A young Swordsman's adventure 16

The poll result is in. I'll start posting the fae stuff, along with a few stray stuff I never bothered posting here, on Sunday. So, prepare for a deluge of updates then. Sorry in advance.

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Tracking down someone like Zoro was not a simple matter. What was simple was that Kuina wanted training. 

“Ugh!” She grunted as she impacted the wall. Kayaku hooted in victory, flexing his muscles while swinging his shinai around with his tail. 

“Why did you lose?” Tanya asked. 

“Because he’s a hundred times my size,” Kuina grumbled as she got back to her feet. “-and I’m not using Wado Ichimonji.”

“Incorrect.” Tanya said, frowning. “Well, that’s certainly an advantage he has, but he’s only twenty times your weight, and that’s not why.” An adult humandrill of average size was about three to three and a half meters tall and about fifteen hundred to two thousand kilograms of pure muscle. Many of them added more weight, up to Oyabun’s six meters of height and nine thousand kilograms, but none of the humandrills that Tanya had brought with her were one of those. She preferred to bring the smarter ones instead. Very few were both big and smart, and those were the leaders of the others, like Oyabun. “The reason you lost is because you saw that size and assumed he was stronger than you.”

“He is stronger than me!” Kuina said, offended. 

“Irrelevant.” Tanya said dismissively. “I will not deny that size is an important consideration, but it is not nearly as important as you think it is.” Tanya turned to Kayaku and gestured. “Wrestling practice.”

Kayaku threw away the shinai, instead stomping the ground and assuming a sumo stance. Tanya shrugged off her coat, taking off her rings and bracelets as she prepared to demonstrate. She tossed them to the side negligently, and Saifu leapt to catch them in her mouth. Saifu also dragged away the coat and gobbled up Tanya’s shoes, which were also discarded. 

Using her voice again, Tanya finished her preparation by removing her shirt, revealing her tightly bound chest and showing off with a flex, straining but not destroying the bindings. While her muscles were smaller than Kuina’s, they had superior definition. “Watch this.” Tanya said seriously. 

Kayaku attacked the instant Tanya settled into her ready stance, seeking to use his massive hands to wrap around her. Tanya lashed out with both fists in either direction, punching the humandrill’s palms. With a cracking sound from the speed, Kayaku’s arms flew apart from the force. The humandrill recovered by placing his palms on the ground, transitioning to a handstand and swinging his tail around to lash out. 

Tanya used Pillar, becoming as still as a rock to take the powerful blow without flinching. The instant the tail’s force was absorbed, Tanya gripped it and swung the larger humandrill around by the appendage, swinging the monkey around three times before releasing him and sending him flying into one of the pillars in the cargo hold they had been using as a training facility. As that pillar was made of Adam Wood, it held up without issue. 

Kayaku was still conscious, but he just stayed lying on the ground while breathing heavily, implicitly conceding the match. 

“See?” Tanya asked, going through some stretches. Hm, should have done this before exerting herself like that. “Even someone like myself can gain the strength to not merely defeat, but overpower the humandrills.” The smaller ones. In contests of pure strength, the larger ones defeat her handily. “Size helps, but it isn’t everything.”

Kuina looked over Tanya, occasionally glancing at her own muscles. “...how?” She asked. 

“There’s certainly a genetic factor.” Tanya said, hedging. “My bloodline is admittedly quite prestigious, with many powerful warriors.” Kuina’s hopeful look fell. “But you are descended from one of the ruling dynasties of Wano, world-famous for their powerful samurai within the New World, so you share that advantage.” Her expression firmed back up. “But more important than that is hard work, with the most important thing being your mentality. You must win the battle in your head before you can ever win one in reality.”

