Shimotsuki Kozaburo stared at Tengetsu Ares in shock. His hand trembled, and the wine in his cup splashed over his fingers.
He had no idea why Ares would suddenly ask such an utterly absurd question.
He could not help but ask in disbelief, "Ares, why would you even ask something like that?"
"People and metal are not the same."
Kozaburo did not know about Ares's dream.
But everyone else in the room did.
They were already used to it.
Ares answered with absolute conviction, "My dream is to forge my own body until it surpasses even a Supreme Grade blade."
He wanted to see if a master smith like Kozaburo had any advice that might actually help him.
He had already examined Wado Ichimonji.
The craftsmanship was indeed first class.
Hearing such bold words from Ares, Kozaburo's expression changed dramatically. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at Ares.
For the first time, he took a serious, close look at that body that looked like it had been poured from steel and iron.
Up close, those muscles looked like steel that had been hammered countless times. The cables of muscle gleamed with a hard luster.
At the same time, a terrifying, undeniable power coiled beneath that knotted musculature.
Could it be…
Did Ares temper his body to this monstrous degree just to surpass a Supreme Grade blade?
Seeing the stunned look on Kozaburo's face, Kaido could not help but burst into loud laughter.
"Wororororo… got scared, huh? But that is exactly the dream Ares is chasing!!"
Golden Lion Shiki smacked his lips and sighed. "Looking at your face right now, Kozaburo, really reminds me of myself back then."
"Gehahaha…"
"It is a great dream, is it not?!"
Kaido's wild laughter and Shiki's words dragged Kozaburo back to reality, but the shock on his features did not fade.
Kozaburo took a deep breath. "Ares, the first time I heard your dream, I nearly had my eardrums blown apart."
"My heart almost leapt out of my chest."
He patted his own chest as he spoke, trying to calm his emotions.
Then he shook his head and said, "But to make a human body surpass a Supreme Grade blade, I am afraid that is impossible."
As a master smith, he knew very well just how tough the great swords truly were. Take his own Wado Ichimonji, for example.
After countless fierce battles and clashes, even now…
There was not a single chip on the blade. It was a sword that could slice iron like mud.
A named blade that had gone through forging was already many times harder than steel.
And above that, a Supreme Grade blade was even harder.
They were things that had watched eras rise and fall, yet still remained unscathed.
Faced with Kozaburo's lack of confidence, Ares simply smiled. "It is precisely because it is almost impossible that I want to challenge it and turn it into my dream."
That single sentence…
Made everyone in the room raise their bowls and drink deep.
Kozaburo looked at the seriousness in Ares's eyes and knew the man was not joking.
He continued, "As for how to forge the human body into a famous sword, I truly do not have the slightest clue."
"Then…" Ares looked a bit disappointed, then asked, "Kozaburo, when you forge weapons, could I watch from the side and learn?"
Kozaburo smiled. "That is no problem. I also want to know more about Lord Junichiro."
"It is a deal then!" Ares grinned from ear to ear.
He picked up the giant bowl with his huge hand and drank merrily along with the others.
Night.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
Inside the cabin of a pirate ship.
The space here was narrow and dark, damp, and the air carried a faint musty stench.
Vice Admiral Garp looked at the man beside him, Dragon, and asked in his usual careless tone, "Oi, brat, what are you so tense for?"
"I… I am not tense," Dragon shot back stiffly.
But his voice shook, and his palms were slick with sweat.
The place for this operation was Beehive Island.
That was the main base of the Rocks Pirates, where monsters like Rocks, Ares, Newgate, Shiki, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were gathered.
Not to mention cadres like Wang Zhi and Silver Axe.
Calling Beehive Island a dragon's den and tiger's lair would not be an exaggeration at all.
Garp smirked and dug his pinky into his nose. "This time, it's not just the navy. The World Government's CP0 is moving as well."
"But our job is only to get the Celestial Dragons out of there."
"If we can pull it off, we will. If we cannot, then those pieces of trash can just die."
As he spoke, he did not put the World Nobles in his eyes at all.
The Celestial Dragons did not just have a rotten reputation outside. Even within the navy, their reputation was not much better.
Admirals had been deployed to protect them many times.
Garp had been on such duties more than once.
In the cramped hold, the special forces soldiers of the navy…
For an instant…
Collectively turned to stone.
Their faces froze in exaggerated expressions, eyes popping out of their sockets, jaws dropping so far they almost fell off, tongues hanging like someone had grabbed and pulled them.
Garp ignored them completely.
He raised his big hand and slapped Dragon's shoulder, just about to comfort him, when the nervous Dragon flinched on reflex.
His heart jumped straight into his throat.
Garp frowned. "Dragon, you want a dose of my Fist of Love to calm you down?"
"No…" Dragon's mouth twitched.
If he took one of those, he would be sore for quite a while.
At that moment…
Footsteps came down the stairs, and everyone held their breath, their bodies going rigid.
Then…
A marine disguised as a pirate appeared and whispered to Garp and the others, "We are almost at Beehive Island. Get into the crates. We will bring you ashore as cargo."
Garp grumbled, "What a stifling operation plan."
If they used his plan, he would just punch his way through and throw the whole Beehive Island into chaos. Problem solved.
No need for so many twists and turns.
"Old man, you must not cause trouble this time!" Dragon reminded him quickly, afraid his unreliable father would just charge in.
