Sensing Kuina’s gaze, Kota released his hand.
The rapier flew back on its own, sheathing itself in a scabbard that floated nearby.
He then extended his hand, placing his palm on Kuina’s head and ruffling her hair.
He didn't say anything; Kuina already knew all these things, and she understood them in her heart.
In fact, such a massive, ultra-long-range slash, let alone Kuina, even Zoro in the future wouldn't be able to achieve it.
As far as he knew, only he, Mihawk, and Shiki could do it.
He could do it because of his spatial domain and the brute force of his monstrous body, and the latter was due to the “Wave Cutting” technique taught by Shiki.
Mihawk could do it purely because his swordsmanship talent was too powerful.
That guy’s swordsmanship wasted no superfluous strength; he was a true world’s strongest swordsman.
He still had a long way to go to surpass that guy in the realm of swordsmanship.
Kota withdrew his hand and turned to look at Arlo and the other two.
Arlo had been at the bow of the ship watching the excitement from the start, while A-Hua and A-Tao came running out upon hearing the commotion.
As for Indigo, he hadn't left his infirmary since leaving Alabasta, and it was unclear what he was researching. He might have discovered some interesting plants or viruses in Alabasta!
His gaze swept over Arlo and the other two, finally resting on A-Tao.
Arlo already had the ‘Mogudog’ and his future goal was to become the world’s greatest sharpshooter.
Hmm… ambitious.
A-Hua had completely given up on using a sword and now fought with his fists.
His Devil Fruit ability granted him strong defensive capabilities, and besides, he was the ship’s cook; under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t need to fight.
As for A-Tao, he had always been the strongest among the three of them from the beginning.
Whether it was talent, swordsmanship, or strength, he was the strongest.
If it weren’t for his physical limitations, he wouldn’t have returned to inherit his family’s shipping business but would have stayed at the dojo to learn swordsmanship from Koushirou.
Therefore, among the three of them, only A-Tao could make use of this rapier.
Although it was different from the swords he usually used, this rapier was styled like the bamboo swords they used for training when they were young. With practice, he could regain that familiar feeling and wield the sword effectively.
With that thought, he smiled at A-Tao and said, "A-Tao, this sword is for you! Having a weapon is better than fighting bare-handed. Moreover, your Devil Fruit ability grants you exceptional dynamic vision. I believe if you work hard, your swordsmanship will improve by leaps and bounds."
A-Tao looked at the magnificent rapier floating beside Kota, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
After obtaining his Devil Fruit ability in the past few months, he had abandoned weapons and, like A-Hua, began practicing martial arts with his fists and feet.
Now, being asked to pick up a sword again, he was still a little hesitant.
"What? Don’t you want to continue practicing swordsmanship?"
Seeing A-Tao’s hesitation, Kota thought for a moment and understood his concern.
Although his use of fists had been stronger than swords in the past few months, he believed that if A-Tao returned to practicing swordsmanship, with the dynamic vision granted by his eyes, his swordsmanship wouldn’t necessarily reach the highest level, but it was possible to reach the level of an ordinary great swordsman.
This was because A-Tao’s eyes were essentially a weakened version of Mihawk’s Hawk Eyes.
As long as his strength, reaction speed, and swordsmanship improved, even if he couldn’t reach Mihawk’s level, he wouldn’t be too weak.
At the very least, it was more promising than him training his fists again.
Besides, A-Tao’s eyes had special abilities.
Using a sword was far more destructive than using fists!
He reached out, picked up the rapier, and smiled at A-Tao, "If you don't want it, I’ll sell it at the next island, you know. This sword is as strong as 'Zankou' and 'Wado Ichimonji'!"
"Zankou!"
"Wado Ichimonji!"
A-Tao abruptly looked up, staring at the rapier, his eyes gleaming. Even Arlo and A-Hua straightened their bodies, looking at the rapier.
Having grown up in a dojo since childhood, it was impossible not to like swords and famous swords.
Arlo was forced to become the ship’s sniper, but he also liked guns, so there was no need to elaborate.
A-Hua was originally the weakest in swordsmanship among them. If his father hadn't sent him to the sword hall, he might not have come.
However, his martial arts skills were the strongest among the three of them. As long as he had no weapons in his hands, he was the one who could fight the hardest.
Only A-Tao truly loved the profession of swordsmanship.
If it were an ordinary sword, it would definitely not be as good as his fists. But if it were a sword like Wado Ichimonji or Zankou, it would certainly be incomparable to fists.
"Yes, why wouldn't I want it!"
He excitedly stepped forward, took the rapier from Kota’s side, held it in his arms, and a look of joy filled his face.
"You guy, weren't you just full of hesitation a moment ago?"
Arlo relaxed his body, leaned against the railing, and pouted at A-Tao.
"As soon as you heard it was a Great Grade Sword, your expression changed instantly."
"Hehe!"
A-Tao ignored Arlo, picked up the rapier, drew the blade, and ran his hand over the cold, gleaming edge, feeling its chilling aura, and chuckled foolishly.
Seeing A-Tao’s delighted expression, A-Hua and Arlo both smiled.
They were only happy when a companion’s strength increased, and felt no other emotions.
Despite their teasing words, their relationship was like that of bickering lovers; no one would begrudge the other’s good fortune.
"Alright."
Kota took down his sake gourd, turned to look at the white sailing ship that had completely sunk into the sea ahead, raised the gourd, and took a gulp, smiling, "Let's give it a name!"
He then turned around, leaned against the railing, looked up at A-Tao, and said, "Regardless of its original name, now, this sword belongs to you, so give it a name!"
"Give it a name?"
Arlo quickly straightened up, stepped forward, leaned over, and rested his arm on A-Tao’s left shoulder, looking down at the sword in his hand, and said with a smile, "I'm good at this. Kota's sword is called Zankou, yours can be 'Hai Splitter', what do you think? Haha!! Isn't it very suitable?"
"Pfft! (￣ー￣) Hmph!"
East Blue, Unknown Waters, a small boat was constantly circling in this area.
Just then, a sneeze suddenly came from the boat.
Zoro lay on his back on the boat, with the oars discarded on either side of him.
His dejected expression suggested he had been drifting here for many days.
His partner Sakazuki was nowhere to be seen, and it was unclear if these two had quarreled or if some accident had occurred, causing them to part ways.
Zoro rubbed his nose, a hint of strangeness in his eyes.
His body was so healthy, how could he possibly sneeze?
Perhaps someone was thinking of him.
"Yo!"
Just then, his eyes suddenly lit up. He saw a ship sailing towards them on the distant sea, a pirate ship.
He quickly lay down and covered his head with his clothes.
It would be bad if the other party spotted his true appearance and fled.
He still needed them to take him back to an island!
...
Grand Line, bow of the Freedom.
A-Tao pushed Arlo’s hand away, gripped the hilt of the rapier, then twisted his wrist, pointing the sword tip upwards, and raised the rapier high.
Gazing at the white metallic light reflected by the rapier under the sunlight, he laughed heartily, "From now on, I'll call you 'Kyouka Suigetsu'!"
"Kyouka Suigetsu?"
Kota stopped drinking and looked at A-Tao with a strange expression.
Then he thought of something, and a flicker of understanding flashed in his eyes.
Here, only he and Kuina knew about A-Tao’s special eye ability.
"Yes!"
He nodded and continued drinking.
"Calling it 'Kyouka Suigetsu' is quite good."
He hoped A-Tao would truly be able to achieve "Kyouka Suigetsu" in the future.