Seven Marines were critically wounded.
If not for Blueno, none of them would have received timely treatment while stranded in the Calm Belt; they all would have died.
Moreover, those seven weren't the only ones severely injured.
Kaku had it even worse. According to Blueno, Kaku had forced himself to hold on until Blueno arrived before finally losing consciousness. By then, he was clinging to life by a thread.
Fortunately, Sean was stationed at the 16th Branch. Otherwise, the two medical officers on hand would have been completely unable to handle injuries of this magnitude.
Treating eight critically wounded patients in a row nearly drained Sean's Spirit Power dry. This was despite the fact that he hadn't fully cured them; he had merely stabilized their conditions and pulled them out of critical danger.
'As I thought, my Spirit Power is still too low!'
After instructing Blueno to send Jabra and the other Marines back and take charge of sailing the warship home, Sean went to rest. Having exhausted over ninety percent of his Spirit Power, he felt a lingering sense of weakness in his body.
As for that guy Zoro, Sean arranged for him to stay at the branch for the time being; other matters could be dealt with later.
'''
Over the next three days, Sean visited the Marine hospital daily, spending his Spirit Power and using healing arts to treat Kaku and the other seven Marines. Finally, they were fully recovered, returning to a state as if they had never been injured at all.
"Kaku, give me a detailed account of what happened!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
Standing in the office, Kaku snapped to attention and saluted, his eyes filled with gratitude—and even a hint of fanaticism. He had honestly believed he wouldn't survive this time, but Sean had dragged him back from the brink of death.
It was a life-saving debt.
Furthermore, upon completing the treatment on the final day, Sean had applied a multiplier from his system while the eight men looked on in gratitude. As a result, Kaku's loyalty had now surpassed Lucci's, making him the most loyal member of the CP9 group within Sean's circle.
If there were a numerical value, it would likely be infinitely close to 100!
"We were sailing according to plan, and just as we were about to leave the Calm Belt, that man appeared!" Kaku reported. "Although I gave it my all, I was still unable to contend with him. After knocking us all down, he kidnapped Monkey D. Luffy. I apologize, Rear Admiral; it was my lack of ability that led to the mission's failure!"
Kaku's face was full of guilt.
"It's not your fault. Even I, at my current stage, could at most tangle with him for a while, but I certainly wouldn't be able to win," Sean replied. "Speaking of which, Kaku, you know how to use a sword, right?"
"Yes. I have studied swordsmanship and use a dual-blade style. While I cannot compare myself to the famous master swordsmen, I am not lacking."
"I see. Tell me your preferred blade length!"
"Rear Admiral, you are..."
"Don't ask questions!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
A few minutes later, Kaku departed. A piece of paper remained on Sean's desk, detailing Kaku's preferred sword specifications.
"A cane-sword, similar to Fujitora's..." Sean mused. "Well, the forge built during the branch's reconstruction... it's time to put it to use. Kaku will be the first member of the Zanpakutō squad!"
'I'll use this opportunity to further boost Kaku's loyalty and turn him into a complete die-hard follower!'
Nodding to himself, Sean took out another piece of paper and began to write. He quickly listed the necessary materials, many of which were incredibly expensive.
But these days, the one thing Sean didn't lack was Belly!
"Messenger!"
"Rear Admiral!"
"Take this to Lucci. Tell him to have everything ready within three days!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
'''
Three days later, at the branch forge.
This facility had remained unused since the branch was rebuilt. After all, the multiplier opportunity only occurred once a day, and forging a sword took a significant amount of time. Sean couldn't justify spending all his time and multiplier chances on blacksmithing—unless he had a suitable candidate to grant a Zanpakutō to.
Now that a candidate had appeared, preparations were necessary.
For five consecutive days, Sean did not show his face. Aside from Makino delivering meals, Sean had ordered that no one be allowed to enter the forge.
During those five days, Sean forged a total of twelve swords. However, seven of them were only Grade Sword level, which wasn't particularly significant. That said, these seven were still excellent blades by the standards of the pirate world. After all, above a Grade Sword, there were only the twelve Supreme Grade blades and the twenty-one Great Grade blades—thirty-three legendary swords in total.
Since he didn't need to waste energy multiplying these, he could simply distribute them to the Marines in the branch who knew swordsmanship. He could hold a branch swordsmanship competition and give a sword to each of the top seven performers. Once they received the blades, he could use the multiplier system to harvest a wave of loyalty, laying the foundation for future Zanpakutō squad members.