The truth was that this world’s magic was literally powered by stubbornness and the rejection of inconvenient things like limits. Active use of haki was only the most blatant of these things, but it worked in other, subtler ways as well. It was something she noticed while training with the humandrills, despite not having a sensible workout routine, her muscles were gaining strength without distorting her frame, even when she would have liked to have broader shoulders like Kuina has. Lucky… “Your father was wrong.” Tanya emphasized, “Zoro is not stronger because of what is inside his pants, but instead it is because he has no ambition other than strength, to stand on top of the world.” Well, that might be an exaggeration, but Tanya hasn’t met the guy recently. She’ll pretend it’s true. “To become stronger, you must surpass his ambition with your own, become as one with your weapon’s spirit, and shove the lies of reason aside.” Tanya held out her hand, and Kyauku grabbed the discarded shinai with his tail and flung it to her hand. “Fight me with everything you have.” Tanya commanded. 

Kuina grabbed Wado Ichimonji and charged. 

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“You are absurd.” Tanya deadpanned as she wrapped a new set of bindings around her chest. “That Lion’s Song move was far stronger than it had any right to be.” It cut through Pillar! Sure, she wasn’t using Hardening, but still… Tanya’s intuition said that it would be better to burnish her self-confidence a bit, as doubt was what was holding her back. 

“I can cut steel with it!” Kuina said boastfully, before looking in Tanya’s direction once more and scowling, looking down at herself. “How do they fit in that sarashi?” She asked herself. 

Tanya was not answering that question. Being a girl sucked. Finishing her binding, she picked up the old, damaged one and examined it. “Eh… you cut two layers, so it’s in four pieces now. I’ll sterilize it later and put it among the medical dressing.” 

“I can sew it back together.” Kuina volunteered. 

“No, it’ll just break easier if it’s mended.” Tanya said, brushing off the offer. “For now I still have plenty of spares.”

“How did you block my sword with your bare arm like that?” Kuina asked, curious. 

“It’s a technique of the Vigilant Blade style.” Tanya explained, “Did you want to learn it? It’s one thing to help you get stronger with your own style, but it’s quite different to teach you proper techniques and forms.”

Understanding Tanya’s point immediately, Kuina hummed. “Do you think it would fit me?” She asked. 

“No.” Tanya replied, “You’re too flowing with your movements. While the explosive power of your iaido is notable, your trained response to attacks is to extend the impact to absorb the force.” 

Kuina nodded. “I initially tried learning Shimotsuki style like Dad uses, but it was too stiff for me. So Dad got me to learn Taki-mon-ryu instead.” Hm, Waterfall Gate style? 

…Yeah, she can see the metaphor in Kuina’s motions. Switching between a soft flowing defense and an explosive, relentless offense? “Does Zoro use that style too?”

Kuina scoffed. “He just incorporates everything he sees into one bastard style. It’s infuriatingly effective, but he mostly just barrels through defenses with unrelenting force while letting his body hardening training and guts carry him through. To him, a good offense is all the defense he needs.”

“Well, he’s not wrong, really. He’ll just probably get himself killed at some point when he bites off more than he can chew.” Tanya said. Well, if Kuina was being objective, anyway. “Anyway, Pillar requires a mastery of stillness. It’s not something compatible with your style.”

“Oh.” Kuina said, disappointed. “Do you know of anything that does suit me?”

“Well, as it turns out, there are a few techniques that are frequently developed independently.” Tanya said as a preface. “Four of them are distributed fairly widely among the Marines, so know enough theory to get you started on one that does.”

“Really? Which ones?” Kuina asked. 

“From most to least common: Flying Slash, Shave, Iron Body, and Paper Arts.” Tanya said. Father had explained that Cipher Pol used all four plus two more, Moonwalk and Finger Pistol, as their own unarmed fighting style called the Six Powers, with a kicking variant of the Flying Slash called Storm Leg. Vigilant Blade style independently developed Flying Slash and Iron Body (Pillar), while Vermillion Wing developed Flying Slash, Shave (Koka), and Moonwalk (Datsu). “I don’t really use Paper Arts, but it’s all about flexibility and flowing around attacks. You don’t want to split your focus in too many ways at once, so training in that and flying slashes should be plenty on the technique front.”

