Zoro cautiously approached the door behind which lay Saul's forge. Luffy and Nami had already headed to the docks after the three of them finished gathering supplies in the village, and now he had one last thing to do before joining them.
They were carrying food, water, and a few other things for the trip to Mad Treasures' hideout. Nami said they'd stop along the way to resupply, so they wouldn't need enough for the whole journey, just enough to reach the next island. She'd also made Zoro buy everything. He'd complained, but the orange was stingy with money... Stingy was probably an understatement.
The green one knocked on the door, and the hammering from the other side stopped, replaced by approaching footsteps. The swordsman knew Saul would probably be a little annoyed. He didn't like being interrupted while he was at the forge. And besides, there was the fact that he was leaving... Zoro took a deep breath. He was almost sorry to leave. As much as they insulted each other, the teenager had learned to respect Saul and his gruff nature. He respected his work even more.
The door opened abruptly.
"What do you want, brat?" Saul asked impatiently, as the forge roared in the room behind him.
He could easily rip off the bandage. "I'm leaving, old man," Zoro said without blinking, waiting for the blacksmith to explode. It took him a moment to process the swordsman's words, but when he did, something akin to sadness crossed Saul's face, if that was what it could be called. The man quickly dismissed the emotion and replied, "It's about time. I was sick of seeing your spoiled little face every day."
Zoro laughed. He was going to miss the old man. "Well, I didn't want to leave just like that after all the good you've done for me. So, this is goodbye," he said. It didn't have to be anything grand; they were never like that. Zoro turned to leave, but they stopped him before he could take the first step.
"Wait there."
The swordsman turned toward the door and heard footsteps receding as Saul returned to the forge. Zoro watched, confused, through the doorway as the man approached the wall and tapped a brick that seemed slightly out of place. A click echoed through the space, and a section of the back wall slid aside, revealing a plain-looking black box.
Saul carefully placed his hand on the box and began to pull. It turned out to be much longer than Zoro had initially thought, as the blacksmith continued pulling until the end finally appeared. Now, in Saul's hands rested a long box, roughly the length of a katana. The man looked at it with a mixture of emotions that Zoro couldn't decipher before striking the same brick again—the one that had opened the panel—and walking back to the door as it slowly closed. The man said nothing, stopped, and showed the box to Zoro, the mixture of emotions still reflected on his face.
"What the hell is this?" Zoro asked, confused, letting Saul place the box in his arms. He hadn't expected to receive a parting gift.
The blacksmith stared at the box for a long time before replying, "Sandai." Kitetsu.
"What?" the swordsman asked, even more confused. What was a Sandai? Kitetsu?
"I promised myself I'd never look at that sword again. And I won't," Saul declared. "In fact, I was preparing to send it to Lougetown, but..." He paused, then continued staring at the box Zoro held in his hand. "Just take it."
Zoro examined the black box critically. So it was a sword. The box itself was nothing special, but he wasn't about to turn down a free sword, especially if it was Saul's offering. The man knew swords well. He went to open the box to take a look, but was stopped.
"Not here. I still don't want to look at it," he paused. "Or anything from that damned country," Saul said, his eyes filled with anger and sadness. "A... friend... of mine died with that sword in her hands. She said it would protect her because her damned shogun made her," he spat, his voice thick with virol. "Well... that same shogun forgot to mention that the damned thing is cursed."
Zoro looked at the box he was holding with an even more critical gaze. He thought he felt a bloodlust rising within him. Saul's explanation alone was enough for him to realize it was coming from the box. The swordsman had to suppress the urge to smile mischievously; this certainly wasn't the right moment. On the other hand, the sword had belonged to a friend of Saul's, and judging by his reaction, to someone close to him. Part of Zoro wasn't willing to take something that was a memory for someone else, even if that memory wasn't necessarily a happy one. His thoughts turned to Wado.
"Saul... I don't know if I can handle this," Zoro said honestly. In a way, Sandai... Kitetsu was like Wado Ichimonji. Wado reminded Zoro of Kunia, and Kitetsu reminded Saul of his friend, whoever she was.
"Shut up, brat. If I could have gotten rid of it sooner, I would have, but it's hard to find someone who wants to buy a cursed sword. It's a miracle I found anyone at all." The man paused to think before continuing, "I didn't dare throw it away, and nobody wanted to buy it... So I kept it all these years. Part of me thought I'd die with that thing stuck in the wall."
Zoro listened to the words and was satisfied, but something still bothered him. "Is there any reason to give me a cursed sword?" he asked. He wasn't going to argue so much if the man really wanted to give it to him. After all, he needed it.
"Use your damn ears, brat. I only said I was waiting to get rid of him," the blacksmith replied mockingly.
"You also said it was cursed and that the curse killed your friend. Why are you giving me this sword instead of another katana?" the swordsman questioned seriously.
The older man paused and examined Zoro from head to toe, lingering on his eyes. He'd always kept them in mind—it was the reason he'd let the boy start working—but upon closer inspection, they seemed rather odd. "Take away that left eye, and he'll look just like him ," he thought wistfully. He'd only seen him once, but he'd never forget him; his presence had been... terrifying. The one-eyed man wasn't at all pleased that one of his daughters had brought a foreigner home from her self-imposed exile. Nor was he particularly pleased that this foreigner was taking her away again.
"I just have to 'Feel,'" the older man said as his memories calmed down.
The green man sighed. He knew he wouldn't get much further by trying. Saul always said things like that when he couldn't explain something. Or simply didn't want to. It seemed he now had a new sword. Sandai Kitetsu. He tucked the box under his arm and looked back at Saul, giving him a strange smile: "Thank you, Saul. I'll take good care of it."
"Get out of here, brat. I hope I never see your brat face again," said the blacksmith, turning to return to his forge.
Zoro chuckled at the humor in the man's voice. "Same here, old man," he joked, turning away and walking toward the shop's front door. It was time to rejoin Luffy and Nami and set sail from the island and the man who had taught him so much. "Take care," he said quietly.
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