One Piece: The wind swordsman

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Half an hour later.

As the sun climbed higher, the sky brightened, and most of the crew of the Tado Pirates began to wake up. Except for the navigator, the majority had gathered on the deck, enjoying the cool sea breeze, chatting, laughing, or stretching their limbs. The atmosphere was harmonious.

At that moment, with a muffled "bang," the cabin door swung open again. Shano stumbled out, pale-faced and unsteady, as if half the blood had been drained from his body.

Seeing Shano in such a state, many pirates on deck stopped their conversations to glance at him and began whispering among themselves.

"Hey, what's with this kid? Didn't he look fine when he boarded in the early morning? Why does he look like this now? Seasick, maybe?"

"No idea. But I heard the captain called him to the dining room earlier to try his breakfast…"

"Oh, that explains everything…"

…

Though their voices weren't loud, Shano was close enough to hear them clearly. His mouth twitched as he sighed and sat down against the cabin wall, looking miserable.

"Damn it, do you think I wanted this? I just left in a rush this morning without eating, and I was starving…"

Muttering to himself, Shano rubbed his stomach, only to feel a wave of bitterness rising in his gut. He quickly stopped and reclined cautiously, not daring to move further.

To be honest, the reason he dared to try the meal prepared by Uncle Tado was partly that he was truly hungry and partly because he didn't believe it could be as bad as people said. He wanted to experience it for himself and then rub it in Chef Zeff's face to see the reactions of both old men.

But the result…

"Damn it, was there poison—or worse, something disgusting—in that food?"

Recalling the taste that had traumatized his taste buds, Shano shivered. It took him a long time to push the horrifying memory out of his mind, and only then did he feel slightly better.

Now he finally understood why Chef Zeff had devoured the lobsters he'd prepared with such zeal earlier.

"Thankfully, Uncle Tado is the captain, and the Tado Pirates have an actual chef. Otherwise, I might not survive the next few days at sea…"

Glancing toward the cabin, Shano exhaled lightly. Earlier, after his dramatic reaction to the meal, Tado had been emboldened by Shano's exaggerated praise of his cooking skills. Even Zeff, dumbfounded by the display, had taken a bite.

At this moment, Zeff was probably in the restroom, suffering from diarrhea and too weak to stand.

Shano couldn't help but silently mourn for him.

Just then, the sound of clashing blades echoed nearby. Shano paused and looked toward the noise, only to see two pirates several meters away dueling with long swords on the deck.

Orange Town had always been peaceful, and fights were rare, let alone duels with swords. Shano's interest was immediately piqued as he observed the duel intently.

The two combatants were both members of the Tado Pirates—one was burly and strong, while the other was lean and agile. Their fighting styles were different, each with strengths and weaknesses, resulting in a fierce, evenly matched battle.

Though their movements were aggressive, it was clear they weren't aiming for lethal blows. Several other pirates stood nearby, cheering enthusiastically, making it evident that this was just a friendly sparring match.

"These guys are stronger than I expected…"

Having practiced swordsmanship for years, Shano had a keen eye. After watching for a while, he could gauge their strength.

Their physical abilities were decent, and their combat experience was rich. In Orange Town, they could easily defeat three or four adults barehanded. In that regard, they were leagues ahead of twelve-year-old Shano with his slender arms and legs.

However, their swordsmanship was crude, relying on brute force and chaotic slashing rather than technique, making their skills appear clumsy.

In comparison, Shano's years of training gave him a solid foundation. Even though his Wind Sword Technique was still at a basic level, it far surpassed the skills of the two pirates.

Thanks to his mastery of technique and control of strength and speed, he could compensate for some of his physical disadvantages. He estimated that he had a fair chance of defeating either one of them in a duel.

…

After a while, the burly pirate grew tired of the nimble opponent's evasive maneuvers. Panting heavily, he shifted to a defensive stance, gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

Eventually, the lean pirate found an opening and placed his sword against the other's neck, leaving the defeated pirate looking dejected.

"Haha! Kalar won!"

"Bicky, you lost again. That's the fourth time this month you've lost to Kalar."

…

Amid the laughter and banter of his crewmates, the pirate named Bicky glared at them irritably, pushing aside the sword at his neck. "Hey, I might have lost to Kalar, but that doesn't mean you idiots get to laugh at me. How about one of you steps up and challenges me?"

"Uh…"

The group immediately fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances. None of them dared accept the challenge, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

After all, Bicky was the second-unit combat leader of the crew. While he couldn't beat the first-unit leader Kalar, he could easily handle the rest of them.

"Tch, you cowards have no guts to fight me but love watching from the sidelines. If it weren't for Captain Tado being a powerful Devil Fruit user, this pirate crew would've been wiped out long ago because of you fools."

Bicky spat on the deck and shot them a disdainful look. When no one responded, his gaze shifted to Shano, sitting at the edge of the deck.

At this moment, Shano, having lost interest in the sparring match, was carefully cleaning a plain wooden sword. His head was lowered, and he hadn't noticed Bicky's attention.

The sea breeze rustled his hair as he meticulously wiped every corner of the wooden blade until it was spotless.

The sword, though old, showed no signs of wear or damage. Three engraved black characters on the hilt stood out: Lake Toya.

Years of training had worn down many of Shano's wooden swords, most of which were cheap purchases from local stores. However, this particular sword had been custom-made by Darwin, a carpenter in town, at Shano's special request to indulge his whimsy.

Compared to the others, this wooden sword was of far better quality. Over time, Shano had grown attached to it and eventually stopped using it for practice, opting instead to preserve it as a keepsake.

Three years had passed since then.

As an orphan with nothing to his name, this sword was the only possession Shano brought with him when he left Andrik Island. To him, it served as a token of his three years of life in Orange Town.