Chapter 219: Sandai Kitetsu

Loguetown Marine base.

Nami carried two unfortunate Pirates on her back and walked straight toward the Marine base; several Marine soldiers hurriedly blocked her path:

"Hey, this is a Marine base, you can't just barge in... What kind of stuff are you carrying on your back?"

"Ah, these are Pirates my partner and I caught together, we're here to exchange them for the bounty."

"Pirates with a bounty? Let me see."

A Marine walked over with some curiosity. Nami placed Gin and Krieg on the ground, and the two men's faces were immediately exposed to all the Marines.

"Huh! Wait, are my eyes playing tricks on me? These... these two guys are..."

"It's Admiral of the East Blue Krieg and Gin the Man-Demon!! Two Great Pirates with bounties over 10 million!"

"Go report to Officer Smoker immediately!!"

If this were in the Grand Line, Pirates with bounties of only 10 million or so would probably not even count as small fry, and could only be classified as high-level cannon fodder.

At a Marine base in the Grand Line, such Pirates would likely require a Marine statistician to flip through the bounty posters before they could even find the two men's wanted portraits.

However, this is the East Blue. Admiral of the East Blue Krieg is not the strongest Pirate in the East Blue, nor the one with the highest bounty, but he is definitely the most famous, most powerful, and most destructive Pirate in the East Blue.

These East Blue Marines, if not knowing Krieg's face like the back of their hands, at least had it firmly memorized, so they naturally identified the two at first glance.

Smoker was currently smoking in his office at the Marine base. Just then, a loud knocking sound came from the office door. He frowned slightly, reached out his hand, and his arm turned into white smoke, rapidly extending to open the door.

"What is it, why are you in such a panic?"

"Officer Smoker, there's a Bounty Hunter outside here to collect a Pirate's bounty. They, they caught Admiral of the East Blue Krieg!"

The Marine soldier finished his sentence stuttering, his face full of excitement. Compared to him, Smoker's expression was much calmer:

"Krieg? Didn't that idiot go to the Grand Line? He didn't die there and actually escaped back to the East Blue? This guy really has a lucky life, but he's also unlucky enough to be caught by a Bounty Hunter!"

Smoker didn't care about a "Great Pirate" like Krieg with a bounty of over 10 million. Only in the East Blue could such a bounty be called a Great Pirate; if it were anywhere else, let alone the Grand Line, even in the other three seas, this level of strength would be ordinary, just barely above the bottom rung.

He had truly seen the world back at Haijun Benbu. A mere Pirate who relied on equipment and subordinates to commit crimes—if Smoker wanted to, he could capture the entire Krieg Pirates by himself.

"Let's go, let's take a look... It at least saves me a lot of trouble."

The sea area where the Krieg Pirates' base was located was quite far from Smoker's Loguetown, which was the reason Smoker hadn't moved to capture the Krieg Pirates.

As the gateway from the East Blue to the Grand Line, Loguetown's role was extremely important, and under normal circumstances, Smoker would not leave.

And there was another point... With Smoker's discernment, he could clearly see the flaws of the Krieg Pirates. For a Pirate crew of that strength to try and break into the Grand Line was simply a joke; they would likely all be dead within a few months.

That was why when the Krieg Pirates passed through Loguetown to charge into the Grand Line, Smoker didn't bother with them at all.

After all, this is the Great Pirate Era. Even in the East Blue, the sea of peace, the total number of Pirates was as numerous as the hairs on an ox, and almost all of those wanting to head to the Grand Line would gather in Loguetown.

Even with Smoker's strength, it was impossible to intercept hundreds or thousands of Pirate crews, so he had always followed a policy of catching the big ones and letting the small ones go, only capturing the more threatening Pirate crews.

As for those ordinary Pirates who looked like they wouldn't survive three days in the Grand Line, Smoker didn't mind them going to their deaths.

However, the fact that the Krieg Pirates went to the Grand Line and then fled back... that was a bit troublesome. Pirates who had been to the Grand Line and truly seen the world, if they were unwilling to retire after returning to the Four Seas, would be a huge threat to the safety of the Four Seas. Being caught this time could be considered a relief.

After walking out of the room, Smoker soon saw the two unfortunate Pirates lying on the ground, locked in iron chains, in the plaza of the Marine base.

"Tsk, Gin and Krieg, it really is these two. What are their bounties?"

