Chapter 38

"Forge."

"Boutique!"

"Bookstore!"

Rowan, Nami, and Deuce's opinions split as they voiced where to go next. Having expected this, Rowan chuckled as he suggested,

"Then, how about we go separately?"

__________

Clang!

The metallic noises ring as short yet muscular man refines a sword with a hammer in his hand. Though sweating profusely, he didn't seem to have noticed his state, for he was too invested in his work.

Judging by the wrinkles on his face, he was quite an old-aged man. Yet, his eyes, vibrating in energy, seemed as passionate as youngsters.

Into this workshop, Rowan entered. He noted that there were numerous works that were displayed on the brick walls around. As Rowan walked toward where the old-aged blacksmith was working, said man stopped.

Then, before Rowan could say anything, he suddenly swung the hammer at Rowan, which Rowan managed to dodge just barely by leaning back.

"What are you doing."

Rowan frowned, but the blacksmith didn't respond. Instead, he remarked,

"...Hah,"

As if having seen something strange, the blacksmith gazed at Rowan.

"Haki user at this part of Grand Line... this is new."

Retracting the hammer, blacksmith resumed his work. He asked,

"Are you from New World?"

"East Blue, you mean."

The blacksmith's hammer stopped. In disbelief, he asked,

"So you were born in New World and migrated to East Blue."

"This is my first time entering Grand Line."

"What about your parents?"

"Dead."

Blacksmith looked at Rowan as if looking at an anomaly.

"How old are you, boy?"

"18."

Immediately after Rowan's response, blacksmith suddenly vanished from Rowan's sight. Rowan, with a grimace, quickly turned around while lifting jitte to protect himself, but found a knife at his neck instead, with the blacksmith standing at his back.

"I see... though you somehow wield an ability to use Observation Haki, your physical capabilities are subpar. And..."

The man drew a small gash at Rowan's neck, drawing a trickle of blood.

"...You cannot use Armament Haki, it seems."

Having finished his personal assessment, the blacksmith retracted his weapon. As if having lost the interest, he went back to his work, rendering Rowan speechless.

"What are you—"

"You aren't a genius."

The man, as he slammed hammer onto the sword, snorted.

"Far from it, actually. You are completely average with nothing that stands out in particular. Just to overcome the weakest sea, you had to push yourself to the limit."

Rowan frowned, feeling irritated. However, uncaring of Rowan, the man continued,

"Go back to your sea, boy. Grand Line isn't a place for weaklings like you."

Lifting his head up, the blacksmith matched his eyes with Rowan's.

"Over years, I've seen countless pirates in the past who sailed across the Reverse Mountain with hopes of becoming sharks of the sea. Be it the devil fruits, natural-born strengths, exceptional talents, or devilish lucks, they all became the food for fish to harvest in the end. If those folks failed, what makes you think that you'll be able to achieve your dream?"

Rowan felt the blacksmith's eyes peering upon his soul, and frankly speaking, he didn't like the feeling.

"The degree of ambition that I read in your eyes..."

Blacksmith snorted for the second time,

"Someone of your capability cannot achieve it. Give up, boy."

That was the final draw for Rowan. Be it the samurai from Wano, the blacksmith mocked Rowan's very self.

"Aren't you quick to judge, old man."

Rotating the jitte in his grasp, Rowan said with sharpened eyes.

Clang!

The sparks flew as Rowan's jitte met the blacksmith's sword that the latter was refining up until now.

In one slash, the jitte was sliced into two, and Rowan, in shock, had to drop to the ground to prevent the sword from slicing through his neck.

"Welcome to the ocean, dear frog in a well."

Making a commentary that he himself got a light laughter out of, the blacksmith placed the sword down. Rowan, dazed by the blacksmith's performance, looked at two parts of jitte that lied right next to him.

Then, he laughed.

"Vahaha!"

It was blacksmith's time to be confused.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Why, isn't it amazing?"

Standing back up, Rowan grinned with a genuine excitement in him. Blacksmith furrowed his eyebrows, trying to understand Rowan.

"You're right! I'm no genius. Back in the East Blue, I was stuck as I tried to improve myself. Punching, kicking, running, I did all I can do, but all that I managed to attain, in the end, was the improvement in my physical strength and nothing more."

Reaching for a find-looking cutlass that was displayed at the wall, Rowan pointed its edge at the blacksmith.

"But now, thanks to you, I managed to learn... that I can become stronger."

That's when blacksmith realized.

'This boy...

...He's crazy.'

CLANG!

Two blades clashed against one another, and the result was the same as before, with Rowan's blade being sliced into two. However, Rowan, having expected this, already had his free hand latching onto another sword in blacksmith.

CLANG!

The second clash occurred, and the same result was produced. Rowan reached his hand out for another sword to take a hold of, before suddenly changing the direction of his hand, and,

catching the blade that was flying in toward his neck.

"..."

A deep wound was generated on Rowan's palm. The blood was dripping down along the blade. However, his hand remained intact instead of being sliced into two.

Blacksmith found himself frozen. Rowan, without expressing an ounce of pain, grinned back at him.

'This boy...'

Blacksmith frowned.

'...He knew that I can move at a speed in which he cannot respond at. He expected me to target his neck without the operation of Observation Haki, and blocked accordingly. And...'

Rowan was already applying what he managed to see from the blacksmith. On his palm, there was a concentrated level of Haki. Though he didn't manage to grasp the essence of Armament Haki, it was a phenomenon that drew shivers down the spine of blacksmith.

