Blood Scorpion

Walking through the streets of Loguetown, Werther saw that people had already begun their busy mornings, giving the town a vibrant, lively feeling.

The place Werther was headed to was somewhere he had never visited since arriving in Loguetown. It did not suit his former profession, and the people there probably would not welcome him.

An Assassin was not much better than a Pirate, but since he usually left almost no survivors after completing a mission, they probably did not have any photographs of Werther, much less a bounty poster.

That was right—the Loguetown Marine branch. This time, Werther had come to find someone.

Arriving at the Marine branch, Werther glanced at the two soldiers at the entrance. He had no intention of entering through the front gate. Instead, he went around to the back, climbed over the wall, slipped into the Marine base, and observed the people below from the rooftops as he slowly searched for his target.

After searching for nearly two hours, he finally found her: short blue hair and pink glasses.

That was right. The person Werther was looking for was Zoro's so-called childhood sweetheart, Marine Tashigi.

One of Senior Brother's final wishes had been to entrust Blood Scorpion to someone who truly loved swords. Strength was secondary.

However, it was impossible to simply hand Blood Scorpion over to Tashigi. She was only one of his potential choices. He had come today to see whether her love for swords was genuine.

Werther silently jumped down from the roof. Even when he landed, he made not the slightest sound. Tashigi, who was practicing her swordsmanship, did not notice him at all.

"Hey, are you Tashigi? I have something to discuss with you." Werther smiled at her. This was his first time seeing someone from the original story. It felt somewhat strange.

Tashigi was clearly startled by Werther's sudden voice. Her shoulders jerked, and she let out a startled cry.

"Y-you, who are you? How did you suddenly appear in the Marine branch? You scared me!" After recovering, Tashigi first tried to determine Werther's identity. Her basic qualities as a Marine were not bad.

"Oh, my name is Werther. I live in this town too. I came here to find you. As for why, I'll explain in a moment." Werther finished speaking and looked at the blue-haired girl before him with interest, making Tashigi's skin crawl.

"Y-you said your name is Werther? You live in Loguetown too? Sword of Slaughter Werther? You're Sword of Slaughter Werther! How dare you show up at the Marine branch?" Tashigi's expression changed drastically. She slowly backed away, looking ready to call for help at any moment. Don't do anything reckless.

"Hehehe, hehehe. You've got the wrong person. Sword of Slaughter? What kind of ridiculous Demon name is that? Relax, I just came to say a few words. I'll leave soon." Werther tried to fool Tashigi, who had not seemed particularly bright in the original story.

"Who are you trying to fool? Do you take me for a child? Turn yourself in! Do you know how many people you killed? I've been to those scenes. They were practically hell!" Tashigi looked at him as if he had a problem with his intelligence, while her eyes repeatedly drifted toward Werther's twin swords.

"I said I'm not. Just pretend I'm not. Don't force me to kill anyone. I'm in a bad mood right now. Even if that smoke guy comes, I might not be able to do anything to him, but his turtle-slow speed won't stop me from killing people." Werther's face turned cold as he frightened the girl from the original story, because he found it amusing.

Looking at the man before her, with his short tied hair and black trench coat, Tashigi felt her legs weaken. Remembering the horrific scenes she had seen after Werther's missions, she panicked even more and did not know what to do.

Seeing that Tashigi had been frightened enough, Werther untied Blood Scorpion from his back.

Tashigi had been terrified, but upon seeing the sword in Werther's hand, she actually took out a notebook and began flipping through it.

"One of the Ryo Wazamono, Blood Scorpion. Isn't this Blood Rose's sword? Why is it in your hands? Don't tell me Blood Rose was killed by you?" Once Tashigi saw the sword in Werther's hand, she no longer seemed afraid of him, and her words became much more fluent.

"Oh, good that you recognize this sword. Blood Rose? What kind of ridiculous Demon nickname is that? By the way, do you want this sword? Why don't you try taking it from me? If you don't, I'll just sell it off. It should fetch a good price, since it's one of those Ryo Wazamono or whatever." Werther continued testing Tashigi.

What no one expected was that this girl, who looked absentminded, nearsighted, and rather weak, stopped fearing Werther altogether. She directly drew Shigure from her waist, her expression one of utter resolve.

"I will never allow a famous sword like this to fall into the hands of an evil man like you! Swords have souls. They are not things to be sold. I can almost hear the sword in your hand crying." Tashigi's expression was solemn as she held her sword and slowly advanced toward Werther.