“I’ll be in your care.” Kuina said in Wanogo, smiling. “Teach me, Senpai.”

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Shells town was kind of a dump. Apparently, Captain Morgan was some kind of local big shot that bagged a ten million plus bounty about a year ago, and he let the newfound authority go to his head. 

It was unfortunate for the populace that they had to deal with such a corrupt incompetent as the chief of the lawmen, but it wasn’t really Tanya’s problem. “It’s not that complex of a request.” Tanya explained to the bounty officer. “I’m searching for a particular bounty hunter, and merely wish to know where he was last seen. Which base did he turn his last bounty into?”

The bounty officer picked his nose. “I dunno, why do you want to know? The Pirate Hunter has a bit of a reputation.”

Kuina, tired of the man’s obstinate nature, cut in: “Because he’s my fiance.” She said, exasperated. 

That worked. “Zoro’s a good man, knows how to bring in the beri,” Tanya said, immediately playing along. “-but he never learned how to navigate. I agreed to help get him home in time for the wedding, as a favor to my friend.”

The bullshit excuse seemed to have moved the bounty officer. “Alright, alright, I’ll make some calls. You ladies wait here.”

Tanya turned to Kuina when he left. “That was a good excuse, good thinking.” Tanya had switched to Japanese for the secret conversation. 

“It wasn’t a lie.” Kuina said in Wanogo, sighing. “Dad wanted to adopt Zoro into the clan formally, as he was too far removed to be considered already in the family. I objected, of course, but he… misunderstood why.”

Tanya blinked. “...and you never thought to mention this in your letters… why?” That felt like she was denied critical, need to know information. 

“Because Zoro wouldn’t know romance if it stabbed him in the chest!” Kuina hissed. “He doesn’t care even a little about being engaged.”

Hm. “Perhaps he’s gay?” Tanya proposed. 

“No, definitely not.” Kuina said immediately. “The reason Dad made the mistake is because a month earlier he caught us in a… compromising position.” Kuina coughed, embarrassed. Well, they were teenagers…

Tanya blinked. “I must admit, I didn’t anticipate that after your father was so adamant that you not seek out Zoro.”

“Dad thinks my feminine wiles will only distract Zoro from honing his skills.” Kuina deadpanned. “Which, by the way, I couldn’t do even if I tried. The man’s basically a buddha, and I don’t really have charms. Not like you do.”

Tanya’s eyebrow twitched. Rub it in, why don’t you? “You’re far from ugly, Kuina.” She said instead. 

“My point is that I’m not marrying anyone anytime soon.” Kuina said adamantly, faintly blushing from the subject of the conversation. “Maybe never.”

Ah, she understands now. “I see. Just wanted to have some fun, then? Understandable.”

The bounty officer returned. “Okay, the last place Pirate Hunter Zoro’s been seen is the 77th branch, attached to the Frauce Kingdom.”

Tanya took a moment to mentally review the map of the East Blue they had spent so much time looking at over the last few days. “Bit of a trip, but hopefully there’ll be a trail to pick up.” Tanya said, “Your cooperation is appreciated.” She held out her hand to Saifu. “Change.” Obligingly, the dog’s head sprouted out of the backpack and a few coins were deposited in her hand. Tanya glanced at the amount. Three five hundred beri coins and a smattering of smaller ones? That’s plenty for a tip. She deposited it on the desk in front of her and spun on her heel, walking briskly away. 

As was expected for dangerous guests, one of the strongest local Marines short of the base commander had more or less been assigned to follow them around. “Commander Ripper, was it?” Tanya asked. 

“Yes ma’am.”

Tanya’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “I happen to have some high quality swords for sale. Would there be room in your equipment budget for such a purchase?” By necessity, the Marine’s logistics were rather decentralized, and while new constructions tended to get armed and supplied by the larger organization, smaller purchases like ammunition and replacements for wear and tear tended to buy from whatever local industries could supply them. 

