Under Shiki's overwhelming offensive, the dual-sword swordsman was ultimately defeated, and his twin blades were mercilessly seized by Shiki.
At the same time, Shiki himself was injured by the swordsman's desperate counterattack.
"Jihahaha! You should feel honored that they've found a stronger master!"
Holding Oto and Kogarashi in both hands, Shiki revealed a wild and arrogant grin.
As for the dual-sword swordsman, Shiki hadn't actually killed him outright.
But after losing his blades, it was as if his heart had died. His life force rapidly began fading away.
"Hey, it's just your weapons being taken! Is that enough to make you stop wanting to live?"
Newgate appeared beside the dual-sword great swordsman and cursed coldly.
Back on Sphinx Island, how desperately had the residents struggled just to survive?
And now this powerful swordsman wanted to die just because he lost two swords?
Even without those blades, with his strength he could still live perfectly well.
"What would a pirate like you understand?! Do you know what swords mean to a swordsman?!"
Perhaps Newgate's disdainful gaze had an effect.
The swordsman, whose spirit had collapsed, suddenly lashed out like a final burst of life.
"Then before you got those two swords, how did you survive?"
"Don't tell me they came out of your mother's womb together with you."
Newgate continued speaking coldly.
If this swordsman had been killed in battle by Shiki, Newgate wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
But he utterly despised fools who voluntarily sought death.
Such people had no idea how many others in this world fought desperately just to keep living.
"Tell me honestly, do you really want to die?"
"If you do, I'll personally send you on your way. I can't stand weaklings who throw away their own lives!"
Newgate swung Murakumogiri toward the swordsman, his tone growing increasingly icy.
The sharp killing aura emanating from the Supreme Grade Blade instantly jolted the swordsman awake.
"Jihahaha! Newgate, why are you wasting your time?!"
"Weaklings deserve death!"
Shiki hadn't expected Newgate to suddenly interfere.
"Tsk tsk, just another hypocritical swordsman obsessed with honor and pride."
"How can a person truly grow without first experiencing miserable failure?"
Seeing Newgate intervene, Ignis floated over casually and tossed out a mocking remark.
"Let's go already! Hurry up!"
Rocks shouted impatiently from behind.
He had no interest in comforting losers.
This cruel world only needed selection, not education or counseling.
Shiki tapped Oto and Kogarashi together, producing a heavy metallic clang, before arrogantly flying back.
Ignis also stopped caring and leisurely floated away.
Newgate glanced calmly at the swordsman but ultimately chose not to kill him.
After hearing Newgate's and Ignis's words, the swordsman's mentality had clearly changed.
The desire to die was gone.
Watching the departing backs of Newgate and Ignis, the swordsman's expression became extremely complicated.
A great swordsman and bounty hunter like himself had just been lectured by two pirates.
What Ignis didn't know was that the goodwill Newgate showed today would bear fruit in the future.
Just like Polo Gram, this swordsman would eventually entrust his own child to Newgate during a near-death situation.
.....
"Jihahaha! The famous blades are mine now! Someday Oto and Kogarashi will ascend into the Supreme Grade Blades ranking because of my name!"
Shiki became increasingly satisfied with the two swords.
They suited his combat style perfectly.
The Twelve Supreme Grade Blades were not actually a fixed list of twelve forever.
Every update could potentially reshuffle the rankings.
Some Supreme Grade Blades disappeared entirely.
Some were destroyed.
Some newly famous blades rose to prominence.
All of this could alter the famous blade rankings.
In the future, the blade Yakuza Kasen that emerged from Wano Country would eventually enter the ranks of the Supreme Grade Blades.
Rocks' Eclipse, just like Roger's blade Ace, could also qualify for the ranking.
The quality of a sword mattered, but the fame of its owner mattered just as much.
Black Blade Shusui probably qualified for Supreme Grade status as well.
However, Ryuma had been dead for many years, and Shusui had remained enshrined in Wano for centuries with very little information reaching the outside seas.
Thus, the compilers of the sword rankings only categorized Shusui as a Great Grade Blade.
Wano's national treasure Shusui was listed merely as a Great Grade Blade, yet Yakuza Kasen forged by Fugetsu Kisaburo became a Supreme Grade Blade.
Which was honestly rather absurd.
Still, that only happened because Fugetsu Kisaburo had taken Yakuza Kasen out of Wano and settled in the West Blue, gradually making the blade famous throughout the world.
Likewise, Enma forged by Shimotsuki Kouzaburou and Ame no Habakiri forged by Tenguyama Hitetsu only became world-famous and entered the Great Grade rankings because Kozuki Oden sailed out to sea.
Wado Ichimonji, personally carried to the East Blue by Shimotsuki Kouzaburou, also gained enough fame to enter the Great Grade category.
When these blades were first forged in Wano, who outside the country knew what class of swords they were?
"Supreme Grade" and "Great Grade" were ultimately just rankings and labels created by the compilers.
Those authors couldn't possibly have personally examined every famous blade in existence.
Aside from some ancient Supreme Grade Blades with long histories, many rankings were simply based on the fame of the weapon's owner.
If Rocks and Ignis bothered visiting the editor responsible for the blade rankings, their Xebec Sword and Seven-Star Demon Sword would probably be promoted to Supreme Grade immediately.
Swords and their owners, Devil Fruits and their users, they had always complemented and elevated one another.
...
Watching Shiki act so smug, Kyo clenched his fists tightly.
That bastard Shiki already had everything, the kingly qualifications of Conqueror's Haki,
the immensely powerful Float-Float Fruit, and now the famous blades Oto and Kogarashi…
Meanwhile, Kyo only had a somewhat famous giant axe.
Even his nickname was borrowed from that axe.
'Why was heaven so unfair?!'
"Ignis, I want a famous weapon too!!"
Seeing Shiki acting proudly, Charlotte Linlin immediately spoke up.
At this point, her two Homies, Prometheus and Zeus, could no longer satisfy her offensive needs.
Watching everyone else gain their own signature weapons, there was no reason for her to continue relying solely on thunder-and-fire fists.
"The heirloom blade of the Fronce Kingdom, the Emperor Sword, Napoleon."
Seeing the anticipation in Linlin's eyes, Ignis answered without hesitation.
Recently, he had actually researched information regarding famous weapons.
The future Emperor Sword Napoleon used by Charlotte Linlin in the original timeline was surprisingly easy to trace through intelligence records.
"Emperor Sword Napoleon?"
"Good! Then let's go steal it immediately!!"
Charlotte Linlin shouted excitedly and instantly turned toward Rocks.
"To the West Blue first."
Rocks answered mercilessly.
"And then the North Blue!"
"Linlin, wait your turn!"
Kyo, who had long wanted to head north in search of Devil Fruits, immediately protested.
"You people!!"
Charlotte Linlin was just about to explode in anger.
"Relax, relax."
"Has it occurred to you that the Fhlance Kingdom might actually be in the West Blue...?"