Pirates

When Ferdinand heard Werther laugh, he shuddered. He suddenly realized that now was not the time to get intimate with Girl, because a murderous god was still waiting behind him.

If he did not handle this matter properly today, it would no longer be a tragedy for him—it would be a complete disaster.

He himself might be fine, but from then on, he could only meet Girl in front of the other party's grave.

Ferdinand took Girl's hand and walked over to Werther.

"Six, this is my friend Werther. We came this time to ask your grandfather to help forge some swords. Could you put in a good word for your brother? This is really important. Please, make sure the old man agrees to help." After speaking, Ferdinand secretly winked at Girl.

Six looked troubled after hearing Ferdinand's words. Seeing him secretly signal to her, the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl failed to understand what her lover meant.

"Brother Ferdinand, my grandfather put down his hammer last month. He won't forge weapons anymore." After saying that, Girl looked apologetically at her beloved brother.

"That's right. Master has retired, and now I'm the one handling top-tier commissions." The muscular brute looked smugly at Ferdinand, as if he had finally beaten Ferdinand in some regard.

It seemed the two had known each other before, and there was likely plenty of bad blood between them. It was not merely a matter of romantic rivalry.

The moment Six said her grandfather had retired, Ferdinand felt that things were going badly. As for the muscular brute's words, he had not heard a single one.

"Oh? Then in your family, is your grandfather the only one who can forge famed blades?" Werther asked Girl softly, a smile covering his face.

Before Girl could answer, the muscular brute suddenly cut in.

"That's right. The only one here who can forge famed blades is my master." He gave Werther a casual glance, his face full of pride over his master's ability to forge famed blades.

After hearing Werther's question, Ferdinand wanted to say something, but he had not expected the muscular brute to answer first.

Werther said nothing. He merely looked at Ferdinand, as if to say, You handle this. If your method does not work, I'll take over.

Sometimes, possessing an exquisite craft was not a good thing. Without the strength to protect it, it would attract "hungry wolves." And now, the Iron Tribe had attracted a hungry wolf named Werther.

Ferdinand leaned close to Six's ear and whispered a few words. At first, she was merely curious, but then her face gradually turned pale.

"Fine, I'll take you to see Grandpa. But Brother Ferdinand, you have to explain what this is all about later. Why did you bring him here?" After saying that, Six's face became even paler. Her eyes held blame and heartache, as though she had made some sort of decision as well.

Werther could tell that look was one of reckless, self-sacrificing love. Do not ask him how he knew, because the girl was looking at him as though she wanted to die together with him.

This made Werther rather awkward. How had he ended up looking like some great villain? A pair of young lovers, forced by his pressure, with the woman wanting to perish alongside the villain. It felt unbelievably melodramatic.

Then Werther thought it over carefully. It seemed he truly was playing the role of the villain in this matter.

First, he had asked Ferdinand for information about swordsmiths. Then Ferdinand's provocation had angered Werther.

After that, Ferdinand had no choice but to answer a question: abandon his sister, or drag his lover into danger? In the end, Ferdinand chose to protect his sister and brought Werther to his lover's family.

After all, there was still a good chance of getting through this crisis by coming here. Even if they could not forge a famed blade, he had already tried his best. Based on his understanding of Werther, the other man should let him go.

But no matter how carefully he calculated, he never expected that the only craftsman here capable of forging famed blades had already retired.

Now Ferdinand could only place all his hopes on his lover's grandfather, hoping the old man would abandon his former stubbornness.

Girl led them into the house, came to her grandfather's door, knocked on it, and called out that it was her.

A voice came from inside. "My good granddaughter, come in quickly."

The door opened, and Werther finally saw this legendary master smith, an old man named Tie Yi.

Within the Iron Tribe, the title Tie Yi could only be inherited by successive clan heads who had forged at least one of the 21 Great Grade Blades.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about the old man's bearing. He was lean and not very tall, with short white hair, a clean-shaven face, and a kind smile. He did not seem to possess Ferdinand's arrogance or stubbornness at all.

But only those who had interacted with this old man knew that although Tie Yi did not share the Iron Tribe's common flaw of arrogance, his stubbornness was famous.

Tie Yi was holding a cup of tea and playing chess with someone in the room.

And Werther actually recognized that person. More precisely, he was someone who had appeared in the anime: Capone Bege, the user of the Castle-Castle Fruit.

Werther found things increasingly interesting, but he was also getting impatient.

He directly shoved aside Ferdinand, who was about to step forward and speak, then walked straight up to Tie Yi.

"You're the craftsman who can forge famed blades, right? Forge two swords for me. Here are the materials needed for the swords." After speaking, he removed the case from his back and tossed it onto the chessboard before the two men.

Since he had not been wanted for long, neither Tie Yi nor Capone Bege recognized Werther.

Tie Yi said nothing. The elderly man, already past fifty, had vaguely sensed something from the unusual expressions on Ferdinand's and his granddaughter's faces.

But Capone Bege did not notice. As a famous pirate and one of the Supernovas, he spoke up.

"Kid, can't you see I'm talking with someone? You have five seconds to disappear, or you'll die here." Capone Bege looked at Werther sideways, a cigar clenched between his lips as he smoked leisurely.

Capone Bege had come this time mainly to buy high-quality steel from Tie Yi in order to forge a batch of quality weapons for his subordinates. After all, his crew's firepower greatly affected his personal combat ability.

Relying on his high bounty and reputation, he had gotten to meet this master smith. The deal was just about to be finalized when an interloper suddenly appeared, and an arrogant one at that. Naturally, Capone Bege would not give him a pleasant look. If not for the fact that this was Tie Yi's territory, he would have made a move already.

"Capone Bege, were you talking to me? Hehehe, hehehe. A mere Supernovas dares speak to me like that? Fine, I'll kill you first, then continue talking with this old man." Werther immediately activated Lightning Mode.

Since his twin swords were broken, Werther did not draw a blade. Instead, he coated his right leg in Armament Haki, then covered the Haki's surface with lightning, intending to have some fun with this Supernovas.