This Calls for a Blade

Crack.

When the man sheathed his sword again, there was a thunderous splash as the sea monster's two heads crashed down!

Blood sprayed like rain from the severed necks of the sea beast. Before long, its headless body lost all support and fell into the sea as well.

The enormous splash actually pushed the little fishing boat more than ten meters away.

"As wake-up alarms go, that was pretty refreshing."

After dealing with the sea beast, the man landed back on the fishing boat.

He turned to look at the scene behind him.

Though he had been completely drenched by the splashing seawater, his expression was far more relaxed than before. After all, if the boat had really capsized, that would have been quite troublesome for him.

Just as the man was admiring the results of his work—

"Y-You, who the hell are you?!"

The people present had finally come back to their senses, but their shock was beyond words.

Joseph and Johnny immediately drew the swords from their backs and stared at the man nervously, asking in trembling voices, "With skills like that, traveling alone... you're not some pirate planning to hijack the boat, are you?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

The man glanced sideways at Joseph and Johnny. "Relax. I'm not a pirate. If anything, I've recently been making a living off pirate bounties."

Roronoa... Zoro?

Wait, wasn't that the person Li Mingyuan had specifically asked them about before they left the island?!

The pirate hunter who had recently risen to fame!!

At that moment, Joseph and Johnny both found it unbelievable. Could it really be such a coincidence? They had only talked about that name recently, and now he had appeared right in front of them.

Realizing something, Joseph's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared at the man's sword.

"A white hilt and a white scabbard."

"If you really are the pirate hunter from the rumors, then could that be one of the legendary 21 Great Grade Blades—Wado Ichimonji?!"

Joseph's face immediately filled with indescribable excitement.

Any swordsman would know it. It was one of the famous blades that marked a person as a true swordsman.

The 21 Great Grade Blades.

In this world, famous blades were divided by quality into three grades: the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, the 21 Great Grade Blades, and the 50 Skillful Grade Blades.

Among them, Great Grade Blades were said to be worth more than ten million Beli on average even as weapons alone. In reality, however, the people who wielded them were generally famous swordsmen. Even if one had money, there was nowhere to buy them. Some Great Grade Blades had long vanished with the passage of time.

Who would have thought that insignificant nobodies like them would get to see such a famous blade today?!

It almost made all the suffering they had endured over the past few days feel worth it...?

"But Roronoa, aren't you supposed to use Three-Sword Style?"

Johnny stared fixedly at Zoro and could not help asking, "You're not using three swords. No matter how you look at it, that doesn't seem like the pirate hunter."

"Oh, that."

"My strength has increased quite a bit lately, and it's been hard to control it. Ordinary swords break pretty quickly, so for now, I'm down to just one."

Zoro picked up Wado Ichimonji, looking somewhat troubled. "Originally, I was planning to take down a few bounty targets on a nearby island and earn some money to maintain my swords. But I got lost by accident, and this boat has been drifting around at sea for days."

"Come to think of it, you said earlier that you could drop me off at another island along the way. That really helps. Thanks."

As he spoke, Zoro looked up at the people in front of him again.

"I don't have much money, but I helped you take care of that sea beast. That's still a pretty good deal, right?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, a faint smile on his lips.

Seeing the expression on the man's face, Joseph and Johnny exchanged glances and unconsciously lowered their swords.

They had not completely let down their guard around the man, but if he truly was the pirate hunter from the rumors, he probably would not attack them.

Besides, with the skill he had displayed, staying on guard would not have meant much anyway.

Johnny looked again at the beheaded sea beast floating in the distance. Its blood had already stained the surrounding sea red. He could not even see how the pirate hunter had done it; the swordsmanship was simply too fast to follow.

"If Big Brother Li Mingyuan were here, who would be stronger between him and the pirate hunter?"

He could not help wondering.

The rain continued to fall, and no one knew when it would stop.

The fishing boat's captain looked painfully at the sea beast's corpse. Selling it could probably earn him more than half a year's income, but he also understood that there was no way they could take the corpse with them in these circumstances. He could only suppress his heartache and continue toward the nearest island, following the compass and sea chart.

Amid the patter of rain, the matter temporarily came to an end.

The famed pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro had joined their group.

Even now, Joseph and Johnny still felt that it was unreal.

They had merely been sailing across the sea when they ran into the pirate hunter from the rumors, and he had even boarded their fishing boat. If they told their old colleagues about this, no one would probably believe them.

Unlike Joseph and Johnny, who were still somewhat dazed, Zoro acted naturally, as if he had been on the fishing boat from the start. He leaned casually against the side of the boat, yawned again, clasped his hands behind his head, lay down, and began dozing off.

Joseph and Johnny watched Zoro like that for a long while, but in the end, they could not hold it in anymore.

"Um... Roronoa? Is it okay if we call you that?"

Joseph and Johnny asked in unison, "Could we ask you a few questions?"

"What is it?"

"We heard you've taken down quite a few big names, including some notorious figures. Is all that true?"

Seeing that Zoro seemed willing to talk, the two immediately moved closer and began asking questions.

They could not help it!

They were both bounty hunters. On one side stood the renowned pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro; on the other was a duo that had nearly been beaten to death by the bandit Dick not long ago. Joseph and Johnny felt that no one in their position could resist asking about the other man's experiences.

Zoro did not seem to mind their curiosity-filled faces.

Even while lying down, he casually answered their questions. If there were things he did not know much about, he simply brushed them off.

Despite his sharp and taciturn aura, he was actually quite easy to talk to.

After quite some time, the satisfied duo finally stopped asking questions.

