In one of the empty streets of Loguetown, it was possible to see a bit of movement there, from the Marines to be more exact. Carrying the bodies of two large men, some sailors were doing their services while being observed by Noah and Tashigi.

"Sir, are you sure you're okay?" Observing that everything was being carried out successfully, Tashigi looked worriedly at Noah. Despite having caught a glimpse of the fight, she wanted to be sure that she had done everything correctly. And she also took a few looks at the sword and at Noah himself, concluding that he must be some novice swordsman.

Tashigi has dark brown eyes and wears her black hair between chin and shoulder length. Despite seeming clumsy at first glance due to the way she holds the sword and also due to her bottle-bottom glasses, she is a very beautiful woman in person. Her Japanese features and thin body are one of the things that draw attention to her.

"Miss Tashigi, I'm really fine, don't worry. And please, you can call me Noah, I'm not much for formalities." Smiling at her, he watched her expressions in the smallest detail as he spoke his name, finally drawing the conclusion that she didn't know him. And that meant that his reward had not yet arrived at the Marine bases, or not for the lower ranks.

"B-Well, if you say so. As a citizen who has suffered a pirate attack, you have the full right to treatment by a Marine doctor, if you feel any subsequent problem." Tashigi stuttered a bit at the beginning, as her heart beat faster when she saw his smile and his eyes focused on her. Still, she managed to compose herself with just a small blush on her face.

"Do not worry, I will go." Noah thanked her, giving a small nod. He noticed the small expressions she made and how she blushed, but decided not to tease too much.

"Well, if that's all, I'm going to attend to my tasks. Take care, Mr. Noah. If you need anything, feel free to seek help." Seeing that everything was in order, Tashigi bowed to him slightly before starting to leave. For some reason, her heart felt a little heavy as she turned her back on him, and she couldn't understand this situation.

"Miss Tashigi, actually I have something you can help me with."

Noah's voice suddenly sounded behind her, causing her heart to strangely beat faster again. Turning around, she saw that he was in the same place.

"And what would that be?" Trying not to seem strange, like she was hiding an excitement she didn't even know she was feeling, she walked back to him.

"Actually, it's something quite simple. I'm looking for a weapon store to evaluate my sword, and also to look for a few things. I'm new in town, could you help me with that?" Extending the offer to her, Noah saw that she seemed increasingly interested in what he was saying.

"You want to evaluate your sword?" Finally taking a greater interest in Noah's sword, she looked at it for a while before giving up, as she couldn't recognize the sword.

Still, she smiled at him and nodded her head.

"I know a store nearby, we can stop by there."

°°°

Ring! Ring!

Opening the door, the sound of a bell rang as Noah and Tashigi entered the weapons' shop, the store she had pointed out.

"Oh... a customer..." A lazy voice came from behind the counter. And finally, after a few moments, the eyes of the owner widened, "A CUSTOMER! FINALLY- cough cough, I mean, Welcome! My name is Ipponmatsu, what can I get for you on this beautiful day?"

"Hello, good morning." Noah didn't look at any specific sword in the shop before going to the counter, with Tashigi in tow, "I would like a sword evaluation and a polish as well. And if possible, I would like to take a look at some swords."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course. I'm going to get the tools inside, you can feel free to take a look at the store." Ipponmatsu felt his heart race for the first time, knowing that some money would finally come into the store. Bowing down to the two of them, he went into the store.

"He does a good polish, that I can affirm." Having come here once before, Tashigi knew about the quality of the service. And soon after, her interest shifted to Noah's sword, "So, what's your story with the sword? Is it a family heirloom?"

"I can say yes." Noah smiled at her, still thinking, 'Definitely not from mine, but it must be an heirloom.' After placing his sword on the counter, he lightly pointed to her sword, "Your sword is very beautiful. It must be equally dangerous."

"Well, it definitely is." Tashigi laughed a little before unseating the sword a bit and showing its glow, "It's called Shigure, a Grade Weapon. It's very special to me, it's been with me for a long time."

The katana she holds is standard, featuring a blue handle and a guard with a four-petaled design. Although the blade appears ordinary, the sheath is ornate. The top half showcases a green, textured pattern, while the bottom half is white and sleek.

"Do you have a lot of interest in swords, don't you? Have you been studying this for a long time?" Leaning on the counter, he was looking intently at Tashigi, showing that he had a clear interest in this. And he indeed did, as he would not use a sword if he didn't like it.

"Well, I won't lie and say that I don't have a special clinging to them. My dream since I was little was to make sure that all the named swords in the world are in the right hands." Speaking about something so deep with someone for the first time in her life, Tashigi didn't know why she was spitting out so many words, but she continued anyway, "Since I was little, I have been studying the various swords of the world and that's why I joined the Marines, to ensure that I can fulfill my dreams. Sorry if I talked too much, sometimes I get carried away with this."

Blushing horribly for ending up talking more than she should, Tashigi expected the normal reaction of people where she only received a strange look. But, when she looked at Noah, she saw that he had a smile on his face that made her heart beat faster than it already was.

"Don't stop, keep talking. The last thing you're going to do is bother me, believe." Noah waved his hands at her and moved a little closer, indicating for her to accompany him.

