“Can it really take us anywhere?”
At this moment, Bon Kurei had removed the heavy makeup from his face to avoid exposing his identity as an okama. For an okama, that was already a considerable sacrifice.
The identity documents were tempting. After all, Kanjuro and Kin’emon had mentioned before that their exposure back then had been closely tied to problems with their identities.
“Of course. The two of us are right here, you can try it first. If I’m lying to you, you can have these cows.”
Nightin made the promise confidently. How could something Kaido had arranged possibly go wrong? Though they were supposedly fake IDs, what she was selling were actually genuine documents. The entire security system of Wano Country was under Queen’s control. In the end, who qualified and who didn’t was simply a matter of his word.
“Sanji-kun, let me try first. Even if it’s fake, with so many people around, I can escape using my ability.”
“Be careful, Bon-chan.”
“Don’t worry. Even if I’m exposed, I’ll lure them away.”
The plan sounded good, but a problem arose in the very next moment. They had no money.
“Are you brats messing with this old woman? A ticket only costs ten silver coins, and you don’t even have ten silver coins?!”
Nightin really wanted to give them the IDs for free, but she couldn’t do that. After all, her cover identity was that of a ticket scalper. What kind of ticket scalper stops doing business and starts handing out charity? Nobody would believe that.
“Why are you still using these old coins? Haven’t you exchanged them for the new coins?”
“Uh… Granny, could you cut us some slack? If nothing else, we can help you herd cows for half a day.”
“Fine, fine. Since you helped me stop the cows, I’ll give you this ticket. Just write down your real names. The information database hasn’t been fully updated recently, so they won’t be able to check it. But remember, it can only be used for five days at most.”
In reality, newcomers arriving in Wano Country would be entered into the system within five minutes at most. To satisfy Kaido’s twisted sense of fun, Queen had even opened a special channel for the purpose.
Only after Bon Kurei and Sanji spent quite a while pleading did Nightin “reluctantly” provide them with a ticket.
About an hour later, Bon Kurei returned to the crowd along with the departing audience. He had proven that the ID worked, but their lack of money had become the new problem.
Just as Sanji and Bon Kurei were still worrying about money, Luffy, who had only recently arrived, pulled out a coin.
“Is this enough?”
“Enough, more than enough. There’s even enough left over to get one for each of you.”
“Then give me a few extra. It’ll be a hassle if I lose them.”
“Sure, no problem. Old man, get to work!”
Nightin wasn’t interested in where his money came from. Completing the mission was all that mattered. After successfully helping them obtain their fake IDs, the two of them withdrew smoothly.
“Acier, I’m starting to regret it a little.”
“What happened?”
“I bet that the first one to get exposed would be that guy named Bon Kurei. But now I think he might be able to stay undercover for a long time. Looks like I’m going to lose the bet. Who did you bet on?”
“The long-nosed guy named Usopp. I picked him at random. I don’t think it makes much difference. But they just arrived in Wano Country, where did they get a gold coin issued under Lord Arceus’s authority?”
Wano Country’s currency replacement had already been completed. Besides the paper bills produced by Diancie, there were coins issued by Gholdengo. Depending on their value, Wano retained the old naming system, simply adding the word “coin” after gold or silver.
What Luffy had just taken out was a gold coin, which Acier found rather suspicious.
“Who cares? Our job is just to issue IDs. Everything else has nothing to do with us.”
“True enough…”
The two of them led the herd of cows away into the distance. However, Law and the others had the same question.
“Didn’t I tell you not to cause any disturbances? Where did you get that money?”
“Huh? I took it from another pirate. I thought the coin looked nice, so I kept it. Then I saw the coin that granny had and thought it looked similar, so I pulled it out.”
This currency circulated not only within the territories controlled by the Beasts Pirates, but also served as chips on Tesoro’s ship and was widely used throughout the Underworld. It wasn’t strange for it to appear in the outside world.
With that issue resolved, the group split up and continued with their original plans. Unfortunately, trouble never stayed far away from them.
Usopp wanted to find an opportunity to do a little business, while Bon Kurei planned to try some street performances. But in the brief moment they turned around, Zoro had disappeared.
“Bon-chan, have you seen Zoro?”
“No. Wasn’t he right behind you?”
“This is bad… That guy… he got lost again, didn’t he? Who knows where he’ll end up this time…”
The two exchanged glances and simultaneously felt a sense of foreboding. But Wano Country was enormous, and they had no idea where to start looking for Zoro. They could only continue with their original plan of earning money while keeping an eye out for any trace of him.
Some time later, the rapidly moving Zoro finally came to a stop.
“Damn it, where did Usopp and Bon Kurei run off to? I told them not to wander around, and they still managed to get lost.”
After catching his breath, Zoro recalled the map in his mind.
“Those two really are unreliable. What kind of map was that? It made me go the wrong way…”
After realizing Bon Kurei and Usopp had disappeared, Zoro had immediately quickened his pace to look for them. Unfortunately, the more anxious he became, the farther off course he drifted.
“Maybe I should earn some money first. What can I do…?”
Zoro was the type who adapted to circumstances. Otherwise, he never would have become a bounty hunter simply because he couldn’t find the way back to Shimotsuki Village.
Just then, he heard the sound of weapons clashing and even caught a familiar scent. Following the sound, he arrived just in time to see two… ducks dueling.
“Sir~fetch’d!”
One Sirfetch’d held a leek in one wing, while its other wing was loosely curled to act as a sheath, assuming the stance of an Iaijutsu strike.
Opposite it stood another Sirfetch’d wielding a leek blade in each wing. Before the Iaijutsu Sirfetch’d could even attack, it had already launched a preemptive strike.
Clang!
