West Blue, 72nd Marine Branch.
Commodore Kuka sat with his legs crossed, puffing out clouds of smoke in his office.
The room was luxuriously decorated, exuding an air of expense everywhere, with the thousand-year-old fragrant wood desk covered in exquisite trophies.
Fingering the pure gold bracelet in his hand, he squinted his eyes in enjoyment.
In the Four Seas where powerhouses were scarce, Commodore was the highest rank a Marine could achieve, and Kuka was the highest-ranking officer of this Marine branch.
As the person in charge of the 72nd Branch, he had used this status to earn untold amounts of Berries.
Opening the safe under the desk and looking at the Berries packed to the brim, Kuka closed it again with satisfaction.
'The smell of money is truly enticing!'
Just seeing so many Berries made Kuka feel refreshed and happy.
Suddenly.
Bang!
The office door was pushed open with great force, and a somewhat disheveled figure stumbled in.
His face was gloomy, and his back was soaked with sweat; it was actually Kiki, who had narrowly escaped from Kilo's hands.
Kuka frowned, calmly putting down the pure gold bracelet and looking at the wretched Kiki, "Why come here so suddenly? Isn't the escort scheduled for the day after tomorrow, July 7th?"
"What are you doing here?"
Kiki's face was pale, his expression filled with lingering fear, "Kuka! Some... someone broke into my chamber of commerce and let all the last batch of slaves go."
Kuka casually picked up an expensive brand-name cigar, sounding a bit puzzled upon hearing this, "With your chamber of commerce's capabilities, you couldn't even deal with a single intruder?"
Recalling the scene at the time, cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and Kiki shook his head, "There happened to be a few pirates collaborating with me in the chamber of commerce who were quite famous in the West Blue, but they..."
"They didn't last five minutes against that intruder!"
At the thought of the slaves bought with a lot of money being let go and losing a large sum of cash for nothing, veins popped on Kiki's hands, his eyes full of rage.
"Kuka! I need you to help me deal with this person!"
"Don't forget, half of the batch of slaves he let go belonged to you!"
Seeing his interests damaged, Kuka narrowed his eyes, put down his cigar, and became serious.
"What is that intruder's name?"
A moment later, Kiki left, and Kuka looked at the intelligence on Kilo in his hand, falling into deep thought.
If what Kiki said was true, this Kilo who suddenly appeared probably has strength that shouldn't be underestimated.
Even pirates with bounties of twenty or thirty million weren't a match for him in a single exchange.
Moreover, Kiki also mentioned that he accidentally left information about the slave transport the day after tomorrow at the chamber of commerce.
If Kilo saw the information and learned about the slave transport, he might very well break in to save those slaves!
You should know, if this batch of slaves could be transported smoothly, it could bring Kuka a full hundred million in profit!
For the money-grubbing Kuka, he wouldn't allow any part of the process to go wrong.
Since Kilo might threaten his deal, he should make full preparations!
Kuka pondered, lowering his head to think of a strategy, when his eyes suddenly lit up.
Taking down an extremely ornate and exquisite transponder snail from the cabinet behind him, Kuka hesitated for a moment before making a call.
"Bulu bulu!"
A moment later, a lazy voice came from the other end.
"Who is it?"
"Saint Charloss! I am Kuka from the 72nd Branch in the West Blue!" Kuka did not dare to be negligent and replied quickly.
After a few seconds, the voice came from the other side, "Ah, I remember you. What's wrong?"
"Saint Charloss, I have a batch of slaves here ready to be shipped to the Sabaody Archipelago, but an intruder named Kilo has appeared and might threaten this batch of slaves!"
"The Mink Tribe and Fishman slaves you requested last time are all in this batch!"
The transponder snail fell silent, and after a while, that voice sounded again.
"Ku... what was your name again?"
"Forget it, it's not important. I've already sent a Marine Vice Admiral there. Deal with that person quickly and send the slaves I want to Mary Geoise!"
With a click, the transponder snail hung up, and a smug smile appeared on Kuka's face.
It's settled!
The slave trade was very risky, especially since Kuka was a Marine Commodore with a sensitive status.