Johnny sat off to the side and could not help sighing.

"Ahh! What a shame. If only we'd met you earlier. Big Brother happened to be pretty interested in bounty hunters and asked about you not long ago, but we couldn't tell him anything..."

"Right, Joseph?"

Joseph was still thinking about the stories Zoro had told them—the many powerful bounty targets he had taken down. Hearing Johnny's words, he froze and instinctively replied, "Big Brother? Since when did the two of us have a big brother?"

"Hey! Did you forget? That night a few days ago."

Johnny reminded him, "Big Brother Li Mingyuan!"

The moment he heard that name, Joseph suddenly understood. Come to think of it, Li Mingyuan really was their big brother.

But immediately afterward, Joseph looked at Johnny speechlessly.

"You bastard, didn't we decline his invitation because we wanted to retire? Why are you calling him Big Brother on your own? Don't tell me you suddenly want to claim a connection with him just to show off in front of the pirate hunter."

"Let me make this clear—I'm not calling him that. If we go around calling someone Big Brother every day, people might think we're really connected to him. If some bounty target who thinks they can threaten him through us sets their sights on us, we'd be screwed."

Joseph spread his hands and spoke bluntly.

He had a clear understanding of himself. Anyone Li Mingyuan would take notice of or become entangled with in the East Blue was probably, at minimum, a monster worth more than ten million Beli. They were completely out of their league. Even if someone could not beat Li Mingyuan and chose to retaliate against those around him instead, Joseph and Johnny would not be able to stop them at all.

If they had refused, then they should refuse completely. At least, Joseph knew he could not use Li Mingyuan's strength to make himself look good in public.

Though Joseph said that—

He had not expected his words to pique someone else's interest.

"Big brother?"

"What, you two have a big brother? And he's asking about me?"

Zoro suddenly opened his eyes.

"Could he be after my head?"

He looked at Joseph and Johnny with considerable interest.

Joseph and Johnny, who had been bickering moments ago, were instantly alarmed.

"No, no, no! Of course not! How could that be?!"

Johnny hurriedly turned to Zoro, repeatedly waving his hands as he denied it. "You're a pirate hunter, not a bounty target, right? Big Brother has no reason to target you. He recently took down a high-value bounty target, so maybe that's why he became curious about another bounty hunter like you."

"Big Brother is a really good man! He saved both of our lives!"

It would have been too awful to create an enemy for their benefactor for no reason, so Johnny hurriedly explained the situation.

At that point, Johnny scratched the back of his head somewhat awkwardly.

"Actually, Joseph is right. He isn't really our big brother. I'm the only one who wants to call him that."

"Big Brother Li Mingyuan did invite us to join him, but we didn't accept. The gap in our strength was too great, and we'd only hold him back. Besides, we wanted to find somewhere to retire, so we refused... But even if we refused, he still saved our lives. I just can't help wanting to call him Big Brother."

"Don't be too shocked, okay? Big Brother isn't like us. He's terrifyingly strong! A few days ago, he even took down the bandit Dick, who had a bounty of 10 million Beli!"

Johnny showed a hint of pride, as if he had accomplished it himself. Crossing his arms, he declared proudly, "That was when he saved us from that guy."

"Although we didn't see the exact situation, the nurse said it was an incredibly decisive battle. His fighting style was practically like an illusion, and he defeated his opponent with ease!"

"A bounty target worth 10 million Beli."

Zoro rested a hand on his sword hilt, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. "Interesting."

Up to now, he had defeated quite a few bounty targets worth several million Beli, some of them exceptionally brutal criminals. But he had not yet encountered one worth more than ten million.

Anyone capable of defeating a bounty target worth 10 million Beli had to be a true expert.

"By the way, one more question. What weapon does this 'Big Brother Li Mingyuan' of yours use?"

Zoro pressed.

"Uh, his weapon..."

Joseph and Johnny looked at each other, then turned to Zoro with awkward smiles.

"That's why I said earlier that the nurse described it as 'a fighting style practically like an illusion.'"

"We didn't see it ourselves, but according to the nurse, Big Brother Li Mingyuan somehow made the other guy throw away his weapon. Then, barehanded, he killed the bandit in one move. To be honest, we didn't really understand what happened either."

Johnny continued, "Besides the nurse, there were many villagers there at the time. But she said that although they had privately discussed it afterward, no one could explain what had actually happened."

In fact, not only was Li Mingyuan's fighting style a mystery, but his identity and past were mysteries as well. According to the villagers, they had found the man on the shore. At the time, his body had been emitting a faint golden glow, and even when seawater submerged his mouth and nose, he could still breathe normally.

Since they were both benefactors of the village, Joseph and Johnny had learned this information while asking the villagers about him.

But there was no need to tell a pirate hunter they had only just met about all that.

"A mysterious strong man. That sounds nice."

Zoro could not help curling his lips into a smile. "Too bad he fights barehanded. It would be even better if he used a sword."

His hand tightened around Wado Ichimonji.

A bounty hunter who was specifically asking about him—could there really be such a coincidence in the world?

Rather than someone who had merely heard his name by chance and casually asked about it, Zoro felt that the man was more likely someone who had set his sights on him. Perhaps he was seeking revenge for the people Zoro had defeated, or perhaps he wanted to use Zoro's reputation as a stepping stone.

But none of that mattered.

If the other man truly had that kind of strength...

Then Zoro would remember the name Li Mingyuan.

"If fate lets us meet someday, that would be nice."

With that thought in mind, Zoro raised his head toward the sky and murmured meaningfully.