Commander Ripper scowled at the question, which surprised Tanya. Odd, most Marine base administrators were typically rather excited at the prospect of new toys. Then again, maybe it was an East Blue thing. “Captain Morgan has reallocated those funds towards a public relations project of his own design.” He said through gritted teeth. Ah, office politics. Tanya relaxed. That made sense. 

“Well, in that case, could you have a set of current bounty posters sent to our ship? I’m going to do some shopping.” It would be smart to at least be able to recognize them when she sees them. Kuina could use the practice. 

At Ripper’s confirmation, Tanya hit the warehouses. Unfortunately, Shells Town was close enough to Tequila Wolf that the vast majority of its economic surplus is directed to keep supplying that place and the Marine bases, and unless she wanted to sell bulk construction supplies there at thin margins, the only other thing Tanya could find to buy for potential resale was… mediocre nacre and pearl jewelry. 

“At least we got a lead on Zoro.” Offered Kuina as Tanya stomped back onto the ship. The humandrills all found a way to look busy, nervously avoiding her gaze. 

Tanya sighed. “Let’s just get out of this place before I do something I’ll regret.” Being in a place with tyrannical, incompetent leadership was always annoying. It’s way too common in this world. She didn’t even meet the man or his spoiled brat of a son, but their fingers left stains of fear on the entire island. But deposing corrupt Marines is one of the things that could threaten her father’s protective status… It was a good thing that they stayed away from her. She probably would have lost her temper if she saw the tyranny in person. 

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since she’s written a letter to Lucy. She forgot to write one to drop off at Sabaody… and she doesn’t know any Revolutionary dead drops in the East Blue… curses. 

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The Frauce Kingdom was one of the notables, one of the three East Blue Kingdoms that attended Reverie. From that, Tanya knew that their ruler was Queen Dedessinee, and they were about 15% of the East Blue’s economy all on their own, the second largest slice of the pie. 

Despite this, Tanya didn’t think that their rulers were doing a particularly good job of things. Their economy was mostly based on the export of raw materials, which their large territory provided ample amounts of, to places like Clockwork Island, Mirror Ball Island, and the Goa Kingdom, places with artisans that could make finished goods with that raw material. 

That wasn’t to say that the Frauce Kingdom lacked industry altogether, but it wasn’t anything noteworthy. 

“There’s a lot of land here.” Tanya commented, “It’ll be difficult to find Zoro if he’s here.”

“We just need to find the fishing boat.” Kuina pointed out, looking through a spyglass to the dock. “Unless he sank the thing.”

“What’s it look like, again?” Tanya asked, easily seeing the other boats without needing a magnifier. 

“The sail has the Shimotsuki symbol.” Kuina explained, gesturing to the red pair of crossed swords on the back of her shirt. 

Hm… none with unfurled sails… “Check the fourth on the left.” Tanya said, “That one has a red symbol on the sails. Is it the right one?”

Kuina moved the spyglass. “...No, it’s too big. It’s smaller than that.”

“Well, according to my map, there are five major ports.” Tanya said, “Should we check all of them? Or talk to the Marines?”

“...Marines.” Kuina said after thinking about it. “That boat could be anywhere, not just at the major ports.”

Tanya whistled for the attention of the crew, and signed their instructions. Kaiten immediately rotated the ship’s wheel to the direction of the next port over, where the 77th Branch was located. 

Oddly, a Marine corvette met them before they could approach. A resolute man with lavender hair tied in multiple ponytails in odd positions shouted into a snail speaker. “Attention unknown, heavily armed ship! Declare your intentions or prepare to be destroyed!”

What? While yes, this was a warship, technically… Eh, she supposed it was a reasonable enough mistake. “Where did I leave those semaphore flags…” The ship was equipped with snails, but Tanya thought they were stupid, so always tried to avoid using them when she could. So she only had snails to act as phones, and none that acted as loudspeakers. 

