Cassandra had a goal to claim the greatest swords of the world for herself. The Skillful Grade Swords were only the beginning. With Yamaoroshi now in her possession, she set her sights on another blade. Kashu, another Skillfull Grade sword taken by Tashigi in canon.
But this time, things would be different. Cassandra would take the sword without the help of the marines and Smoker.
Mr. 11 of Baroque Works wasn't impressive at all. A short man with long wavy gray hair, tattoos of his number on both sides of his face, and a large black top hat. His attire was eccentric, a dark blue coat with a gray collar and yellow buttons, a purple puffy shirt, and black pants.
He carried Kashu, but Cassandra had no expectations of his skill. It would be a long stretch to call him a swordman.
And she was right.
When she ambushed him aboard his ship after searching an eternity, he barely had time to react before she cut his coat, his shirt, his skin all without even drawing blood. She was toying with him, analyzing his movements, waiting for any spark of talent.
There was none.
Within seconds, she disarmed him, sending his blade flying into the air, catching it effortlessly in her left hand. Then she simply beheaded him, just like cutting vegtebales.
Kashu.
It was a simple katana with a wave pattern along the edge, and its hilt had a common round tsuba. Yet despite its unassuming design, it was a masterpiece.
"A truly beautiful sword… but now I have three."
And that was a problem.
Cassandra wasn't a two-sword style user. She didn't even consider three-sword style. It was anything but idiotic. Cassandra liked Zoro very much, but using three swords like that is just plain stupid. She was a user of the one sword style. Nothing more, nothing less.
But now she had three blades. To get her head away from problems, she searched through Mr. 11's ship until she found something that, she would have never expected.
A Devil Fruit.
It looked like a red-orange fruit covered in blue spots.
A Devil Fruit could either give overwhelming power, or can be the most useless shit ever.
There are no useless Devil Fruits is the most wrong and stupid saying in this entire world.
Cassandra thought long and hard but Mr. 11 was only a minor character that died before the story started, so she had no idea which devil fruit it was.
Beside the Devil Fruit was a detailed description and the mission details to fetch it. Crocodile wanted to sell it. But now the fruit was Cassandras. She carefully read the description.
"The Nen Nen no Mi: The Telekinesis Fruit. Grants the user the ability to control objects with their mind."
At first, Cassandra was unimpressed.
"Telekinesis? That sounds basic. Controlling things with my mind? What's the point? I don't want some lame power."
Yet… something in the back of her mind sparked.
A woman with in heavy armor and scarlet hair. Swords flying through the air. Her fierce eyes that brought fear to her friends and enemies.
"Erza Scarlet!": Cassandra gasped.
She remembered Erza from Fairy Tail, wielding dozens of swords at once, launching them in deadly formations, striking from a distance with absolute control.
"I could do that. I could wield all my swords without needing multiple hands. I could create my own style!"
Cassandras eyes widened. How couls she think something so stupid like thinking telekinesis is a lame power? She could finally make her own swordstyle. Something uniquly hers.
Still she hesitated.
The drawback of a Devil Fruit was crippling. Cassandra loved the sea. She didn't want to be a landlubber, but the chance to wield multiple swords without compromising her technique was too tempting.
So she bit into the fruit for the sake of her own way.
And immediately regretted it.
"This is worse than death!"
The taste was beyond vile, so disgusting she nearly vomited, but she forced herself to swallow.
In that moment, she felt it, a new power awakening within her.
Her swords moved.
Without touching them, she lifted Kashu into the air with her mind alone. Yamaoroshi followed, floating beside it.
She grinned.
"This is going to be fun."
Three Years later.
Cassandra perfected her new sword style.
With telekinesis she didn't just swing her swords, she commanded them. Her blades danced around her like extensions of her will, striking from impossible angles, moving with absolute precision.
She had mastered combat at a distance while still keeping her raw power and technique intact. No longer limited to a single sword, she became something new entirely. She became a swordmaster who fought with multiple blades, yet she remained a one-sword style specialist. Her nickname of Dancing Blademaster was now a perfect desription for her swordmanship.
And in those three years, she grew stronger than ever.
Now she grew to195 cm tall. Her blue hair was still tied into a high ponytail, much like Tashigi after the time skip. Her body was strong, fit and powerful, but not excessively muscular. Her boobs, however, had grown enormous, an almost absurd contrast to her toned frame. It looked even more execurated than the norm of the One Piece world.
Cassandra was now called the deadliest bounty hunters in the four seas.
And it was finally the year were the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy would set sail.
Cassandra found herself in Shells Town, cashing in a bounty after slaughtering another pirate crew. She had made a habit of killing criminals and claiming their bounties to make good money.
That's when she saw him.
Roronoa Zoro.
A man she knew would one day become one of the greatest swordsmen in the world.
Their eyes met.
He recognized her as a strong swordswoman. "You're Cassandra, the bounty hunter, aren't you?"
She smirked. "So you've heard of me."
"You've got a reputation. They call you the Dancing Blademaster. I was looking forward to fight you." He placed his hand on his sword, his beloved Wado Ichimonji.
Cassandra's heart raced.
Wado Ichimonji is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, a blade far superior to Shigure, Yamaoroshi and Kashu. A sword she wanted.
More than that Zoro was a real swordsman.
She had to test herself.
"Let's duel," she said, excitement surging through her veins.
Zoro smirked.
Cassandra grinned.
As she stood before him, blade in hand, another thought crossed her mind.
Should she kill Zoro?
Take his sword, take his place and join the Straw Hats herself?
Or should she let things play out as they were meant to be?
She didn't know yet.
As their duel began, the future of One Piece's greatest swordsmen hung in the balance.