In the East Blue, at Loguetown, Roronoa Zoro had already bee a seasoned bounty hunter. He had left Shimotsuki Vilge some time ago, venturing out on his own.

  Of course, he was still as hopelessly lost as ever. It seemed that no matter where he went, no one could give him proper dires.

  Not that it bothered him too much. As long as he didn't starve to death, he was fine. With his swordsmanship, which was more than enough to domihe small-time fighters of the East Blue, Zoro had found a det job as a bounty hunter.

  He had cut down quite a few pirates, exged their bounties with the Wover, and made enough moo survive. More importantly, he was using this opportunity to search for someone.

  That's right, his reason for setting out to sea was simple: he wao find Kuina, who had been taken away by Cudius years ago. He had to challenge her to a duel and see who was stronger now.

  But since he was hopeless with dires, he had made no real progress. He didn't even know where Kuina was. Before he left, Master Koshiro had mentioned something about looking for CP-X, but that hadn't helped at all.

  He was already lost, how was he supposed to find an anization like that?

  Retly, however, he had gaiwo travel panions. One was Johnny, a self-procimed sword master. The other was Yosaku.

  These two boasted about one day taking down Dracule Mihawk himself, yet here they were, tagging along with Zoro.

  Thanks to these two somewhat petent guides, Zoro had mao reach Loguetown.

  His reason for ing here was simple, this was the gateway to the Grand Line. He had realized that if he wao find Kuina, he had to head there .

  "Boss, let's stock up on supplies here before we search for the entrao Reverse Mountain and make our way into the Grand Line," Joseph suggested, notig the three swords at Zoro's waist.

  "Yeah," Zoro nodded. "But first, I o find a better sword."

  Kuina had been taken away by Cudius years ago, and ter, she ended up at Marine Headquarters alongside Mihawk for a time. After Mihawk had finished his busihere, he had left, but Kuina had decided to stay, drawn to the Marines and their ideals.

  Seeing this, Cudius had made arras for her to train under Gion, a powerful swordswoman. Not only did this provide Kuina with a mentor, but it also ehat someoh ties to Cudius was embedded within the Marines.

  Now, Kuina had grown into a formidable Marine officer, holding the rank of odore at Marine Headquarters. She wielded a sword of the Wazamono grade, a well-crafted bde of notable quality.

  Zoro, oher hand, wasn't so lucky. His ons were mediocre at best.

  Loguetown, being the st major stop before the Grand Line, was teeming with pirates looking to resupply. However, because of the presence of a particurly formidable Marine captain statiohere, most of these pirates lingered around the outskirts, avoiding direct frontation.

  Zoro needed more Berries to afford both supplies and a det bde. Of course, as a bounty hunter, finding a pirate to take down would be the best way to earn some quick cash.

  Unfortunately, he still had no knowledge of Haki, and during a ret battle, one of his swords had been shattered. Naturally, now that he was on the isnd, his first priority was to acquire a quality rept.

  "Boss, why don't you go buy your sword first? Leave the supply run to us," Yosaku offered with a grin.

  Johnny, however, quickly covered his mouth and whispered, "No, I should go with him. You hahe supplies, Yosaku."

  Yosaku raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

  Before Yosaku could argue, Johnny leaned in and muttered, "If we let the boss go alone… we'll probably end up searg for him on the Grand Line."

  Yosaku froze. The thought of Zoro's legendary ck of dire sent a chill down his spine. He quickly nodded and said, "You know what? That's a good point. Johnny, you go with him."

  Zoro didn't seem to care either way. Under Johnny's guidahey asked around aually found the location of a sword shop on the isnd.

  As they walked through the streets, Johnny suddenly spoke up. "Hey, boss, did you hear? The Krieg Pirates left the East Blue two days ago. They're heading for the Grand Lio try and make a name for themselves. Pretty impressive, huh? With their strength, they might actually have a shot at being the Pirate King."

  Zoro scoffed. "Not a ce. I've never been to the Grand Line, but I tell that it takes more than that to survive there. Krieg's nothing special."

  Johnny smirked. "Oh yeah? And what about you, boss? Are you strohan him?"

  Roronoa Zoro—the three-sword-wielding bounty hunter. Aside from reclusive masters like Koshiro, he was easily one of the stro swordsmen in the East Blue.

