Chapter 63: Kuina and Zoro
East Blue - Loguetown Port
The salty wind whipped across the docks, the air a chaotic mix of crashing waves and crying seagulls.
A 13-year-old Kuina stood at the port's edge, her brow furrowed, one hand on her hip and the other gripping the hilt of her famous sword, the Wado Ichimonji. She was on high alert, her entire presence radiating a calm far beyond her years.
Behind her, an 11-year-old Roronoa Zoro was clutching his stomach, his face scrunched up in annoyance.
"Hey, Kuina, I gotta take a leak."
"What?!"
Kuina spun around, glaring at him. "We just got to Loguetown and you're already making trouble! Mr. Roy told us to find Captain Smoker immediately. We don't have time for you to mess around!"
"Hey, it's an emergency!" Zoro shot back. "Besides, I'm not like you! I can't hold it that long!"
"You—!" A vein popped on Kuina's forehead, but she finally just gritted her teeth and waved him off. "Fine! Be quick! And if you dare get lost, I'll cut you down!"
"Tch. Who gets lost these days...?" Zoro muttered, turning and heading for the public restroom.
Ten minutes later, in an unfamiliar alley in Loguetown...
Zoro stood in the middle of a street, looking left and right.
"...Where am I?"
"Is this the right way?" He looked around, not recognizing a single building. "I remember the bathroom was... on the left? No, wait... it was on the right..."
"Whatever. I'll just walk."
And so, he wandered aimlessly, turning this way and that, getting more and more lost... until he stumbled upon an old, dusty sign:
[Ipponmatsu's Arms Shop]
"A weapon shop?" His eyes lit up, and he immediately pushed the door open.
Jingle—
The air inside smelled of rust and steel. An owner with a pipe, Ipponmatsu, was busy polishing a blade. He glanced up, saw a green-haired brat, and immediately lost interest.
"Kid, I'm not selling toy katanas here."
Zoro ignored him, his eyes scanning the racks... until his gaze locked on a dusty, discarded barrel full of "scrap katanas."
He walked over, sifted through them, and pulled out a tachi with a dark, ominous red blade and a wicked, claw-like temper line.
Ipponmatsu's face went white, his pipe nearly falling from his mouth. "Hey! Kid, don't touch that! That's a Cursed Sword! It's already killed half a dozen swordsmen!"
Zoro just gripped the hilt, his eyes burning with a strange fire. "I want this one."
"Are you insane?!" Ipponmatsu scrambled out from behind the counter. "That blade is too bloodthirsty! It's cursed to kill its masters! You'll die if you use it!"
Zoro just grinned, the dark red blade of the Sandai Kitetsu gleaming.
"Then let's find out... what's stronger? Its curse, or my luck!"
With that, he threw the sword straight up in the air!
The blade spun, a terrifying silver arc in the dim light.
"HEY! ARE YOU CRAZY, KID—!" Ipponmatsu screamed, but it was too late.
The shop was dead silent. Everyone held their breath.
The blade fell, point-first, aimed straight at Zoro's outstretched arm.
Zoro closed his eyes, his face calm, not even flinching.
SHIIIING—!
The blade sliced through the air... and passed by his arm, missing him completely.
"CLANG!!!"
The Sandai Kitetsu embedded itself deep into the wooden floor, the hilt still vibrating.
Ipponmatsu's pipe hit the ground. The other customers were speechless.
Zoro slowly opened his eyes, looked at the sword in the floor, and a wild, sharp grin spread across his face.
"Looks like... my luck wins."
Ipponmatsu was silent for a beat, then suddenly burst out laughing. "BWAHAHAHA!"
He walked over, clapping Zoro on the shoulder. "Kid, what's your name?"
"Roronoa Zoro."
"Good name!" Ipponmatsu slammed his hand on the counter. "Just for having those guts, the Sandai Kitetsu is yours! For free!"
He then walked into the back room and returned, holding another, more elegant sword. It was in a silver-white sheath, carved with a flowing cloud pattern.
"And this one—Yubashiri (Snow Run). It's the best blade in my shop, a family heirloom. It's yours, too!"
"Why are you giving me this one, too?" Zoro asked, surprised.
"Because I feel like it!" Ipponmatsu grinned. "A swordsman like you... you deserve good blades! In all my life, I've never seen a brat who could stare down the Sandai Kitetsu like that. Maybe... maybe you really will become the world's greatest swordsman one day!"
Zoro took Yubashiri, feeling its light, strong balance—a perfect contrast to the Sandai Kitetsu's bloodlust.
"Thanks, old man," he said, his voice simple but heavy with gratitude.
He turned and walked out, the light catching the steel of his two new swords.
Just as he hit the street—
"ZOR—O—!!!"
An absolutely furious roar echoed down the street. Kuina was at the other end of the block, her hand on her own sword, a vein pulsing on her forehead.
"You went to the bathroom for an hour?! I'm seriously going to cut you in half!"
Zoro flinched, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
"Crap..."
"I'm dead. She's really going to kill me..."
He looked down at the two new swords at his hip, and his confident grin returned.
"But... worth it!"
Loguetown - Marine Base
Captain Smoker sat at his desk, two thick cigars clamped in his mouth, the smoke swirling around his head. He squinted at the two kids in front of him: one, a polite, well-postured swordswoman, and the other... a bruised and battered-looking Marimo?
"You must be Kuina and Zoro," he growled. "That brat Roy already called me about you."
Kuina stood straight. "Yes, Captain Smoker. Mr. Roy said you would be arranging a warship to take us to Marineford."
Smoker snorted, his gaze shifting to Zoro. "What happened to this one?"
Zoro, his face swollen, just winced. (Damn... Kuina really doesn't pull her punches...)
Kuina answered for him, her face calm. "He got lost for forty minutes and delayed the plan. I 'educated' him a little."
"'A little?!'" Zoro yelped. "You nearly drove my head through the pavement!"
Smoker's lip twitched. "Hmph. You brats have some fire."
He stood up, grabbing his "Justice" coat and his Seastone-tipped Jitte.
"Your lucky day. I'm heading back to Marineford for a briefing. Come on. The ship's ready."
As the warship pulled out of the harbor, Zoro was leaning over the railing, rubbing his bruised face.
"Hey, Kuina, you really hit me too hard!"
Kuina, who was polishing the Wado Ichimonji, just glanced at him. "It's your own fault for getting lost. And then going to a weapon shop?"
"I just went to the bathroom and happened to pass by..."
"Happened to?"
"This," Zoro said, patting the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri at his hip, "is called a 'good haul'! What do you know? Fate dropped these blades right in my lap! Was I supposed to say no?"
Kuina just sneered. "You get lost again, and I'll cut you and your 'good luck' into eight pieces."
"Violent woman..." Zoro muttered.
From the ship's bridge, Smoker watched the two of them, took a long drag from his cigar, and let out a cloud of smoke.
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