Marcus picked up Yubashiri and examined it from every angle.
Yubashiri's defining characteristic had always been its lightness.
Netherite ingots, on the other hand, were absurdly heavy. Dense enough that even small amounts added serious heft to whatever they were forged into.
But holding the transformed Yubashiri felt weird.
Not only was there a constant stream of cold energy seeping from the blade, but it still felt light in his grip. Even though by all rights, it should weigh over one hundred kilo now.
"What a fine blade."
Marcus handed Yubashiri back to Zoro.
Usopp, watching from the sidelines, looked completely lost. From his perspective, the two of them had just passed a sword back and forth while making impressed noises.
Though even he could tell Yubashiri had changed.
"Could you guys maybe talk about something I can actually understand?"
Marcus laughed. "Didn't I explain this before? Every blade has its own attributes. Just from the name 'Yubashiri,' you'd expect something related to water or ice, right? But now, seeing it like this... it's cold on the outside but burning hot on the inside."
"That sounded weirdly inappropriate somehow," Usopp muttered. "Whatever. That's not the point." He waved off the explanation. "The Shichiseiken's upgrades were obvious. But what about Zoro's other sword? What changed? Is it stronger than before?"
Zoro didn't waste time with words. He simply drew Sandai Kitetsu.
With just a light swing, the massive tree trunk split cleanly in two. Ghostly energy lingered where the blade had passed, clinging to the wood like some kind of parasitic presence.
But unlike fire, it didn't burn. It just... stayed there, radiating an ominous aura.
Even Usopp, who knew jack shit about swords, felt a chill of fear.
"Sandai Kitetsu's basically a problem child now," Zoro said. "If I don't control it properly, it'll hurt me as much as my enemies."
Then he drew Yubashiri.
When he slashed at the fallen tree trunk, the scent of scorching filled the air. But there were no visible burn marks on the wood.
Usopp involuntarily shuddered. If that blade hit someone, wouldn't they be cooked alive from the inside out?
And if Zoro used both enhanced blades together, the combined destructive power would be terrifying.
"This is way too strong," he breathed out, impressed and more than a little scared.
Marcus was deep in thought.
The netherite ingots didn't just increase blade durability, they seemed to trigger special effects based on each weapon's craftsmanship and original properties.
It was like Sanji's cooking philosophy: same ingredients, different dishes, completely different results.
But so far, it seemed like only netherite ingots produced these enhancements. Copper and gold hadn't shown any similar effects when he'd tested them before.
Which raised another question: would the other tubes work the same way? He'd added netherite to the Cool Ball and the Thunder Ball tube too.
Or was the difference in forging method? The techniques for creating those ball tubes were obviously different from sword forging.
Whatever. He couldn't figure it out right now anyway.
He wasn't exactly the research type. If he couldn't understand something immediately, he usually just accepted it and moved on.
As long as it made things stronger, that's what mattered.
Meanwhile, Kashu lay forgotten on the ground where Zoro had set it down.
Usopp picked it up, brushing dirt off the blade. "Seriously, you can't just leave weapons lying around like garbage."
The sword testing session wrapped up after that.
Unfortunately, Zoro hadn't brought out Wado Ichimonji for enhancement. He was curious about what would happen if a Great Grade blade was fused with netherite ingots.
Would it become even more powerful? Or would the modification somehow diminish what made it special in the first place?
But he wouldn't push the issue. Zoro had his reasons, and he respected that.
Besides, Zoro had already gotten two massive upgrades. That was more than enough.
Sanji, on the other hand, was left without any upgrades. He couldn't exactly enhance Sanji's shoes the same way, could he? What would that even be called, Supreme Grade Leather Footwear?
Though to be fair, Sanji could already wear diamond boots. His legs were pretty well-protected already.
While Marcus and Zoro were testing their new weapons, Usopp had been struck by inspiration. He'd been thinking about Goliath's fusion abilities, combining them with his own Devil Fruit powers. Specifically, he wondered if he could somehow integrate his explosive properties into metal.
The Bomb-Bomb Fruit let him turn any part of his body into a bomb. Which meant... Actually, this required some basic science knowledge that Chopper had taught him recently.
Calcium was technically classified as a metal. And in the human body, calcium was primarily found in two places: teeth and bones.
As a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user, his teeth and bones could explode just like any other part of his body. So theoretically, if he could fuse his explosive teeth or bones with metal through Goliath's abilities... could he create some kind of explosive weapon?
The idea was fascinating. But also terrifying.
He definitely wasn't willing to test it. Whether it was teeth or bones, extracting them would hurt like hell. And the cost of failure was way too high, what if he damaged himself?
But then he remembered something else. Goliath's Munch-Munch Fruit wasn't limited to just metals. It could consume and transform wood, cloth, and other organic materials too.
Including hair.
He pulled a few strands from his head and walked over to where Goliath was resting.