One of the things that Tanya learned in officer’s school was a basic understanding of semaphore. Which is why it was so annoying to have to learn a completely different semaphore language in this world. Sure, she could just hop over to the other ship, but that would be an escalation of force. “Oh, right.” Tanya used a different whistle, a sharper one. Saifu burst out from the captain’s quarters shortly afterward. Unzipping the dog’s back, Tanya fetched the flags and waved them around to communicate with the Marine… Commodore, from his uniform. 

“We come in peace, permission to come aboard.” Tanya muttered while waving the flags appropriately. Then she vocalized a hoot to call over one of the humandrills. Cookie, this time. 

“You have permission to approach.” The Commodore said. 

Tanya discarded the flags, which were eaten up by Saifu before the dog leapt onto Tanya’s back and transformed into a backpack again, and gestured to Cookie. “Throw me over there.” While she probably could make the jump, this was faster. 

Without questioning her orders, Cookie scooped Tanya up and pitched her in the direction of the navy ship. Curled up and spinning, Tanya waited until the exact right moment and kicked out, arresting her momentum and redirecting the remaining fraction upwards, allowing her to gently set down on the railing of the Marine ship. “Greetings, Commodore.” Tanya said politely. “I assure you, I’m here to trade with local merchants and locate a wayward friend of mine, nothing nefarious.”

The Commodore sputtered at her entrance. “If you’re a merchant ship, why do you have so many cannons? They’re huge, too.”

Tanya glanced at the Argent. Twelve guns on the deck in four turrets, one for each direction, and a gun deck below with another twelve guns, six on each side. “Half the guns are fake.” Tanya pointed out. She didn’t bring enough crew to operate them, and on this trip the extra cargo space was more important. So she painted some wooden facsimiles and replaced all the guns on the gun deck with them, nailing the fakes to the gunports to both make the guns appear to still be there and to also seal the gunports. “It only looks adequately armed, it’s just lightly armed. Helps deter pirates.” Which, to be fair, actually reduced the potential income of the trip, as any pirate attack would just end up adding their wealth and bounties to her profits. But she wanted to make money with trade, not by killing and looting. 

The Commodore calmed down with that assurance. “Why do you have battleship turrets?”

“The Grimm Kingdom is a newcomer to the field of weapons manufacturing, but we are competitive in quality.” Tanya replied vaguely. “The Navy already purchases our incremental improvement to the standard cannon models, but I’m afraid my current supply is for my own protection.” Or rather, in case she feels the need to call in artillery on something, or just kill something from over a mile away. She hopes she has enough munitions for Kuina’s training… Does this place produce gunpowder? She’ll have to check. 

He seemed to accept that explanation. “Very well. I am Commodore Pudding Pudding, “ Now that was a name. “-and I apologize for the poor welcome.”

“Well, I’m not sure if you were told, but two days ago your base was asked about Pirate Hunter Zoro.” Tanya said, taking the opportunity. “When, exactly, did he turn in that bounty, and did he say anything about where he was going?” According to Kuina’s stories about Zoro’s sense of direction, that latter piece of information isn’t going to be super helpful, but it might be useful. 

“Oh, you’re the ones looking for that brute?” Commodore Pudding Pudding asked rhetorically. “He turned in a seven million beri bounty about five days ago, and for bounties larger than five million I have to authorize it personally.” Given that the average East Blue bounty for pirate captains was around three million, this was a logical policy. “The only place he mentioned going to was the bar.” He turned towards one of his subordinates, who was clutching their rapier with intense focus. “Armand? Did the bounty hunter say anything else that would be relevant?”

Armand shook his head. “Just that he was looking for a challenge to hone his skills.” Drat. 

“Nevertheless, your information is appreciated.” Tanya said politely. “Now, Commodore… would you be interested in purchasing some high-quality swords?”

Commodore Pudding Pudding’s eyes drifted towards Shodai Kitetsu, and grinned widely. Now that was more like it. 

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In a much better mood, Tanya whistled as she supervised the loading of the Argent. They had split up, with Kuina asking around the bars for traces of Zoro, while Tanya did some trading. 

