After killing the 7 swordsmen of Mist, Zoro puts their corpses in Torao's subspace storage. He also keeps their swords in there, except for Samehada. It can't be put in the storage because it has sentience.
"So it has become something like a living being because of its sentience. That means it also has a soul similar to living beings."
Zoro knows that some swords have spirits because his swords also have sword spirits. But they aren't at the same level as Samehada's spirit that is close to a living being already.
Because he can't put Samehada inside the storage, Zoro doesn't have any other choice but to carry it like its users. He wraps it in bandages which is very difficult.
Samehada is rebelling because it only agrees to be held by those it approves. It's a unique sword because it chooses its users, not the other way around. It even releases spikes on its handle when Zoro tries to grab it.
"So that's how you want to play, huh?"
Taming Samehada is not difficult for Zoro. It being a sentient sword makes it easy for Zoro to tame it. He only needs to intimidate it with his Conqueror Haki and it becomes obedient immediately.
"Damn, it's so troublesome. Kisame and the other users must've used jutsu to wrap and unwrap the bandages. It's so difficult to do it manually."
Zoro finally finishes after a lot of effort. Then he ties Samehada on his back before leaving the scene. Kirigakure shinobi would come soon when they realize the swordsmen don't return for too long.
Zoro wants to be as far as possible when they come because he doesn't want to fight anymore today. The fight with the 7 swordsmen has taken a lot of his energy because he was going all out from the beginning to not lose the upper hand.
He was fighting against 7 strong swordsmen, after all. Every decision was vital and one wrong move could lead to death. It almost ended badly when he got trapped.
Luckily, their trap was not too difficult to break, thanks to his advanced haki. So he could free himself before they could deliver more lethal attacks that could badly injure or even kill him.
But their trap made him worry, that's why he fought even more seriously and used his best attacks to kill them quickly.
It's also thanks to his opponents' carelessness and underestimation of his power and abilities that he could kill them rather quickly despite them outnumbering him.
*****
Just as Zoro thought, Kirigakure sends some shinobi to investigate what happens with the 7 swordsmen because they haven't returned even after a day.
The shinobi follow the swordsmen's trails and finally find the battle location. They investigate the battle traces and conclude that their Great 7 Swordsmen have been defeated.
But even they still can't believe their own investigation result. So they do another investigation only to reach the same conclusion. Their Great 7 Swordsmen have been killed and their swords are taken.
"What should we do now, Captain?"
"... Let's return to the village and report everything as it is. Even if we are wrong, we still need to let the village know that our mystical swords have been taken."
"!? Are you implying that if they aren't killed, the 7 Swordsmen were taking the swords and running away?"
"That's highly unlikely seeing the battle traces. You saw it yourself. Their opponent was very powerful and skillful, much more than each of them. It is clear that they underestimated their opponent because even we also thought like that. But it turns out that this kid is truly powerful despite his age. You've seen the results of his attacks that cut trees, boulders, and even split the earth. I know for sure that those aren't our swordsmen's attacks, so they can only be their opponent's attacks. They were struggling to fight a single person and they were killed. Even if we are wrong, it doesn't change the fact that the 7 Great Swordsmen have gone missing along with their swords. We can lose the swordsmen, but we certainly can't lose the swords that have been passed down since the 1st Mizukage period."
".... I understand."
The investigation team returns to their village immediately and soon, Kirigakure releases bounties for Zoro and the 7 Swordsmen.
They know that if Zoro really killed the 7 swordsmen, then he would keep their corpses to be exchanged with money in other villages that put bounties on the 7's heads because he is a bounty hunter.
There's no way he will exchange them in Kirigakure because that will show that he is the one who killed them. They've also become his enemy since they sent the swordsmen to go after him and he refused to join them, so he won't return to Kirigakure.
On the other hand, if he's not the one who kills them, then it would mean that they've defected. So they would be wanted by their village either way.
For the 2nd case, it would mean that Zoro isn't guilty and doesn't deserve his bounty. But that doesn't concern Kirigakure at all because he is an independent bounty hunter unaffiliated with any forces. So they don't care if it angers him. He is just a single person, after all.
*****
When Kirigakure releases his bounty, Zoro has already arrived in Kumogakure. He urged Torao to move as fast as possible to avoid being caught by Kirigakure if the village sent people to chase them.
Thankfully, he could arrive in Kumogakure just right before Kirigakure issued his bounty. But now, he has become their enemy. So every ninja from Kirigakure that he encounters from now on will want to kill him and he won't hesitate to kill them either.
"Fool, Ya Fool~! Seems like you've done something really big." B shows Zoro's bounty poster while they eat in a small restaurant.
Zoro met B right after he arrived, and B invited him to eat together. He was very pushy and now Zoro knows the reason.
"So they've found out, huh?"
"They didn't explain the reason for putting a price on your head. But seeing how they also put bounties on their 7 Swordsmen, is it correct to assume that your bounty is related to them?"
Yugito who saw them going to the restaurant, joined them and made such a deduction.
"Heh, how are they related, Ms. Detective?"
"Well, I'm not sure, but my feelings said so."
"Ya Fool! Quick! Explain!"
"I prefer to talk about it somewhere else."
Yugito agrees, so B takes them to Raikage's office after eating. Seems like Raikage also wants to hear his explanation. He also urges Zoro to explain what happens.
"I killed them."
".... Who?" asks Raikage unsurely.
"Me."
"I mean you killed who?"
"The 7 Swordsmen of Mist."
"....."
Everyone is speechless, unsure of what to say. Zoro doesn't want to explain anymore, so he just shows their corpses that he has moved into a storage scroll, making everyone's jaw drops.
"Wait! Then that thing on your back is....." Yugito points at the wrapped Samehada with a trembling finger.
"Samehada." Zoro only says one word, but it's enough to make everyone speechless.
Zoro lets them ponder about it before telling why he comes here.
"Anyway, Kumogakure are issuing bounties for them, right?"
"I see. You want to claim their bounties, huh?"
"Yeah, but I'll only claim 3 of them."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because your village offers the highest bounties for those 3. The other 4 have higher bounties in other villages."
"You-! Fine, but how about you sell those swords to us."
"I will refuse too. You'll be able to buy them soon though, in black market." Zoro grins while putting the 4 corpses that he won't exchange for rewards back into the scroll.
"Black market?" Yugito is confused, doesn't know why Zoro prefers selling the swords in the black market.
"He wants to auction them to get as much profit as possible." Raikage explains what Zoro wants to do to Yugito, making the 2 Tails' Jinchuuriki a little surprised.
"Gotta make everything worth. They tried to kill me and now even put a price on my head, so I'll get as much money as I can using their things."
"Damn little devil. You know that Kirigakure will certainly come and try to get their swords back even if they need to spend a lot of money."
"Then they better prepare everything they have in their pockets. Would be better if they squeeze their pockets dry or these swords will fall into others' hands. I don't even mind keeping them forever if no one want them."
"You're really angry at them, huh?"
"You don't say."
Zoro isn't someone who'll forgive those who wrong him easily. He is someone who holds his grudge seriously and will always pay it back.
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Chapter 110. Philosopher Zoro
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