  But Zoro was self-aware. He had seen Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman. He had even entered Cudius, the leader of CP-X. He had studied the battle scars they left behind, evidence of their sheer power.

  Judging by those marks alohese people were monsters. At his current level, Zoro couldn't even dream of slig through aire valley with a sirike.

  "I'm just a frog at the bottom of a well," Zoro muttered.

  Johnny blinked in fusion. "Frog at the bottom of a well? What are you talking about, boss? You're already the stro swordsman I know! If you make it to the Grand Line, you're bound to cim the title of the world's stro soon enough!"

  Zoro didn't answer. Instead, he gnced up at a shop nearby. "That's the sword shht?"

  Before Johnny could respond, Zoro pushed open the door and walked inside.

  Inside, a young woman with short e hair was leaning on the ter, pyfully bargaining with the shopkeeper.

  "e on, mister, I'm a beautiful woman. Shouldn't you give me a dist just for that? If not, how about two fresh es from my hometown?"

  Zoro spared her a brief gnce befn her entirely. His mind was entirely focused on swords and swordsmanship. If there was any woman who could ever hold his i, it was Kuina—no one else.

  The girl, of course, was her than Nami.

  Cudius's intervention in the East Blue had drastically ged the region. The Fish-Men pirates, including Arlong, had bee off to the Calm Belt. The Marines had also cracked down on crime, leading to a far more stable enviro.

  As a result, Nami had never bee a thief. Instead, she had simply chosen to go out to sea, driven by her dream to map the entire world with her own hands.

  She also wao find Cudius, thank him in person, and give him two of her favorite es as a token of appreciation.

  After sailing all the way to Loguetown, she was now preparing to ehe Grand Line. But first, she wao buy a quality dagger for self-defehe only problem? She was broke. So, here she was, trying to charm the shopkeeper into giving her a dist.

  Zoro, meanwhile, walked straight to the ter and spoke. "I'm heading into the Grand Line. My current swords won't cut it. Got any good ones?"

  The shopkeeper, sensing a genuine er, quickly turned his attention away from Nami. "Of course! All our bdes are of fine quality, sorted by grade and price. What are you looking for?"

  But Zoro wasn't listening. His eyes had locked onto a pile of discarded swords in the er. Something there had caught his attention.

  Taking a few steps forward, he reached in and pulled out a single bde. His brows furrowed slightly as he murmured, "Now this… is a fine sword."

  "Ah—wait! I wouldn't reend that ohe shopkeeper warned. "That's a cursed bde, the Sandai Kitetsu! It's said t misfortuo its wielder!"

  Zoro smirked. Before he could reply, the shop door swung open again.

  "Hey, shopkeeper! Got anything new? I heard you got your hands on a Meito retly right? Miiake a look?"

  A young Marine woman with gsses had entered, her voice crisp and eic.

  "Tashigi!" the shopkeeper greeted with a smile.

  Zoro's eyes widened in shock. "Kuina?! So you were here all along?! You never left the East Blue?!"

  "Kuina?" Tashigi looked at Zoro in fusion, not uanding what he was talking about.

  However, as soon as her eyes nded on the sword in Zoro's hand, her expression ged. The sword enthusiast in her instantly took over, and she excimed excitedly, "The Sandai Kitetsu!"

  Zoro, still vinced she was Kuina, tightened his grip on the sword and said in a deep voice, "Let's see how much stronger you've gottehe years!"

  With that, he drew the Sandai Kitetsu.

  Tashigi was startled by his sudden aggression, but she reacted instinctively. Her own bde, Shigure, was uhed in an instant, and she stepped into a defeance.

  "Who are you?! How dare you attack a Marine?!" she demanded.

  But the moment Zoro cshed bdes with her, he immediately sensed something was off.

  Why is she… so weak?

  Before things could escate further, the shopkeeper quickly intervened, shouting, "Wait! That's Marine Sergeant Tashigi! Don't cause trouble!"

  Zoro blinked in shock. "Tashigi? You're not… Kuina?"

  For a moment, his mind reeled. Could it be that his childhood rival had a long-lost twin sister?

  Master never mentiohat…

  ***

  For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon./Blownleaves.