Chapter 295: The Cursed Blade Muramasa

"A ring-shaped tsuba, a bright silver blade, a wave-like hamon pattern on the steel — to hold it is to be bewitched, and the urge to kill springs up of its own accord."

"The cursed blade Muramasa?"

Zoro murmured.

He had trained at the Isshin Dojo since childhood.

Though Koshiro, the master of the Isshin Dojo, had never spoken of his own origins, he knew the famed blades forged in Wano Country by heart.

His father, Kousaburou, would also often tell the dojo's apprentices the sword-saint legends passed down by word of mouth in Wano Country.

The Guanshi Zhengzong in Gao Wen's hand was one of them — and one of the most famous cursed blades of Wano Country.

And what Zoro now gripped in his hand was another blade crowned with the name of cursed blade — the cursed blade Muramasa, said to possess the power to bewitch the mind and turn its wielder into an instrument of slaughter.

It was also the ninth of the Twenty-One Great Blades!

This blade, like Wano's national treasure Shusui, was a famed weapon forged during Wano's golden age.

Its master was one of the rare great sword-saints of that era who could match blades with Ryoma; his very name has been lost to the flow of history, and only the school he came from retains a few scattered records.

Shinkage-ryu — the Living Blade — to cut, yet never to kill!

A man who believed in not killing, and yet he carried a blade that bewitched the mind.

Zoro had originally taken it as nothing more than a legend Koshiro had made up, but now that he truly saw the blade before him, what followed was incomprehension and fury.

Zoro looked left and right, only to find that the man from before had already vanished into the crowd:

"Is that guy insane? Handing over such an important famed blade to a stranger just like that?!"

Xiang Keluo turned his head, his gaze falling on Muramasa, his brows drawing tightly together:

"This blade…"

Faintly.

Xiang Keluo could sense the ominous aura emanating from Muramasa, and could not help but speak up to warn him:

"It feels even more savage to me than Gao Wen's Guanshi Zhengzong — I fear it won't be so easy for you to tame."

But Zoro could no longer hear Xiang Keluo's words.

His attention was wholly fixed on Muramasa; he reached out and slowly took hold of the hilt.

A will that was at once exhilarated and utterly like a grudge crashed into Zoro's mind in a thunderous surge, and countless fragmented whispers stirred up the tangled thoughts within his heart…

Kill!

Haven't you been thirsting for blood all along?

……

A faint crimson flush rose in Zoro's eyes, and an invisible killing intent began to swirl around him, drawing startled glances from those nearby!

"Hey, hey, hey — that kind of killing intent, where did this monster crawl out from?!"

"Are all the newcomers these days this terrifying?!"

"Dammit!"

"Standing next to him sends a chill straight down my spine — feels like this guy could swing that blade at any moment!"

"He was fine just now — what on earth happened?!"

The crowd scattered in an uproar, terrified that one step too slow and Zoro would cut them down on the spot.

"So it really is… that guy was the one Muramasa chose."

The swordsman who had gifted the blade stood far off in a corner; after confirming this scene, even his breathing nearly stopped.

The blade that had shown not the slightest hint of the uncanny in his own hands had now erupted with such a horrifying aura!

"Whether it is the man who tames the blade, or the blade's will that breaks the man — that will be up to you alone."

"Only by overcoming slaughter can one master slaughter; only by cutting men can one save men!"

"For hundreds of years no one in Yagyu Shinkage-ryu has ever done it — if an outsider truly manages it, one can only call it ironic."

"Heh."

……

"Zoro!"

Xiang Keluo could not help but reach out and grip Zoro's shoulder.

"I'm fine!"

A strained voice was forced out from between Zoro's clenched teeth.

His eyes slowly calmed at that moment as well; only the hand gripping the hilt still had its veins bulging.

Zoro lowered his gaze to look at the restless Muramasa in his hand, the corners of his mouth slowly pulling apart:

"A blade with its own will?!"

"Interesting."

"But if you want to tame me, this much alone isn't enough — not nearly enough."

Swish—!

Zoro raised his hand and swung the blade; an invisible blade of qi shot forth, severing the gnarled tree roots!

The restless body of Muramasa grew even more frenzied at that moment.

It refused to be dominated by its wielder, longing instead to be the one in control, and resisted with all its might — yet it could not shake Zoro's grip.

Suddenly.

Muramasa fell silent; the will within it sank into stillness, becoming no different from any ordinary blade.

"Hm?!"

Just as Zoro was puzzled.

A violent surge of air erupted without warning from the distant battlefield, and two wills soaring skyward nearly tore the sea of trees beneath them apart.