And the reason he dared to do this was ultimately because he was backed by a Celestial Dragons who loved slaves.
Although he didn't know if the one Saint Charloss sent was a Vice Admiral from headquarters or a branch Vice Admiral.
In any case, for dealing with a Kilo who hadn't even set foot on the Grand Line yet, it was definitely enough!
If Kilo dared to interfere with his business, what awaited him would be an inescapable dragnet!
...
On Ruka Island.
After finishing dinner, Kilo left Robin, who was engrossed in reading, at home and went out alone.
The streets were brightly lit, with people coming and going.
As a commercial capital famous throughout the West Blue, even at night, the shops on both sides of the street on Ruka Island never closed.
Bright electric lights illuminated the streets, and a dazzling array of goods continuously attracted passing pedestrians into the shops.
Kilo glanced at the newly purchased map of Ruka Island in his hand and walked along the intended street.
After renting a house and buying groceries, he had 75 million Berries left in his hand.
Since he had sufficient funds, he planned to see if he could buy a suitable saber.
The two long swords from Fushawen in his hands were ultimately not enough.
Sabers in the Pirate World are divided into four grades:
supreme grade great grade sword, great grade blade, good grade blade, ordinary sword.
The two swords in his hands could only be considered ordinary swords.
Kilo vaguely felt that as the intensity of battle increased, these two swords would probably be hard to maintain as his main weapons.
The day after tomorrow, he planned to go to the 72nd Marine Branch to rescue those innocent slaves.
Before that, he had to make full preparations.
Preparing a handy and powerful weapon was undoubtedly crucial.
Not to mention yearning for a great grade blade, Kilo hoped he could find a good grade blade just like Zoro!
He didn't want his weapon to suddenly crack in the middle of a fight, forcing him to face the enemy bare-handed.
A swordsman who loses his weapon will have his strength greatly reduced.
After several turns, Kilo stopped and looked up at the plaque hanging over the shop in front of him.
'Ruka Island Weapon Shop'
Hefting the heavy backpack behind him, a look of confidence appeared on Kilo's face as he strode into the shop.
He remembered that in the original story, Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu and yubashiri were bought at the weapon shop in Loguetown.
Although obtaining the Kitetsu was an accident, Kilo was still quite envious of a Meito like the yubashiri.
Behind the counter, an old man with messy hair and sleepy eyes barely managed to perk up when he saw Kilo approaching.
"Customer, what would you like to buy..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a stack of Berries was slammed onto the counter. The old man's eyes immediately widened, and he instantly became spirited, his voice full of enthusiasm.
"Customer, what kind of sword are you looking to buy?"
"You want the best sword? This way to the second floor, please!"
...
A moment later, Kilo looked over the long sword in his hand and shook his head.
"This sword won't do either."
The shop owner broke into a sweat upon hearing this and said helplessly, "Customer, this is already the best sword in our shop!"
Kilo sighed. Although the quality of the long sword in his hand was excellent among ordinary swords, it was far from his expectations.
Forget comparing it to yubashiri; it wasn't even as good as Fushawen's two swords.
Feeling somewhat disappointed, Kilo asked casually without much expectation, "Then do you know which is the best sword on Ruka Island?"
To his surprise, the shop owner blurted out without thinking, "Of course, it's the dragon slayer. That's a good grade blade!"
"However, Suoniu, the master of the Zhan Hu Dojo, has always regarded this sword as a treasure. You shouldn't even think about buying it from him."
Kilo didn't expect a casual question to actually yield results, and his eyes lit up. "Wait, can you tell me why?"
The shop owner looked at Kilo as if he were a fool. "Except for weapon sellers like me, have you ever seen a swordsman willing to sell his own saber?"
"It's just that..." The shop owner narrowed his eyes, seemingly thinking of something. "Suoniu hasn't gone out for a long time, and the dojo isn't recruiting new disciples."
"I don't know why."
Kilo tossed down a stack of Berries and disappeared from the shop owner's sight the next second.
The old man put away the Berries and shook his head with some emotion, then suddenly froze and slapped his forehead in regret.
"Oops, I forgot to tell him that Suoniu fellow's temper is notoriously bad."