The iron golem looked at the slightly curled hair in Usopp's outstretched hand.
"You're sure that's hair, right?"
"Of course it is! What else would it be?"
"Fine. And what do you want me to do with it?"
"Try fusing it with my slingshot. And maybe add some of that netherite you used with the swords."
Goliath sighed deeply. He tilted his head back and tossed both Usopp's hair and the slingshot into his furnace-mouth.
His chest hatch opened after a few minutes of processing.
Usopp excitedly grabbed the newly modified slingshot infused with his hair and netherite.
It felt noticeably heavier in his hand, which wasn't surprising. But then came the problem he hadn't anticipated.
How was he supposed to make it explode?
As a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user, he could normally detonate any part of his body even after it was separated. But detached body parts would only retain their explosive properties for a limited time, depending on what they were.
Now, looking at the slingshot that had been fused with his hair... he couldn't feel any connection to it at all. In other words, his brilliant idea had completely failed.
Just then, Clucky hopped onto Goliath's shoulder.
"Cluck cluck!"
"You want to try using your egg?" Goliath translated, sounding surprised.
Clucky nodded enthusiastically.
Usopp stared. "You can understand what Clucky says?"
"We're both creations of the same maker," Goliath explained. "Clucky and I don't have a language barrier."
"That's pretty cool."
He watched as Goliath consumed one of Clucky's exploding eggs along with the slingshot, processing them together.
But the result was basically the same. The problem remained: how do you make an inanimate object explode on command?
Clucky's eggs exploded when they broke, but that was a natural property of the eggs themselves. A slingshot infused with egg material didn't automatically gain that same trigger mechanism.
There was one small benefit, though.
Whether it was Usopp's hair or Clucky's exploding egg, both materials granted the slingshot a degree of explosion resistance.
The amount varied based on what was used. Usopp's hair only provided limited immunity, it could probably withstand a few small blasts before breaking.
Clucky's egg offered stronger protection, though it still had limits. If the explosion exceeded a certain threshold, the weapon would take damage.
Usopp considered other options. What if he made the ammunition explosive instead of the weapon?
But his slingshot used lead pellets as ammunition. Same problem, how do you make lead balls explode?
Inanimate objects didn't have will or consciousness. They couldn't replicate the "burst upon breaking" property that Clucky's eggs possessed naturally.
So his sudden burst of inspiration ended in failure.
But it gave Goliath an interesting idea.
Instead of trying to make external weapons explosive, what if he integrated weapons directly into his own body?
He consumed the modified slingshot, breaking it down and absorbing it into his internal structure.
His robotic form shifted slightly, mechanisms rearranging inside his chest cavity. When the transformation finished, he had a built-in cannon system that could fire projectiles directly from his torso.
---
Time on Asuka Island passed faster than anyone expected. More than ten days slipped by in what felt like a blink.
Ever since entering the Grand Line, the crew had never stayed in one place for very long. One day in Whisky Peak, another in Little Garden, then Drum Kingdom, and finally helping Vivi support the rebellion and establish a new government in Arabasta.
If you didn't count the time spent sailing between islands, they'd never spent more than a month anywhere since entering the Grand Line.
That kind of speed put them among the fastest-moving pirate crews on this route, which was both impressive and slightly insane.
When departure day finally arrived, the old lady, whose name they had learned was Izaya, came down to the docks. Maya, Saga, and several other islanders came along to see them off.
It wasn't just gratitude for handling the Shichiseiken situation. Marcus had built them a proper shelter. Chopper had spent days teaching basic medical knowledge to anyone willing to learn. Even Goliath's Munch-Munch Fruit had proven useful, helping the islanders become more self-sufficient and better defended against future threats.
The people of Asuka Island were grateful for everything the Straw Hats had done.
Zoro stood at the ship's railing, looking down at Saga and Maya holding hands on the dock. "So your hand's all healed up, and now you're settling down? Giving up on the whole 'journey to find justice' thing?"
Saga scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
Dreams were nice and all, but after everything he'd been through, after realizing how little his hard work mattered when facing someone with real talent, the fire in his heart had dimmed.
At the same time, his relationship with Maya had grown stronger by the day. In the end, he'd chosen to stay rather than chase some abstract ideal of justice across the seas.
Zoro didn't try to talk him out of it or give some inspiring speech. He just nodded silently.
If he could have, he would've loved to just stay in that dojo back home and train with Kuina forever. He understood the appeal of choosing a simpler life.
He pushed those thoughts aside and turned around, only to find the rest of the crew staring at him with weird expressions.
"What?"
"I thought you'd grab Saga and drag him onto the ship by force," Nami said bluntly. "You know, the whole 'you have potential, come be a swordsman' routine."
Kira nodded in agreement. "You spent the last ten days training with him every single day. Teaching him about Haki, swordsmanship techniques, everything. I figured you were recruiting him."
