After returning to the sea, Vice Admiral Morris couldn't help cursing as he recalled everything that had happened.
"Damn it. If Whitebeard hadn't suddenly shown up, everything would still be under control."
"Sigh... I wonder what happened to that demonic blade."
The terror of that blade had been deeply etched into the veteran vice admiral's mind.
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling worried.
After all, the blade had only ended up in Vista's hands.
What if it had fallen into the hands of a great pirate like Roger?
The consequences would have been unimaginable.
But after thinking it over, Morris realized that might not necessarily be the case.
Someone as powerful as Roger possessed unwavering willpower and overwhelming Haki.
A mere demonic blade or cursed sword would never be able to influence someone like him.
In the end, Vista's will simply hadn't been strong enough.
Hearing this, Sakazuki became even more irritated.
He had already suppressed the blade.
He had been so close.
Just a little more...
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
So he immediately started cursing Morris.
"Hmph! If you hadn't insisted on retreating, I would've destroyed that blade already!"
"It's just Whitebeard! What were you afraid of?"
"Couldn't you have bought me a few more minutes?"
Morris was already in a foul mood.
Now Sakazuki was yelling at him too.
"Damn brat!"
"If you'd stayed any longer, we'd all have been wiped out!"
"And you're still complaining?"
"When we get back, I'll submit a report and transfer you to G-8!"
Just as the two were arguing, a soldier suddenly exclaimed in confusion.
"Huh? What's that?"
Everyone turned to look.
A streak of red light was racing across the sea surface.
The crimson energy was unmistakably blood energy.
Sakazuki and Morris exchanged glances.
Both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
"That red energy... is that Muramasa?"
"Did Whitebeard really kill Vista?"
"Otherwise why is the sword flying around by itself?"
Morris felt like his brain cells weren't enough anymore.
The moment he finished speaking, Sakazuki shot him a look of disdain.
"Are you stupid?"
"When has the Whitebeard Pirates ever killed one of their own?"
"I'd say Whitebeard used his overwhelming strength to forcibly drive the blade out of Vista."
"The blade knew it couldn't beat Whitebeard, so it ran."
While they were talking, Muramasa accelerated again.
The red light flashed past.
Then it shot off toward some unknown desHination.
"Damn it, it's too fast."
"What do we do now?"
"As long as that blade still exists, it's a threat."
Watching Muramasa disappear into the distance, Morris angrily slammed a fist against the railing.
"We don't have any other choice."
"Let's return to the base first and see if Hammer has any ideas."
At this point, that was all they could do.
The warship slowly sailed back toward G-5.
....
G-5 Base
As soon as they returned, Sakazuki and Morris went straight to see Hammer.
Hammer was still resting in the infirmary.
The injuries inflicted by the demonic blade were difficult to heal.
At the moment, both of his hands were completely unusable.
"So Whitebeard defeated the blade..."
"That's good news, at least."
"With Newgate's strength, even if he didn't destroy it, he definitely exhausted a huge portion of its power."
"If that's the case, Muramasa must have lost a tremendous amount of energy."
"It'll have a much harder time taking over the mind of its next host."
"That reduces the danger and buys us valuable time."
Hammer's calm analysis made Sakazuki and Morris relax slightly.
And the facts were indeed just as he said.
Whitebeard's final attack had completely consumed all the blood energy Muramasa had absorbed on Ridged Child Island.
It had also drained a large portion of the blade's own power.
Combined with the energy it spent escaping afterward, Muramasa was now nearly running on empty.
"That's for the best."
"That blade really is terrifying."
"Even I couldn't subdue it quickly."
Sakazuki's face remained serious.
But Hammer shook his head.
"The terrifying thing isn't Muramasa itself."
"It just happened to find the perfect host."
"Vista was already a Great Swordsman."
"He could draw out a huge portion of the blade's power."
"On top of that, by the time you arrived, the blade had already absorbed a massive amount of blood."
"If its host had been an ordinary person, I don't think you'd have needed much effort to deal with it."
"Now that it's lost its host, this is the best possible time to destroy it."
After speaking, Hammer lowered his head weakly.
What a mess.
It should have been a fine blade.
Instead, because of those cursed materials, it had become a bloodthirsty monster.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
What Hammer didn't know was that while he was regretting everything, something completely unexpected was happening.
Not just unexpected to him.
Unexpected to everyone.
After fleeing Ridged Child Island, Muramasa continued flying eastward.
Without slowing down in the slightest, it slammed directly into the Red Line.
The impact left the blade completely stunned.
Why?
Because it had been moving so fast that its entire blade plunged deep into the massive wall of the Red Line.
Only the hilt remained exposed.
Already exhausted of energy, the blade no longer had any strength left to free itself.
Muramasa: What could possibly be more painful than losing freedom?!
I want freedom!!!
.......
Aboard the Moby Dick
"Marco, why hasn't Vista woken up yet?"
A crowd surrounded Vista, who was wrapped up like a mummy.
Marco frowned.
"By all rights, after being treated with my Phoenix Flames, he should've awakened by now."
"Could that blade have damaged his mind as well?"
Suddenly another possibility occurred to him.
Turning toward Whitebeard, who was drinking nearby, Marco spoke helplessly.
"Pops... you didn't hit him too hard and turn him stupid, did you?"
Whitebeard nearly sprayed out a mouthful of alcohol.
He hurriedly swallowed it and glared furiously at Marco.
"You damn brat, Marco!"
"Vista is my son!"
"Do you think I don't know how to hold back?"
"I only used a tiny bit of force!"
As Whitebeard demonstrated with his fingers, Jozu suddenly spoke from the side.
"Mm. You did use Conqueror's Haki infusion..."
"Cough! Cough!"
"Damn it, Jozu!"
Whitebeard was about to explode.
He'd only used a little bit of Conqueror's Haki.
Just some infusion.
How could that possibly make Vista stupid?
"All right, stop crowding around."
"Someone help me carry Vista to the medical room."
"I'll keep observing him for a while."
"Something doesn't feel right."
As the ship's doctor, Marco held absolute authority when it came to medical matters.
With that, Vista was carried into the infirmary.
No one noticed that faint crimson patterns had begun appearing beneath his skin.
Sinister.
Unnatural.
And deeply unsettling.