At Rommel Kingdom, everything was pretty much quiet. There were only a few pirates lurking around the area and there was not a great need for a big marine basement. The basement was a pretty small one, with a unit of roughly one hundred people, who were all capable fighters and managed to maintain justice with ease. The citizens felt all happy and safe, as if there were not dangers outside. Even the few pirates who got at that place would not really cause any trouble, as it was way too quiet and they preferred to relax and rest, as long as they were not attacked by the marines in order to be arrested.

And at that capital city, there was one man, walking around the streets. In front of the great clock tower of the capital city, that blond man with the medium in terms of length hair and the black hat on the head, roamed around the streets, thinking about something. He seemed to be unable to figure out what to do. He had a disappointed look on his face, as if he was desparate. No matter how much he tried to get rid off his problem, he could not really do so.

"What shall I do... I can't really sleep at all." he whispered to himself, while walking. "All those nightmares are killing me! I have to figure out a way to stop having them! Oh, damn it already!" he yelled afterwards, drawing the attention of people.

"Excuse me, young man?" an old man approached.

"Hm?" the blond man turned his head, only to look at the old man with the wrinkled face. Just like himself, the old man did not really carry an umbrella, despite the fact that the rain was quite heavy.

"I listened to you, speaking to yourself." explained the old man.

"Yes, I did. So what?" asked the young.

"I see you are quite rich... Your clothes are expensive and you also carry a sword with you. That rapier you are carrying seems to be a strong one, but I have a sword you will probably prefer even more."

"A sword? What does that sword have to do with my problem?"

"Listen, kid... I can offer you the legendary sword Durandal, which I have at my possession. According to the legend, Durandal bestows power to its user, but it has a terrible side effect. It has a curse."

"A cursed sword? I still don't really see how a cursed sword can help me at all."

"According to the legend, Durandal has been cursed by a witch that has eaten a curse fruit and it has a sleeping curse... Those who have it may fall asleep at any unexpected time." said the old man.

"I see... So you are saying that if I carry that sword, I might be able to sleep because of its curse and don't wake up because of my nightmares, right?"

"Indeed. After all, curses are probably more powerful than one's mind. I am pretty sure you will avoid your nightmares." the old man kept talking.

"I am still relactant. I don't really believe in your story... I will have to figure it out by myself. You could give me the sword and wait until I fall asleep."

"No! No!" the old man disagreed. "This is a risk you should take, I am afraid. I don't really want to give you the sword without giving me my money, first."

"Hm? Are you afraid that I shall not keep my end of the bargain?" the young man was surprised.

"You are a young one... You may run away with the sword. I am an old one. I can't run off with your money." the old man presented a point.

"You actually do have a point." were the words of the blond man, who seemed to agree with the old man.

"Tomorrow, I am bringing you the sword at this place. Bring me as much money as you want." said the old man before turning his back and leaving.

The blond man stared at the old man. He looked at him carefully while he was leaving from the place. Who was that old man and why did he really want to give him a legendary sword without really asking an exact amount of money? Was he trying to steal money from him or not? The young man did not really know... All he knew was that he was desperate and that story with the cursed sword sounded as a last resort for him. And nonetheless, even if the whole thing was a lie, the young man thought that he was already a swordsman. He could just keep the sword at his collection. He had a liking at swords, after all.

The next day, the young man was right below the same clock again. He was looking at the clock as the hour of the appointment had just come. The rain was still heavy, just like the previous day, if not not heavier. However, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, Cavendish... You are unlucky. The old man probably messed with you." was the thought of the blond man who took a deep breath and turned his back, prepared to leave. However, while turning his back, he noticed the short old man right in front of him, carrying a rapier at his hand. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" screamed Cavendish, as the rain was heavy and the old man looked more like a freak with a sword, rather than the old man he met yesterday.

"Chill out, kid. It's me."

"Oh, I figured." Cavendish took a deep breath before calming down. Then, his eyes frowned as he paid closer attention to the sword. That sword... It was a very beautiful one. A rapier that any swordsman should have. A beautiful one, that also looked very, very strong.

"So, how much money did you bring me?" asked the old man.

"You can have that bag I am carrying." said Cavendish while handing over the bag with the money he was carrying with him the whole time.

"Nice. Here is your sword, young man!" the old man dropped the sword at Cavendish, who picked it up while on the air.

"Thank you." Cavendish smiled.

"You look quite handsome with that sword... Like a chivalrous knight. I believe you will become very popular with this sword." the old man smiled.

"You think... s-" before Cavendish completed his sentence, his eyes closed and he fell on the ground asleep.

"Oh damn it, it's... it's working!" the old man gulped while running away with the bag. Ignoring the rain, the old man run and run and run... It looked like he was trying to avoid something, something scary, something dangerous, something creepy... However, despite his efforts to escape, when he was about to run from the corner and leave from the main square of the clock, he felt a sword slashing him deeply and he fell down on the ground.

The bag with the money fell on the ground and opened, revealing that it only had a few beli, that barely were 1,000. The old man took deep breaths and his eyes twitched while blood was running outside his body, leading to his eventual death. He raised his eyes and he looked at the young man. He could only see the cape on his back, the hat on the man's head and the sword he just gave him, dripping blood.

"I couldn't really give this sword away without dying... That stupid curse." commented the old man before coughing some blood.

"You think I am popular, huh?" Cavendish asked, with a voice that made him sound like a demon.

"Hakuba... You made a mistake by giving away that sword." the man barely spoke to himself and looked at Cavendish.

"I see..." Cavendish turned his head, revealing his face. His eyes had turned white and his hair was messy and wilder than before. He also had a very wide smile on his shadowed face, with his teeth hiding, making him look very, very creepier. Like a real demon. "Hakuba was his name." he said and he started laughing madly. "No more nightmares!" he yelled before falling on the ground asleep, as if nothing happened.

At that night, there were 167 people who met "Hakuba", including the marines who run the basement. Right below the great clock tower of the capital city in Rommel Kingdom, all those people let out their last breaths. Before they could figure out what was going on, they were all pierced by the wielder of the cursed sword Durandal. That incident was also known as Rommel's Whirlwind, which also served as the beginning of the Beautiful Pirates, who were led by the future popular pirate that was known as "Pirate Prince" Cavendish...