Having made up their minds, Shanks and his crew set off for Syrup Village. Along the way, Qiu Xia learned more about the various pirate crews from Shanks and his men, as well as the different nations and nautical charts of this world.
It took them two days to reach the island where Syrup Village was located. The moment they arrived, Yasopp leaped from the ship and sprinted toward his home. To the others, it had only been two days, but for Yasopp, every second had felt like a year. It was an agonizing wait.
Seeing Yasopp leave the ship, Qiu Xia and the rest of the Red Hair Pirates followed closely behind. They soon arrived at Yasopp's house, where they found him clutching a woman lying in a sickbed, weeping bitterly. A young boy with a long nose stood beside them.
The woman was Yasopp's wife, Banchina. Seeing her husband return, she was overcome with emotion, her eyes brimming with tears. Banchina was truly a devoted soul; anyone else in her position likely would have given up long ago. After all, she had been left to raise their child alone while he ran off simply because "the sea was calling."
In the eyes of anyone from Earth, Yasopp was a pure scumbag. Had he been back there, he likely would have been raked over the coals a thousand times over by the public.
"Qiu Xia, please! Can you save Banchina? I beg of you!" The usually stoic Yasopp was now filled with guilt and grief as he looked at his wife, who was too weak to even rise from her bed. He knew it was his absence that had brought her to this state.
Seeing Yasopp about to drop to his knees in prayer, Qiu Xia quickly supported him. "Rest easy, Yasopp. Banchina's condition is simple for me to handle. However, while this treatment is easy, she might fall ill again if you stay away for years at a time. Her condition is caused partly by exhaustion and partly by the sheer weight of her longing for you. I hope you can mend your ways."
After explaining the situation, Qiu Xia stepped forward and raised his hand. His mana circulated, and a burst of starlight descended upon Banchina. Under the radiance of the starlight, the ailments caused by years of overwork were rapidly repaired.
Banchina's primary affliction was a sickness of the heart, but that had vanished the moment Yasopp walked through the door. Thus, the physical healing was a simple matter for Qiu Xia.
As the starlight dissipated, Banchina's health was fully restored. Beyond just feeling healthy again, even her slightly long nose had returned to a normal length, making her look even more beautiful than before.
"I... I'm healed!" Banchina exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise as she felt the strength returning to her body.
"That's wonderful, Mom! You're finally better!" Usopp, who had been standing by, rushed over to hug her.
"I'm fine now, Usopp," Banchina comforted him.
Qiu Xia didn't linger to watch the family's tender reunion. After healing Banchina, he walked outside with Shanks and the others. "Shanks, let's go look for those rubies. Let Yasopp have a few days alone with his wife and son; it's been a long time since he was home."
Shanks nodded in agreement. "Yes, this is all my fault. If I hadn't taken Yasopp away back then, Banchina wouldn't have fallen so ill. I would have been consumed by guilt if anything had happened to her."
Over the next few days, Shanks took Qiu Xia to search for rubies. Finding them wasn't a problem for someone like Shanks, but the quantity they needed was a full ton. A ton of rubies was a tall order even for him, so rather than searching for individual gems, they decided to find a ruby mine directly.
With only two days left before Qiu Xia's scheduled return, the group finally collected a sufficient amount of rubies. Back on the ship, Shanks watched nervously as Qiu Xia held the battle-scarred Gryphon, surrounded by a massive pile of gems.
Qiu Xia observed Gryphon for a moment, then raised his hand and waved it over the rubies. Starlight fell upon the gems, causing them to melt. Impurities and black sludge drained away into a small vat Qiu Xia had prepared.
Soon, over a ton of rubies had been refined into a pile of red liquid that looked remarkably like blood. Once the ruby essence was ready, Qiu Xia beckoned with his hand, and the essence flowed toward Gryphon, beginning the process of fusion.
During the refinement, a brilliant celestial light enveloped both Gryphon and the ruby essence. The radiance was so intense that even Shanks and his crew, using their Observation Haki, could not perceive what was happening inside.
The process didn't take long. When the celestial light finally faded, a red longsword appeared in Qiu Xia's hand. Below the hilt was a silver griffin, shining brightly. The sword was breathtakingly beautiful, looking more like a work of art than a weapon.
Once the sword was complete, Qiu Xia walked over to Shanks and said, "Here."
Shanks, still admiring the magnificent blade, reached out instinctively. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting. He looked down to see that Qiu Xia had used the blade to nick his palm, and blood was now dripping onto the sword.
"There, Gryphon is yours again!" Qiu Xia said, handing the blade back to him as the blood soaked in.
As Shanks took the sword, he felt a strange connection, as if the weapon were made of his own flesh and blood. It felt like an extension of his own arm. He felt that even if the sword had no special abilities, as long as it wasn't fragile, he could now perform his swordsmanship at a level far beyond his previous limits.
Though he loved the new blade, Shanks couldn't help but ask, "Is this really my Gryphon? You've changed it so much. Was this a repair or a total recasting?"
"Why ask so many questions? Just tell me if you like it or not," Qiu Xia replied with a playful roll of his eyes.
"I like it! Of course I like it! I feel like this blade is much stronger than the old Gryphon it's several levels higher than before."
"As long as you like it. This sword has many other benefits, but you'll have to discover those for yourself. Now, everyone get off this ship and wait on my boat for a while. We still have plenty of rubies left, and I'm going to give your ship an upgrade as well."
Shanks' eyes lit up. "My ship can be upgraded too?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Now, move!"
"Right, let's go!"
After Shanks and the others disembarked, Qiu Xia pulled more ores and rubies from his Small World and began refining them. Using his mana, he began to transform Shanks' ship. As he worked, a shroud of starlight enveloped the vessel, blocking the crew's view just as it had with the sword.
When the starlight eventually cleared, Shanks' ship was revealed once more, looking completely transformed. The original ship had been constructed from planks of Treasure Tree Adam and other fine materials, but it now appeared to be a single, seamless entity without a single crack or joint.
Not only had its appearance changed, but the ship had also become a Magic Artifact. Much like Qiu Xia's own vessel, it was now impervious to cannon fire. Furthermore, it could generate a protective shield to block damage and sail much faster across the seas.
In fact, the ship was more than a mere Magic Artifact; like Shanks' Gryphon, it was now a Spirit Artifact. Basic Magic Artifacts were easy enough to create in bulk if Qiu Xia wished, but a Spirit Artifact required top-tier materials and a spark of true spirituality, which was difficult to achieve even with a massive amount of resources.
However, both Shanks' Gryphon and his ship already possessed a remarkable degree of innate spirituality. Therefore, the treasures crafted from them were Spirit Artifacts from the very start and top-tier ones at that.
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