As the two Sirfetch’d crossed paths and exchanged positions, the Iaijutsu Sirfetch’d calmly sheathed its weapon. The dual-wielding Sirfetch’d, however, was left with only one weapon. During the exchange, its other leek blade had been cut clean in two.
“Sir~fetch’d.” (Your skill is impressive, but your Ryuo isn’t strong enough. Without a Black Leek Blade, you’re no match for me.)
“Sir~fetch’d!” (Just you wait! I won’t give up!)
The dual-wielding Sirfetch’d looked at the remaining leek handle in its wing and promptly tossed it into its mouth. After eating the broken weapon, it bowed respectfully to the Iaijutsu Sirfetch’d before angrily turning around and leaving.
The bow was part of Sirfetch’d’s knightly code. No matter the reason, if it lost a fair duel, it would acknowledge its defeat. Even if its opponent had been the first to develop a Black Leek, that was simply the opponent’s own skills.
Its anger came from the disappointment with itself. After all this time, it still hadn’t managed to catch up to it.
“Do all the ducks here know Haki?
“And this leek smell… Did Hawk Eyes buy his leeks from here or something?”
Zoro had already recognized that familiar scent. In fact, he found these ducks that fought with leeks strangely endearing. After all, Hawk Eyes had done exactly the same thing back then, bullying him while wielding nothing but a leek.
Bang!
At that moment, a dull crash sounded. A nearby door suddenly flew open, and a person was launched out from inside, apparently struck by some powerful force.
“I’m sorry, but your interview has failed. It seems you’re not suitable for this job.”
Hyogoro walked out through the doorway and spoke to the man regretfully.
“Young man, are you here to apply for the job too?”
Hyogoro’s gaze settled on the three swords on Zoro’s body. Before leaving, Zoro had left Shusui behind in the house. That had been one of the few pieces of genuinely useful information provided by Kanjuro and the others.
Shusui was one of Wano Country’s national treasures. Carrying it openly could attract unnecessary trouble, so Zoro had not brought it with him, taking Yubashiri instead.
However, more than the swords, Hyogoro was interested in Zoro’s face.
[He’s really similar… A descendant of the Shimotsuki family? It’s rare to see someone who resembles them this much.]
Family names such as Shimotsuki, Fugetsu, and Uzuki were still found throughout Wano Country. The daimyo of those families had long since died in battle, so when Hyogoro saw how much Zoro resembled Shimotsuki Ushimaru, he didn’t think much of it.
“Uh… I’m here to apply for the job.”
Since Zoro had no idea what kind of work he should be looking for anyway, he simply went along with what Hyogoro said.
“Then give it a try. Becoming a sparring partner for the Sirfetch’d isn’t an easy job.”
What Hyogoro was recruiting for was precisely that—a sparring partner for the Sirfetch’d. But without genuine skill, no one could handle the work. The man who had just been sent flying out the door was proof enough.
“Come on, let me see what you’re made of.”
Inside the training ground, Hyogoro had already drawn his weapon. Zoro carefully observed the muscular old man with his head full of blue hair before drawing Yubashiri.
“Only one sword?”
“One is enough.”
“Is that so? Then I won’t hold back.”
As soon as he heard that, Hyogoro’s aura changed completely. Under the influence of Haki, the hair behind him fluttered in the wind. At that moment, Zoro sensed genuine danger.
“One Sword Style of the Flower: Flaming Hair of Holy Rage!”
The Haki flowing around him was nearly tangible. In the blink of an eye, Hyogoro had already rushed in front of Zoro. Before the blade itself arrived, the extended Haki had already collided with Yubashiri’s edge.
“Not bad. But can you keep it up?”
Flaming Hair of Holy Rage was not a single attack but a series of consecutive horizontal slashes. Hyogoro’s blade repeatedly hacked toward Zoro. Though Zoro managed to block them, he found himself steadily being forced backward.
This isn’t good…
Zoro realized he had already been dragged into Hyogoro’s combat rhythm and couldn’t break free.
“One Gorilla!”
The muscles in Zoro’s right arm bulged. Seizing the opportunity, he drew Sandai Kitetsu with his left hand, shifting from One Sword Style to Two Sword Style.
“Two Sword Style: Rhino Cycle!”
“Two Sword Style? No… you’ve still got another sword. Kid, don’t tell me you’re actually a Three Sword Style swordsman?”
After Zoro drew a second sword, Hyogoro could clearly sense the increase in his strength. Someone like this wouldn’t carry an extra sword purely for decoration. However, the Wado Ichimonji at Zoro’s waist struck Hyogoro as strangely familiar.
The hilt and blade shape were all too familiar, exactly the same as the sword he had seen in his youth.
“You pass. Let me see your ID.”
Hyogoro’s goal had been to recruit people in the first place. Zoro’s strength had already met the standard, but there were still a few things he wanted to confirm.
When they had obtained their “fake IDs,” Nightin had initially said they would be borrowing someone else’s information. Later, however, she explained the details. What was actually borrowed was only the internal verification code, making the system recognize them as foreign arrivals. The personal information itself still had to be filled out by themselves.
Following Law’s suggestion, they had already disguised themselves as immigrants from outside Wano, so everything written on them was half true and half false.
It didn’t matter anyway. Queen had already opened a special channel for them. No matter how thoroughly they were checked, no problems would appear.
“Just as I thought, you really are an immigrant attracted here by our policies. Would you mind letting me see your last sword?”
“Is there a problem?”
Since the man hadn’t found any issues with the ID, Zoro didn’t want to create unnecessary conflict and handed the sword over.
“Wado Ichimonji… I wasn’t mistaken after all. Kid, are you a descendant of Shimotsuki Kozaburo? For him to entrust this sword to you… it seems he thought very highly of you.”
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