Devroux's activities with Tell Tale Tom had landed him here; a local clinic in Nanohana. His fight with the skeleton had injured him, so his first priority after retrieving the treasure that Tom had promised was to get himself fixed up. Currently, as he lay in a clinic bed, his left shoulder and left abdomen were both stitched up and heavily bandaged. Neither of the wounds were severe, but they would have led to infections at the very least if Devroux hadn't pursued professional medical help. Luckily, they were the only two wounds that had pierced his skin. Anything else the skeleton had done to him had only left a few bruises, with the exception of the broken ribs, of course. However, even though the outlook for the future looked bright with the weapon he had managed to retrieve, it was still a frustating situation for the mink that thought so highly of himself.

The only reason he had agreed to the adventure with Tell Tale Tom was to shut up an Alabastan thug. He had let the desire to shut up a petty human drive his actions, therefore pursuing a petty action. That in itself wasn't even what he was frustrated about, but it didn't help the situation as the mink recounted the events of the last week. In the end, buying the map and hiring Tom for navigational services had worked out. He got the weapon that everyone, including him, had assumed was a fairy tale. In addition, he had made an ally, at least in the immediate timeline, with a person that was very interesting at his core. To everyone, Tell Tale Tom seemed to be just a crazy old man, but the adventure the two had just gone on showed that the old man might be hiding more than his fair share of secrets. But that wasn't for Devroux to pry into. There were many stories that sounded like a tall tale, but with the mink wasn't totally convinced they were all lies.

Letting himself be driven by emotions and the secrets that Tell Tale Tom had been withholding all had their place in the mink's mind, but none of them were what was frustrating him the most. What really made him angry with himself was the fact that he had let the skeleton do as he pleased and ended up getting hurt in the process. Devroux fancied himself a decently adept fighter, but the skeleton had given him a test of strength that was by no means traditional. The movements were inhuman, and that was something that the mink had not fought with prior. There was no thought process to the skeleton's movements and the erratic behavior threw a wrench into the workings of Devroux's abilities as a weapons specialist. He had fought man, mink, and fishman alike, but all of them were intelligent races that fought by that standard. He could figure out their personal ticks and exploit them in combat, but a mindless creature didn't have a thought process to exploit.

Rather than taking a step back from the opponent, Devroux had let himself get swept up in the pressure of the combat. He wasn't thinking, so he didn't dodge some of the attacks that would have been easy if made by a traditional opponent; the added raw strength of the skeleton knight causing further problems for the mink and were part of what put him where he was now. But Devroux rationalized all of the injuries he had accrued with the fact that he was still alive and came out with the new weapon – Yoru. Because he was alive, because he had this new weapon, his abilities could rapidly increase from this point on because now he was aware of his faults and had the means to apply a greater pressure on improving.

The moon shined brightly into the room Devroux stayed giving the mink enough light to move within without bumping into anything. He turned his legs to the side of the bed, grimacing and clutching his side as the pain reminded him it was still present, but he was too focused on moving to let that stop him. Devroux stood up from the bed, walking over to the wall where a Yoru leaned, the weapon housed in a black fabric casing. It was the cause of the taint that had spread over the Sandora Desert, but since Devroux had removed it from its resting place, the blade had quieted down and was no longer giving off the same level of malintent that it had been. However, getting close to the weapon Devroux could still feel it gnawing at his sanity. It was just as angry and frustrated just as he was, the full brunt of the emotion housed within the sword only freeing itself upon the mink's mind when he gripped the hilt. It was so raw and concentrated that it was still a shock, which is why it was currently tied up the way it was. Devroux knew, though, that the sword was something he could invest his pride and hope into, so mastering it – including the malintent that it let run rampant – was top priority.

