Volume 1 - CH 81

“Hahaha, it’s none other than Mister Soros himself! You grace us with your presence. Why didn’t you inform us of your arrival in advance?”

The old master approached, bowing in reverence.

Soros, feeling a bit of pomposity bubble up within him, quickly suppressed the urge upon remembering the young man waiting nearby. He inquired, “Master, I seek a fine-named sword. Might I request that you present your finest offerings?”

The old master gave  Rhodes a look of mild surprise. Anyone who could earn such high regard from Soros must be someone of great importance.

“Please, follow me,” he said, leading them to a room of a more prestigious caliber.

Unlike the outer room, cluttered with swords of all shapes and sizes, this room contained only nine pieces. The sheaths alone, crafted from the finest materials, exuded a sense of antique grandeur.

Rhodes stepped forward and unsheathed a sword with a resounding clink. The blade gleamed like a pool of autumn water, reflecting faint starlight.

“This flying star was crafted from deep-sea fine iron, a process that took 49 days to complete. Its sharpness and durability are unparalleled, rivaling even the finest of knives.”

When it comes to swords, the old master is confident and speaks with the air of an expert.

Rhodes examined the sword before sighing and running the blade on two of his finger. To his surprise, it left only a faint white mark.

“It’s decent,”  Rhodes said, returning the sword to its sheath.

The old master stared in shock, his mouth agape.

Rhodes picked up another sword, drawing the blade. The color of the blade was deep red, and holding it gave off a faint warmth, like a bundle of flames.

“This sword is called the Red Flame and has been tempered in molten lava 99 times, earning it the title of hundredfold refined steel. It’s extremely sharp…”

However, he never finished his sentence. Rhodes run the blade again, and this time, instead of a faint white mark, there was a barely noticeable red mark.

“Hmm, it’s quite sharp,”  Rhodes said, nodding.

The old master: “…”

Soros also had a toothache. This was truly an unconventional method of testing a sword.

After that, the old master didn’t bother introducing the rest of the swords. He watched with a numb expression as Rhodes tested each of the nine treasures of the shop, and none of them made Rhodes’s fingers even bleed.

For a moment, he had the urge to return to farming, feeling completely defeated.

“They’re not bad, but they don’t meet my expectations.”

Rhodes was disappointed. Most of the swords he saw were good enough for a regular sword master, but they didn’t meet his standards. He might use them for now, but he will always end up switching to something else later.

Soros noticed Rhodes’s reaction and frowned, turning to the old master. He had hoped to complete Rhodes’s request and make some connections in the process.

“With your level of skill, these swords are not quite worthy of you,” the old master said hesitantly, looking at Soros. “I remember there’s an underground auction on 13 Island in a couple of days. There’s supposed to be a great sword among the items up for bidding. I was planning to try to get it, but I heard that a wealthy merchant had already reserved it, so I didn’t see the point in competing.”

“Reserved it?” Soros said scornfully.

“This merchant is apparently the top merchant in the West Sea. He’s buying the great sword as a gift for the king of the Flower Country, who’s obsessed with collecting famous swords. I bet he wouldn’t think twice about spending a few billion bellies on it.”

“The top merchant in the West Sea?” Soros said, frowning. “That could be a problem. I don’t have much money to spare, and if I use too many public funds, I’ll be in trouble.”

“We’ll go to this auction,” Rhodes said, walking out of the room. Soros thanked the old master and followed him.

After they left the sword shop, the group found a place to stay. Two days later, they arrived on the 13th island and were about to head to the auction when a figure suddenly flew out of a hut in front of them, crashing heavily to the ground. The guy was unconscious, with a swollen face and a bruised nose.

“Hmm, 13th island, I’ve heard of this place,” said Rhodes as he slightly tilted his head and saw a sign hanging above the hut that read “Shakky’s Rip-off Bar.”.

“Shakky and The Dark King, Rayleigh?” Rhodes thought to himself as he was about to pass the hut, not wanting to provoke the legendary pirate.

“Wait a minute…if it’s Shakky, she might know what I’m looking for,” Rhodes paused, recalling that Shakky was known to be an informant who knew many small bits of information.

Thinking for a moment, he decided to go into the bar.

“Welcome! What can I get for you?” a woman’s voice called out from inside.

“A cup of red tea, please,” Rhodes casually sat down and looked towards the bar.

Sitting behind the bar was a woman with graceful charm. She had short, neatly styled hair with a slight curl at the temples and a cigarette between her lips. She glanced at Rhodes with a slight look of surprise before lowering her head to prepare the tea. She then brought a cup of red tea over with a smile, “The apprentice of the great sword master, Gion, you really brought some excitement to this small shop.”

“Oh, you know me?” Rhodes asked.

Rhodes was really surprised, he didn’t expect Shakky’s intelligence to reach this level.

“Spark is not a minor character, the news of his defeat is a very popular topic nowadays.”

“Rhodes, the young man swordsman, defeating Lao G and Harmon with one against two, is also known as a famous story between swordsmen.”

Shakky blew out a smoke ring, smiled, and said: “I’m guessing since you came to me, you want to ask for some information?”

Shakky cut to the chase, and Rhodes didn’t beat around the bush either, nodded and said: “News about the Supreme Grade Sword.”

“Tsk.”

Shakky clicked her tongue and her eyes flickered with a strange light.

Such levels of famous swords are only eligible for possession by swordsmen of corresponding strength.

It looks like this young man has the confidence to challenge the Great Swordmaster of the sea.

She hesitated for a moment, smiled, and said: “Although the Supreme Grade Swords are very rare, I do know some news.”

“Oh?”

Rhodes’s eyes lit up.

But he suddenly noticed Shakky’s somewhat mischievous smile:

“For example, Yoru, one of the twelve Supreme Grade… I can provide you with the accurate location for free.”

“…”

The smile on Rhodes’s face gradually disappeared, and he didn’t know whether to say SOB or not.

Everyone in the world knows that Yoru is in the hands of Mihawk!

“I can pay, it doesn’t matter if it’s one million or ten million,” Rhodes said seriously.

But Shakky’s expression remained unchanged. She shook her head lightly and said, “Some information cannot be measured by money.”

News about the Supreme Grade Swords may not be of much use to most people in the world, but for top-notch sword masters and even great sword masters, it is deadly tempting, and it is worth any price to exchange for it.

Rhodes nodded in agreement and said after a moment of contemplation, “How about exchanging information for information?”

“Hmm?”

Shakky’s expression slightly improved as Rhodes was no fool. If he could say this, the information he had must be of equal value.

“Tell me.”

Rhodes was not worried about Shakky’s credibility as most old-generation pirates were loyal and trustworthy.

He pondered for a moment.

As a traverser, he naturally knew many things that ordinary people did not know, but there was not much information that could be considered equivalent to the Supreme Grade Swords.

Half a moment later, he suddenly said, “How about information about the Pirate King, Gol. D Roger?”

As soon as this name was mentioned, Shakky’s expression changed instantly. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly dangerously and she narrowed her eyes as she said, “Tell me.”