Denjiro wanted to visit the Great Swordsman, Hawkeye, but learned he wasn't there.
"Start your work first." The person in charge of the Forge Workshop led them to a quiet room, where a pile of weapons lay on a table.
"Just pick a weapon that feels right and refine it. Wrapping the weapon completely in Armament Haki counts as one refinement; completing a hundred will finish the job," the person in charge introduced.
Every time a weapon is refined with Armament Haki, its hardness increases slightly, though there is a limit—a hundred times is about enough.
Denjiro picked up a katana and drew it, finding its quality to be excellent.
If all the weapons here were of this quality, they would be a massive fortune even without refinement.
"Where did you get so many Famous Blades?" Denjiro asked, deeply puzzled.
"They were seized from the houses of those Daimyos. Such fine weapons were treated as mere decorations by them—what a waste. These aren't even the best; a few of them have the potential to grow into 'Black Blades'."
"Black Blades?" Denjiro flicked the blade with his finger, and the katana let out a clear ring.
Rumor had it that to forge a weapon into a Black Blade, one needed to attach a powerful will to it and then use Armament Haki to permanently seal that will within the blade.
Wano Country only had one Black Blade—the Dragon-Slaying Samurai Ryuma's black blade Shusui, which was enshrined as a national treasure.
Denjiro had originally thought Zoro was the most likely to forge a Black Blade, but then he had seen another one recently.
The Black Blade that had slain Raizo in an instant... The person in charge pulled out a camera. "Come, take a weapon, maintain your Armament Haki coating, and let's take a photo first. Strike your coolest pose."
Denjiro suddenly felt a bit awkward. "Why do we need to take a photo?"
"As proof for when we sell the weapons." The person in charge carefully pulled out a photograph. "Just like this."
In the photo, Hawkeye held a long blade in a slashing pose. However, judging from his expression, he was clearly a bit exasperated.
There was writing beneath the photo.
Mikazuki Munechika: SSR Weapon, refined by the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk, with the potential to be promoted to a 'Black Blade'.
At the end was Dracule Mihawk's signature.
"According to Captain Buggy, adding this photo has increased the value of the Mikazuki Munechika by at least twofold. This is called..."
The person in charge pulled out a small notebook and flipped through it. "Fan Economy."
Putting Hawkeye's photo away, the person in charge raised the camera. "Although you are very capable, you have no fame, so you can only receive the base pay for SR rank."
"However, she gets more." The person in charge pointed at Kiku. "Her pay is double yours."
"Huh? Me?" Kiku was somewhat confused. "Why is my compensation higher..."
In terms of strength, she wasn't even as good as Denjiro.
"Powerful female swordsmen, especially the beautiful ones, have higher commercial value," the person in charge said.
"Is being good-looking that great? Besides, Kiku is clearly a ma—" Before Kawamatsu could finish, Denjiro covered his mouth.
"Alright, we understand," Denjiro said. "We'll take the minimum pay."
"Only you get the minimum pay; this green guy's compensation is a third higher than yours," the person in charge said. "A powerful swordsman from a foreign race is also a selling point."
Denjiro suddenly felt that the world was full of malice toward him.
On a patch of wasteland on the outskirts of the Flower Capital, Hawkeye, wielding the black blade Yoru, was battling Buggy.
Several idle cadres were watching.
Buggy held the black blade Shusui, coated in dual-color Haki. With every clash against the black blade Yoru, the dissipating Haki would trigger small-scale explosions.
"Captain Buggy, aren't you obsessed with the construction of Wano Country? What made you think of practicing swordsmanship?" Hawkeye asked.
"Strength is the foundation. Without strength, everything is but a fleeting illusion. I don't just want to practice swordsmanship; I want to practice Haki too," Buggy said.
Kaido once said that while Devil Fruit abilities are strong, only Haki reigns supreme over all.
Although Kaido was beaten shortly after by the Nika fruit's power, as a well-known honest man, Buggy decided to believe in Teacher Kaido's words.