Shattered sword qi left grotesque, vicious slash marks across the surrounding earth.

Fierce winds howled.

An even more terrifying aura radiated outward from the two figures at the center.

Pressing down until a thousand blades and ten thousand swords all bowed their heads!

Boom!

The disturbance caused by their clash spread throughout the entire Sabaody Archipelago.

It sent countless people into panic and confusion, making them believe that hordes of giant Sea Kings were launching a continuous charge.

Grove 17.

Cavendish sat on the deck, the ship swaying with the rising and falling waves.

Yet his attention was drawn by the distant commotion; sensing the powerful aura dissipating in the air, he felt his whole body turning cold.

"What kind of monsters are fighting?"

"An Emperor? An Admiral?!"

"Or perhaps some retired big shot?"

The first mate beside him was so awed by this presence that his legs went soft, and he couldn't help but advise:

"Captain, perhaps we should withdraw first."

"If we stay here, we fear being caught in the aftermath of that battle over there."

Reason told him that leaving now was the best choice.

He did not know who was fighting over there, but undoubtedly, only the supreme powers ruling the seas could achieve such a level.

Let alone himself; even Cavendish, or even Cavendish's hidden second personality, White Horse, would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before such power, instantly crushed without mercy.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Cavendish felt unwilling to accept this:

"If we don't expose Knight Gao Wen's true colors here, once he enters the New World, he will completely dominate the front pages of every newspaper and magazine!"

Despite saying this, as he felt the violent booms occasionally erupting in the distance, he still felt a chill of fear.

His journey thus far had been quite smooth; he had never even seen, let alone engaged, power of such calamitous magnitude.

At this moment, even his originally restless second personality, White Horse, fell silent within him, as if asleep.

Although he had never encountered such a situation, he knew what this represented: the monster symbolizing endless slaughter was fearing the two individuals fighting in the distance!

"I..."

Cavendish opened his mouth, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Wait a little longer."

"We are still within a safe range for now; once that battlefield begins to expand or shifts toward us, we withdraw immediately."

Just then, a panicked figure came rushing out from the dense forest in the distance.

"Captain!"

"We've found traces of Gao Wen's group!"

"Their ship is anchored in Grove 012; after disembarking, they split into two groups. One group headed toward the commercial district, likely intending to purchase supplies."

"The other group headed toward Grove 013; it seems they are preparing to seek out that mysterious old man for coating, and then enter the New World via Fish-Man Island."

Cavendish froze, then looked up toward the distant battlefield:

"Which grove number is that?!"

The first mate swallowed hard:

"Grove 013."

As he spoke, a spark flashed through his mind.

The rumors concerning the truth of Water 7 appeared before his eyes once again.

"Captain, could it be that those rumors are true? Could Knight Gao Wen really be the one who killed the Jin Shizi? And could the two fighting over there be Knight Gao Wen and some unknown powerhouse?!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Cavendish shook his head, still firmly believing in his own judgment:

"The powerful figures dominating these seas mostly rose to fame and carved out their territories in their thirties or forties."

"Even monsters like Whitebeard and the Jin Shizi only made names for themselves after more than a decade since their debut."

"And Knight Gao Wen?!"

"From his debut in the East Blue until now, it has been less than two years in total, and you're telling me he can already stand shoulder to shoulder with those kings?!"

"What kind of joke are you making?!"

Cavendish sneered disdainfully, assuming his subordinate had lost his composure due to fear.

He slowly stood up, gazed at the distant forest, and after a brief hesitation, spoke:

"Since we have confirmed that Gao Wen's group is targeting the white-haired old man at the Knocking Bar in Grove 013, they must be inside that bar right now; you all wait here."

"I will take that fellow's head and return immediately!"

With that, without waiting for his subordinates to react, Cavendish leaped off the ship, vanishing into the dense forest within a few breaths.

Half an hour later.

The Knocking Bar.

The battle in the distance grew increasingly fierce; from time to time, shattered sword qi tore across the sky and ripped apart the earth.

Only this bar remained unharmed, as if both combatants were intentionally avoiding this place.

Xia Qi sat at the entrance, her cigarette burning down to the filter without eliciting any reaction from her, for her entire attention had been captured by the battle in the distance.

"Truly... the younger generation is formidable."

"Even that fellow Lei Li, at such an age, could not achieve this level~"

Just as he spoke, Xia Qi noticed a figure darting swiftly through the dense forest in the distance; it was Cavendish, rushing over in haste.

