After retiring from the Navy, I became a doting husband.

Jason kept pulling out the blade, tapping it with his finger, blowing on it, and listening to the echo of the blade with his ear, all with an expression of rapture and appreciation.

"The blade pattern, the texture... it's definitely a high-quality sharp knife. I've looked in several shops but couldn't find one like it. How much does it cost?"

Jason, clutching the three or four fine knives in his arms, was so excited he couldn't express it; he wanted them all.

"I have a regular sharp knife that costs 20 Berries, but I'll give you 15."

"A fine-quality sharp knife sells for 35 Berries in the shop, but I can give you a discount to 30 Berries."

Martin offered an attractive price.

"It's so cheap!"

"So much cheaper than the market price?"

"Mr. Martin, are you serious?"

Jason's body trembled violently, and he stared wide-eyed as he asked.

"Of course, you're our first customer since we opened, so we can give you the lowest discount. Besides, you brought a gift; that box of coke is worth 10,000 Berries."

"Young man, be polite."

Martin picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Jason was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly in gratitude, his back almost touching the ground, and he was nearly moved to tears.

As a swordsman, he naturally knew the importance of a good sword.

A swordsman with a good sword can achieve twice the result with half the effort, cutting down all enemies in his path.

The weapon shops and general stores in Orange Town mostly sell ordinary knives, with very few sharp knives, and even fewer high-quality sharp knives.

Moreover, the price is ridiculously high; a high-quality sharp knife now costs over 50 Berries.

He had only heard that there was a retired navy swordsmith in the town, and came to check it out with a try-it-out mentality. He thought that a swordsmith in a small place like Orange Town could only make an ordinary sharp knife at most, but he didn't expect to buy a fine sharp knife in this godforsaken town for only 30 Berries.

Who would believe that if I told them?

"Try the knife."

"No need to test it, your knife is absolutely fine, it's definitely a top-quality sharp knife."

"We must test the knife! We absolutely must test the knife!"

Martin casually picked up a knife from the rack and slowly drew it: "Use your old knife to spar with me."

He assumed a sword-drawing stance, claiming he wanted to test the blade, but actually he wanted to see what level his swordsmanship had reached.

"Well... I'm sorry to offend you!"

Jason also drew his sword from his waist. His sword had several nicks, but it still gleamed with an unusual cold light, indicating that it was also a sharp sword, just damaged in battle.

After pulling out the knife, Jason's expression became extremely serious.

As a swordsman, he could clearly feel a sense of oppression emanating from the swordsmith in front of him.

It felt as if I was facing a ferocious beast that could take my life at any moment.

impossible!

This is the oppressive feeling of the strong.

Why would a small-town knifemaker put this kind of pressure on himself?

Drink up!

Feeling the pressure, Jason mustered his strength and tentatively swung the blade in his hand, launching the first attack.

Ugh!

The wind howled and the cold light flashed. In that instant, Martin also swung his knife.

Ding!

The two blades collided, bursting into brilliant sparks.

Jason felt the blade in his hand lighten, and a cold knife was placed against his neck, while the half-blade in his hand was still flying in mid-air before finally falling to the ground.

"Wow...what a fast knife!"

Jason's expression changed drastically.

No one expected that his swift sword would be cut in two with a single stroke. Although the sword was already damaged and had a nick, it had never been so brittle before. It had not been cut even when facing a fine sword.

The knife in their hand is far too sharp!

As a swordsman, he could sense that the other party's swordsmanship was extraordinary, a skill that no ordinary swordsmith could possess.

Jason glanced at the knife slowly leaving his neck, his eyes widening as he saw a sinister red pattern on the blade.

A demon... a demon sword?

He swallowed hard.

Could this sinister blade be a demonic blade?

I guess so……

"Mr. Martin, I want to buy this knife."

Jason asked, "Does it have a name?"

"This knife is not for sale."

Martin looked at the blade and realized he had picked up the wrong sword. The sword in his hand was the Zanpakuto that had failed to be forged and had no name.

"Try other knives."

"Mr. Martin, I trust your knife. I'll choose the other one. I have to report to the Navy soon, so I'll take my leave now!"

"Go report to the Navy?"

"Yes, the Navy has recently issued a lot of wanted posters. As a disciple of the Kendo Dojo, I have also joined the team hunting pirates, so I want to find a suitable sharp sword."

