Great Grade Sword Twenty-One Works

Raven Port.

The Lord's Mansion.

Gaza sat in the top-floor office as the attendant beside her reported on the movements of the two factions after entering the port.

"There's nothing unusual about the marine faction Gawain is with. They first went to procure a large amount of food and fresh water, and visiting the black market for firearms is also reasonable—after all, it's much cheaper than official channels."

Gaza nodded, yet repeated the name she had just heard under her breath:

"Gawain... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. Perhaps I'm just misremembering."

"And the other group?"

"Very strange."

Frowning deeply, the attendant took out a stack of organized documents that clearly charted the movements of Akin's crew, then pointed to several locations among them:

"These are the places where we store our ammunition."

"After entering the port, instead of seeking supplies, they seemed to be—"

Suddenly, a gentle voice drifted in from outside the window.

"Reconnoitering your defense map."

Before the two could react, Gawain pushed the window open, squatted on the windowsill, and looked calmly at them.

"You're... Major Gawain?!"

The attendant immediately stepped in front of Gaza, looking at Gawain with utter vigilance. Just as she prepared to call for the guards, she felt a soft hand press onto her shoulder.

"Molly, don't be impulsive. He means no harm."

After stopping Molly's movement, Gaza turned to look at Gawain, finally remembering where she had heard that name:

"Major Gawain—no, I should call you Knight Gawain."

"You were one of the figures involved in that sensational incident in the East Blue three years ago."

"As the head knight of the Goa Kingdom, you actually committed adultery with the princess. Once discovered, you cast away your knightly status and became a pirate active in the East Blue."

"Bounty: eight million—Knight Gawain."

"I must have lost my mind to have forgotten you."

Gaza shook her head, though she failed to notice the endless trembling in Molly's eyes.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth:

"Did you know? Your story has been adapted into a movie, screened all across the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue."

Gawain staggered, nearly losing his footing. After mentally cursing his predecessor once more, his face unblushed as he smoothly changed the subject:

"I'm here today to give you a warning. That other marine group is also disguised pirates. The one who calls himself Agin is actually a subordinate of Admiral Creek—Demon Man Gin, with a twelve-million bounty."

"This time, he's probably planning the same old trick."

"Disguise as marines, infiltrate the port, coordinate from the inside and outside, and seize Raven Port with minimal cost!"

Hearing this, Gaza's brow furrowed slightly. Combining it with the attendant's analysis from earlier, she was basically certain that Gawain was telling the truth, yet she remained somewhat puzzled:

"Why are you helping me?"

"Perhaps because you praised my handsomeness."

Gaza let out a dumbfounded laugh:

"What kind of reason is that?"

"Yet that is the freedom of a pirate!"

Under the crimson glow of the setting sun, the knight leaned against the window, a faint, ambiguous smile lingering at the corner of his mouth. He seemed to radiate light, and Gaza, watching him from inside the room, was momentarily entranced.

"Bye-bye~"

Gawain waved his hand, preparing to turn and leave...

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

A piercing sound tore through the air. Crimson meteors hurtled from the end of the horizon, plunging into the port and triggering violent explosions. Flames filled the sky, and the port instantly plunged into chaos.

A cannonball flew straight and true toward Gawain's location.

"Ah well, looks like I can't leave."

Gawain's voice carried a hint of helplessness, but the longsword at his waist moved with blinding speed—though after executing a Flying Slash, it shattered inch by inch along the cracks running down the spine of the blade.

Fortunately.

The incoming cannonball was also sliced apart in midair by Gawain.

Boom!

Crimson flames surged outside the window.

Even separated by dozens of meters, and even though the shockwave and intense heat were blocked by the wall, Gaza's face turned completely pale.

Having grown up pampered by her parents, when had she ever experienced such a brutal scene?

Yet as her gaze shifted away from Gawain and noticed the port burning behind him, Gaza gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.

A profound sense of bewilderment followed.

Their opponent was the terror of the East Blue, Admiral Creek, who possessed a massive fleet of dozens of pirate ships. How could mere guards in the port possibly stop them?

Calming down, Molly whispered at that moment:

"Lord, only he can help us. Only Gawain."

"His bounty is only eight million, how could—"

Gaza subconsciously shook her head, but then another unbelievable voice reached her ears. After a brief start, she wore an expression of utter shock:

"How much?"

"Forty-eight million!"

Molly repeated the number.

At that moment.

Gaza looked at Gawain as if he were her savior:

"Mr. Gawain, please wait!"

Gawain, who had been about to leave through the window to rendezvous with Kuro and discuss how to break out of the encirclement, paused in his tracks. He turned around just in time to see Molly take a slender, rod-like object wrapped in black cloth out of a nearby safe.

"This is..."

"I originally intended to present this to my father as his fiftieth-birthday gift, but I think it has found a better master now."

Molly slowly unwrapped the black cloth, revealing a longsword housed in a scabbard.

Even separated by several meters, and even though the blade remained inside its sheath, Gawain could still feel the razor-sharp aura radiating from it.

It was definitely no ordinary item!

Molly spoke of her own accord:

"Kansei Masamune."

"One of the famed swords forged during the peak era of Wano Country a hundred years ago. It ranks fourth among the Great Grade Sword Twenty-One Works and is a supreme treasure dreamed of by countless master swordsmen."

"Mr. Gawain, as long as you help me repel the Krieg Pirates, it is yours!"

Gawain licked his lips:

"Is there any chance that if I kill you right here, it will be mine anyway?!"

Gaza was stunned, her gaze clearing as she said:

"Since you were willing to come and warn me at a time like this, someone who can perceive the whole from a single clue and holds a grateful heart would never resort to plunder by force, would they?"

"Hah."

Gawain gave a faint smile, then shook his head:

"Just this isn't enough."

Gaza bit her lip, as if making a momentous decision, and spoke:

"My Raven Port can provide you with long-term, stable logistical support from now on. Of course, there are conditions—I need you to step in and maintain the security of the waters near Raven Port."

"Drive away or exterminate all those pirates!"

Surprise flickered across Gawain's face:

"Aren't things like that usually handled by the marines?"

"What kind of virtue do the marines have? Didn't you see it yourself today?"

With a mocking sneer, Gaza continued:

"Raven Port's location is far too crucial, yet it also sits within an extremely dangerous stretch of sea."

"The marines cannot be relied upon, and pirates even less so. The defense lines built on our own strength are simply too weak. In that case, it's far better to cooperate directly with you!"

"Such spirit!"

Gawain made no effort to conceal the admiration in his heart.

Willingly or not, the era of pirates had always been a man's era.

Over the decades, men who climbed to the peak of the Emperors and Admirals were countless, yet there was only one Big Mom among women; even Empress Hancock fell a notch short.

For a woman to possess the decisiveness of Gaza was an exceedingly rare thing.

Given the corresponding power, she might well become A Powerful Figure!

"Deal!"