When children get curious, they don’t back away. More often than not, they’ll reach right for it, and Chloe was no exception.
The height wasn’t even enough to require flying. With a light jump, she grabbed the sword’s hilt.
However, in the process of pulling it out, she tipped over the entire barrel, creating quite a commotion.
After setting the sword aside, Chloe silently righted the fallen barrel, then tossed the scattered swords back into it before finally examining the blade.
The sword had a pronounced curve, and its edge was slightly longer than that of an ordinary sword. Along the blade ran a purple flame-patterned hamon. Looking at it, Amphitrite inexplicably felt that the sword was somewhat sinister.
“It’s a good sword, but this feeling… it’s a Cursed Sword, isn’t it?”
“Your instincts are pretty sharp. That’s Sandai Kitetsu, one of the Kitetsu line of Cursed Swords.”
“Hey, hey, hey! How do you people look after a child?! How can you let a little kid hold such a dangerous weapon?! Hurry up and make her put that sword down!!”
While Nereus and Amphitrite calmly watched Chloe lifting the Cursed Sword, the shop owner, Ipponmatsu, was anything but calm. He had been attending to other customers and hadn’t paid much attention to this side of the shop.
Who would have thought that the moment he saw off the other customers and turned around, he would be greeted by this scene?
A child waving around a Cursed Sword, just looking at it made his blood run cold.
Yet Ipponmatsu didn’t dare approach. If it were an adult holding the sword, he wouldn’t have been nearly as afraid. Given Loguetown’s current situation, there was little need to worry about someone robbing in broad daylight.
But if a child carelessly swung it around and cut themselves, there’d be no one to reason with.
No amount of compensation or assigning blame could undo the damage once it was done.
From a person’s perspective, fixing the fence after the sheep are lost is still better than doing nothing. But from the sheep’s perspective, by the time the fence is repaired, the sheep that got bitten to death have already been reincarnated.
“Can’t you hear me? That sword is extremely sharp! Make her put it down right now! One careless move and an arm could be sliced clean off!”
Though Sandai Kitetsu wasn’t ranked among the Fifty Skillful Grade Blades, it was still an exceptionally sharp Famed Sword and a fine piece among many weapons.
It was precisely because of this sword that Nereus had entered this weapon shop.
“Don’t be so nervous. We’ll take this sword. How much is it?”
“N-No, that’s not the issue! This sword isn’t for sale! Make your daughter put it down first! You’re her mother, right? Aren’t you worried at all seeing her holding such a dangerous weapon?!”
Anyone who wasn’t blind could tell the two were mother and daughter, but this family gave Ipponmatsu a feeling he simply couldn’t comprehend.
“Not for sale? Then why is it sitting here? Besides, I don’t see what’s so dangerous about it.”
Then Ipponmatsu watched as the deadly Cursed Sword seemed to become a child’s toy. Even when she pressed her palm directly against the blade, not a drop of blood appeared.
At most, the flames burning behind the girl seemed to intensify for some unknown reason.
“Th-That’s one of the Kitetsu line’s Cursed Swords. Every blade forged in that line is genuinely excellent, but the people who use them often meet violent deaths. Do you really intend to take it?”
Ipponmatsu wanted to sell the sword because he feared keeping it would bring the curse upon himself.
But if he sold it and the new owner died because of the blade, his conscience wouldn’t sit well with that either.
He didn’t want to sell it—partly due to concerns about the curse, and partly because he felt he would be losing money. In the end, he had tossed it into a corner of the shop and offered it for sale with mixed feelings.
“So, exactly how much does it cost?”
“N-No… no charge. You can have it…”
Seeing someone withstand the curse with a body like a monster’s, Ipponmatsu suddenly saw a chance to finally get rid of the sword.
If the little girl could touch the blade with her bare hands, then the adults surely wouldn’t have any problems handling it.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! The sword is yours! Just don’t go telling everyone about it…”
The surrounding customers had already left, which was why Ipponmatsu could openly offer it for free.
He didn’t want outsiders finding out that his shop had given away a sword for free. That would affect future business.
“That shopkeeper is pretty strange. But who are you planning to give this sword to?”
Neither Amphitrite nor Nereus paid any attention to the “curse” Ipponmatsu spoke of.
In a world where ships could give birth to Klabautermann, swords having minds of their own was hardly unusual.
The ability to absorb a user’s Haki, a thirst for blood, and enhanced lethality were all real traits.
To the weak, these were curses. To the strong, they were qualities that could be exploited.
As long as one could control the Cursed Sword, it was simply a sharper blade.
“Let’s give it to Uncle Alber.”
Thinking through the family members, aside from Amphitrite, Alber was the only one who regularly used a sword.
Amphitrite had a sword of her own as well, supposedly passed down through her branch of the Lunarian lineage.
It had been hidden away back then and was only recovered later. At present, she had no intention of replacing it.
“Alber can’t really use this sword. It’s too short. For him, it would only be a dagger.”
Alber was now 6.13 meters tall. Without Zoro’s sword-wielding trait, the Sandai Kitetsu would be like a toy in his hands and couldn’t be used properly.
For someone of that size, ordinary weapons were difficult to use in the first place. Most of them had custom-made weapons.
Besides, the rankings of Famed Swords could theoretically change over time. Some blades had only existed for a few decades and had still made it onto the Famed Sword’s ranking.
Even a Famed Sword worth ten million Berries would eventually develop nicks if used roughly for long periods. The combat intensity in the East Blue alone was enough to leave cracks in Wado Ichimonji.
Only the infusion of Haki allowed a blade to endure the ravages of time and battle.
Have a skilled swordsmith forge a new blade, temper and nurture it with Haki, and that sword could likewise become an outstanding Black Blade.
Given Alber’s circumstances, he probably wouldn’t mind carrying such a “dagger” on him for things like surprise attacks.
“If I remember correctly, Alber previously had a custom-made trick sword that could eject shark-like teeth from the blade and directly disarm an opponent. He’s not a Two Sword Style user, so he wouldn’t be used to wielding it. Since you picked out this sword, just keep it for yourself for now.”
Kitetsu was a little large for Chloe at the moment, but girls grew quickly. Nanamo was an exception, being naturally petite in stature. At Chloe’s rate of growth, it wouldn’t be long before the sword became a suitable size for her.
“Alright, get everything packed up. We’re heading home. This time we won’t cross the Calm Belt directly. We’ll take the traditional route and go up through Reverse Mountain.
Brook needs a little help from us over at Twin Cape.”
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