Looking at the person before him, who had suddenly turned into a lioness, Werther knew he had come to the right place today. This not particularly strong girl possessed the spirit to risk even her life for a sword.

Activating Lightning Mode, Werther moved behind Tashigi before she could react and flicked her forehead. Yes, he flicked her forehead.

Tashigi's eyes nearly watered from Werther's flick, but remembering that this was a battle, that she could not lose her fighting spirit and had to stay serious, she forcibly held back the tears gathering in her eyes. Still, it really hurt. Tashigi wailed silently in her heart.

"Has a dog licked your brain clean? You charged straight at an opponent you can't possibly defeat. I really don't know how you survived until today. Slowly come to understand this cruel world. I hope that when you do, you'll still have a heart as pure as this one. This sword is yours now. Take good care of it, and maintain it often. Also, work hard and grow stronger, silly girl. With your current strength, even entering the first half of the Grand Line would be dangerous. Once you reach the New World, it will be hell for you." After speaking, Werther tossed the sword to Tashigi and turned to leave.

"You, what exactly is your purpose? Don't leave! You're a criminal, an Assassin!" Werther had left Tashigi somewhat confused, but she had not forgotten his identity or his crimes. Covering the swelling on her forehead, she stepped in front of him.

Tashigi gripped Blood Scorpion tightly, unable to understand Werther's intentions. He had given her a famous sword for no reason. Could it be a Cursed Sword? No, the booklet in her hands clearly recorded it as a famous sword, not a Cursed Sword. It was even one of the higher-ranked Ryo Wazamono, far superior to her Shigure.

Looking at Tashigi blocking his path, Werther felt that his decision had been correct. She was weak, but she had courage.

Werther decided to teach Tashigi a lesson: when you were weak, do not try to provoke powerful enemies.

He activated Lightning Mode again, crossed his hands and drew both swords, then stared coldly at Tashigi as though she were one of his former targets. Werther did not know what killing intent was, but his long years as an Assassin had given him a certain presence. Normally, it was not particularly noticeable, but once he assumed a combat stance, it could intimidate his opponent. It was an aura born from killing his own kind for years, like a coroner who had dissected corpses his entire life. Even old and frail, that kind of gaze would still make one's hair stand on end.

Tashigi felt that the aura of the man before her had completely changed. If he had merely felt powerful just now, then the dual-sword wielder standing before her was no longer a human being. He was a demonic ghost from hell, surrounded by a red mist of blood. Her legs began trembling again, yet she still gripped her sword tightly.

Werther let his arms hang freely at his sides, his twin swords pointing at the ground, and said in a low voice;

"Secret Sword, Tsubame Gaeshi." He unleashed his ultimate move at Tashigi.

Tashigi felt as though everything else in the world had vanished. Darkness filled her vision, and only two intersecting blue-violet Sword Aura slashes came cutting toward her head. Her heart filled with despair.

"I-I'm going to be killed." Tashigi could no longer endure what was before her. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

The Sword Aura of Tsubame Gaeshi did not strike Tashigi. It flew past her face, severing only a few strands of her blue hair.

Although it had not struck Tashigi, Tsubame Gaeshi's Sword Aura still damaged the Marine branch. Years ago, Tsubame Gaeshi could carve a huge hole into a mountain. Now that Werther had grown even stronger, the result was obvious.

A huge section of the Marine branch was cut into four pieces, destroying half of the base.

When Smoker rushed over, all he saw was wreckage covering the ground and Tashigi lying unconscious, Blood Scorpion clutched tightly in her hand. He let out an enraged roar.

Meanwhile, Werther was already sailing his ship toward a place he had always longed to visit, beginning his Adventurer journey.

That place might have been paradise for every food lover in the East Blue: the sea restaurant, Baratie.

He would also see whether Luffy had set sail yet. After all, the future owner of Shusui mentioned in his Master's final wish was Luffy's right-hand man. But Werther would not trust Zoro merely because of the original story. This was a real world, not a manga.

He did not think he would necessarily run into Luffy or Zoro, since Luffy seemed not to have gone to sea yet at this point in time.

But who cared? Meeting Luffy and Zoro was only incidental. The most important thing was enjoying a meal cooked by Zeff or Sanji. That would be delicious.

Thinking of that, Werther swallowed and increased the ship's speed.