For the first time in her life, Tashigi felt a strange thing in her chest, and it wasn't the bad feeling she had during her training. Despite the lack of praise and flourish in his speech, she could feel the genuine interest in what she had to say. And that was enough for someone who had to swallow her great ingenuity about something.

Following him around the store, Tashigi began to talk about the different swords, their types, and known grades. From the Supreme Grade to the Cursed Blade, it seemed that she didn't know the limits to when to stop talking. And the worst of all, Noah just let it be and always asked the right thing at the right time.

Even though he himself was not a die-hard One Piece fan, he once dated a fan who seemed to know everything. Despite it being just a one-night stand, he still had to study carefully. And it turns out that swords is a subject of his interest too, so he did not hesitate to delve deeper.

Now that he IS in the One Piece world and he IS a swordsman, nothing better than filling his half-full knowledge field about it. And Tashigi was obviously very interested in doing that too.

"About the issue of the Cursed Swords that you mentioned before, wouldn't it be somewhat strange to categorize them as such? Cursed is a strong term for a prison." In front of the store's famous barrel, Noah was carefully looking for a specific sword.

"And why do you say this?" Tashigi was closely watching his actions and was curious about what he was going to say.

"Would you submit yourself to anyone who thinks they can own you? Or even worse, would you willingly submit to someone who treats you like trash?"

Caught off guard by the question, she felt Noah's eyes on her, and was speechless for a moment. And then, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when he returned to searching with a smile on his face.

"I think the sword wouldn't like it either. So I don't consider it cursed, it was just in the wrong hands. They are no different from humans in that sense."

'Humans and swords are no different?' Despite all her vast knowledge and passion for swords, Tashigi was opening her mind to a new field of thought, seriously considering what he said.

The Sword Will (or Sentience) was something that was not unknown in the New World, but in a place like Loguetown, which was not even within the Grand Line, someone coming to this kind of conclusion was out of the ordinary. That's why in her mind now, this kind of knowledge was very shocking. And it made her look at Noah with new eyes.

While she was lost in thought, Noah finally found the sword he was looking for. Like an ordinary sword among many others, Sandai Kitetsu was being stripped of its glory. A sad end for the creation of a great sword master.

The Sandai Kitetsu is a moderately curved katana with a white edge and a distinctive blue hamon resembling flames. Its tsuba is gold and shaped like a rounded cross pattée. The hilt is wrapped in reddish-brown, featuring a gold clasp around the middle and a golden kashira pommel.

'Look at you...' Seeing the iconic sword that seemed quite resilient, he left it where it was, for his curiosity was only fleeting.

Tashigi, who was observing his actions, found it a bit strange that he picked up the sword, but only looked briefly at it before putting it back in its place. Her interest in the sword grew a bit, but that was it.

'By the way, this sword seems somewhat familiar... wouldn't this be the-'

"Sir, everything is ready!" Ipponmatsu's voice suddenly interrupted their moment, and the two returned to the counter. Noah also picked up two other swords with Tashigi's help and came back with them.

"And then? How was the evaluation?" Seeing some of the tools on the counter, Noah immediately asked about the result. Despite having his doubts, he wanted to confirm if that sword was really a Grade Weapon.

"Well, according to the material and the construction of the sword, I would say that it could be a Grade Weapon, but I can't recognize it. This may have been the work of some unknown swordsmith, and the sword style also has influence from West Blue. That's all I can tell you." Ipponmatsu gave a great explanation about the sword, despite only having done a material test.

Even so, this was great news for Noah, even though he didn't care much about the quality of the sword. It just means that he would spend more time with it and wouldn't have to exchange or worry about it breaking.

After that, he paid the price for the evaluation, polishing, and the two new swords, which cost a total of ฿150,000. And with a special thank you from Ipponmatsu, he was about to leave the store.

"Ladies first." Noah opened the door and smiled at Tashigi.

"T-thank you!" Caught off guard, she could only blush before quickly walking through the door so he wouldn't see her state.

Stopping his steps, he didn't cross the door when he turned to face the shop owner. And he only needed to point to the barrel he was looking before, with Ipponmatsu following his gaze. And his face turned pale when he understood.

"That sword, don't sell it to anyone, got it?" His serious gaze made Ipponmatsu get scared and nod repeatedly, "At some point a man will try his luck with it, and you should hand it over along with your heirloom."

"H-How do you-" Ipponmatsu suddenly became alert, shocked that he had spoken about his heirloom, the Yubashiri sword. But he was interrupted when he felt a chill looking at Noah.

"Just tell him this: I'll be waiting for his captain on the Grand Line to turn this world upside down."

Without giving any more chances, Noah walked out the door, leaving a completely shocked and scared Ippomatsu inside.

"What the hell was that?..." Taking some time to recover, Ipponmatsu suddenly looked at Sandai Kitetsu.

And after a while, he ran to it and pulled it out of the barrel.

"I don't know what I'm doing, but something tells me this will definitely be something big..."

°°°

Outside the shop, it was already midday and Noah's stomach was already protesting from hunger. Tashigi next to him was also hungry, but strangely did not want to say she would leave.

And that's when she heard the best words she could hear right now.

"Miss Tashigi, would you like to have lunch with me?"

¨¨¨¨

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