After finding an inn to make do for the night, Shirakawa was woken up the next morning by the noisy chatter of the crowd outside. Ever since coming to this world, it seemed like he had never once slept until he woke naturally, as though doing so in this world were some kind of unforgivable luxury.
The noise outside only seemed to be growing louder and louder, so Shirakawa gave up on going back to sleep. Looking out through the window, he saw that the street outside was packed solid with people, shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see.
"What is going on?"
Shirakawa was a little puzzled. Normally, a small town should not have this many people gathered in one place. And from within the crowd, he could even sense a few presences that were not weak.
"What happened here?"
He went downstairs and voiced the question that had been on his mind, all while the innkeeper stared at him with a lovestruck look on her face.
"You don't know? I thought you came here for the finals."
The landlady knew Shirakawa was an outsider. Otherwise, who would be staying at an inn?
"I only happened to arrive here by chance. I don't know what's going on."
"I see. Then your timing's really something. There are several duels between swordsmen today. If you're interested, you can go take a look. After all, I can see you've got a sword too."
"Swordsmen, huh?"
A look of interest appeared on Shirakawa's face.
Up to now, the swordsmen Shirakawa had encountered had all belonged to two extremes. There were world-class Great Swordsmen like Rayleigh, Oden, and the Golden Lion, and then there were people like low-level pirates and Marines who only knew how to wave a sword around and hack wildly.
At this point, Shirakawa was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Great Swordsman himself. Over the past half year, he had been pushing relentlessly toward that goal. But even for a genius like him, crossing that final threshold was far from easy.
Still, Shirakawa could already feel that he was not far from that realm. Perhaps what he needed was a battle, a battle he could fight with everything he had, a battle that could push every ounce of his potential to the surface.
And his opponent should also be a swordsman.
Although a tournament like this might not necessarily produce a Great Swordsman, what if it did?
If that happened, it would be perfect.
Shirakawa had no idea where the competition venue was, but following the crowd was never a bad choice. No matter what world it was, people always loved joining in on the excitement, and this place was no exception.
Following the flow of people, Shirakawa gradually made his way to the outside of the arena. There were quite a few people like him here, all carrying swords at their waists.
Most of them, however, were trash.
"Hey, kid, stop right there."
Just then, an extremely arrogant voice sounded from behind Shirakawa.
But Shirakawa did not think the other person was calling for him. Ever since arriving on this island, he had kept a low profile and had not provoked anyone, so surely nobody was looking to pick a fight with him.
He ignored the voice and kept walking forward.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
The voice sounded again.
Shirakawa still paid it no attention.
Then, suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, and an angry voice followed.
"Kid, didn't you hear me talking to you just now?"
"I heard you."
"Then why didn't you stop?"
"Why should I stop? Besides, we don't know each other, so I had no way of knowing you were talking to me."
"Oh? So now you know?"
"I do. Go on then, what do you want?"
"Kid, I've taken a liking to your sword."
Among a crowd of worthless swordsmen, the swords they carried were naturally worthless too. So Shirakawa's sword stood out among them like a crane in a flock of chickens.
"Oh? And then?"
Shirakawa noticed that the area around him had suddenly cleared out. Everyone had moved far away from him.
"And then? Heh. Hand over your sword, and we'll call it even between us. Otherwise, you know what'll happen to you."
"What'll happen? I really don't know."
"Kid, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Do you know who I am?" the other party snarled viciously.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the son of the colonel who commands this Marine branch. On this island, what I say goes."
"I was wondering why you were so arrogant. So you're just a local snake."
Shirakawa smiled faintly.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of handing this sword over to you."
After saying that, he brushed the hand off his shoulder and continued walking forward.
Among the crowd watching the scene, some looked at Shirakawa with pity, while others simply watched with the eager faces of spectators hoping for a good show. Only one person looked at the Marine colonel's son with a gaze full of pity, and even a trace of ridicule.
The owner of that gaze looked to be about Shirakawa's age, around seventeen or eighteen, but the people around him unconsciously kept their distance, perhaps because of the sharp aura radiating from his body.
"Then don't blame me for being rude. Get him."
No one knew exactly who the colonel's son was giving the order to, but several swordsmen immediately stepped out from the crowd. Although he was the son of a colonel, he did not dare order Marines around at will. All he could do was use his identity to gather a bunch of loafers and hoodlums around him.
"Kid, I'll give you one last chance. Are you handing over your sword or not?"
"No."
Shirakawa's answer was as crisp as ever.
"Fine. Then get him. Don't kill him. Just break his limbs."
"No problem, boss," the gang of thugs answered.
"You know, if you'd just obediently handed our boss your sword, this could've been over easily. You wouldn't have had to suffer for it. At this rate, you'll probably have to spend the rest of your life begging on the streets."
One of the thugs even offered that "kind" reminder.
"Don't worry. The one begging won't be me."
"Still feeling pretty confident, huh? Fine, then we won't waste any more words."
The group drew their swords, but the postures they assumed were nothing like those of properly trained swordsmen. These people probably knew nothing beyond chopping and thrusting. They likely could not even manage the most basic upward slash.
After looking them over, Shirakawa let out a helpless sigh.
He had originally wanted to keep a low profile, but at this rate that was clearly impossible. No matter what, there would always be one or two fools who came looking for trouble.
The instant they swung their swords at Shirakawa, an overwhelmingly tyrannical aura burst out from his body.
In an instant, every thug surrounding him rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the ground.
The colonel's son suffered the same fate.
"Ahhh!"
At that moment, shrill screams rose from the women nearby. They probably thought those people had all just died.
But Shirakawa had actually been fairly restrained. Once those people woke up, they would probably all be idiots. Simply knocking them unconscious once would have been far too merciful.
Who knew how many people bastards like them had already ruined?
The seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth who had watched the entire scene unfold now wore an extremely grave expression, especially when he looked at Shirakawa.
"This ability... it's a lot like my master's."
That was what the young man thought to himself. At present, he still did not know what Conqueror's Haki was.
If that was the case, then his master must also be a true powerhouse.
/-\
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