https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-24-If-I-Were-to-Start-a-Revolution-the-World-Would-Tremble/13535735/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-26-The-Kind-hearted-Person-s-Aid/13535737/
Chapter 25: Famous Blade [Huazhou]
Chapter 25: Famous Blade [Huazhou]
Pirates were naturally impossible to eliminate completely, and Kuro had no grand ambition to arrest every pirate in the world.
The warship emerged from the Calm Belt and entered the Grand Line.
Except for Klah, whose expression brimmed with excitement, everyone else remained calm. Smoker and Tashigi had trained at Headquarters and previously visited the Grand Line, while Lida had been born in the Grand Line itself. Kuro, meanwhile, wore an indifferent expression—what was so exciting about crossing a mere sea route? It had already been sailed countless times by others.
...
Inside a restaurant in a town on Runes Island, Kuro yawned.
"Smoker, the ocean’s this vast—where exactly do you plan to find Luffy? Why don’t we head straight to Headquarters? You can process some paperwork, then you’ll drift around the Grand Line while I return to the East Blue."
This island, Runes Island, housed a small town where the Navy had docked to resupply.
Smoker glanced toward the distant sea through the window, his voice heavy. "He couldn’t have sailed this fast. Even with a Log Pose, he’d need time to record the islands’ magnetic fields."
The Navy’s greatest advantage was its superior intelligence network. Smoker knew Luffy had wiped out numerous bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak, allowing him to accurately trace Luffy’s navigational route. But after that, the trail had gone cold. The ocean was simply too vast to locate a single ship. Even this single sea route, the Grand Line, felt impossibly expansive to Kuro. The world’s sheer size was staggering.
"Commander Smoker, resupplying is complete!"
A Navy officer entered the restaurant and saluted.
"Lida, finish eating. We’re leaving", Kuro called to Lida, who was still devouring food.
"Mm-hm", Lida mumbled, cheeks bulging, nodding as they ate even faster.
The group stepped outside.
"By the way, where’s Tashigi?" Smoker asked, scanning the area. His subordinate seemed missing.
"Don’t know", the Navy officer replied. "She was nearby earlier."
"Stop right there!" A shout suddenly echoed from a distance.
Turning, they saw Tashigi wielding her sword, chasing a man toward them.
"Tashigi, what are you doing?" Smoker called.
"Commander Smoker, help me catch him! This man’s suspicious—he’s been deliberately avoiding the Navy!" Tashigi yelled back.
"Tch, annoying. Navy, surround him!" Smoker ordered his men.
But at that moment, Kuro’s gaze sharpened, locking onto the sword hanging at the fleeing man’s waist.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Kuro materialized before the strange man. A quick foot sweep sent him sprawling, and Kuro’s hand snatched the sword from his belt.
"Thank you, Mr. Kuro! You’ve been a great help!" Tashigi bowed.
"I think I should thank you", Kuro replied, gripping the hilt and drawing the blade. "You’re a sword connoisseur—tell me what you see."
The sword’s arc was subtle, its blade lacking a hi (fuller groove), meaning no adjustments for balance. Its blade patterns resembled swirling clouds of fire.
"This blade…" Tashigi hesitated, then hastily flipped through her notebook. "Huazhou! This is Huazhou—one of the ‘Fifty Esteemed Blades of the Quick Blade Artisans’!"
"Huazhou?"
Kuro glanced at the fallen man, recalling this sword’s origin. It was one of the eighty-three famous blades, seized from a Baroque Works executive during Tashigi’s arrival in the Grand Line. Compared to her current sword, Shigure, this was far superior—Shigure was merely a famous blade, not among the elite eighty-three.
"You’ve done me a favor. This sword’s mine now", Kuro said with a grin.
"Nonsense! You earned it yourself. A swordsman of your caliber deserves a Famous Blade!" Tashigi insisted.
She’d always thought it a shame that Kuro lacked a Famous Blade. Secretly, her goal had been to reclaim Famous Blades from villains and gift one to Kuro. Now, he’d acquired one on his own.
After all—how better to obtain a Famous Blade than by snatching it from someone else’s hands?
Compared to painstakingly nurturing blades with Haki, Kuro preferred taking shortcuts. With a Famous Blade now at his side, he’d taken another step toward his dream of a secure, peaceful life.
"Oh? Did you manage to snag a quality blade, you terrifying brat?" Smoker approached, cigarette dangling from his lips. He glanced at the captured man. "Tashigi, who’s this guy?"
"Don’t know. He only called himself Mr.11 and deliberately evaded the Navy. I’ve been watching him for a while. No normal person behaves like that."
"Hand him over. Take him to the ship for interrogation", Smoker ordered. As the Navy dragged Mr.11 away, Smoker strode toward the warship.
The man’s silence only deepened his suspicion—but it wouldn’t matter. Soon, the Navy intercepted a message via a bugged Den Den Mushi.
"Mr.0… Luffy’s crew… Vivi…"
Smoker listened, deep in thought. "Vivi… that’s the princess of Arabasta’s name. Why is she involved with Luffy? Doesn’t matter—we’ve pinpointed their destination. Arabasta."
"Arabasta? I’ve heard there’s a coup d’état brewing there", Tashigi noted.
"Whatever’s happening, our mission is still to hunt pirates." Smoker turned to a Navy officer. "Contact Headquarters—request an Arabasta Log Pose. We’re heading to Arabasta."
Lida paused. "Arabasta, huh?"
"You’ve been there?" Kuro asked, surprised.
"Stayed briefly. The cactus tasted awful", Lida grimaced.
Kuro smirked. "Eat cactus, get hated—how poetic."
He didn’t mind heading to Arabasta. If his memory served, Arabasta’s internal affairs were beyond the Navy’s jurisdiction anyway.
"Consider it a free front-row seat to a grand drama. A vacation, even."
Arabasta was a fully autonomous landlocked nation with few port cities and little need for the Navy. With the World Government’s direct subordinate, the Seven Warlords of the Sea member Crocodile, overseeing it, the place was relatively safe.
Yet no one would suspect—the greatest pirate of all lurked in plain sight.
Steal a hook, face execution. Steal a nation, become royalty.
When it came to piracy, Crocodile and ordinary pirates belonged to entirely different leagues.
...
Arabasta, in the port city of Rohara—the closest to the sea.
Kuro and his companions had already arrived.
"I’m off to find a bite. Entertain yourself", Kuro waved to Smoker, sword slung at his side, and walked away.
"Take me! Take me!" Lida cheered, trailing behind.
Klah followed too. Though he’d joined the Navy, he still felt awkward sticking solely with them. Staying with Kuro felt far more natural.
"Lazy bastard", Smoker sighed, shaking his head. "Not that I expected anything else. Tashigi—gather intelligence. Find Luffy’s crew."
"At once, Commander Smoker!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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