Bege burst out laughing. Of course, he knew how terrifying cursed swords could be. It was just like when Zoro encountered the Sandai Kitetsu in the Loguetown sword shop in the original One Piece story. The shop owner had said that many famous swordsmen had wielded swords from the Kitetsu school, and without exception, all had met tragic ends. Even unwitting users would be cursed by the sword upon using it, leading to their demise.
Cursed swords possessed powerful and terrifying curses, but these curses were not without counters. Just like in the Loguetown sword shop, Zoro had gambled his own luck against the Sandai Kitetsu's curse, and in the end, hadn't Zoro's luck overcome the Kitetsu's curse?
Though cursed swords were malevolent, they were not indomitable.
"The swordsmen who used those cursed swords died because they weren't the sword's true master. A sword can choose its wielder, and cursed swords are no different. Perhaps I am the master this cursed sword in the mountains has been waiting for," Bege said with a faint smile, looking at Master Konghai.
"Your body overflows with a ferocious aura. If you were to wield this cursed sword, it would be extremely easy for you to lose control and fall into demonic ways. Almsgiver, I implore you to reconsider," Konghai sighed, his palms pressed together.
"Old monk, what's with all the chatter? If Godfather wants the cursed sword, just hand it over! If you don't, I'll tear this place apart!" one of Bege's men threatened Konghai with a snarl.
Konghai's expression remained unchanged as he gently shook his head.
Bege frowned and walked past Konghai into the thatched hut.
"Almsgiver, the cursed sword is a demon. If the demon is unleashed, it will bring devastation to all living creatures."
Bege paused at the entrance of the hut. In the very center, enshrined beneath a Buddha statue, was an ancient longsword with a black lacquered scabbard.
Bege reached out and grasped the longsword. His body instantly jolted, and his eyes flashed.
"A cursed sword!" Just like Zoro's expression when he found the Sandai Kitetsu in the original story, Bege felt the demonic nature of this blade. It was as if an evil spirit hidden within the sword was constantly trying to bewitch him, and the blood in his veins flowed unnaturally.
Bege slowly drew the cursed sword. The blade was long and narrow, exceptionally heavy, and pitch black. The cutting edge bore strange, flame-like patterns, and its sharpness was palpable.
"A fine sword!" As a Great Swordsman, he had the keenest perception for good blades. One look at the sword's body told him this was a rare masterpiece. It was even a tier above his Fire Cloud Sword.
A Supreme Grade Sword! Bege's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"The Cursed Sword, Hannya. Forged by the Ono Banmon swordsmithing family," the blind old monk, Konghai, said as he walked in.
"Almsgiver, please allow me to tell you a story."
Bege gripped the cursed sword, doing his utmost to suppress its power.
Konghai calmly recounted the history of the Cursed Sword Hannya and the Ono Banmon swordsmithing family.
Two hundred years ago, the Ono Banmon family was a swordsmithing clan as renowned as the makers of the Kitetsu cursed swords. The two families constantly competed with each other. Later, the Kitetsu school forged the Shodai Kitetsu, a Supreme Grade Sword, which outshone all the fine swords of the Ono Banmon family.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the Ono Banmon family resolved to forge a new cursed sword, one even more malevolent than the Kitetsu blades, to surpass their rivals. They gathered "Demon Ore" from around the world—a type of ore with no relation to Devil Fruits, but so named because it was an essential material for forging cursed swords.
The Ono Banmon family pooled the strength of all fifteen master swordsmiths in their clan and, after thirty exhausting years, finally forged the Cursed Sword Hannya.
To "unseal" Hannya, a clansman named Ono Banmon Kazumasa wielded it to slaughter over a thousand pirates and criminals, baptizing the sword with their blood. However, having drunk too much blood, Hannya's demonic aura surged, slowly driving Kazumasa mad. Controlled by the sword, he went on a frenzied killing spree, massacring thousands of civilians on an island.
Later, the Ono Banmon family found Kazumasa and brought both him and Hannya back to the clan. Under careful tending, Kazumasa slowly recovered, but the guilt of having personally slaughtered thousands made it impossible for him to forgive himself. To atone for his sins, he chose to renounce the world and become a monk, arduously cultivating Buddhist teachings in hopes of absolving his transgressions.