"Reporting to the officer, Krieg's bounty is 17 million Berries, and Gin's bounty is 12 million Berries, totaling 29 million Berries!"

"29 million Berries. Deduct a 10% handling fee, that's about 26.1 million Berries. Help them count the money and give it to them!"

Smoker blew a smoke ring and glanced at Uchiha Feiyu and Nami, without saying much else.

As for trying to recruit the two into the Marines, that was completely out of the question. In fact, the Marines rarely recruited from the Bounty Hunter group.

There were no requirements for ordinary people to join the Marines, but if one already possessed decent strength, they required a clean background; otherwise, they could easily be spies infiltrating the Marines.

Most Bounty Hunters were not weak, but very few could meet this requirement.

Otherwise, the Marine draft in the original story wouldn't have produced two Marine Admiral-level experts. If it were truly easy to join the Marines, Fujitora and Ryokugyu would have already joined, and there would be no need for a draft.

Smoker paid the money readily, and Uchiha Feiyu didn't waste words either. After having Nami count the money, the two left the Marine base directly.

"Alright, let's split the loot fifty-fifty now!"

Uchiha Feiyu opened the box, scooped out 13.1 million Berries, and handed them directly to Nami:

"Go buy whatever you want. I'm going to wander around Loguetown myself and see if there's anything good."

Loguetown still had two famous swords. Although they were only Ryo Wazamono class weapons, the fact that Zoro could use the Sandai Kitetsu all the way until the New World without it breaking showed that it was definitely a top-tier piece among the Ryo Wazamono.

Anyway, Uchiha Feiyu's current strength was still somewhat lacking, so a high-quality Ryo Wazamono would be enough for him. As for the issue of the so-called Sandai Kitetsu being a Demon Blade... Uchiha Feiyu was a demon himself, so why would he care about that?

Nami, that little cat burglar, was already overjoyed to see that Uchiha Feiyu had given her an extra 100,000 Berries. She didn't care what Uchiha Feiyu was going to do and went off to shop with the money.

Uchiha Feiyu carried the box and walked around Loguetown. He first returned to the hometown of this body to get some more funds, then quickly found the place where Zoro had bought his sword and saw a bald shopkeeper.

This bald shopkeeper now looked worried and was sighing quite a bit. Uchiha Feiyu didn't pay much attention to that and walked in carrying the box:

"Shopkeeper, I'm buying a sword!"

"Coming, coming! What kind of sword are you looking for, customer? Would you like me to introduce some to you?"

The bald shopkeeper was all smiles as he greeted the business. Uchiha Feiyu scanned the entire shop and soon felt a sharp aura in a corner.

It was an aura with a hint of bloodthirsty madness. If Uchiha Feiyu hadn't had the experience of practicing Demonic Arts, he probably wouldn't have been able to sense the existence of this eerie aura.

"No need for an introduction, I think that sword over there is quite good!"

He walked slowly into that corner. The Demon Blade Ghost Cutter had not yet been thrown into the barrel of scrap swords, but its location was very inconspicuous.

"Wait... that sword... that sword is..."

"Sandai Kitetsu!"

Uchiha Feiyu drew the famous sword with the bloodthirsty aura. The Sandai Kitetsu did not belong to the 50 Ryo Wazamono, but merely to the ranks of ordinary Wazamono.

Yet in terms of sharpness and durability, this sword was absolutely outstanding even among the Ryo Wazamono. The Soul faintly present in the blade even exceeded the scope of ordinary Ryo Wazamono. The only reason it was classified as a Wazamono was simply because it was a fierce Demon Blade.

"No, you can't buy this sword!"

The bald shopkeeper blocked Uchiha Feiyu's path and shouted:

"This is the Demon Blade Ghost Cutter, a Demon Blade that brings slaughter and despair. Many Swordmasters have coveted its power, only to die miserable deaths..."

"If you were to die because of this blade as well, wouldn't that make me, the seller, equivalent to a murderer?"

"Tsk, for a balding, greedy Mediterranean-style boss, who would have thought he'd actually be a decent person?"

Uchiha Feiyu sheathed the Demon Blade Ghost Cutter and glanced at the Mediterranean-style man before him:

"Whether I can withstand the power of the Demon Blade or not is my own business; you don't need to worry so much about it!"

"What do you mean 'balding and greedy'? And I'm not called 'Mediterranean-style boss', my name is Ipponmatsu!"

