The history of the Seven Swordsman of Alabasta is a dark and bloodied one.
700 years ago, or so legends say, in the depths of the Red Line itself, there lived a mad genius of swordsmith, who dedicated his life and craft to creating seven swords of incredible power. But as strong as they were, they were also deemed too impractical for any true swordsperson to use: They were heavy, Haki dependent and in the case of one, TOO FERCIOUS AND ALIVE (possibly due to a Devil Fruit) for anyone to wield.
Somehow, someway, in the earliest days of the World Government, the swords found their way to Alabasta, where the royal family took possession of them and would occasionally lend to promsing soldiers….who, more often than not, either died shortly after using them or went insane and were executed before they became threats to the kingdom.
Then on the eve of Gol D. Roger's death, Sinbad and Solomon, still a pair of rookie pirates, recruited prisoners to fill the spots on their crew for an emergency voyage. Of the fifty recruited, only seven remained at the end of the voyage, having killed most of the others during an attempted mutiny and otherwise proved their strength and teamwork amidst the chaos of said voyage.
Enough that Solomon convinced Cobra to let them to test for comparability with the seven swords and, when they all proved worthy, form a special unit in the army; a black ops team comparable to the World Government's Cipher Pol, whom they both clashed and worked with on a few occasions.
For all their strength however, the Swordsmen were feared by many of their homeland, save for the royal family and their bodyguards. They didn't care much, mind you; most of them had long since accepted their place as 'hounds' or 'tools.'
FOUR CAPTAINS
Years later, the Seven Swordsmen found a true challenge in the 40 Thieves; powerful and ruthless bandits who nearly bankrupted the country and left mass destruction in their wake.
But the swordsmen, down to five due to the betrayal of Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosaki who now led the 40 Thieves, had two aces up their sleeves: Two orphaned teens with bloodlust and battle prowers that all but assured they'd retake the two stolen blades: Zabuza Momochi and Ameyuri Ringo.
In the end, after finding the base, a great massacre, yes massacre, a battle would imply equal standing, took place, with Zabuza killing Juza as Ameyuri slew Raiga, the two then taking their blades for themselves as their teammates slew the Thieves and recovered all the stolen money.
A successful mission all around…until they found something:
A child. A mere boy, not even ten with hair silvered from trauma and a price on his chained foot; the thieves had been planning to sell him on the black market for a high price, due to him eating a Logia Devil Fruit.
When he gave no answer to what his name was, Ameyuri dubbed him 'Mifune.'
FOUR CAPTAINS
As it turned out, while Mifune had indeed been captured by the Thieves and orphaned, he had already been abandoned: The consumption of the Mist-Mist fruit led to his family trying to kill him, believing him to have become a demon. The only reason he had survived so long was because his power made most attacks useless against him.
The Seven took Mifune back with them, hoping to find someone to take him in, but eventually, they found themselves saddled with the orphan.
"Friendship? Comfort? Encouragement?" Zabuza began as they settled into their base while awaiting a new mission. "We have no use for such things. And you'd do well to not expect them of us."
"If you prove useful to us? We feed and maybe train you." Jinin Akebino explained as Jinpachi Munashi smirked evilly, making a cutting gesture with his finger,
"And we do not hold back." Kushimari Kuriarare promised.
"You will hate us. And with that hate, try to take our places." Fuguki Suikazan followed with a smirk.
"But, you will be powerful." Ameyuri promised. "Unloved and feared, but powerful."
Once they were all done speaking, something shocking happened:
"I understand." Mifune had said, finally smiled for the first time. "I am your tool. Do with me what you will."
"Well said." Chojuro, the youngest of the Seven, barely eight years older than Mifune, smirked.
FOUR CAPTAINS
As the years passed and Mifune grew up, he trained rigorously and without ease. He'd accompany the Seven on missions, mostly keeping their blades and setting up/taking down camp, but he always 'got in some practice.'
Of the seven, Mifune was closest to Zabuza and Ameyuri, the former due to wielding his favorite blade and having been strong even in childhood, slaughtering a squad of soldiers for fun. In the latter, Ameyuri was the 'nicest' of the seven, although that didn't mean she held back; one reason Mifune wore armor was to minimize scars.