"Oh my~"

Xia Qi's tone was languid as he raised a hand to support his chin:

"This handsome young man, appearing here at this time, is hardly making a good choice~"

Cavendish had no mind to heed Xia Qi's reminder, stating coldly:

"Where is the Knight Gao Wen?!"

"So brimming with killing intent?!"

Xia Qi watched Cavendish with great interest, raising a finger to point toward the core of the battlefield:

"Over there; he just left."

Zwoong—!

The sound had barely landed.

When Cavendish, unable to contain his impatience, rushed out.

"Such an impatient one~"

"Do you have some grievance with young master Gao Wen?!"

As if recalling something amusing, the smile on Xia Qi's face deepened:

"It's just that the gap between you two is likely more than a hundredfold~"

……

Da!

Da!

Da!

Within the dense forest.

Cavendish's footsteps were hurried.

The closer he drew to the core battlefield, the more acutely he could feel that formless pressure.

His hand rested upon his sword hilt; he tried several times, yet found himself unable to draw his long blade.

In the air, two utterly distinct sword auras, yet both overwhelmingly powerful beyond imagination, were clashing, were slaughtering one another.

"The two combatants are undoubtedly top-tier swordsmen rare in the world; one might be the legendary Hawk-Eye Mihawk, but who is his opponent?!"

Several names flashed through Cavendish's mind, only to be rejected by him one by one.

Though those figures of rumor were strong, they were absolutely not so strong as to make one feel not even a sliver of intent to resist.

"But this instead makes me even more certain that the one fighting Hawk-Eye absolutely cannot, and should not, be the Knight Gao Wen!"

Cavendish's voice grew increasingly suppressed; his attitude toward Gao Wen was nearing paranoia.

If the one fighting Hawk-Eye truly was Gao Wen, then here existed a being whose appearance was no less than mine, whose title was even stronger, and whose power far surpassed mine...

He did not dare think further.

All he wanted now was to defeat Gao Wen and prove to the world that he himself was the most brilliant Supernova!

Accompanied by such thoughts, Cavendish's footsteps grew ever more hurried.

That formless pressure in the air also became increasingly heavy, pressing upon his body like a massive mountain.

Heavier and heavier.

More and more suffocating!

Finally.

The view in the distance began to open up, and one could even faintly see a crowd of over ten spectators.

"Knight Gao Wen!"

"I have come to take your head!"

A fierce shout erupted like a clap of thunder.

The crowd of spectators in the distance froze for an instant; they all thought they had misheard, exchanging glances before realizing the truth of the matter.

The crowd slowly turned their heads.

There they saw Cavendish, his face full of excitement, his expression nearly twisted; at this moment, he had long lost the elegance and composure of a pirate noble young master, with nothing but jealousy and unwillingness written upon his face.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, before the next instant bursting into roars of laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha—!"

"You really know how to joke; I almost believed you!"

……

Cavendish stared blankly, gritting his teeth as he said:

"I am not joking; where is the Knight Gao Wen?!"

"……"

The crowd of spectators finally realized that Cavendish was serious; a bald, burly man, expressionless, raised a hand to point at the core of the battlefield:

"The one fighting Hawk-Eye over there is him."

"How... is this... possible..."

Cavendish's expression froze completely.

He raised a hand to push through the crowd.

He intended to confirm the truth with his own eyes.

What could be seen,

was Gao Wen, right in the center of the battlefield, constantly clashing blades and fighting tooth and nail with Eagle Eye!

Boom—!

Once again, blades crossed, unleashing a shockwave far more violent than before, radiating outward in all directions.

Wild winds howled.

They blew the hat off Cavendish's head, also exposing his deathly pale complexion.

Unwillingness?

Jealousy?

What a joke!

Such emotions would only arise if both parties were on the same level, but now, facing Gao Wen, he likely didn't even have the courage to draw his sword; all that remained was...

Frustration and powerlessness!

He stood rooted to the spot, so unaware that even the stray sword qi slicing across his delicate face went unnoticed.

It was at this very moment.

Two figures appeared, standing behind Cavendish.

Xiang Keluo's tone turned cold:

"You said... whose head do you want to take?!"

Accompanying his voice was Xiang Keluo's soaring killing intent.

Nearly tangible crimson killing qi surged over Xiang Keluo's body, as if clothing him in a new set of armor.

Restless air currents churned around him, forming wave after wave of expanding wind pressure!

Only at this moment did the surrounding crowd finally realize.

This man, who had followed behind Gao Wen, never speaking, with a refined appearance and a gloomy demeanor, was actually a genuine monster!

(End of Chapter)