Black Cat Pirates.
The second was that he didn't want to alter the world line too much by killing Buggy's crew. If that kept Buggy from becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the future, Kairos would lose his chance to farm him a second time.
One reason on top of the other—
and they had managed to keep their lives.
Clang, clang, clang…
Suddenly, a crisp metallic hammering reached his ears.
Kairos turned at once, and his eyes lit up.
He had found it.
Ipponmatsu's Weapons Shop.
…
At the same time—
Hoooo—
A long ship horn sounded as a Marine warship slowly docked at shore.
Garp stepped off with broad, steady strides.
The day before, he had received a report from the Marines stationed in Loguetown.
Kairos had arrived.
Not only that, he had interrupted the clash between the Black Cat Pirates and the Buggy Pirates.
The Black Cat Pirates had been wiped out to the last man.
The Buggy Pirates had fled out to sea and disappeared.
That news had already intrigued Garp enough to make him leave Foosha Village immediately and head straight for Loguetown.
"So where would that kid be now?"
Garp shaded his eyes with one hand and looked out over Loguetown.
…
"Boss, you in there?"
Kairos stepped closer and called into the shop.
The clear ring of hammer on metal stopped, and a man emerged from deeper inside. He had only a few tufts of hair on top of his head, with long side hair trailing down and a bright red nose.
Ipponmatsu.
"Coming."
He clapped his hands and pulled off his smithing gloves, tossing them aside.
"What are you looking to buy?"
As he spoke, he gestured toward the weapon racks, where all kinds of blades and weapons were neatly displayed.
"I'll have a look."
Kairos' gaze swept over the many fine weapons arranged on the racks—
then stopped on a basket of odds and ends off to the side.
Inside were discarded, damaged, and outdated weapons.
But among them, one sword stood out immediately.
It had decorated fittings at the hilt and pommel, a simple cross-shaped guard, ray skin wrapping, and a modest design. The blade was long and deeply curved, with no groove. Its hamon was a classic flame pattern, and the hilt lacked a visible peg. A strip of white cloth was wrapped around both the handle and part of the scabbard.
The blade was eighty-eight centimeters long and 1.7 centimeters wide.
This was—
Sandai Kitetsu.
The sword Kairos had come here for.
"Those are just discarded junk. Nothing worth looking at."
Ipponmatsu had noticed where Kairos' eyes landed.
But before he could finish speaking, Kairos had already reached out—
and wrapped his hand around Sandai Kitetsu's hilt.
"Wait!"
Ipponmatsu's expression changed at once, and he hurriedly tried to stop him.
Kairos ignored him completely. His wrist snapped with force—
Shing!
Sandai Kitetsu came free in one smooth draw.
Under the sunlight, the blade's flame-pattern hamon seemed to come alive, as if real fire were dancing across the steel.
So this was the cursed sword Kitetsu.
Looking at it now, it really did feel different.
Kairos nodded slightly, then turned to Ipponmatsu.
"Boss, I'll take this one. How much?"
"That sword is cursed—"
Ipponmatsu had barely started when Kairos waved him off.
"I know. It's a Kitetsu."
"You know that and you still want it?" Ipponmatsu's tone rose sharply, clear surprise on his face.
At that, Kairos tightened his grip slightly and held Sandai Kitetsu before him.
The bright blade reflected his expression clearly.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he spoke in an even, almost casual tone.
"I only use blades that can be used. If it refuses to be used by me, I'll smash it."
The words were spoken lightly.
But Ipponmatsu's mouth twitched.
He could tell immediately—
Kairos wasn't bluffing.
If Sandai Kitetsu really did act up and try to harm its wielder the way the rumors said…
Kairos would absolutely destroy it without hesitation.
The warning caught in Ipponmatsu's throat and died there.
The man in front of him…
wasn't some sword-lover at all.
And just after Kairos finished speaking—
Sandai Kitetsu gave off the faintest hum.
For a brief instant, Ipponmatsu had the strange feeling the blade itself was sending a message.
Submission.
His eyes widened.
He rubbed them hard.
But when he looked again, Sandai Kitetsu was perfectly still, as though what he had sensed just now had only been his imagination.
"Boss, how much for this one?"
Kairos' voice pulled him back.
"Just… give me whatever you think is fair."
Ipponmatsu spread his hands, sounding half helpless and half indifferent.
The reason Sandai Kitetsu had ended up in the junk basket in the first place was because its reputation as a cursed sword was too infamous. People were terrified of it. They didn't just refuse to buy it—they hardly dared touch it.
Now that someone wanted to take it away, Ipponmatsu was more than happy to let it go.
Since he didn't name a price, Kairos didn't intend to take advantage of him. He simply tossed over the money pouch he was carrying.
It contained the bounty money the Marines had paid him the previous night for the Black Cat Pirates.
Fifteen million beli in total.
Ipponmatsu opened the pouch and stared.
"You don't need to pay this much."
As he spoke, he handed ten million beli back.
Kairos didn't take the pouch right away.
Instead, he asked another question.
"Then what about that one?"
He pointed at Yubashiri.
"Yubashiri was still displayed inside the shop.."
"Sorry, no." Ipponmatsu shook his head immediately. "That's the treasure of my shop. It isn't for sale."
Sandai Kitetsu was one thing.
He had no intention of letting Yubashiri suffer the same treatment.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, Ipponmatsu looked thoroughly uneasy.
Kairos sighed inwardly at the answer.
In the original story, once Zoro proved himself worthy by taming Sandai Kitetsu, Ipponmatsu was so impressed that he gifted him the treasured Yubashiri.
But now that Kairos stood here instead, he clearly wasn't getting that treatment.
Looking at Ipponmatsu's face, Kairos couldn't find even the slightest trace of admiration.
Seems that was just protagonist privilege after all.
He chuckled inwardly and didn't press the matter any further.
Yubashiri wasn't some irreplaceable supreme blade anyway. He could always look for a better sword later.
He took back the pouch, sheathed Sandai Kitetsu, and fastened it at his waist before turning and walking out of the shop.
Outside—
a towering figure stood directly before him.
A figure built like an iron fortress.
He had come—
for Kairos.
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