Jinin was a stern teacher and nothing else to Mifine, praising the boy when he did well but never letting him fully enjoy his triumphs and making sure to highlight his failures. Kushimaru was a close third favorite member, recongizing Mifune's talent and encouraging his bloodlust into his fighting style.
And Chojuro? Well, he trained Mifune in Haki, but aside from that they two had little in common, with Mifune even disliking the fact that Chojuro would only 'act right' in a fight.
But the apprentice of the Seven never liked Fuguki and Jinpachi: In fact, he would later even help the former's protégé Kisame kill him when he tried to sell information on Alabasta to Mr. 0. And Jinpachi? Well, actually no one liked him, he was the most insane and violent of the seven….but he never said an unkind word to Mifune and would always protect him whenever he needed.
Mifune also met the royal family a few times and while initially annoyed at Vivi's kindness, he saw her merit and heart as a leader; a girl worthy of his servitude and skills.
Two years ago, it all ended.
As Sir Crocodile started to get comfortable in their homeland, the Seven Swordsmen tried to keep an eye on him; they KNEW someone with Sand Logia would have a reason to come to their homeland, and not just for an elemental advantage….Still, they had their duties and missions to oversee. And if nothing else, Crocodile's ties to the underworld helped them keep the peace.
FOUR CAPTAINS
Mifune had been finishing off a few stragglers of Baroque works and hid in the shadows as his mentors closed in on a threat they had been forward about.
"Desert le Spada."
Chojuro had fallen first, sliced in half by a sand-blade, then Jinlin had been sucked dry of moisture from his body after fialing to even hit the Warlord. Kushimaru and Kisame fell next, Samehada not able to eat Crocodile and the sewing needle failing to catch his flesh. Jinpachi tried to kamikaze Crocodile, but failed and drowned in quicksand. In the end, Zabuza and Ameyuri also fell to the Warlord; poisoned first and then dedcapitated.
Mifune barely managed to save the seven Swords from being buried by Crocodile, storing them in bis body with this 'Mist Hold' technique. The Warlord had then nearly made him suffer the same fate as Jinpachi before hurriedly leaving for a 'public appearance', but not before he too poisoned Mifune,
"Now, do your masters a favor and die. They were already hated and honestly, who'll believe you over me?' Crocodile pointed out with a amd laughter.
FOUR CAPTAINS
How Mifune escaped death he wasn't sure. But next he knew he was outside and with the seven blades, his armor gone and showing his scars for all to see.
He would not cry. He would not mourn; they all jknew this would happen…
Mifune sobbed for two days straight, not even thinking of leaving where he was until the third sunrise. As he trudged through the dessert country aimlessly, not caring for anything, he began to hear the lies Crocodile told: How the seven had been plotting a coup against Cobra, allinging themselves with the Beast Pirates and even plotting to murder Princess Vivi.
The Warlord's words were enough to turn most against the Seven; after all, they hid in the shadows and lived for violence, while Crocodile bravely fought pirates yo keep the peace!
And as he heard those lies? Mifune realized he still had one more purpose:
REVENGE.
Crocodile would pay…and THEN Mifune could die.
SNIFF! SNIFF!
The swordsman drew Kiba and hurriedly swung them…but stopped when he saw who was sniffing him: A cute girl of a descent he couldn't quite place; wearing what looked to him like a larger bathung robe of sorts.
"You smell like Jasmine." The girl said with a smile as her palms suddenly manifested a medical cream of some kind. "And your hurt. Let me help."
That was how Mifune met Fu.
Just a little backstory chapter for Mifune, to make up for the long wait in the updates. Thoughts? Concerns?
Originally, the plan had been for Mifune to save Fuu from slavers, but considering how much the seven meant to him, I figured he'd be too distraught to care and couldn't think up a good reason for him to bother. So, for now at least, the idea is that Fuu caught a wiff of his scent, and due to her association with fighters who smell like flowers, decided to team up with him.
Next chapter, the second last in the Alabasta saga!