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While Luffy and the others were heading for Little Garden, something big happened back in the East Blue.
Morgan took advantage of Garp falling asleep standing up and whacked the legendary Marine hero with an axe, officially earning himself the nickname Axe Emperor.
And when Koby saw Garp napping on his feet, he suddenly remembered something Luffy had once said—
"So it's true... people really can sleep while standing!"
Also, wasn't it weird how similar the names Monkey D. Garp and Monkey D. Luffy were?
After that, Garp was so impressed by Koby's determination that he decided to personally train him.
"Vice Admiral Garp! I swear I'll become a righteous Marine!!"
Koby declared.
Garp laughed heartily. "Then show me, kid!"
Then, with a frustrated sigh, he muttered:
"That idiot Luffy... actually went and became a pirate."
"But then again—"
Garp thought about Bai Ye and remembered what Sengoku had said about him:
"Smart as hell. Arrogant as hell."
He couldn't help but grin."That brat actually found himself a pretty decent partner."
"Thanks for the compliment, Captain."
Bai Ye smiled as he replied to Luffy.
Just now, he'd shown everyone on deck how he could use his Qi to fuse two regular swords into one.
Luffy had cheered excitedly, and even Zoro looked kind of tempted.
As the crew's only swordsman—no, three-sword-style swordsman—Zoro definitely relied on his weapons the most.
Sure, he could fight with no swords or even just one, but his core style had always been three-sword. After all, he'd spent forever coming up with those cool technique names.
Back when he fought Mihawk, it was painfully obvious that apart from Wado Ichimonji, his other two swords were holding him back.
If he'd had his current weapons back then… maybe he could've lasted a few seconds longer?
With that thought, Zoro looked at Bai Ye, eyes full of hope.
"Hand me Shusui," Bai Ye said.
In this world, swords are ranked into five grades: Ordinary, Sharp, Skilled, Great Grade, and Supreme Grade.
Shusui fell into the "Skilled Grade" category, one of the 50 fine blades. It was a decent transition weapon for Zoro in the early stages.
After clashing with both a Marine HQ officer and "Ryuma," Shusui ended up buried on Thriller Bark.
So Bai Ye was planning to upgrade it.
He took Shusui, then pulled out a blade embryo he had already prepared, and started fusing the two.
Technically, Bai Ye could just melt Shusui down directly and enhance it with enchantments for sharpness and durability.
But doing that would lock the sword's potential forever—no further upgrades.
And down the line, when they got to Thriller Bark, Shusui would probably just get replaced by Shusui (the better one).
But by upgrading it through the blade embryo instead, even if the effect wasn't perfect, it left Shusui with future potential…
Like becoming food for Enma.
Yep, Bai Ye was the kind of madman who'd consider feeding an upgraded Skilled Grade sword to a Great Grade one—because he could actually do it, thanks to his refining skills.
As for Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu, Bai Ye had reforged them from the inside out.
Basically, those two swords were now completely new blades forged by him.
Why do all this?
Well, one: those two blades had more potential than Shusui.And two: Bai Ye didn't plan on only making swords for Zoro.
Next, Bai Ye flipped his wrist, and two more items appeared in his hand.
But these weren't for Zoro. He looked at the others and said—
"Luffy, Sanji, these are for you."
A pair of metallic gauntlets, and a pair of metal shoes.
Back when ancient Qi users were at their peak, there was a unique crafting sect called the Heavenly Furnace Sect.
They were famous for custom gear made for powerful warriors. These tools didn't just fit perfectly—they boosted the user's abilities massively.
Especially useful for fighters who focused on hand-to-hand combat.
And the gauntlets and shoes in Bai Ye's hands? Crafted using the Heavenly Furnace Sect's techniques.
Even Zoro's swords had been reforged using these same methods.
Lucky for Bai Ye, the power system in the One Piece world was weaker than that of Qi cultivators, otherwise this kind of crafting would've been way harder.
"Gifts!!!" Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"Are they edible?"
Bai Ye: Why do I suddenly not want to give them anymore?
"Shoes, huh?" Sanji looked at the heavy-looking pair Bai Ye handed him. They were dense—didn't even feel like pure metal.
But when he put them on, the shoes suddenly started morphing—instantly molding perfectly to his feet.
And the weight? Gone. Now they felt like regular shoes.
He hadn't tested them yet, but Sanji had a feeling—kicking someone with these would hurt. A lot.
Meanwhile—
"Whoa! So cool!"Luffy had already put on the gauntlets. Just like Sanji's shoes, they fit perfectly right away and moved super smoothly with his fingers.
Even cooler? The gauntlets stretched with him.
When Luffy extended each finger, the gauntlets extended with them, still fitting like a glove.
He got so excited he started flailing his arms and dancing around with stretchy fingers.
Until—
BANG!!!
Bai Ye dismissed his golden spell circle and looked at Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
The Heavenly Furnace Sect wasn't just good at forging—they also had a famous technique for nurturing weapons.
It was recorded in the Daoist manual Bai Ye carried:
Spirit-Nurturing Tempering Technique.
In simple terms, it meant constantly infusing your weapons with your own power—gradually leveling them up, and even giving them a soul.
To put it in One Piece terms? It's like a super-upgraded version of imbuing a weapon with Haki.
Regular Haki training just means feeding your sword with Armament Haki every day until it becomes a black blade.
In other words, like rubbing it enough until it gets that perfect shine.
But Bai Ye's method? Not only did it include Haki, it also used mental energy—the key to giving weapons a will of their own.
Once a weapon starts to evolve, the benefits are on a whole other level.
Of course, this isn't something that happens overnight.
So technically, Bai Ye didn't just hand over a huge power boost to the trio.
It's like giving them a sneak peek at what Haki can really do—letting them start early.
With the Haki they had right now? They might be able to beat Smoker.
But Crocodile? That'd still be pushing it.
That's just how it is. Most of their upcoming enemies were already famous across the seas—veterans who had trained with Devil Fruits or Haki for ten, even twenty years.
Thinking Haki alone could let them go head-to-head was just wishful thinking.
That's why Bai Ye was upgrading their power from multiple angles.
"....."