'Everything about him is average. However, the will that he possesses in him...'

Blacksmith had to admit that he made an error. The man who stood in front of him, Rowan, wasn't a normal foe.

Closing his eyes, blacksmith sighed lightly. As the broken half of jitte, in Rowan's grasp, rapidly approached him, he simply swatted it away without much trouble.

"...Wait over here."

Letting go of the hilt of the sword, blacksmith left Rowan as he went to the back of the workshop. Eventually, he came back with a bandage roll which he threw at Rowan,

"Stop your bleeding, and we'll discuss of your business here."

Rowan gazed at the man before clicking his tongue. Taking the hold of bandage, he quickly gave himself a first-aid. Losing his interest in the fight, he pointed at his broken halves of jitte,

"I need a sharp weapon out of these. Need you to melt and reforge."

Dropping down, the man grabbed the jitte parts and examined them.

"...You want a sword out of seastone?"

The man narrowed his eyes at Rowan, and Rowan stated,

"I need a way to combat against devil fruit users."

"Seastone cannot be melt with tools I have. It can only be carved."

Blacksmith impassively threw jitte pieces back at Rowan.

"Furthermore, seastone is not an ideal material to make weapons out of. Although it is hard, it isn't tough enough. Usually, these kind of materials break into pieces as I try to temper them. A jitte like this was probably the best option to integrate seastone."

"...That's new."

Glancing at broken pieces, blacksmith then said,

"Wait over there for a moment."

Returning with a thoughtful expression, blacksmith was found holding onto a sheathed blade. This blade was strange in a fact that it was far too short to call it a long sword, yet too long to call it a knife.

"This is my failure."

At its sheathed state, the blacksmith threw the weapon at Rowan, which he caught. Upon unsheathing it, Rowan found the hairs on his arm standing up, and realized just how sharp the blade is.

The blacksmith commented,

"That blade of my creation was refined to an extent that it's become far too bloodthirsty. Be it the wielder himself or his enemies, that blade desires to cut through all. For a crazed customer like you... that's all I have to give.

Though that one isn't composed of seastone, a reliance on seastone won't get you far. In this vast sea,"

This time, the blacksmith didn't look at Rowan in ignorance. It was the advice that was coming from his heart, and Rowan, knowing this, listened carefully,

"there is no better weapon then your body to rely on."

Rowan, after having awakened the Observation Haki, usually dodged and evaded the attacks when combat enemies. Due to this fighting style of his, the endurance and agility far lacked in comparison to his pure strength, and he still didn't manage to manifest Armament Haki.

No one to rely upon other than yourself. The blacksmith was saying to Rowan, that for him to truly take a step further, what he needed wasn't to find a weapon that suits him, but learn how to become a weapon himself.

Rowan stared at the sharp blade which reflected his face. In the end, he asked,

"What's the name of this sword."

The blacksmith snorted,

"There is no name for me to give to a failure."

"Then..."

Rowan lifted the sword up and grinned at it,

"You shall be called 'Sting' hereon."

__________

"Girl, how much for one night?"

As Nami walked by with numerous shopping bags on her arms, she heard a statement that she frowned upon. Turning around, she saw multiple drunk pirates smiling at her with lustful desires in their eyes.

Nami pulled out her tongue as she casually replied,

"Sorry, I'm not into ugly men!"

Leaving them dumbfounded, Nami continued walking past them. After they watched her with widened eyes, they angrily stood up and drew their weapons.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TAKING TO, WOMAN?!!"

One wearing a captain's hat—obviously the captain of the crew—shouted.

"HAVEN'T YOU HEARD THE NAME OF 'KING KONG' GOULLY BEFORE?!!"

Rolling her eyes, Nami didn't even bother to respond as she walked away from them. Eventually, blinded by the rage, said captain fired a pistol at Nami, which simply went through her without making any harm. A hole on her body appeared, which revealed a burning, red-hot fire, before it was mystically closed.

"H-Huh?"

Dumbfounded, the captain blinked his eyes. In silence, Nami turned and gave a cold look at the frozen pirates.

And seconds later, they were on the ground, burnt to the crisp.

"You guys started it first,"

Murmured Nami as she walked out of the town, having finished her business.

__________

"...Did you know?"

In a bookstore, Deuce was found talking to the shop owner. In curiosity, he listened to the shop owner who was speaking of his story,

"Approximately 30% of citizens on this town used to be pirates in the past. However, we eventually gave up and settled down in this island. Why, you ask?"

With a dark expression, the man said,

"First, let's talk about eternal pose. Eternal pose, being a tool that always points at one certain island no matter what condition, is a convenient tool if you want to change your course. However, there are several limitations of eternal pose for those who just began their journey in Grand Line.

One is that we don't know the approximate distance between the destination pointed by eternal pose and this island. It may be a year-long sail, and if this were to be a case, we may end up starving midway. Another is the weather. When not following one of the seven routes and cutting across them, the weather becomes exceptionally harsh. Unless you have a way to survive through countless of those such as the government-owned ships and marine warships, you're unlikely to make it through.

In contrast, travelling by log pose is great. The distance between each island, almost all the time, is between a week to 2 weeks approximately. The weather is much calmer, and they were proven to be safer overall, with there being many cases of those who sailed past them."

Deuce wrote down the important details, knowing that knowledge was the power in this sea.

"Now, back to the story. The reason why ended up settling down on the island, is because..."

The man muttered hollowly,

"...The destination that log pose points at from this island... is none other than marine base G-11, which is impossible to pass through."