Fifty barrels of gunpowder of sufficiently high quality that they could be used in creating more munitions, two tons of metal to that effect, and another ton of the highest quality steel for Kuina’s use. The Argent’s unusual materials meant that weight wasn’t really an issue, space was, but the ship was theoretically rated to carry one hundred tons of cargo when it had the gun decks transformed into cargo. In practice, it can go higher for dense cargo or with creative storage methods. 

In addition, Tanya had sniffed around for some good deals, and managed to add another five tons to the trade cargo in various items, from silverware to perfumes to bolts of fine cotton, all bought cheaply. Sure, it wiped out the profits she had made selling the non-Graded blades to the 77th branch, but it was an investment. 

Oh, she also bought some white wine barrels for the humandrills, as every sailor knew the importance of the rum ration. 

“I found a lead on Zoro.” Kuina said as she approached the ship. “I found a tavern he spent a night passed out in,” her expression made it clear how much she did not approve of that level of indulgence, “-and he asked about Sir Florentine, a local swordmaster.” 

That name sounded… ah. She remembered now. Father dueled him… some time ago. Five years ago? Six? Seven? Who knows. It was one of the devil fruit bets, an unknown one that they sold to the Marines. She had thought about eating it, but the smell reminded her far too much of cigar smoke, so she didn't. “If nothing else, he would be a good test for your own skills.” Tanya said, whistling to catch the attention of the crew. “Don't embarrass me on shore leave, finish the loading first. We're going inland. Yari, Tate, with me.” She signed, before turning around. “Let's go.” 

Two of the humandrills set down the barrels of gunpowder they were carefully carrying and leapt to a respectful distance behind Tanya, following dutifully. These particular monkeys were siblings, and were the biggest battle maniacs of the ones she had brought with her. 

It was a simple matter to get directions to Sir Florentine’s chateau, and once they were outside the port city’s limits and on the cobbled road, they were able to speed up and turn the “two day trip” into about two hours, as even Kuina could run at… not quite highway speeds, but car speeds nonetheless.  

Well, if she pushed herself. Kuina slumped but didn’t quite collapse when they arrived, gasping. “We’ll need to work on your leg strength.” Tanya commented. “Your stamina’s probably fine, two hours of sprinting is pretty good, but with stronger legs it would have been a mere jog to keep that pace.” 

Yari and Tate were also breathing heavily and slouched, but it was easier to mistake them as being non-fatigued because they went on all fours to run the distance, as they always did when going faster than a walk. Only Tanya knew that they should have risen onto their feet by now if they were actually spry. “Saifu. Water.” The dog backpack barked and deposited a waterskin onto Tanya’s waiting hand. “Drink.” Tanya commanded Kuina. Four more waterskins were produced and passed to the humandrills, each one downing two to recover from the jog. Finally, a sixth was produced as well as Saifu’s water bowl, and Tanya poured her pet a drink before imbibing the rest of the waterskin herself. “Good dog.”

After drinking the waterskin dry, Kuina had more or less completely rebounded from her previous state of exhaustion by the time Saifu finished with her bowl. “Okay, now we ask him if Zoro’s been around?” Kuina asked. 

Faintly, Tanya picked up on the sound of clashing blades. Closing her eyes and focusing on her Observation, she hummed. “I think he’s here now.” Tanya said, following the sound and jumping up to a high point to see the action. 

How has he grown? 

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[“Pirate Hunter” Roanoa Zoro]

This guy was good. 

Florentine was supposed to be this country’s strongest swordsman, and given that Frauce was the largest kingdom in the East Blue, that meant something. 

Personally, Zoro didn’t like him. He should have been excited to fight someone strong, but he put so many obstacles in Zoro’s way before he could get this duel. It took him all week to make it happen. First he had to deal with that pirate, then he had to kill some mountain bandits, and only then was he allowed to fight Florentine’s top student/bodyguard. Admittedly, the knight wasn’t a slouch himself, but it was an easy win nonetheless. 