"A pirate hunter? In this chaotic Great Pirate Era..."

"Put the money on the table, and if you have the chance, please help me promote it."

"Absolutely, absolutely! Please rest assured."

After paying, Jason bowed and scraped, then grabbed a fine, sharp knife and ran out as if fleeing, as if afraid the mysterious knifesmith would change his mind.

A swordsmith who can forge a fine, fast sword is already considered quite good; someone who can forge a demonic sword is definitely a master swordsmith.

I had such good luck today.

Who would have thought that a master swordsmith was hidden in Orange Town?!

If this news gets out, it will definitely be big news.

"Jason, the pirate hunter?"

Martin looked at the other person's back and said, "That's a pretty dangerous job. I hope this kid survives."

Speaking of which, I should go sell the swords I just forged, and while I'm at it, buy some supplies and find out about the current situation in the East China Sea...

-

Thank you Fengwu Changge for the donation, and thank you, Uncle, for the generous donation even though I'm broke!

Chapter 9 High Yield Like a Sow

Orange Town has three main roads, which are intricately interwoven with countless other narrow paths, forming a small market town around the port.

Martin carried Senbonzakura with him, his cuffs and boots filled with throwing knives.

These days, the navy has managed to suppress the pirates, and the town has become much more peaceful and the roads are much safer.

After passing through a relatively bustling intersection, dried bloodstains stained with flies could be seen on the ground. Most of the burly pirates that used to be everywhere had disappeared, and there were few suspicious individuals loitering on the streets.

This indicates that the security situation in Orange Town is improving. After all, with the naval logistics base there, even though the navy is a bit lazy, they won't just let things go unchecked.

According to his understanding, since the sound of cannon fire that night, the navy has conducted a thorough search of the town for pirates, driving away many pirates who were loitering on the streets.

There are fewer people at the market now, but it is still bustling with people, and most shops are operating as usual.

Naval soldiers maintaining order were patrolling the streets in twos and threes, creating an eerie sense of order.

"Boss Kim, you've got a customer!"

Upon entering Kim's Grocery Store, Martin placed the bag of knives on the counter.

"Martin, welcome, welcome! I've been waiting for you for ages... Looks like you have quite a lot of goods this time."

Kim, standing behind the counter, looked up with a smile, immediately weighed the cloth bag in her hand, and her eyes gleamed.

He opened the bag and peeked inside, discovering seven knives. He immediately swallowed hard and hurriedly checked the goods to prepare for payment.

With so many pirates around lately, many people are buying swords and other weapons for self-defense. It's fair to say that the worse the order in a town is, the more intense the struggle between pirates and the navy becomes, and the greater the demand for weapons will be. So there's no worry about sales.

The swordsmith in front of me is incredibly prolific; in less than a month, he has already forged so many swords. Compared to him, other swordsmiths are like tortoises.

It's likely that this person has been working hard and accumulating experience over time. Martin isn't young either; he's retired from the Navy, just got married, and will have children to raise in the future, which is probably why he's working so hard.

Sigh, being middle-aged and having a family to support is truly like carrying several mountains on your shoulders!

Martin had no idea that simply selling something would earn him a triple dose of sympathy from Boss Kim.

"There are five sharp knives in total, all of good quality! I'll give you 20 Berries each. The other two are high-quality sharp knives. There's a lot of demand for high-quality sharp knives lately, so I'll give you 35 Berries each. Please keep this. That's a total of 170 Berries."

Kim counted the banknotes and placed them on the counter.

170 million Pelés!

Martin nodded. As his knife-forging skills continued to improve, his forging efficiency also increased rapidly. In the two months since he got married, he had been able to achieve monthly sales of nearly two million Berries.

After deducting all costs, additional charges, and labor, he made a net profit of about 120 million peles in a month.

Although it's not as quick to make money as fighting pirates for bounties, it's safe and reliable, and it's even more lucrative than being a swordsmith in the Navy.

The average monthly salary of an ordinary person in the East China Sea is only 20 to 30 Berries, and that of a naval swordsmith is only 40 Berries a month. With a monthly income of over 100 million Berries, I am definitely considered a high-income earner.

Indeed, leaving the military was the right choice.