Besides, there was no harm in practicing Haki.
The black blade Yoru passed through Buggy's body from time to time, as if cutting through air.
"You won't experience the sensation of a life-and-death moment fighting me. If you want to improve your swordsmanship, you'll have to rely on other methods."
Hawkeye said in a low voice, "Infuse your will into the sword, just like you do with Haki coating."
"Will? Can that kind of thing be infused into a sword, too?" Buggy asked.
"Why not? Isn't Conqueror's Haki a form of mental power?" Hawkeye said. "Will is the most important thing for a swordsman. The reason I think highly of Zoro is precisely because of his powerful will."
"I understand." Buggy pulled back. "Then I'll give it a try."
Buggy recalled that the moment he activated his Conqueror's Haki was exactly when he decided to subvert this world.
Buggy released his Conqueror's Haki all at once. The powerful aura even affected reality, making the air grow heavy.
"Now, everything in Wano Country moves according to my will, but this is only the beginning."
"I will lead you all to conquer this world and walk my path of hegemony."
"To make this world submit to my will, this power is not yet enough..."
The strength of Conqueror's Haki is related to one's spirit. My spirit shouldn't be this weak!
The Haoshoku suddenly stalled, and then an even more powerful Haki erupted from Buggy's body.
"That wasn't the limit just now... Just how strong is Captain Buggy's Conqueror's Haki?" Crocodile was somewhat shocked.
"His opponents are the Celestial Dragons, the World Government, and even the entire world. Only such a spirit can trigger such powerful Conqueror's Haki."
As someone who also possessed Conqueror's Haki, Hancock understood this very well.
"That's it. Let me see your limit, Captain Buggy." Hawkeye became uncharacteristically serious.
"Naturally." Buggy concentrated all his Conqueror's Haki onto the black blade Shusui, while simultaneously infusing his own hegemonic will.
"I will fulfill your convictions—this is my promise. So, lend me your strength, and let us conquer this world together!"
Bartholomew Kuma did not speak, but an imperceptible light flashed in his eyes.
"I don't care about becoming some King of Construction, but conquering the world sounds quite interesting." Crocodile laughed loudly.
"Then lead us to slaughter all the Celestial Dragons, Captain Buggy," Hancock said.
"I'm going to wipe out those scumbags from the Blackbeard Pirates," Moriah said, his face full of murderous intent.
"I want to see if you can change this world, Captain Buggy." King bowed slightly.
"Actually, plowing the fields is quite interesting, Boss Buggy," Jack said.
A continuous flow of Conqueror's Haki wrapped around the black blade Shusui. Dense black-red lightning merger, eventually transforming into black-red flames.
"That's it. Let me witness your will, Captain Buggy." Hawkeye held his sword with both hands, injecting Armament Haki into the black blade Yoru.
The two figures charged forward. Before the two Black Blades even collided, the power carried by them began to clash.
A black-red energy sphere appeared where the Black Blades met, and then the energy erupted, forming an earth-shattering explosion.
The dust from the explosion cleared, and the two had already sheathed their weapons.
However, Hawkeye placed the black blade Yoru on his back, while Buggy placed the black blade Shusui on a Komakitsune.
"I felt your will, Captain Buggy. Even without your fruit ability, you could become a top-tier swordsman," Hawkeye said. "Moreover, your ability naturally counters swordsmen; even I wouldn't want to fight you."
"Although there's been a breakthrough in Conqueror's Haki, my Observation Haki is still a weak point." Seeing the Komakitsune trying to leave, Buggy split off a hand and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.
This fellow would try to run away with the black blade Shusui whenever it got the chance.
"I can't help you with that. If there's nothing else, I'm going back to work," Hawkeye said.
"Wait a moment. Since the cadres of the Pirate Crew are all here today, let's discuss something," Buggy said. "The specialties of Wano Country are almost organized; it's time to start the next plan."
"I call it the 'Great Age of Piracy'."
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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