The small group spent some time sparring with their mirror images before Uta stretched and ended the dream. Kuina and Zoro, however, both left the dreamscape with looks of longing on their faces.
"Well then, see you tomorrow!" Uta waved cheerily, hopping away without waiting for Luffy to walk her back.
Luffy watched her go, then turned toward Kuina, who was beckoning him and Zoro to follow her to the storage shed behind the dojo. When Kuina opened the door, the old wooden panels creaked in protest. Inside, they were greeted by dusty shelves and cobwebs.
Luffy wrinkled his nose at the sight of the webs and summoned a small flame on his finger, burning the webs away with a look of distaste.
The shed was a small three-story wooden building. Every step they took on the rickety, dust-covered stairs elicited a groan from the wood beneath.
"Luffy, afraid of bugs, huh?" Zoro laughed, watching Luffy incinerate the webs, but he couldn't help looking a bit envious of that small flame.
"Of course! Bugs are disgusting!" Luffy replied matter-of-factly, shuddering as he thought of the tiny, multi-legged creatures and their beady eyes.
"I don't really mind them; they're small and harmless," Zoro shrugged, though seeing Luffy's honesty made him rethink his own bravado.
"Besides, I heard spiders eat mosquitoes."
"I only like cute, pretty things," Luffy retorted, watching the webs burn with satisfaction. "These bugs are just gross!"
The gentle moonlight cast a faint glow over Luffy's face, then shifted as he moved, leaving his face in shadow.
"And you know, these things can crawl on you in your sleep. I read somewhere they might even nest in people's ears," he added to Zoro, who shivered at the thought.
"Alright, enough!" Zoro waved his hands, a newfound dread in his eyes as he glanced at the remaining cobwebs.
"Why do you guys always get so weird about the strangest things?" Kuina's voice drifted down from the top of the stairs.
"Be careful up there, Kuina," Zoro called out. "This ladder doesn't seem too sturdy."
"Just don't fall," Luffy added, smirking. "Your dream of becoming the greatest swordsman would be over pretty fast."
"No way I'd fall from something like this!" Kuina balanced on a small stool, stretching to reach the top shelf where the whetstone sat.
Luffy, still clearing away webs as he climbed, paused to watch Kuina tiptoe on the stool. And just as she finally touched the black whetstone—
Thud!
The heavy stone slipped from her grasp, hitting her head and causing her to lose balance.
Before she could fall, Luffy darted forward, catching her by the shoulders and steadying her as the whetstone hit the floor with a dull, resounding thunk, denting the wooden floorboards.
"That was close… Thanks, Luffy." Kuina exhaled a shaky breath, still a bit pale from the scare.
"Your family's whetstone is no joke…" Luffy glanced at the heavy, black stone by his feet, kicking it lightly to test its weight.
Zoro quickly ran over. "Are you okay, Kuina?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She rubbed her head, a bit dazed. "This is our family's whetstone. It's used only to maintain our prized blades, so it usually just stays up here."
"Looks like it's been aged for generations." Luffy prodded the stone with his foot. It was dense, almost too heavy for a whetstone.
Maybe it wasn't the stairs but the whetstone itself that was dangerous. He knew legendary swords in the world of pirates had all kinds of mystical properties. So maybe this ancestral whetstone had taken on the aura of the blades it had sharpened over the years.
"Hey! What are you kids doing here?"
A raspy voice snapped them out of their thoughts. It was Shimotsuki Kosaburo, leaning on his fishing rod as he glared at them.
"Staying up late, are you? You know it'll stunt your growth," he grumbled, his gaze falling on the whetstone lying on the floor. His expression darkened. "Who gave you permission to take out this whetstone?"
His eyes fixed on Kuina. "Didn't your father tell you it's an heirloom, reserved only for our finest swords?"
"I… I just wanted to use it to care for Wado Ichimonji…" Kuina replied, holding up her blade.
Kosaburo scoffed. "Too naive! You're not ready to handle this whetstone."
He gestured to the stone. "You know blades have ranks, don't you? Well, so do whetstones. Our Shimotsuki family has produced countless legendary swords. The last time this stone was used, it was to sharpen Enma."
He continued, "This whetstone carries the spirit of countless blades, just like a cursed sword. It's not for the weak to touch!"
With that, Kosaburo picked up the stone and carefully returned it to the top shelf.
"Didn't you see how high it's stored? It's clearly not for kids to mess with! It could kill you!"
"Now, get back to bed!" he barked, raising his fishing rod. He aimed carefully and swatted Zoro's behind, making him jump.
The three kids scrambled out of the storage shed, thoroughly chastised.
Mystery solved.
It wasn't the Grand Stairway of Doom—it was the Great Black Whetstone of Death!
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