Inheritance

"Extremely Evil Man...???"

Ye Mu froze for a moment, but quickly understood. Under the shopkeeper's somewhat panicked gaze, he walked in and said,

"Looks like the Marines gave me some strange title, huh, boss? Can you clear up my confusion...?"

This instead left the shopkeeper stunned. He hurriedly pulled three wanted posters from beneath the counter and said with a fawning smile,

"Sir... Please take a look. These were issued by the Marines ten days ago... They're the wanted posters for you and your companions..."

"Oh!!!"

Ye Mu was pleasantly surprised as well. He looked toward the counter and saw that the wanted posters indeed bore photographs of him, Enel, and Tiger. The bounty amounts were quite decent, too.

"Not bad photos... And this amount... five hundred million... That's acceptable too. But this title, 'Extremely Evil Man,' is really ordinary... Boss, I'm taking these three wanted posters. You don't mind, do you...?"

"Of course... Of course..."

The shopkeeper rubbed his hands and smiled before asking ingratiatingly,

"May I ask why Captain Ye Mu has graced our humble shop with his presence?"

"Of course, I'm here to buy a sword..."

Ye Mu followed the same routine as before and took out some gold.

"Bring out your best and most expensive swords..."

"All right... All right..."

The shopkeeper happily turned around and entered the storeroom behind the counter to look for something.

At this moment, Ye Mu also looked toward the nearby sword barrel. If he remembered correctly, Sandai Kitetsu should be somewhere around here.

Although he wasn't a professional swordsman, he could still tell the difference between a good sword and an ordinary one.

"Found it..."

As Ye Mu extended his arm, he pulled a long sword with an entirely crimson scabbard from the barrel.

"S-Sir..."

The shopkeeper happened to see this scene. He instantly became nervous and rushed over, shouting,

"That sword isn't for sale..."

"Oh..."

Ye Mu turned around and saw the shopkeeper running over while carrying seven or eight swords.

"Why not...? Is it because it's a cursed sword...?"

"Eh...? Sir, you know about that...?"

Ye Mu ignored him. Instead, he slowly walked toward the shopkeeper and, under his flustered gaze, picked through the swords in his arms one by one.

Unfortunately, he didn't take a liking to any of them.

At this moment, Ye Mu looked at the middle-aged man and suddenly asked,

"Boss, these aren't your best swords, are they...?"

"Of course they are, sir. These are all Wazamono-grade blades. Although they're a little inferior to your sword, Lion Maru, and this cursed sword, they're absolutely good blades..."

Ye Mu did not answer. Instead, he questioned him, with a hint of accusation in his voice.

"Boss, you're not being honest. Looks like you're unwilling to sell me your truly good swords..."

"Eh...? Sir, how could that be? You must be joking. I sell swords. If you're willing to buy, of course I'm willing to sell."

Ye Mu coldly watched the middle-aged man before suddenly saying something shocking,

"Boss, have you ever heard of a country called Wano Country...?"

In truth, Ye Mu had only just realized that something was wrong.

He had suddenly thought of how abnormal it was for an ordinary weapons shop to possess both Yubashiri, one of the Skillful Grade Blades, and the cursed sword Sandai Kitetsu.

Not to mention the special significance represented by Sandai Kitetsu. It was a cursed sword formed from the killing intent condensed by a swordsman after endless slaughter, making it extraordinarily precious.

Yubashiri, meanwhile, was merely one of the Skillful Grade Blades, but it was still one of the top one hundred swords in the world.

Yet both swords had appeared in the same weapons shop.

And then there was the shopkeeper's appearance.

Although the world of One Piece had all kinds of clothing styles, his clearly distinctive Wano Country style was unmistakable.

"Eh!!! S-Sir, what are you talking about? Wano Country? What kind of country is that...?"

Sure enough, after hearing the name Wano Country, the shopkeeper concealed himself well, but the change in his emotions at that instant still could not escape Ye Mu's Observation Haki. Moreover, that presence definitely belonged to a swordsman.

"Hmph..."

Ye Mu no longer wanted to pursue the matter.

"Never mind if you don't know. However, since you understand swords so well, I'd like to ask you a few questions..."

At this moment, several drops of cold sweat visibly appeared on the shopkeeper's forehead, but he still forced a smile and rubbed his hands together.

"What would you like to ask, sir...? As long as I know, I'll definitely tell you..."

"First question: among the swords you know, are there any that aren't afraid of high temperatures or flames? One that can absorb flames would work too."

"This... I don't think there are any. As long as it's a sword, no matter how powerful it is, it was forged at high temperatures. It's only a matter of how high the flame temperature was. As for absorbing flames, I've never heard of that either. I have heard of swords that absorb Haki, though..."

"Is that so? Then my second question: if I wanted to forge such a sword, can you recommend a master smith?"

"This... this..."

The shopkeeper hesitated for a long time without speaking. Seeing this, Ye Mu could only raise the stakes.

"I met Kozuki Oden aboard the pirate ship of One Piece Roger."

"Eh!!!"

In the end, the shopkeeper seemed to deflate. He turned his face aside and said,

"I... I understand... At present, I know of three master swordsmiths in the world. The first is Kai Jin, a master swordsmith from Fish-Man Island, but he's already very old. I don't know whether he can still forge swords. The second is Luke of the Tontatta, the master swordsmith of the Tontatta Kingdom. Although he's a pure-blooded Tontatta, Luke is exceptionally skilled at creating cursed swords. As for the last one, he's Tenguyama Hitetsu, the master swordsmith of Wano Country. He's the descendant of the legendary swordsmith Kotetsu, and he was also the one who forged the Sandai Kitetsu in your hand..."

"I see. I understand now. Thank you for your answer."

As Ye Mu spoke, he tossed him the pouch of gold hanging from his waist.

"Consider this payment for the information and the Sandai Kitetsu. Now, I have one last question for you... Do you know of any restaurants in Loguetown that aren't too crowded but still serve decent food...?"

"I do... I do..."

Hearing that Ye Mu was finally about to leave, the shopkeeper hurriedly answered,

"Follow this street all the way inward. When you reach the end, you'll see a somewhat run-down inn with a tattered sign. That's the one. Don't let its shabby appearance fool you—the food is absolutely delicious, and it's very quiet."

"Thank you."

After thanking him, Ye Mu left the weapons shop.

Only after seeing Ye Mu's figure disappear did the weapons shop's owner let out a long sigh of relief.

At that moment, a somewhat plump woman also came in from the back of the shop. She went to her husband's side and quietly asked,

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be a swordsman anymore? If that's the case, why didn't you sell him Yubashiri? With his reputation, he wouldn't tarnish Yubashiri's name, and we could have made a huge amount of money."

Hearing his wife's words, the shopkeeper shook his head and said with a solemn expression,

"You don't understand. This pirate named Ye Mu isn't a pure swordsman, nor does he love swords. All he pursues is power. I want to find Yubashiri a better master..."

"You... You... Forget it. Still, that fellow is really generous. This much gold is enough to buy our entire shop. Looks like he isn't as evil as the Marines described him..."

The shopkeeper did not wish to say more about it. He merely smiled and said,

"What do you know...? Regardless, we made a huge sum today. We can have a good meal... Hehe..."