Perfect!
Aside from those seven, four of the remaining five swords barely reached the Great Grade rank. The final one, however, was a result of Sean over-performing... it was a top-tier Great Grade blade that came very close to being a Supreme Grade.
Based on experience, all five of these could become Zanpakutō, provided the random multiplier wasn't too abysmal.
One random roll per day.
For the first four days, Sean employed a tactic from his previous life's gaming experience: "priming."
5x... 17x... 7x... 0.2x...
Clearly, his luck for the first four days was poor; on the fourth day, he even hit 0.2x. However, Sean was quite satisfied. If he had hit four high multipliers in a row, that's when he would have started to worry.
On the fifth day, after forging the blade that nearly reached Supreme Grade, Sean immediately initiated the multiplication. After all, he had just hit 0.2x yesterday.
"System, begin. Multiply the quality of the sword I just forged."
[Ding! Multiplier system activated. Determining multiplier...]
[Ding! Today's yield multiplier is 90x!]
'As expected, upgrading gear is all about the priming!'
Sean picked up the sword from the anvil and began pouring his Spirit Power into it. He confirmed it immediately: this was undoubtedly an Asauchi.
Done!
Next...
"System, can I ask a question?"
[Ding! The host may ask, but whether the system answers is at the system's discretion.]
"Hey, you're quite the tsundere. I wonder if there's a way to determine exactly what ability an Asauchi possesses."
[Ding! No, there isn't.]
"Then, what happens if I give someone a Zanpakutō and they end up with Kyōka Suigetsu after their Shikai?"
'Even with absolute loyalty... there's always a chance of betrayal, even if that probability is negligible.'
[Ding! Host, you crafted the Zanpakutō; therefore, in essence, you are the primary authority holder of the blade.]
[Ding! Even if others establish a bond with the Zanpakutō and successfully achieve Shikai or Bankai, you will be completely immune to all of that blade's abilities.]
"There's such a thing?"
[Ding! The Zanpakutō created through the multiplication process are not true Zanpakutō, but imitations created by this system.]
[Ding! Although they differ from real Zanpakutō in usage, the system has implemented several optimizations.]
[Ding! For example, the energy used to activate the Zanpakutō has been optimized from a single source of Reiryoku to three: Reiryoku, stamina, and Haki. The priority order is Reiryoku, Haki, Stamina.]
[Ding! Since the host possesses Reiryoku, the energy consumed to activate the Zanpakutō will be Reiryoku. Those without Reiryoku will consume Haki, and those without Haki will consume basic stamina.]
[Ding! Finally, the power the Zanpakutō can exert differs based on the activation method. Reiryoku provides the greatest power, followed by Haki, with stamina being the weakest.]
[Ding! To put it in numerical terms: Reiryoku is 10, Haki is 5, and stamina is 1.]
Good grief, why didn't I think to just ask the system before?
So that's how it works.
In other words...
First, in One Piece, anyone can use a Zanpakutō. Even if they lack Reiryoku and Haki, everyone has stamina. However, using stamina alone makes the power only one-tenth of that provided by Reiryoku.
Second, these aren't true Zanpakutō, but imitations optimized by the system. Beyond the optimized activation methods, as the creator, he was immune to all their abilities—unless the blade wasn't one he crafted.
But that was impossible.
Just like that, Sean's biggest concerns were instantly resolved. Even if someone's Shikai turned out to be Kyōka Suigetsu, he no longer had to worry.
'''
And so it went.
Over the course of five days, Sean crafted twelve blades. Aside from the Zanpakutō, there were three Great Grade swords and eight Skillful Grade Swords.
As for why there were eight—that was simply because the 0.2x yield multiplier had knocked the one that had just reached Great Grade level down to the Skillful Grade Sword tier.
Adding the spare Zanpakutō he had crafted at Headquarters previously, Sean now had two ownerless Zanpakutō. Although the quality of the one from Headquarters wasn't great, it didn't matter.
Even if some Zanpakutō weren't powerful, their support effects could be outstanding. If Kaku was lucky, he might be able to use two blades—one for offense and one for support—creating a perfect combination.
Of course, all of this depended on... Kaku's luck!
As for the remaining three Great Grade swords and eight Skillful Grade Swords, he would stick to his original plan. He would hold a swordsmanship competition within the branch and award them to the twelve most outstanding participants as prizes!