This Ono Banmon Kazumasa was the present-day Konghai.
The Ono Banmon family had obtained the Cursed Sword Hannya, but their good fortune was short-lived. Anyone who wielded the sword was bewitched by it and driven to madness. The very next year, a tragedy occurred: the entire clan was massacred, and Hannya was taken, its whereabouts unknown.
Later, Ono Banmon Konghai descended the mountain in search of Hannya, hoping to seal away the cursed blade and purify it with Buddhist Dharma. He finally found it on Broccoli Island and brought the Cursed Sword Hannya to the mountaintop, where he had remained for forty years.
Bege was astonished; Master Konghai had to be at least one hundred and thirty years old.
"This humble monk enshrined Hannya before the Buddha, attempting to redeem it day and night with Buddhist teachings. Much of its demonic aura has been purified, but it still cannot be completely dispelled. Almsgiver, you must have already sensed the sword's demonic aura. For now, you can suppress Hannya. But once Hannya tastes blood, its demonic aura will slowly recover, and then it will not be so easily suppressed by you," Konghai advised.
"Master, rest assured, I know my limits. I'm taking this cursed sword with me." How could Bege possibly give up the cursed sword after just a few words of persuasion from Konghai?
"Almsgiver, since you will not heed my counsel, this humble monk must be impolite. The cursed sword must remain here and return to stillness with me," Konghai sighed, then suddenly struck out, grabbing for the cursed sword.
Bege shifted his body, dodging Konghai's hand. However, Konghai's palm swept horizontally, and the edge of his hand actually carried sword qi.
Bege used Soru to retreat more than ten meters. Konghai's speed was also incredibly fast as he rushed forward, his movements agile, completely unlike those of a blind man or an old man. Konghai was likely a master of Observation Haki.
"Old geezer, you dare attack Godfather?!" Bege's man was enraged. He didn't care if Konghai was old; anyone who dared to attack his Godfather had to die. He drew his weapon and charged.
"No-Sword Style—Precept Blade!"
With a wave of Konghai's hand, a flurry of small, sharp sword-like energy slashes sent the crewman flying. Konghai instantly appeared before Bege.
"No-Sword Style—Great Buddha's Radiant Justice!"
An aura of vast, righteous, and bright sword energy appeared on Konghai's hands. The cursed sword in Bege's grip trembled, as if in fear of Konghai.
"One Sword Style: Iai Slash—Leopard Shadow Mountain!"
A flash of sword light, and Konghai's figure was forcibly halted by an immense power. A bloody line appeared on Konghai's neck, yet no blood flowed out.
Konghai pressed his palms together, his face ruddy—a sign of a final resurgence of life.
"A few days ago, I had a bad feeling. Indeed, the cursed sword was destined to re-emerge. This humble monk implores the almsgiver to never be bewitched by the cursed sword into madness, and not to cause excessive slaughter."
"Master, rest assured. I will certainly remember your words."
Konghai nodded, smiled faintly, and with a soft thud, collapsed, dead.
"Bury Master Konghai," Bege sighed, bowing respectfully to Konghai.
Bege looked at the Cursed Sword Hannya in his hand with a complex expression. He hadn't intended to kill Konghai just now. It was this cursed sword that had, for an instant, caused his hand to slip.
The blood of Konghai staining it slowly vanished, and the strange, blood-red flame patterns on the blade's edge grew even more sinister.
This was a blood-sucking cursed sword.
"What a fine cursed sword, Hannya!"
Having tasted blood, the cursed sword's demonic aura had magnified several times over. It constantly assailed Bege's nerves, tempting him to kill.
"Since you are my sword, you will obey my commands! You will only kill when I allow you to kill!" Bege's gaze hardened. His Conqueror's Haki surged into the cursed sword, and his utterly ferocious Haki instantly suppressed Hannya.
This sword was too demonic. The more people it killed in the future, the more demonic it would become.
Stroking Hannya's now quiet blade, Bege suddenly burst into joyful laughter.
"Good sword! Good sword! Hehehehe..."
So what if it was the most demonic of swords? He was still confident he could suppress it.