At this moment, Wright was not stationed at Marine Headquarters. Instead, he had taken a rare break from his duties and made his way to Loguetown in the East Blue.
Kuina's plan was to intercept the Straw Hat Pirates at Loguetown—the "Town of Beginnings and Endings," the inevitable checkpoint before entering the Grand Line.
Since a long-anticipated individual was expected to appear, simply sitting around at headquarters would have been far too dull for Wright.
Thus, without anyone noticing, Wright silently arrived in Loguetown. A quick teleportation to Alabasta, followed by a flight across the Calm Belt, meant the journey took hardly any time at all.
On this particular day, Wright once again appeared at a local café. He was not wearing his Marine "Justice" coat but had opted for a long black trench coat and a gentleman's hat. "Ashes," his signature weapon, hung at his waist, making him look like just another ordinary traveler.
Letting Kuina handle the little ones, Wright remained in Loguetown but kept most of his attention on monitoring Marshall D. Teach's movements.
Teach was the key player at this stage. Marco was too mobile, his whereabouts unpredictable. Without keeping a tight watch on Teach, Marco's trail could easily be lost.
Unlike in the original timeline, Teach—who had already begun calling himself "Blackbeard"—had not gone to the former Drum Kingdom. Wright suspected this was related to Wapol's "mysterious disappearance."
Judging from recent movements, Teach had chosen to start his advance from the beginning of the Grand Line, slowly progressing while avoiding Marco's pursuit and gathering his crew along the way.
At this point, Teach had already recruited four crewmates—combatant "Champion" Jesus Burgess, sniper "Supersonic" Van Augur, doctor "Death God" Doc Q, and navigator "Demon Sheriff" Lafitte.
Each of them was as notorious as the next, forming a band of scoundrels that fit Teach's twisted personality perfectly. It was anyone's guess where he had managed to find such remarkable degenerates.
Just as Wright took a sip of his coffee, preparing to continue analyzing intelligence, his Observation Haki sensed a familiar presence—an endearing sheep-headed ship was slowly docking at the port.
"Going Merry… I've heard so much about you. Seeing the real thing is even more impressive."
Wright couldn't help but sigh in admiration. In that other world, the Going Merry was far more than just a vessel—it was a treasured memory for the Straw Hat crew.
After a brief moment of silence, Wright murmured to himself, "Seems like I should take the time to visit… and meet that fascinating being."
The Straw Hat crew disembarked, marveling at the bustling scene of Loguetown.
Wright shook his head with a helpless smile. Whether it was fate or simply the power of the protagonist's aura, Luffy had still managed to gather his initial crew in the East Blue—swordsman Zoro, navigator Nami, sniper Usopp, and chef Sanji.
Funny enough, Wright had connections with every single one of them.
Despite his best efforts to subtly nudge Zoro and Nami away from their original paths, they still ended up joining Luffy. It seemed…
Perhaps, they truly were destined to be crewmates.
Observing as they split up to explore the town, Wright stood up from his seat and stepped out of the café.
These kids could use some guidance.
Though he was an admiral, they were still juniors. He would leave the hands-on lessons to Kuina—if they couldn't even handle her, there was no point in discussing anything further.
Zoro stood inside a weapons shop, examining the blades.
"I have 100,000 Berries. Sell me two swords."
"100,000? And you want two? For that price, you'd be lucky to get a single dull blade!"
The shop owner, Ipponmatsu, scoffed as he lazily glanced at Zoro—until his eyes fell upon the three swords on the swordsman's waist.
"Wait a minute… those swords…"
Ipponmatsu's face turned pale. "Th-That… that sword…"
"A Great Grade blade… the cursed sword 'Nidai Kitetsu'?!"
"Impossible! No one wields a Kitetsu without misfortune befalling them!"
"Who… who is this guy?!"
The Kitetsu series was infamous, their design unmistakable. The three cursed blades shared nearly identical appearances—
The Shodai Kitetsu was one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords.
The Nidai Kitetsu was among the twenty-one Great Grade swords.
The Sandai Kitetsu belonged to the fifty Skillful Grade swords.
The Shodai had long been lost to history. The Nidai was incredibly rare, with few having ever laid eyes on it. As for the Sandai…
…
Ipponmatsu wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed deeply. "The barrel over there has swords for 50,000 each. Take your pick."
"Oh, that's convenient."
Zoro approached the barrel and was about to shuffle through it when he suddenly froze.
"Hmm?"
Ipponmatsu saw the shift in Zoro's expression and tensed up.
"Did he sense it already? As expected…"
Zoro slowly unsheathed a slightly curved longsword, feeling a familiar presence emanating from it.
"This sword…"
He glanced at his Nidai Kitetsu, a grin spreading across his face.
"Even purified by my senior brother, a cursed blade remains a cursed blade—the aura never fades."
With a sharp sound, Zoro fully drew the blade. The similar blade pattern, guard, and hilt left no doubt in his mind.
"Boss, are you sure this 'Sandai Kitetsu' is only 50,000 Berries?"
"…"
Ipponmatsu gritted his teeth. "You recognize this sword!"
"Of course, I've been familiar with the aura of Kitetsu for many years."
Zoro admired the sharp edge of the Sandai Kitetsu and made his decision. "I'll take this one."
"You're insane…"
Ipponmatsu scowled. "Every owner of a cursed Kitetsu has met a tragic end! The fact that you've survived with a Nidai Kitetsu is already a miracle!"
"Now you want to wield two Kitetsu swords?! Are you trying to shorten your lifespan?!"
"Well then, let's test it. Will my 'luck' be stronger, or will the sword's 'curse' prove superior?"
Zoro smirked confidently and, to Ipponmatsu's utter horror, tossed the Sandai Kitetsu into the air.
"If I lose, it means I'm just another ordinary man."
Zoro stretched out his arm, placing it directly beneath the falling blade's edge.
"What do you think?"
"Idiot! Stop joking! That blade will slice your arm clean off!"
Swish—
The Sandai Kitetsu spun in midair, following a peculiar arc before landing—its blade embedding itself into the floor, perfectly avoiding Zoro's arm.
"Looks like I win. I'll take it."
"Oh, and I still need one more sword."
"…"
Ipponmatsu, drenched in sweat, nearly collapsed.
Outside, Wright observed Zoro obtain both the Sandai Kitetsu and the Skillful Grade sword, Yubashiri. A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That reckless kid is still the same."
"Buying swords with no money… even taking out a high-interest loan from that little devil Nami."
"The dojo didn't have such rules… I guess I'll cover for him this time."
As Zoro stepped out of the shop, reveling in the feel of three swords again, a golden light briefly flashed across his body.
He froze, reaching for his chest—where Mihawk's massive wound had been inflicted just days prior.
Fully healed.
Tracing the now-faint scar, Zoro murmured, "Senior brother…"
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