On Amazon Lily, every Mafia underling turned to stare at the guy who'd made that 'prophetic' guess.
The bastard actually nailed it!
This lunatic samurai really had been 'drafted' by the Rocks Pirates.
Which meant the Mad Swordsman was now on the same side as their boss, Maron.
All that earlier destruction had been a case of friendly fire; they had no excuse for revenge.
"Fūgetsu Kisaburō, right?"
"Fang Huo says your tachi could become a supreme grade blade—let's see it."
Whitebeard Newgate, riding his blade down via Fang Huo's Gravity Ability, slammed Murakumogiri into the ground, sending cracks spider-webbing across the earth.
He hadn't expected the crew to gain a new member so soon after four had just left.
The Rocks Pirates were expanding at break-neck speed.
"supreme grade blade?"
Wano had been closed off for years; Kisaburō's gokudō kaisen was forged with his own hands—no intel on it existed in the outside world.
Had Fang Huo, that Prophet, already foreseen that his beloved sword would rise to the very pinnacle of meitō?
These past few days, while cramming knowledge of the outside seas, he'd skimmed whatever data on famed blades he could find.
Wano's national treasure, the black blade shusui, was currently rated only as a great grade blade out here.
All because it had vanished for too long.
Centuries had passed—who knew if it still existed or had already rotted away?
The notion had irritated Kisaburō at the time.
It was an insult to Lord Shimotsuki Ryūma!
The national treasure, black blade shusui, could never decay—it was the hardest of all black blades!
Even if the mountain god's giant boar stepped on it, Shusui wouldn't bend a millimeter.
Before leaving Wano, he and Kōzaburō had gone to the northern graveyard in Ringo to pay homage at the grave of the Dragon-Slaying Great Swordsman Shimotsuki Ryūma and to gaze upon the legendary national treasure.
The black blade shusui still stood planted atop Ryūma's tombstone, venerated daily by the people of Wano.
Still, could his gokudō kaisen actually surpass Shusui and become a supreme grade blade?
The thought filled Kisaburō with quiet pride.
He revered Ryūma, yet his generation didn't lack the courage to outshine their forebears.
Both he and Kōzaburō, swordsmiths that they were, could forge a meitō that eclipsed the national treasure Shusui.
Now outsiders like Fang Huo were telling him that gokudō kaisen would one day outshine Shusui and enter the ranks of supreme grade blades.
If the people of Wano heard that his sword could stand among the world's finest, they'd swell with pride.
"—This halberd of mine from the Ying Country is itself a supreme grade meitō: Murakumogiri. Care for a duel?"
Whitebeard Newgate couldn't wait to gauge the gap between famed blades.
"Tch! If those fools in the Flanders Kingdom hadn't shelved emperor blade napoleon as some sacred relic…"
"…Napoleon would be as notorious as Murakumogiri, another supreme grade meitō."
Charlotte Linlin was thoroughly dissatisfied with the current ranking of famed weapons.
Since this samurai's new sword, gokudō kaisen, would one day ascend to supreme grade…
…she would shove Napoleon into that same tier!
"Master! I'll give it everything I've got!!"
emperor blade napoleon blazed with fighting spirit, feeling its master's desire; it had to become a supreme grade meitō.
No mere mindless steel would outshine its fame.
"Good, good! That's the spirit!"
"One day you'll stand alongside Rocks's Gibeck's Sword, Fang Huo's seven star demon sword, and that samurai's gokudō kaisen in the supreme grade rankings."
Charlotte Linlin smiled in satisfaction; every facet of the Rocks Pirates' might—Devil Fruit powers, strength, even blades—had to reign supreme.
"—You're strong; let's trade a few blows!"
Against Rocks himself, Kisaburō wouldn't even consider drawing steel—his swordsman's instinct screamed that Rocks was simply on another, unreachable level.
But against these younger fighters, he still had some confidence.
This year Kisaburō was the same age as Kōzaburō: twenty-six, a good stretch older than nineteen-year-old Newgate and far more battle-tested.
The two of them—Yakuza samurai Kisaburō and Whitebeard Newgate—leapt into action the moment they finished talking.
Supreme grade Murakumogiri and gokudō kaisen collided head-on.
Boom!
The terrifying force hurled Kisaburō hundreds of meters, carving a trench in the ground, while Newgate staggered back a dozen steps.
Far from being shaken, Kisaburō blazed with exhilaration; torrential sword intent erupted as he charged again.
"He's that strong?"
Maron and Kiel Bastard gaped; the swordsman's strength clearly outclassed even Silver Axe.
"Such fluid external Armament!"
Rocks quickly noticed Kisaburō's External Armament Haki flowed more smoothly and skillfully…
…conserving more Haki while packing greater destructive power than the crude versions seen on the open sea.
It had to be an ancient Wano technique.
No wonder the Fūgetsu clan was among the samurai families that once followed Joy Boy.
There were many schools of Haki technique.
Amazon Lily's Kuja, for instance, used a unique explosive Armament wrap to empower their arrows.
Wano's external Armament—Ryuo—was smoother, more efficient, and specialized in internal destruction.
Meanwhile, Observation Haki boasted even more variants, some innately awakened with special quirks.
Those rare forms were scarcer than Haoshoku awakening.
"That's Wano's unique Armament technique—Ryuo!"
Even those with shallow Armament pools can perform external Armament early."
Fang Huo acted as commentator, briefly explaining Ryuo's power to the crowd.
Some of the weaker Nine Red Scabbards and Yakuza bosses in Wano could use Ryuo…
…yet their overall Haki lagged far behind the sea's top-tiers.
External Armament out here was all about raw volume—crude but overwhelming.
Take the future Demon Heir, Bullet: he could flood an island with Armament force, rivaling mid-tier Conqueror's Haki.
Right now even Fang Huo hadn't mastered external Armament.
His Observation and Armament had only recently awakened; growth took time.
Maron, a Mafia boss who hadn't yet entered the Grand Line or New World, hadn't even unlocked both basic colors.
He was currently the Rocks Pirates' weakest—he couldn't beat Long Bread.
Long Bread, a veteran of the New World, had awakened both colors ages ago.
Anyone who made a name for themselves in the New World had both basic Haki colors.
That was the death-filter of the Grand Line and New World.
The weak had already sunk into those pirate graves.
Fang Huo, the transmigrator, had awakened late only due to his unique constitution.
But with the Rocks Pirates' brutal tutelage, the talented Mafia boss Maron would unlock both colors soon enough.
—