If it was any other place, maybe.
But this was Beehive Island.
Soon after…
The naval troops in the hold all hid themselves inside cargo crates.
At the same time.
Holy Land Mariejois.
In the Room of Authority.
Warrior God of Science and Defense, Saint Saturn, looked at the CP0 members before him, among whom stood their chief, Claude, wielder of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit.
His face was grave. "Five days. You only have five days on Beehive Island to locate the Egbert family…"
"Find a way to get them out."
"In five days, several World Government member nations will dispatch armed forces to create chaos in the waters around Beehive Island."
"At that time, we will choose to bombard Beehive Island. That will be your last window to rescue them."
"If you cannot get the Egbert family out alive, then you are to kill them on the spot."
"At all costs, we must prevent Rocks from executing World Nobles in public."
Even for CP0, whose mental fortitude was steel-hard, hearing the order to kill Celestial Dragons made their expressions change beneath their masks.
Their hearts trembled.
"Understood."
"…Understood."
Saint Saturn continued, "Remember, if you encounter naval forces, the mission comes first."
"This operation must succeed no matter what."
"Also…"
"If any of you are captured, hold on as long as you can. When you cannot, reveal the information about the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits to Rocks."
"Go."
CP0 bowed and withdrew.
After they left…
The bearded Five Elder, Saint Mars, said harshly, "Whether this operation succeeds or not, we must accelerate our plans to wipe out the Rocks Pirates completely."
"Otherwise…"
"If we let them rampage any longer, the damage to the World Government will be far too great."
The Eight-Shaped-Mustache Elder, Saint Warcury, added his voice, "The other Celestial Dragon families are pressuring us nonstop. If we cannot deal with the Rocks Pirates…"
"We will not be able to answer to them, nor to that person."
Saint Saturn's face was gloomy as he nodded. "Most of the navy's forces have already been redeployed. The World Government has also prepared its own powerful forces. Once all the defensive facilities of the trap are in place…"
"We can begin luring Rocks into it."
"I believe that once Rocks learns of the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, he will not be able to sit still. That is a temptation he cannot resist."
…
The next day.
Bright sun and clear skies.
Pirate ships continued to stream toward Beehive Island without end.
Kaido, Wang Zhi, Silver Axe and Slardar led groups of pirates in maintaining order on Beehive Island.
Inside the skull fortress.
Charlotte Linlin was enthusiastically "frolicking" with some unknown pirate in bed.
These days.
She had been tirelessly plowing the fields, and now that more and more pirates were gathering on the island, there were finally a few who could satisfy Linlin.
She did not even need to force them.
With how beautiful Linlin was in her youth, she was basically irresistible to these lecherous pirates. Toss out a hook, and she would reel in a fish every time.
But once they actually went to war with Linlin in bed…
They finally understood just how hungry, how endlessly energetic she really was.
Her monstrous stamina squeezed them until they had nothing left to give.
Rocks had long since gotten used to it.
From the window, he could overlook most of Beehive Island.
He turned away from the view and looked at Xia Qi inside the room. "Xia Qi, anything from the navy or the World Government?"
"Nothing yet." Xia Qi flicked the ash from her cigarette. "Judging by how many pirates have gathered on Beehive Island now, they are probably ready to give up on those Celestial Dragons."
Rocks shook his head, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident smile. "The quieter they act, the more it proves they are already on the move."
"Pass it down. Tell Wang Zhi and the others to stay sharp."
"And…"
"Everyone is to keep their eyes open. If anything feels off, report it immediately."
…
On the island.
From a blacksmith's shop came the ringing sounds of hammer on metal.
Dong. Dong. Clang. Clang.
Stripped to the waist, Kozaburo was hammering away at a massive block of metal that glowed red-hot and transparent.
Not far away.
Ares was watching him closely.
Kozaburo's whole body was drenched in sweat. Inwardly, he muttered, "I was too hasty…"
"Who would have thought Kaido would ask me to forge eight giant clubs at once?!"
He had originally thought it was just a single kanabo.
But it turned out to be eight of them.
With how huge Kaido's kanabo was, each one was several times, even ten times the size of a normal club.
Sometimes doing people favors really was a thankless job.
"Ares said, "Your forging methods are very similar to Father's."
Kozaburo kept hammering as he replied with a hint of pride, "The forging techniques of Wano are second to none, after all. With so many powerful samurai, ordinary swords are not worth a glance from the truly famous ones."
Ares nodded. "Kozaburo, could you explain your forging techniques and their purpose while you work?"
"No problem."
Kozaburo smiled. "Forging begins with the weapon's design, of course. The design includes shape, dimensions, choice of materials and so on."
"That is why so many samurai prefer weapons made specifically for them."
That part.
Ares understood well. On the sea, body sizes varied wildly, and so did personal strength.
On the short end, there were people barely more than a meter tall.
The more "normal" range was around two to three meters.
Ares himself had already grown to over five meters tall, practically a small giant.
And then there were the full-blooded giants that stood over ten meters.
Ares stood quietly to the side, watching Kozaburo forge while carefully listening to him explain techniques and craftsmanship.
From the initial design and style of the weapon.
To material selection and combinations.
Then to the details of heating and tempering…
Ares was like a sponge, constantly absorbing knowledge and techniques about forging.
Meanwhile, across the island…
A massive storm was silently beginning to brew.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we have already located the position of Beehive Island's prison."
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