The mink grabbed the covered blade and snuck out of his room, making sure to walk swiftly and silently to the exit in order to avoid waking any of the other patients. The desert air greeted him first, the brisk, cool feeling refreshing his lungs after the last couple days cooped up inside. He promptly stretched his wings, the movement happening just as naturally as a human stretching their arms when they wake up. He smiled with the feeling, his wings always being the top of his pride, but that's when Devroux noticed the man sitting against the outside of the building. It was Tell Tale Tom. He was asleep in a crouched position, leaning up against the building to keep his butt from touching the ground. Devroux gave it a huff, finding the scene funny, but refusing to say anything so that he could be in peace.

Devroux sighed, untying the string that held the fabric casing shut, and slowly reached into the bad to grip the hilt of Yoru. He was promptly met with the depiction of a slaughter within his mind, his spirit only barely keeping him from being taken by Yoru just as the Sandora animals were. He drew the sword completely out of the bag, holding it straight out in front of him. Dropping the bag, he grabbed the grip with both hands. The hilt of the sword wasn't that long, and his second hand would end up holding the pommel more than the grip, but it was enough to provide decent force in a two-handed strike if he so wished. With both hands comfortable, Devroux raised the sword above his head and brought it down in one, quick slash.

The slash cut right through the ominous emotions resonating in his mind, clearing his head almost completely. The nagging feeling was still there, but he wasn't constantly struggling with it as he had been. The shift in emotion reaffirmed his dedication to what he was doing, raising and bringing the sword down once more. The blade was light – light enough that it was almost surreal. The two-handed strike was a technique, but he could very easily apply the same strength with a single arm as the blade offered no physical resistance. Yoru would be a perfect sword for long, drawn out fights, but it was light enough that it made a perfect practice tool as well. Devroux slowed his motions, continuing his vertical slashes, but moving his focus from the sword itself to his arms. He closed his eyes, focusing on the bend of his elbows, the tilt of his wrists, and the movement of his muscles.

After so long away from Zou, he could feel the lack of discipline in his movements. He had left as a warrior and become complacent with his abilities. The skeleton had injured him to let him know that he needed to discipline himself once more and find the same conviction towards his weapons has he had felt when making the decision to leave his home in the first place.

Devroux continued his training in silence. He would consistently rotate his stance in order to practice all of the basic swordsmanship techniques. Vertical slashes, horizontal slashes, defense movements, and a various few others that would prove useful if he could master them. The constant rotation was to rotate the muscle groups in use and prolong the amount of time he could practice, but it also helped him change it up and have to readjust his stance and arms to practice movements again, making it less of a one-time event and more of something that he could repeat in the future. This training continued until dawn broke and he was interrupted by a familiar voice at his back.

"Well, well," yawned Tell Tale Tom. "It's nice to see you up so early, Mr. Bedridden."

Devroux scoffed at the remark, not turning his gaze to the old man and continuing his training. "I've been up all night. I couldn't sleep anyway. I needed to get outside."

Tom eyed the mink before him. He had spent the last couple days outside the clinic waiting to see if he'd be alright, with nothing more assuring than seeing the mink practicing with the sword while still in bandages. The bandages, however, were starting to turn a pale pink as Devroux rubbed them raw with the constant swinging motions.

"You should probably have a nurse redress your wounds."

Devroux picked up on the concern in the voice of Tell Tale Tom. The man had been relatively upbeat for the duration of their mission, even whilst he watched the mink fight the skeleton. It was enough that Devroux momentarily stopped his sword strikes to check on the bandages himself. Tom was right; they were starting to soak with blood, but the wounds were healing nicely and could take a little bit more stress before he'd have to go inside.

"In a minute," Devroux agreed. "This sword... This feeling... It's addicting."

"That's what they say."

That made Devroux stop and turn. Tom had told stories, but any other information was cryptic and non-committal. This statement, however, was different. It had meaning to it that highly interested the mink.

"What do you mean by that? What do they say?"

"Oh... Nothing. Nevermind."

Devroux scowled at Tom. "No. You know something. I want to know what it is."

