Chapter 50: Free Sword

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The shop instantly plunged into darkness, with only two flickering candle flames providing a faint glow, casting an eerie atmosphere. 

Although Byakuya had never experienced such a situation before, he had read enough novels and watched enough TV dramas to understand what the shopkeeper intended. 

In a lawless place, it was no surprise that the shopkeeper was not a decent person. But then again, who would run a business in a lawless area if they were?

However, the naive Tashigi still hadn't realized the danger. Hugging the Kazemune Katana, she laughed, 

"Hehe, boss, how much of a discount are you offering? If it's a good deal, we'll buy it!" Byakuya almost laughed out loud. 

In all his years as a Marine, he had never seen such a clueless girl. 

Even the shopkeeper was amused by Tashigi's naive question. Is this girl an idiot? 

Although it might not sound good to bully an idiot, making money is nothing to be ashamed of. 

The shopkeeper, smiling, said, "How about I give it to you for free?" As they talked, the shopkeeper drew a long sword from under the counter. 

Four burly men emerged from the back room, armed and menacing, surrounding Byakuya and Tashigi. 

Even someone as dense as Tashigi should have realized the situation by now. She asked blankly, "Are you trying to rob us?" 

The shopkeeper raised his sword menacingly and said greedily, "Hand over the Shigure in your arms, or you won't leave this shop alive."

Instead of being worried, Tashigi was delighted. She grabbed Byakuya's arm, jumping up and down excitedly, 

"Sir Byakuya, he wants to rob us! That means we can arrest them and confiscate all these weapons without having to pay! We don't have the money to buy them anyway." 

Indeed, not a single decent person was in the room. Even the seemingly naive Tashigi was quite devious.

"Sigh, what a bunch of disgraceful Marines," Byakuya remarked. "I hope my soldiers won't become pirates in Marine uniforms in the future."

'... I just raised a flag am I?'

The shopkeeper was stunned. What was going on? They were surrounded by five armed men, yet they seemed excited. 

At this point, the shopkeeper decided not to care about their identities and shouted, "Attack!" Regardless of who they were, he planned to kill them first and ask questions later.

With Tashigi there, Byakuya felt no need to intervene. If the boss handled everything himself, what was the point of having subordinates? 

Tashigi shifted into serious mode, her previous naivety gone, and exuded the aura of a true swordsman. 

Drawing Shigure, she flashed a cold gleam and instantly took down the four burly men.

"Crack!" The shopkeeper's sword broke in two, and Shigure's thin blade rested against his neck. 

"Sir Byakuya, should I kill this guy?" The shopkeeper fell to his knees with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing and begging, 

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I can give you everything in the shop." 

"I also have twenty million Berries hidden elsewhere. If you spare me, I'll tell you where it is," the shopkeeper pleaded desperately. 

He never expected that this seemingly naive girl would be so powerful.

Byakuya considered for a moment and said, "We won't kill you for now. Have Smoker come over to shut down this shop, arrest the owner, and confiscate everything?"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" The shopkeeper was ecstatic, thinking he had narrowly escaped death. 

If only he knew Byakuya's true intentions, he might have preferred to die on the spot.

By the time Byakuya and Tashigi headed back to the base, it was already midnight. 

Despite the late hour, Tashigi showed no signs of fatigue, clutching Kazemune with great fondness. 

Byakuya coughed and said, "Hand it over."

"Huh? Hand what over?" Tashigi instinctively hugged Shigure and Kazemune tighter. To her, nothing was more important than these two famous swords.

Seeing her defensive posture, Byakuya lightly knocked her on the head. 

"Ouch! That hurts!" Tashigi rubbed her head with one hand while clutching the swords with the other, pouting like a hamster. 

She looked at Byakuya with such a pitiful expression, as if about to cry if he said another word.

Byakuya sighed, "Give me Kazemune. I'll borrow it for now. When I find a better sword, I'll return Kazemune to you." 

Seeing Tashigi about to protest, Byakuya raised an eyebrow, "If you don't lend it to me, I'll double your daily training and include my personal 'special training.' You decide."

Byakuya's special training was notorious among the soldiers—it mostly involved them getting beaten up, which he claimed was to improve their resilience and help them train their Haki. 

The mere mention of it made Smoker and the others uneasy. However, there was some truth to the claim that enduring beatings could enhance one's Haki.

Reluctantly, Tashigi handed over Kazemune, her expression as if Byakuya had taken her child away. 

This made Byakuya feel a twinge of guilt, but he quickly reminded himself that he wasn't exactly a good person and dismissed the feeling. 

He took Kazemune and fastened it to his waist, and his demeanor instantly transformed. 

If he had previously resembled a bruted gentleman, now he looked like a seasoned swordsman wandering the seas.

As they walked, Byakuya occasionally heard Tashigi muttering, "He doesn't even know how to use a sword, yet he's wearing a famous one just for show. What a waste." 

She glanced at Kazemune several times and then remarked, "But, with a sword, Sir Byakuya looks much cooler..."

Byakuya smiled silently. Ah, women!

....

The next morning, Byakuya inquired of Fergus, "How did it go? Did you find where the weapon shop owner hid the money?"

Ferguson, who often acted like a steward under Byakuya, replied, "Yes, he confessed as soon as he arrived yesterday. The soldiers we sent out have already found it."

"All the items from that weapon shop have been placed in the armory as well."

Fergus fit the role well as my adjutant because Smoker and Quake disliked thinking too much, Tashigi often got confused, and Lacy was too weak. 

This left Fergus as the most suitable for the task.

"Oh, by the way, Rear Admiral Byakuya, now that we've found the money, should we release the shop owner?" Fergus asked.

Byakuya laughed, "Release him? That's out of the question. We're just not killing him for now."

<End Chapter>

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