Chapter 218: The Curse of the Cursed Sword
When children are curious, they don't back away. More often than not, they might just grab whatever caught their eye directly, and Chloe was no exception.
At this height, she didn't even need to fly. With just a gentle hop, she grabbed the hilt of the sword.
However, in the process of pulling the sword out, Chloe ended up knocking over the entire wooden barrel, creating quite a loud commotion.
Setting the extracted sword aside, Chloe silently righted the fallen barrel, then tossed the scattered swords back inside before finally taking a good look at her prize.
The curvature of the blade was quite pronounced, and the edge was slightly longer than an ordinary sword. Along the blade ran a purple, flame-patterned hamon. Looking at the sword, Amphelite felt an inexplicable, eerie sensation radiating from it.
"It's a good sword, but this feeling... this is a Cursed Sword (Yoto), isn't it?"
"Your senses are quite sharp. That is the Sandai Kitetsu, a Cursed Sword of the Kitetsu lineage."
"Hey, hey, hey! How do you people look after your kids?! How can you let a child hold such a dangerous weapon?! Hurry up and make her put the sword down!!"
While Nereus and Amphelite calmly watched Chloe heft the cursed sword, the shop owner, Ipponmatsu, completely lost his composure. He had been busy attending to other customers and hadn't paid attention to this side of the shop.
He never expected that the moment he saw the other customers out, he would turn around to witness such a scene.
A small child waving around a cursed sword—just looking at it sent shivers down his spine.
But Ipponmatsu didn't dare approach right now. If it were an adult holding the sword, he wouldn't be this terrified; given Loguetown's current situation, he didn't need to worry about open robbery.
But if a child haphazardly swung the sword and ended up cutting herself, he would have nowhere to argue his innocence.
Whether it was paying compensation or being held accountable, nothing could reverse the damage once it was done.
From a human's perspective, it's never too late to mend the fold after a sheep is lost. But from the sheep's perspective, by the time the fence is fixed, the mauled sheep would have already gone to its next reincarnation.
"Are you deaf?! That sword is incredibly sharp! Tell her to put it down right now! One slip and her whole arm could be chopped off!"
The Sandai Kitetsu. Although it wasn't ranked among the fifty Skillful Grade Swords, it was still an exceptionally sharp Meito and a premium piece among the myriad of weapons here.
It was precisely because of this sword that Nereus had stepped into this specific weapon shop.
"Don't be so nervous. We'll take this sword. How much is it?"
"No... it's not about the money! This sword isn't for sale! Tell your daughter to put it down first! You're her mother, right?! Watching her hold such a dangerous weapon, aren't you worried at all?!"
Anyone who wasn't blind could instantly recognize them as mother and daughter. But this entire family gave Ipponmatsu an utterly incomprehensible feeling.
"Not for sale? If it's not for sale, why put it out here? Besides, I don't see what's so dangerous about it."
Then, Ipponmatsu watched in disbelief as the lethally cursed sword practically turned into a child's toy. Even when Chloe pressed her palm directly against the blade's edge, not a single drop of blood appeared.
At most, the flames on the little girl's back seemed to burn a bit more intensely for some unknown reason.
"That... that's a cursed sword of the Kitetsu lineage! The swords forged by that line are undoubtedly excellent blades, but those who wield them always meet a tragic, violent end! Are you sure you really want to take it?"
Ipponmatsu had wanted to sell the sword, terrified that keeping it would bring the curse upon himself.
But if he sold it and the wielder died a gruesome death because of it, his conscience wouldn't allow him peace.
Not selling it meant enduring both the fear of the curse and a financial loss. In the end, out of a deeply conflicted mindset, he had simply tossed it into a corner and put it up for sale.
"So, how much is this sword exactly?"
"I... I don't want any money. You can have it for free..."
Seeing someone literally face-tanking the curse with a monster-like body, Ipponmatsu saw a golden opportunity to get rid of the sword as soon as possible.
If even the little girl could grab the raw blade with her bare hands, the adults could definitely handle it.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely! The sword is yours! But please, don't tell anyone..."
Because the surrounding customers had just left, Ipponmatsu dared to offer it for free.
He certainly didn't want anyone in the outside world to know that his shop was giving away swords for free; that would ruin his future business.
"That boss is quite strange. But who do you plan on giving this sword to?"
Neither Amphelite nor Nereus took the "curse" Ipponmatsu spoke of seriously.
In a world where ships could give birth to Klabautermann, swords naturally possessed their own "wills."
Characteristics like absorbing the user's Haki, thirsting for blood, and possessing greater lethality certainly existed.
To the weak, this was a curse. To the strong, it was a trait to be exploited.
As long as one mastered this cursed sword, it would simply become a sharper blade.
"Let's give it to Uncle Alber," Chloe suggested.
Thinking back on their family, aside from Amphelite, Alber was the only one accustomed to using a sword.
Amphelite had her own sword, reportedly passed down from the ancestors of her specific Lunarian lineage.
It had been hidden away back then and only retrieved much later. Right now, she had no intention of changing her blade.
"Alber won't be able to use this sword. It's too short. For him, it would only serve as a dagger."
Alber was currently six meters and thirteen centimeters tall. Without possessing Zoro's unique "sword-rack" quirk, the Sandai Kitetsu would look like a mere toy in his hands. He wouldn't be able to use it normally at all.
For someone of his size, standard weapons were simply impractical. They usually had to find someone to forge custom gear.
Besides, the roster of Meito was theoretically constantly updating. Some swords had only existed for a few decades yet still made it onto the Meito rankings.
Even a famous sword worth tens of millions of Berries would chip under long-term, reckless abuse. Even the combat intensity of the East Blue was enough to cause the Wado Ichimonji to chip.
Only the constant permeation of Haki could allow a blade to withstand the baptism of time and battle.
By finding an excellent swordsmith to forge a new blade, and subjecting it to the baptism and nourishment of Haki, that new sword could equally evolve into an exceptional Black Blade.
Given Alber's situation, he probably wouldn't mind carrying such a "short sword" on his person for sneak attacks and the like.
"I remember Alber had a custom trick-sword made before. It can pop out shark-like teeth to directly disarm an opponent's weapon. He isn't a Two-Sword Style user himself, so he wouldn't be used to wielding this anyway. Since you were the one who picked this sword out, you should keep it and use it yourself for now."
The Kitetsu was a bit too large for Chloe right now, but girls grew quickly anyway. Nanamo was a special exception of naturally petite stature. Given Chloe's growth rate, this sword would soon become the perfect size for her.
"Alright, let's pack up and get ready to head home. We won't be cutting straight across the Calm Belt this time. We'll take the more traditional route and go up Reverse Mountain.
"Over at Twin Cape, Brook needs a little favor from us."
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