Seeing Shirokawa leap straight into the volcano's mouth, Kurokam and his father both panicked. They had never imagined Shirokawa would be so decisive. They assumed he would rather sacrifice himself than fail to prove that the holy sword they had spent generations guarding was nothing but a false legend.
After all, no one believed a person could survive the heat of molten magma. An ordinary human who went in there would be incinerated, leaving not even bones behind.
"Father, what do I do? I killed him." Kurokam dropped to his knees right then and there, sobbing before the old man. Even though he was already well into his thirties, this was the first time he had ever caused someone's death. Not directly, perhaps, but indirectly? That was undeniable.
His father walked over to him and placed a hand on his son's head, stroking gently. "You must be strong. I don't think Shirokawa would want to see you like this."
Just as the two of them stood there sighing in grief, Shirokawa suddenly burst out of the magma, a sword in hand. The sight startled both father and son so badly they nearly jumped out of their skin.
"Are you man or ghost?" The village chief pointed at Shirokawa, his voice trembling with terror.
"What do you think? A man, obviously. If I were a ghost, I'd have scared you both to death by now." Shirokawa gave the blade a casual flourish, then carefully examined the weapon in his grip.
Yes, this was the blade Shirokawa had retrieved from the magma. It had to be the holy sword they had guarded all these years. He had to admit, it was a truly excellent blade. In fact, it was the finest sword Shirokawa had ever laid eyes on.
After spending countless years submerged in the molten rock, every last impurity had been refined out of this weapon. In Shirokawa's judgment, this blade had to be one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
He had seen several of the twenty-one Great Grade Blades before, and they were simply not on the same level. Even the finest examples among the twenty-one fell far short of this sword in front of him.
The truth was, the moment Shirokawa had plunged into the magma, he felt the terrifying heat surge against him. The protective barrier around his body automatically manifested, completely isolating him from the molten rock that tried to close in.
The magma could not erode his defense in the slightest. This also made Shirokawa realize something: his defense could likely only be broken by attacks of overwhelming concentrated force.
He sank through the magma for a while, and then he saw it. A sword. More precisely, a blade, thrust into the stone wall. The body of the blade glowed a deep violet, and even the hilt showed no signs of being corroded by the magma.
The very instant he saw this sword, Shirokawa's gaze was utterly captivated. He felt, with absolute certainty, that this was the weapon best suited for him. Now, and forever.
The twelve Supreme Grade Blades represented the absolute pinnacle of swordsmithing in the world of pirates. No one in this world would ever forge a blade that surpassed the rank of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
Shirokawa controlled his body, floating over to the side of the sword. Reaching out, he pulled it free from the stone wall with a single tug. After a quick glance around and finding nothing else of value, he flew straight out.
And that was when he stumbled upon the two men, frozen in absolute shock.
"This really is an incredible blade." Shirokawa marveled, raising the sword high. Beneath the moonlight, the violet hue of the blade shone with even more dazzling brilliance.
By now, Kurokam and his father had finally come to terms with the fact that Shirokawa was very much alive, and their gazes were drawn irresistibly to the sword in his hand.
Both of them were master swordsmiths. They could naturally discern the quality of a blade at a glance. The moment they truly saw the weapon in Shirokawa's hand, their eyes burned with overwhelming emotion.
"There's no mistake. There's no mistake at all. This is the legendary holy sword. Violet Sun."
The village chief wept openly, his voice trembling with excitement. Partly because he had at last laid eyes upon the legendary holy sword, and partly because the legend they had guarded all these years was real. All those decades had not been wasted.
"This sword is called Violet Sun?" Shirokawa asked the chief. The name truly suited the blade perfectly.
"Yes."
Though the chief had never seen the sword's true appearance himself, they possessed a book containing records about it. The legends spoke of one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades, named Violet Sun. Its defining trait: under any and all conditions, the blade's body would always retain its violet hue.
"Then from this moment on, this sword belongs to me." Shirokawa moved to sheathe the blade, but suddenly remembered he had no spare sheath on him. Besides, a sheath for this sword would need to be custom-made.
After all, the sword's dimensions were slightly different from a standard blade. It seemed a bit larger than the norm.
"No." The moment Shirokawa finished speaking, Kurokam rejected the claim outright. Now that the legend had been proven true, his duty to guard the holy sword still remained.
"You can't stop me." Now that Violet Sun was in his hands, Shirokawa's confidence had soared. He felt that even if Garp himself showed up right now, he could trade blows with the old hero.
"You won't know unless we try."
Kurokam pulled out the hammer tucked at his back once more.
Seeing the tension about to explode between the two, the village chief immediately stepped forward to stop them. One was his son, and the other was the man who had proven their legend true. He had no desire to see either of them fight.
Though the chief was now a wizened old man, his strength was anything but feeble. As a former guardian of the holy sword, he wouldn't have been able to protect it without considerable skill.
If the chief joined either side, the other side would instantly be at a disadvantage.
Hearing the old man's words, Shirokawa gradually reined in his presence. If he pushed this fight, the one at a disadvantage would be him. After all, Kurokam was the chief's son, and the old man was never going to side with an outsider like Shirokawa, even if Shirokawa was, in a sense, their benefactor.
"Let us go back down the mountain first, and discuss this from the beginning. The sword can remain in Shirokawa's hands for now."
As an old man who had guarded the holy sword for decades, he had long grown weary of it. He would have been happy for someone to take it away ages ago, freeing his family from the shackles of their destiny.
"Hmph." Kurokam snorted coldly, then followed his father down the mountain, returning home.
Inside the chief's house, the old man brought out the texts passed down through their family for generations. He let Shirokawa read them for himself. They contained records concerning Violet Sun.
"This is a blade that brings disaster. Otherwise, my great-grandfather would never have sealed it inside the volcano's crater in the first place."
As Shirokawa looked through the book, the chief also shared the oral history not written on any page.
"Disaster? What kind of disaster?" Shirokawa studied Violet Sun carefully once more, but found nothing sinister about it.
"I don't know the specifics. It's only what my great-grandfather passed down by word of mouth."
"Still, if this blade really did appear in the world, it would indeed cause a catastrophe."
A possibility occurred to Shirokawa.
"What do you mean?" the chief asked him.
"There are only twelve blades of this caliber in the entire world. Every time one of them surfaces, it drives countless people into a frenzy. Without question, rivers of blood would flow. If anyone found out this blade was on your island, then no matter how well-hidden this place is, someone would eventually track it down. Your great-grandfather probably sealed the sword in that volcano so that disaster would never befall you."
"So that's how it is." The chief nodded in sudden understanding.
"And the other eleven blades? Do they have masters?" the chief asked Shirokawa.
"That, I can't say for certain. I only know of one that definitely has its master already."
"Who is it?" Both the chief and Kurokam leaned in, their interest piqued. They wanted to know what kind of man was worthy of wielding a sword of that grade.
"That man is hailed as the most powerful man in the world. He possesses the strength to destroy the world itself, and he is one of the mightiest pirates alive."
Shirokawa had already pulled both father and son in completely by this point.
"His name is Whitebeard, Edward Newgate."
Whitebeard's current weapon, his naginata, was without a doubt one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
/-\
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