"You don’t look like you’re in a hurry."
With his arms crossed, Mihawk glanced around the familiar-looking streets of Loguetown and asked calmly.
"Not in a hurry at all. Since we ca to the East Blue, how could we not start from Loguetown?"
Orin had his hands in his pockets, gazing upward toward the dazzling sunlight with a faint, nostalgic smile.
"After all, this is the place where dreams both begin and end."
Mihawk didn’t comnt. He was long used to Orin’s whimsical ways and had no intention of rushing him. As for Crocodile, that woman’s situation ant little to him either way.
Still, he understood Orin’s sentint. In fact, he felt sothing similar himself.
Loguetown—
Twenty-three years ago, the na of Gol D. Roger, the [Pirate King], spread throughout the entire world. He was executed here, in the very place where he had been born.
His life ended, but his legend reached its peak.
And it was also here that Mihawk t this man for the very first ti.
Back then, they were both young and newly out to sea, about the sa age as many of today’s so-called Supernovas.
Now, more than twenty years later, they had returned—each having, in their own way, fulfilled their dreams.
In his youth, Mihawk had sought out every skilled swordsman under the sun for duels, and now he stood as the [World’s Greatest Swordsman], unmatched by any blade.
Orin, reckless and carefree since boyhood, lived for amusent without restraint. Now, he truly was a "king"—one unbound and free to do as he pleased.
Having achieved their dreams, returning to the place where it all began inevitably stirred a sense of emotion.
"An end is also a beginning. Captain Roger’s end was the beginning for us..."
Orin slung an arm over Mihawk’s shoulder, ignoring the swordsman’s icy, unamused stare, and said with a grin,
"Now that we’ve co back here again, maybe we’ll get to witness a new beginning for soone else~"
...
At that very mont, the Marines stationed in Loguetown had no idea that a few powerful figures were walking their streets.
The bustling marketplace was filled with people weaving through the crowds.
Roronoa Zoro stood by a sword shop, staring at the gleaming blades behind the glass. The steep prices made him instinctively back away.
There were crewmates on the ship who had money—but borrowing from Nami with her rciless interest rates was sothing he’d rather die than do.
As he frowned to himself, a commotion erupted nearby.
"Huh? What’s going on?"
Curiosity got the better of him. He pushed through the crowd and saw what was happening.
"Kuina?!!"
In the middle of the street, two burly n had surrounded a young woman, clearly with bad intentions. Zoro was about to step in—but before he could, the girl easily knocked both of them to the ground with a few swift moves.
"No... that’s not Kuina."
Zoro might have a terrible sense of direction, but he wasn’t blind. After a closer look, he realized there were subtle differences between this girl and the Kuina he rembered.
He turned to leave.
But whether it was fate or soone’s deliberate arrangent, just as Marine officer Tashigi was about to walk away, she tripped—and her glasses fell right in front of Zoro.
Crack!
"Eh?!!!"
Tashigi’s face changed imdiately.
A face identical to Kuina’s stared up at Zoro, full of outrage as she demanded he pay for the damage.
But Zoro, broke as ever, had no money to spare.
He opened his mouth to explain—but before he could say anything, another voice cut in.
"I’ll pay for it."
Both turned toward the newcor.
It was another young woman, a sword at her waist and a cheerful smile on her face.
But the mont she saw Tashigi’s face, her smile froze, and her eyes widened in utter confusion.
"You!!!?" ×2
Yes—whether by coincidence or the will of so cosmic prankster, Kuina herself was also in Loguetown. And just like that, she and Zoro t again.
"Kuina!! Long ti no see!"
Zoro’s surprise quickly turned into genuine joy as he greeted her with a broad grin.
"Yeah... it’s been a while. But who is this?"
Since leaving Shimotsuki Village, Kuina had been traveling alone. Relying on her excellent swordsmanship, she had challenged many along the way, and her journey had eventually led her here.
But she never expected that when she t Zoro again... she’d also encounter a girl who looked exactly like her?
"Well..."
Zoro scratched his head awkwardly—he didn’t really know how to explain.
Kuina wasn’t one to gossip. Realizing that Zoro and the other girl weren’t acquainted, she simply took out so money and handed it to Tashigi.
"Sorry. This guy’s always been careless like that. Take this as compensation."
Kuina said with a faint smile, though seeing Tashigi was like staring into a mirror.
Hearing that, Tashigi couldn’t keep arguing. She accepted the apology and the money, deciding to let the matter drop.
And so, there would be no scene of Zoro being forced to mop the floor with three brooms this ti.
After handing over the money, Kuina’s gaze shifted toward Zoro’s waist.
"You’re not using three swords anymore? Why do you only have one left?!"
She had noticed that the man who used to carry three blades now only wore one—the blade [Yami Karasu].
Zoro rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ah, that..."
Both being swordsn, their reunion naturally turned toward conversations about blades and battles.
Tashigi, also a sword fanatic—a pure swordswoman much like the other two—found herself unable to walk away. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she stood nearby, clutching her sword as she listened intently.
"My other two swords... were shattered when I was defeated—completely and easily."
Recalling that fight, Zoro’s expression grew solemn. The mory of that overwhelming strength remained etched deeply in his mind—the power of the man known as the [World’s Greatest Swordsman], the "King’s Right Hand."
"You were easily defeated? And your swords destroyed?!!!"
Kuina’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She knew how strong Zoro was—sothing like that sounded impossible.
"Yeah. That was the first defeat since I set out to sea. That man..."
"Who was it?!"
Zoro lifted his head, his voice firm and serious.
"Hawk Eyes Dracule Mihawk."
"Nani!!!" ×2
Both Kuina and Tashigi cried out in shock.
Even Tashigi, a Marine officer, couldn’t hide her astonishnt when she heard that na. Her eyes went wide, and her voice cracked with disbelief.
Their gazes turned toward her, and she quickly bowed her head in embarrassnt, her face flushing red.
"Sorry! I didn’t an to eavesdrop—it’s just, I’m a swordswoman too..."
"I see~"
None of the three realized that they actually stood on opposing sides—pirate and Marine.
"Anyway," Zoro sighed, "I’m planning to buy two more swords. Lend so money, Kuina."
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