"Well," Tom sighed. He knew that there was no point in hiding the story of Yoru anymore. "I guess there's no harm in telling you. You seem to like it."

The mink nodded his head in expectation and watched the old man stand up.

"They say that Yoru has a mind of its own. It's an angry blade that wants nothing more than to kill. I'm sure you've felt that, at the very least."

Devroux nodded again. "Yeah. It was painful to hold until a few hours ago. Why is that?"

"As the story goes, the creator of Yoru was a fanatic to say the least. He was constantly reseaching new ways to fold steel and was capable of some of the most beautifully hand-crafted pieces. He was the one in charge of the metal decoration in the Alabasta castle."

Devroux inspected the sword, noting the detail in the blade and the phenomenal detailing of the briar thorns that made up the hilt guard. He could definitely see a base for the story that he was hearing now, and it also tickled his interest as a blacksmith himself.

"Well, they say that he became so obsessed with creating something with life to it that he ended up slaughtering the town he came from. I don't know if there's any merit to it, but that's what Erumalu was supposed to be – his home. He pounded down their skulls into a fine powder, folding it into the steel of the blade and using their blood to cool down the sword during the heat-treating process. I don't know the logistics of it myself, as I'm a navigator, but basically he killed his friends and family then forged them into the sword you now wield."

The mink squinted at the sword, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I know it might be in poor taste, but that's metal as fuck."

Devroux spun around, thrusting the blade forward with his full body. The blade jutted out perfectly straight, sending a spiral of slicing air from the tip with deadly force. Yet, the traditional thrusts that Devroux was capable of were far less powerful than the one that Yoru had let him create. The weight of the sword accelerated the strike, multiplying the mass of the slicing air by several times that, shocking both he and Tom alike.

"Well, it sure seems like you're getting used to it."

Devroux let out a loud, bellowing laugh. The sword was more impressive than he could have imagined. Powerful, with a bloody history. The malintent that Yoru usually gave off must come from the souls of those that were forged in to it. He not only had a weapon at his disposal, but he had an army.

A nurse came storming through the clinic doors to yell at the two travelers for being too loud and disruptive. She forcefully pulled Devroux back to his room and rebandaged his now raw wounds. She had a job to do, but she let Tell Tale Tom in to visit Devroux. The mink was strapped to a bed so that he couldn't get up and injure himself again. Tom laughed at the sight, receiving a growl from the agitated mink.

"So," he said, taking a seat in an empty chair on the other side of the room. "You got something neat. What's the plan for you now?"

Devroux thought about the question, leaning his head back against the bed. Bart had asked him a similar question when he was on Drum Island, but he had basically swept it away and not answered that time. What was his goal? He had left Zou with the intent of exploring and understanding the world, but that didn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. What did he want to do?

The only thing he could think about was that he didn't want to be on Sandy Island anymore. It was a nice place usually, but it was currently in the middle of a war that was best to get far away from. The two travelers had come to Nanohana in the first place because Alubarna had all but fallen. It was just a safer route for Devroux to leave Sandy Island until a later time, but where would he go?

The skeleton knight weighed heavily on the mink, forcing his decision. He needed to become stronger, and to pursue that strength and find a goal in life, he was going to throw himself into the fire. Jaya was one option, but the next tier up in his mind was Baltigo. Rife with criminals, it was a hub of danger that was less deadly than facing the Marines that were flooding to Sandy Island.

"I'm not sure yet, but I think I might go to Baltigo."

"Oooh, Balitgo!" Tom shouted in response. "That's a fu- dangerous place. You should be careful."

Devroux squinted at the old man.

"Well," he continued. "I'm getting hungry, so I'm gonna get outta here, but I think Baltigo is a good choice. I see an interesting future for someone like you."

With that, Tell Tale Tom left, leaving Devroux alone in the room to contemplate his decision. He wasn't sure just yet if Balitgo was the next destination, but before he made that choice, he'd have to finish his recovery.