Sanji clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Cold-hearted moss head, letting go of a promising student."
"Shut up, ero-cook! We all saw you flirting with Maya every damn day!"
"What? I have principles! I was just offering her quality food as a gentleman should. That's not flirting!"
Their little argument escalated into the usual Zoro-versus-Sanji bickering session, effectively ending any serious discussion about Saga's choice.
The Going Merry raised her sails and set off, leaving Asuka Island behind.
But compared to when they'd first arrived, the atmosphere on board had changed. A wave of what could only be described as "self-improvement fever" had swept across the entire crew.
In the past, Alvida's morning training routine had been the standard everyone followed. She'd been the first one up, the first one working out, setting the pace for everyone else.
Now though? The first person training each morning was Vivi.
The former princess was drenched in sweat in the training room, gripping her weapon, the Peacock Slashers.
They were an interesting design, meant to be worn close to the chest like ornamental jewelry but deployable as bladed weapons. Lightweight, easily concealed, perfect for surprise attacks.
But their lethality was pretty limited. They were assassination tools, not combat weapons.
"Whew..."
She set down the Peacock Slashers and wiped sweat from her forehead.
"Maybe I should've picked a different weapon," she muttered to herself.
She'd chosen the Peacock Slashers carefully back when she'd infiltrated Baroque Works. They had a decent floor, as long as you knew how to use them, you could handle ordinary opponents easily enough. But after joining the Straw Hat crew and seeing real combat, she'd realized her skill level was nowhere near good enough. Her "beginner proficiency" wasn't cutting it anymore.
She glanced over at Nami, who was practicing with her Clima-Tact.
Nami spun the staff, releasing a red bubble and a blue bubble that merged into a small steam cloud. Then she thrust the staff forward sharply.
A bolt of lightning shot out in a straight line, crackling through the air.
"That's so cool!" Vivi couldn't help but praise.
Even with her excellent education and study habits, seeing lightning created artificially like that was impressive.
But Nami just pouted and shook her head in dissatisfaction. "This move isn't even practical though. Enemies won't just stand there while I charge it up. And this stupid stick is so heavy!"
She glared at her Clima-Tact like it had personally wronged her.
Was the upgraded Clima-Tact powerful? Absolutely. Even with her relatively limited physical strength, a solid hit with that thing could do serious damage.
But it was like giving a wizard a giant battle axe. Sure, it worked, but it felt awkward and wrong.
Marcus had jumped in to argue with her about it just yesterday.
"Yeah, your fighting style relies on weather manipulation. But can you guarantee you'll always have teammates protecting you while you set up your attacks? Even if you do have protection, can you be sure that move you spent half a minute charging will work? What if conditions aren't right that day and your weather tricks can't handle the enemy? Then what? You'll have to rely on the stick in your hands for direct combat."
He'd pointed at Kira as an example. "Look at her. She's been doing weighted training from day one. That's why she's improved so much."
Nami, swayed by his argument, had let herself be talked into it. She'd not only added more netherite weight blocks to her training regimen but also started carrying the Clima-Tact around all day.
As a result, even though she'd only performed a single Thunder Charge just now, sweat was already beading on her forehead from exhaustion.
Vivi looked down at her light but practically harmless Peacock Slashers.
On the other side of the training deck, Alvida gripped her iron mace with both hands and swung it down hard.
CRACK.
Cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the obsidian post in front of her.
"Phew..."
Her entire body ached, but not from simple weapon swinging. That alone wasn't enough to tire her out.
No, she was sore because she'd been pushing herself relentlessly since yesterday, training with an intensity that bordered on self-punishment.
Her iron mace had been reinforced by Goliath with netherite, transforming it from a basic weapon into something incredibly durable. It didn't have any special craftsmanship or unique abilities, just raw, uncompromising hardness.
Now it was tough enough that even if it clashed directly with the Shichiseiken, it wouldn't lose.
She gritted her teeth and repositioned her stance. Legs driving hips, hips driving torso, all her weight and power flowing into her arms for maximum impact.
BOOM!
The club smashed into the obsidian with enough force to send out a visible shockwave. The impact echoed through the training room.
Nami and Vivi both flinched, their hearts skipping a beat from the sheer violence of the strike.
The two women huddled together and started whispering.
"Why is she so pissed off right now?" Nami asked quietly. "Did someone say something to her?"
Before they'd set sail, Alvida had been cheerful and relaxed. But ever since yesterday, she'd been wearing a dark expression like someone had seriously insulted her.
"Maybe because she lost to Marcus in a sparring match."
"That's it?" Nami frowned. "But that's totally normal, isn't it?"
After all, Marcus now wielded the Shichiseiken, and his combat power had reached ridiculous levels. Even if the entire Straw Hat crew, excluding Luffy and Zoro, fought him together, it would probably result in a roughly even match.
Sure, both sides would be holding back to avoid actually killing each other, but still.