Even Amon was startled by the power the Cross Slash Blade had just unleashed.
At first glance, it might have seemed like Smoker still came out completely fine after taking all three hits, but that was only because the one wielding the weapon was Tashigi. In terms of raw strength, she was probably only around the level of an ordinary Marine soldier, though her swordsmanship realm was much higher.
And yet, with nothing but that blade in hand, she had still managed to force Smoker, a man who now possessed Armament Haki, into elementalizing.
That alone was enough to prove how terrifying the weapon was.
And this was only one of the blades.
If Cross Slash Blade: Kiro were added on top of that, then just how far would Tashigi's strength rise?
By that point, even Smoker would probably have to elementalize to avoid her ordinary attacks.
Of course, Smoker right now was still far from the level he would reach ten years later.
Even so, judging by the overall result, Tashigi's current combat ability with the Cross Slash Blade in hand was probably somewhere around the thirty million to fifty million bounty range.
That was roughly on par with Luffy's strength before entering the Grand Line.
As expected of an epic weapon, its power was absurd.
"Well, Tashigi, are you satisfied with that weapon?"
Tashigi nodded repeatedly, clutching the weapon with delight.
"Yes! This weapon is amazing. I like it so much. Thank you, Mr. Amon!"
She was more than satisfied with the power Shiro had displayed.
Amon laughed. "The next one isn't bad either. In fact, these two weapons complement each other. With the second blade's support, the power of the first one can increase by quite a bit."
As he said that, he took out the second weapon, Kiro.
Unlike Kiro, this blade was not overbearing in the same direct way. It did not come with an aggressive offensive skill.
But it carried a support formation instead.
Not only could it increase the wielder's strength, it could also slow down anyone else who entered its range.
It was an extremely powerful weapon.
The only unknown was exactly how strong the slowing effect was.
"They complement each other? It can even increase the first blade's power even more?"
The moment Tashigi heard that, her eyes lit up again.
Off to the side, Smoker's expression became a little difficult to describe.
It could get even stronger?
Damn it. Being a testing dummy for this was really getting out of hand.
"That's right. This weapon is also called a Cross Slash Blade, but it's different from the first one. The first is Cross Slash Blade: Shiro. This one is called Cross Slash Blade: Kiro."
"As for its function, it creates a formation around the user. Anyone who wields this blade and stands within the formation receives a boost in strength. But if anyone else enters, they'll be affected by a slowing effect."
"As for how much they're slowed, that probably depends on the person's own strength. Also, the formation only lasts ten minutes, it can't be moved once placed, it can only be used once a day, and its cooldown is twenty-four hours."
Seeing Tashigi's excitement, Amon smiled and carefully explained how Cross Slash Blade: Kiro worked.
"A formation... It boosts me, but slows down anyone else who steps inside?"
Tashigi's eyes sparkled even more as she looked at the blade.
These two weapons really were perfect for her.
One focused on offense, the other on control. Attack and support together.
"You can try it and see how strong the slowing effect and buff really are."
Amon smiled and handed Kiro over to her.
"Okay!"
Tashigi took the weapon, excitement written all over her face.
"This time, just test the slowing effect."
Seeing that Tashigi looked a little weak, Amon told her that only testing the slowing effect would be enough.
As for the buff, in her current exhausted state, it would be hard to judge properly anyway.
"Mm!"
Tashigi nodded.
She no longer had much desire to fight again at the moment. Triple Slash was indeed powerful, but using it without enough strength left the body drained too easily.
The next time she used it, she would definitely have to measure herself more carefully.
"Release!"
The moment the words fell, a red glow rose beneath her feet.
Then, a large formation spread outward.
At the center of that formation stood an orange phantom of a blade spirit.
The instant the formation appeared, Tashigi, who stood beneath the spirit's shadow, found that the fatigue in her body began to fade.
Her stamina was slowly recovering.
As for everyone else inside the formation, they immediately felt a strange force binding them.
Their movements became noticeably sluggish.
The most obvious examples were the ordinary Marines.
Their strength was average, and once they were caught inside the formation, they felt as though every step had become difficult. It was almost like trying to move through mud.
Something seemed to be restraining them at every moment. Even taking a single step required far more effort than usual.
The next most affected was Koby.
If he did not rely on the Marine Six Powers, then his movement speed dropped by roughly thirty percent.
After that came Smoker.
Without using his Devil Fruit powers or Armament Haki, his movement seemed to slow by around ten percent.
But once it came to people at the level of Amon or Garp, the restraining effect of the formation became almost nonexistent.
Amon moved around a little and found that there was basically no change at all.
Garp, standing beside him, felt the same.
But when he looked at the others, all visibly slowed down inside the formation, he was still shocked.
"Hahaha, brat, your Jars are way too miraculous. How about I agree to help you one more time, and in exchange, you let me open another Jar?"
After witnessing the wonder of Amon's Jars yet again, Garp shamelessly tried to bargain.
Watching the two of them open their Jars had made his hands itch all over again.
But the moment he spoke, Amon rejected him without hesitation.
"Get lost."
Things like favors only held value once.
Ask for them too often, and they stopped being worth anything.
"Hahaha!"
Even after getting cursed at by Amon, Garp did not get angry. He simply scratched the dog head on his hat and laughed.
It did not matter if he could not open another Jar.
This trip had not been without gains.
Just thinking about how much stronger his BGM had become, Garp was already beginning to consider whether he should use it to trick Sengoku, or maybe even the Five Elders, for fun.
He had long been displeased with those old men.
If he could make them dance along to that cursed BGM, that would be a truly interesting sight.
Just imagining the usually stern Five Elders dancing wildly to Pedro BGM made Garp more and more excited.