CHAPTER 28

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CHAPTER 28

A/N: BONUS CHAPTER. If you enjoy the story, please leave a review because the story doesn't have enough reviews; it doesn't have a rating.

When Kreegan walked through the door, he began to look around, but he did not immediately realize where Sandai Kitetsu was. He was a Blacksmith, so if he got close and started inspecting them, he would be able to find it, but it would take too long. He didn't come here to see a Graded rank sword. If he wanted to, he could make many more of them. What he wanted to know was if the curse was real or not.

If the curse was real, it should emit some kind of energy. He tried to sense something similar to his mana and got what he wanted. A cold and eerie aura emanated from one of the barrels at the side of the stairs.

Ipponmatsu wasn't as bald as he was in the manga, and more hair was on the top of his head. He stopped picking his nose and said:

"Young swordsman, how can I help you? I have many excellent swords in my hand. Would you like two top-notch swords to replace your old swords?"

"Of course, I would love to, but I only have 200,000 bellies."

Ipponmatsu was discouraged; he thought, "Ahh, again, a poor bum." Since the execution of Gold Roger and the establishment of the main marine base of East Blue, his business has been suffering greatly, then came the last nail into his coffin. The new commander of the marine base was an ambitious little bugger. He hunted down every pirate he could find, and most pirates started to ignore coming to Logue town before going into the Reverse Mountain. This man even had devil fruit power. If he goes like this, he could be a captain in no time.

"Go and look into the barrels. I don't have anything cheaper."

Kreegan approached the barrels and picked up the Sandai Kitetsu. As his hand touched this sword, he could feel the cold aura spreading from his arm to all over his body. After examining this sword a little more, everything started to make more sense. People were half right about the curse. It didn't actually have a curse, but Sandai Kitetsu did indeed cause the death of its owners.

There was an intent in this sword, or a more accurate description would be something similar to a primal ego. It wasn't sentient or anything, but it had preferences, and it was not happy to be held by me. That is why people who wielded it died because it didn't accept them and dulled their instinct when they fought. I could tame this sword by pushing it to obedience with my mana, but it was too much work for a Graded rank sword.

There was nothing similar in the three swords I made. I could see two points as the reason for this. The first possibility was that they weren't resisting me because I made them, but rather, as I studied Sandai Kitetsu, I realized that something else was more likely.

I wasn't obsessed with creating magnificent or powerful swords when I made them, so I didn't imbue them with anything. When I made Ichinami, it was more like an accident caused because of my class, and for the two Graded rank swords I made, one was a spare, and the other was made for show. To summarize, I didn't put my soul into any of my swords, and this made me realize how green I was as a swordsmith. This made me realize why I was never able to create another Skillful Grade sword.

Ipponmatsu seeing that he picked Sandai Kitetsu, said:

"Let me do you a favor. You look like a swordsman with a bright future, and I will sell that sword to you for 200.000 and that blue sword of yours."

Kreegan smirked and said:

"I don't know; I think my sword is worth more than that."

"Bring it here; let me appraise it."

Kreegan handed Ichinami to Ipponmatsu. Ipponmatsu took the sword in his hand and began to examine it, and suddenly his eyes widened then a gasp escaped his mouth. But at once, he gathered himself and said:

"I can't believe how you could use an ornamental sword to fight. The gods must love you so much. Otherwise, this sword would have been broken while you were fighting. I'll tell you what. I really like the Tsuba and the color of this sword. I will buy this from you; it would make a good addition to my exhibition piece at home. Let's make a trade; I will let you choose any sword you want, and I will give you 1 million bellies."

Ipponmatsu didn't recognize the sword, but from the quality of it, it was obviously a Meito and a Skillful Grade one at that. So, he pretended like he changed his mind and said.

"No, no, no... 1 million bellies would be too expensive for an exhibition piece. I will give you 500.000 bellies and a sword."

Kreegan looked at the most expensive swords in the shop. It was a sword that cost 5 million bellies and was not even a meito, and it was a glamor piece. He turned to Ipponmatsu and said.

"Does a skillful grade meito costs 6 million bellies then?"

"Of course not. It would cost 20-50 million bellies. Whaa... Why do you ask?"

"No reason; I just wanted to know how much the skillful grade sword I created was worth. If I had not created that sword, I would have believed it was a glamor piece. Do you know how many lives that sword reaped?"

All color was gone from Ipponmatsu's face, and his face was as white as chalk. He couldn't stop his hand shaking.

"Now you have two choices; you can give me one of your hands for your attempted thievery, or you could give me something equal to the thing you were trying to steal. I will pay you 6 million for it, don't you think it would be fair? This was the number you offered for my Skillful Grade blade."

"I... I... I choose the second option, co... could I go upstairs to bring the sword?"

"Don't try to run, okay? I know where you live."

Kreegan waved his hand while smiling creepily at him, and Ipponmatsu shuddered with fright, even the hairs at the nape of his neck raised. He runs to upstairs, and sounds of rummaging were coming to Kreegan's ears. After a few minutes, he comeback with Yubashiri.

It was a Skillful Grade sword like Ichinami. This sword was black and golden in color. Its hilt and lacquered scabbard were pitch black, and its Kashira (pommel) and cross-shaped tsuba (guard) were golden. As Kreegan took the sword in his hand, he could see the care in his craftsmanship and felt the swordsmith's intent. Swordsmith wanted this sword to be as sharp as possible. He touched the tip of the sword with his thumb lightly as a feather, and it cut his finger enough to draw blood. It was definitely sharper than Ichinami.