Chapter 40: Inspiring Tenguyama Hitetsu and Shimotsuki Kozaburo

Thank you '𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗴𝗼' for subscribing on $10 Tier on my patreon.

•~~~•~~•~~~•

"Are you two old men looking for trouble?"

A group of Marines clenched their fists, ready to teach the two elderly men a lesson.

Chiba raised a hand to stop them. "Show some respect to these master craftsmen."

He approached the two elders, cupping his hands with a respectful nod. "It's an honor to meet you, Master Tenguyama Hitetsu and Master Shimotsuki Kozaburo."

"Hmph," Hitetsu scoffed. "I hear you had that old fool Sengoku mobilize the entire Marine force just to drag me here."

"I intended only to invite you both. It seems my subordinates misunderstood. If I caused you offense, I apologize," Chiba replied humbly, but the faces of the two elders remained unsoftened.

"Enough with the fake courtesy, kid. You forced us here to forge weapons for you, didn't you?" Shimotsuki Kozaburo squinted at him. "But as you can see, we're too old to hold a hammer, even if we wanted to help."

Hitetsu was even more direct. "If you think I'll forge weapons for the likes of you, you're out of your mind."

The surrounding Marines bristled, but Chiba held them back, deep in thought.

After his initial outburst, Hitetsu turned his gaze to Kozaburo, eyeing him with an appraising look. Kozaburo met his stare, and an unspoken tension built between the two.

Chiba's Observation Haki picked up on their shift in mood, and an idea struck him. Both of these men were legendary blacksmiths, each responsible for forging Great Grade Swords. Men of such talent were bound to have a competitive spirit, and the sight of one another would no doubt spark it.

An opportunity presented itself, and Chiba decided to fuel their rivalry.

With a sigh, he muttered, "The Hitetsu lineage has indeed declined. The First Generation Kitetsu made the Supreme Grade Swords list, but the Second Generation dropped to the Great Grade Swords, and the Third Generation… didn't even make the list. It seems that Master Kozaburo is truly the finest blacksmith here."

Kozaburo smirked slightly, despite himself, while Hitetsu's face turned red with indignation. "Rubbish! The Third Generation Kitetsu isn't on the list because it hasn't found the right master yet."

Chiba rubbed his temples. "Excuses. Master Kozaburo, on the other hand, has never needed them. That's why his Wado Ichimonji and Enma hold esteemed places among the Great Grade Swords."

"Little brat," Hitetsu snarled, "I'll slice you to pieces!" He raised his blade, aiming for Chiba's head.

Chiba met his strike with his whip, a loud boom echoing as Hitetsu was forced back, while Chiba remained rooted in place.

Kozaburo's eyes widened as he reevaluated Chiba's strength.

Glancing at his whip, Chiba saw a deep gouge from the clash. Rather than anger, he felt a spark of excitement. This old master's skill was genuine.

He sneered, "So, after all that boasting, you're going to run now?"

Seeing Chiba's tactic, Kozaburo cautioned, "Kid, he's provoking you."

Chiba grinned. "That's right, don't take me seriously, Master Hitetsu. You don't need to face reality if you'd rather cling to excuses."

Turning to Kozaburo, he added, "Master Kozaburo, obviously, doesn't need to lower himself to those excuses. That's why he's a real master."

Furious, Hitetsu pointed his finger at Kozaburo. "I've wanted to settle this for years. Today, let's finally see who's the true master blacksmith!"

Kozaburo took a drag from his pipe and sighed. "You fool. The kid's just playing you."

"I don't care! I want to prove I'm better than you once and for all!"

Kozaburo exhaled a cloud of smoke, his own competitive spirit stirring. "Fine. You want a contest? Let's settle it."

He might not want to be manipulated by Marine, but he couldn't deny the old rivalry brewing between them. When they finished, he figured he'd simply destroy the weapon to keep it from Marine's grasp.

Seeing the two masters hooked, Chiba's smile grew. These old lions weren't so hard to provoke after all.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

⭐ • 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗴𝗼 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟭𝟬 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿]

⭐ • 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿]

⭐ • 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿]

⭐ • 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿]

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