The Mediterranean-style boss... Ipponmatsu spoke with an angry expression, and seeing that Uchiha Feiyu had no intention of listening to his advice, he became even more furious:

"The curse of the Demon Blade is no joke. I have seen many Swordmasters who wanted to subdue the curse of the Demon Blade, only to end up dead..."

"Enough, how much for this blade?"

"Hey, are you even listening to me? I said this blade is not for sale!"

Uchiha Feiyu rolled his eyes and drew the Demon Blade Ghost Cutter once again, channeling his Haki into the blade; the entire sword seemed to resonate with Uchiha Feiyu's soul, trembling slightly.

Following that, Uchiha Feiyu slashed toward Ipponmatsu without hesitation. The Mediterranean-style boss had not expected Uchiha Feiyu to suddenly attack. With a *shhh* sound, Ipponmatsu let out a miserable shriek and fell straight to the ground.

"Boss?!! What happened?!! You guy, what did you do?!!"

Following an angry, delicate shout, a girl wearing glasses rushed in. Seeing the boss lying on the ground, she drew the long sword at her waist and aimed it at Uchiha Feiyu.

"In broad daylight, you actually dare to do such a thing! Murderous villain, come with me!"

"Hey, hey, hey, which eye did you see me kill someone with? And who are you, woman?"

"No more talk! Today, I, Marine Master Sergeant Tashigi, will bring you, this villain, to justice!"

As she spoke, the girl named Tashigi brandished the long sword in her hand and charged straight at Uchiha Feiyu.

The girl's stance was quite professional, showing she had undergone some diligent training. The long sword in her hand flashed with a cold light; it was clearly a fine blade.

Unfortunately, she couldn't look cool for more than three seconds. Tashigi had only taken two steps when she stepped on the palm of the Mediterranean-style boss, Ipponmatsu. Accompanied by a shriek from Ipponmatsu, the girl was startled into a panic and was pulled down by Ipponmatsu's flailing arm, causing the long sword in her hand to fly away with a *whoosh*.

Tashigi's personal sword was named Shigure, one of the Skillful Grade 50, and was also an incredibly sharp, famous blade. As she fell backward onto the ground, she watched her own sword spin 720 degrees in the air, stabbing straight toward her throat.

"Help, help, help, help... help me!!"

Facing the long sword descending from the sky, Tashigi's mind went completely blank; she had no reaction other than screaming and closing her eyes.

After a long while, Tashigi, who had her eyes closed, did not feel the pain of the blade piercing her throat. She cautiously opened one eye and saw that the murderer from before was holding the hilt of Shigure, his face full of a playful smile.

"Impressive, are you trying to laugh me to death?! If so, then I admit you succeeded. I have never seen such an idiot Marine!"

Uchiha Feiyu's words undoubtedly caused Tashigi to completely break down. Her entire face turned red, steam rose from the top of her head, and her eyes spun in circles:

"I, I, I, I, I... I just made a momentary mistake... I saw a dead person come back to life..."

"Regardless, a swordsman who gets hurt by their own blade is truly pathetic. And facing a blade falling from the sky, your reaction was actually to just close your eyes. As a swordsman, that is simply unqualified."

Uchiha Feiyu shook his head and spoke dismissively.

In reality, if it weren't for the fact that Tashigi had closed her eyes when facing the long sword falling from the sky, the little girl definitely could have dodged the falling weapon.

After all, to put it plainly, the danger just now was merely the gravitational acceleration of the blade; the speed was not fast at all. As long as one remained calm and composed, a simple roll would have been enough to dodge it.

If it weren't for Tashigi's poor mental fortitude, there would have been no need for Uchiha Feiyu to step in and save the day.

Hearing Uchiha Feiyu say this, Tashigi, who had been quite ashamed and annoyed, was completely crushed in an instant. She looked as if she had been hit by a Ghost Fruit and knelt on the ground:

"That's right, I am an unqualified swordsman, and a completely failed Marine..."

"Um... Miss, could you please not do that in my shop... I feel like it will affect business!"

Tashigi raised her head in disappointment and saw Boss Ipponmatsu, whose Mediterranean-style head was missing another patch of hair and whose clothes had been sliced open by the blade.

At this moment, the boss looked completely unharmed; the only thing slightly red and swollen was the hand that had been stepped on by Tashigi, which he was still shaking back and forth.

"Boss, how did you come back to life again?"

(End of this chapter)