One Piece: I Am The Greatest Swordsman

Sailing was dull. It had been half a month since they left Valan Island, and in all that time, the Chris hadn't encountered a single island. Not even a pirate ship, let alone land.

The sea was vast, turbulent, and dangerous. Anyone who stared at it day after day would eventually get bored.

With long voyages came long stretches of boredom. The ship was full of men who, apart from playing cards, did nothing but play more cards. There was practically no other form of entertainment.

And so...

"998. 999. 1000."

"Captain, I can't go on anymore..."

"A man shouldn't say he can't," Weiss replied without even moving his fish-like, lazy eyes.

After completing his daily workout, Kadun collapsed on the deck. Weiss sat cross-legged in front of him, counting his reps. The Chris didn't tolerate slackers. Even though Kadun was the navigator, he still needed to maintain a certain level of strength.

Starting from the third day of the voyage, Kadun began what could only be described as hellish training. In addition to plotting the ship's course, he had to complete rigorous daily exercises.

Honestly, the physical capabilities of people in the pirate world were insane. Kadun had been a complete weakling, yet he managed to hit a thousand pushups in just twelve days.

Exhausted like a salted fish every day, he would bounce back to life after just one meal and some rest. Still, even with a strong body, Kadun probably wouldn't become a powerhouse. He was already 25—past the prime age for martial training.

Not everyone was born to be the protagonist.

Weiss was even considering finding him a Zoan-type Devil Fruit to give him a power boost. As long as he could reach the level of a Marine HQ captain, that'd be enough.

A navigator only needed to be able to protect himself.

"Jack, do you see any ships or islands?"

"Captain, nothing within ten nautical miles," Jack replied from the crow's nest. He was polishing a rifle he had brought from Valan Island, occasionally glancing out across the sea.

He didn't use binoculars—his eyes were sharper than any lens.

Since coming aboard, Jack had been in charge of lookout duty. Weiss hadn't expected the East Blue to offer such a surprise—Jack had awakened Observation Haki.

Coupled with his sharpshooting skills, Jack could handle most threats they'd encounter in the East Blue. That meant Weiss didn't need to lift a finger.

"Kadun, how much longer until we reach Shimotsuki Village?"

"At this pace, about three more days, Captain. Which means training should end here for today, right? I still need to make lunch."

"You don't need to worry about that. Deuce has been handling the cooking while you've been training. The way you're complaining, people might think I'm torturing you."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Ace all morning. What's he up to?"

Kadun shook his head blankly. Weiss had dragged him out of bed for training, so he hadn't had the time or energy to worry about anyone else.

Weiss propped up his chin with one hand. Ace had been staying on board for quite a while now—he hadn't even tallied up the cost of his food and lodging. Maybe it was time to just round it all up to 100 million Berries.

Yes. Let's go with that!

Wait... could he have jumped into the sea to escape the debt?

Nah, impossible. Ace valued his life too much and still had things he wanted to do. He wouldn't throw it away so easily.

If Ace knew what Weiss was thinking, he'd probably shout: "Please stop imagining nonsense!"

Kadun, after resting a bit, began his next round of training. If you thought pushups were all there was to it, you'd be underestimating Weiss's program.

So the boring voyage continued. And Weiss started daydreaming again.

Maybe... he should recruit some female crewmates. A ship full of guys wasn't exactly ideal.

But who to invite?

Nami? Nah, too bossy.

Robin? Too scheming.

What was the name of that little thief with Nami again? She might be okay.

Maybe that secretary from Water 7?

Oh, and that D clan girl—Lilia, was it? Miss North Blue Beauty Pageant Champion. She could be a flower vase—something nice to look at!

While Weiss was lost in his ridiculous fantasies, he suddenly noticed Ace sitting right in front of him. Startled back to reality, he yelped, "When did you get here?!"

"I've been sitting here for a while," Ace replied, resting his chin in one hand as well. "You looked so stupid that I didn't want to interrupt."

"Where were you all morning? Haven't seen you around."

Ace fell silent. What was he supposed to say? That he'd spent all morning trying to figure out how to ask to borrow money?

Finally, Ace opened his mouth. "Weiss... I want to borrow some money."

He and his group were only temporarily staying on Weiss's ship. Sooner or later, they'd have to leave.

They wanted to start pirating again, but so far they hadn't encountered even a single pirate. In fact, Ace had been more eager than Weiss to run into one—just so he could stop being a freeloader.

It wasn't that the Chris was a bad place. It was just expensive.

160,000 Berries a day. Nearly twenty days had passed. That was over 3 million Berries!

There wasn't even a single wanted poster in the entire East Blue offering a bounty that high!

"So you've been stressing about that this whole time?"

"Ahaha... I can't believe you, Ace, are actually asking me for money," Weiss laughed. "That's so unlike you."

This had to be a historic moment.

Back when Ace was still scraping by in the Gray Terminal, he'd hunted or robbed people (mostly pirates) to save up for a ship. He had never borrowed money. Probably because he knew no one would lend him that much anyway.

Seeing Ace's face turn beet red—as if it might burst into flames—Weiss decided maybe he'd teased him enough.

"Fine. Take half of the treasure stash," Weiss said, standing up and heading for his eternally unchanged lounge chair.

"You're not even going to ask why I need it?"

"What for? You're clearly buying a ship. What else could it be? Settling down somewhere to retire?" Weiss sipped a coconut drink.

"I thought you'd say no. You really trust me that much?"

"There's nothing not to trust. I believe in you, Ace. Just like you never gave up on Deuce, even in the worst storms. A captain like that wouldn't betray anyone's trust."

"Then... why not just lend me all the treasure? I'll pay it all back at once later."

"What do you need that much money for? In the East Blue, you can buy a decent ship for twenty million Berries," Weiss asked, genuinely surprised.

Ace scratched his head awkwardly. "Well... I still owe you for lodging. I figured I'd borrow a little extra to pay that off. That way, I'll only owe you for the treasure afterward."

"???"

Good grief. Weiss nearly rolled his eyes out of his skull.

You're borrowing money from me... to pay back money you owe to me?

What kind of twisted logic is that?

With a big sigh and a dramatic eye-roll, Weiss decided to stop paying attention to Ace altogether.

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Currently at chapter 160 on Ko-Fi

https:// ko-fi.com/sami27