Still, Florentine’s sword style was interesting. He named it after himself, of course, but the key was that a parrying knife was used in the off hand while the main hand wielded a one-handed sabre. Further, the man was skilled enough to exploit whenever Zoro lined up multiple blades, striking with his parrying knife to disrupt his wind-up and allow him to lash out and score another cut. 

It had been a very long time since he’s seen someone good enough to do that. “Do you see the difference between us, peasant?” Florentine spat. “You will serve me soon enough.” That was the stakes of the duel. If Florentine won, Zoro would agree to serve as his bodyguard forever. 

It didn’t matter, because he won’t lose. “If I lose to you, I’d deserve the disgrace.” He said around his sword, forged for him by Kuina. It wasn’t one of the Graded blades, but it was one of the better ones among those who didn’t make the cut. 

“It is the nature of the world.” Florentine said haughtily. “Each man is born with an innate nature, superior to those below them and inferior to those above. As a noble, I am superior to a base-born brute like yourself. You cannot win.” His sword thrust forward. “Lance!” He shouted. Zoro blocked the attack with crossed swords, the ground giving way at the force of the attack and shoving him back several feet. 

Zoro cracked his neck, sheathing two of his swords. He took out his bandana and wiped the sweat off his brow, following up the action by tying it to his head to keep future sweat out of his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he drew his swords again. To Florentine’s credit, he allowed Zoro the recovery, although from the movement of the ponce’s fancy neck frill thing, he likely appreciated the moment to catch his breath after his attack. 

“Alright, let’s finish this.” Announced Zoro. He’s seen enough. By focusing his intent, the world around them faded away, there was only him, and Florentine. 

Florentine lost patience with Zoro’s attack, and stepped forward himself in that irritatingly dance-like manner. But movement always introduced flaws into a stance, openings that skill could only shrink, not eliminate. 

That was where he strikes. “Oni Giri!” Zoro’s heart shouted as he burst forward with new speed and strength. Gouging deep cuts into Florentine’s torso. His parrying dagger was ignored like a stray twig, cut through by Zoro’s blades. Zoro sheathed his swords. “I win.” He announced, proudly. It was a challenging battle, even if Florentine tried his best to ruin the fun in it. 

“You… peasant!” Florentine shouted from his position on the ground, clutching his wound. “Men! Rifles up!” The soldiers that were spectating the battle in parade rest immediately complied, four separate squads of four pointing their rifles right at Zoro. Shit. 

“What the hell?” Zoro said, irritated. He could definitely take out one of those squads before they got any shots off. But there were four. He wasn’t bulletproof. 

“Drop your swords on the ground.” Florentine ordered. “You have injured a nobleman, and will work to pay off your best. The mines could always use strong, base-born backs.” 

Well, he wasn’t going to go out without a fight. With renewed strength, he rushed towards the closest group of soldiers, drawing one sword and lashing out at them with a wipe, sweeping iaido. “Ittoryu Iai: Shishi Sonson!”

Instead of him now needing to avoid a hail of bullets, sounds of pain came from the other squads. Looking at them, he saw two of them being flattened by large monkeys, the animals pounding their chests in pride at their victory. The last… “Kuina?” Zoro shouted in shock. 

“I am nobility!” Shouted Florentine. “You animals! I am above all of you!”

“I am royalty.” Said a new voice, cutting through the noise of the chaotic situation as if from a blade. A blonde-haired swordsman with short hair and lots of jewelry was standing over Florentine, holding an oddly shaped pistol in the nobleman’s face. “By your own logic, I am above you. Call for any medical staff that your sword school has for injuries and then shut up.”

Any fight left in Florentine vanished at the gun in his face. Zoro relaxed. He didn’t know who this Prince (Princess? His gut said Prince, but the way she carried her weight… Princess) was, but if Kuina was here, she was a friend. 

After Florentine complied with the demand, the Princess looked in his direction finally. Wait… those eyes. 

“...Tanya? When did you become a Princess?”