You didn't forget!
You did it on purpose!
But none of them dared say it out loud. Facing a monster like Daren, someone ridiculously powerful and utterly reckless, reasoning was pointless.
The situation left them no choice.
The massive Cursed Sword, standing over a hundred meters tall, loomed like a skyscraper of thirty or forty stories in the modern world. Just standing at its base and looking up made them feel like insignificant ants.
Not to mention, every single one of them knew the power that sword carried.
Even without Daren swinging it himself, just one blow from that sword would bring unimaginable destruction to Fish-Man Island.
The Vice Admiral casually raised his hand. Blue arcs of electricity flickered in his palm as the distant giant sword let out a deafening roar.
Violent tremors rippled outward, making the ground and nearby buildings visibly shudder.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the enormous sword rapidly shrank back to its normal size, then turned into a sharp flash of black light and flew straight toward Daren.
Clang!
The banquet hall of Ryugu Castle was instantly filled with a chilling coldness.
Enma hovered quietly in front of Daren, and following it were three more streaks of light, silently floating in the air.
Closer to Daren's left were Shiki's two swords, Oto and Kogarashi.
Closer to Daren's right was Enma... and a "new face."
This sword was sharp and silver-white, with a streamlined beauty that came from being finely crafted. The pommel was three-pronged, and the blade had a pattern resembling flowing clouds.
Displayed side by side with Enma, one white and one black, they formed a striking contrast.
Strangely, as this sword approached, Daren noticed Enma trembling slightly, releasing a soft chant of joy.
It was as if long-separated lovers had been reunited, or old friends meeting again after years apart, their presence resonating with each other.
Looking at this sword, Daren smiled with satisfaction.
Unlike Enma's "rebellious," "demonic," and "sinister" aura, this sword radiated a sense of gentleness and calmness—yet it lost none of its razor-sharp edge.
That sharpness was its sole, absolute trait.
Unlike Enma, which could extract Haki and transform it into demonic energy, this sword's entire existence was devoted to ultimate sharpness—ripping apart any defense with ease.
It was one of the 21 Great Grade Blades, forged by a master craftsman of Wano Country, standing alongside Enma—one said to destroy even hell…
This was the Meito known as Ame no Habakiri, the blade said to cut even the heavens.
Daren extended his hand and lightly touched the hilt of Ame no Habakiri, wanting to feel its delicate texture.
Surprisingly, unlike Enma's initial fierce resistance, Ame no Habakiri only struggled briefly before gradually calming down, quietly accepting him.
Daren paused, glancing at Enma with a slightly odd expression.
He then began to slowly infuse his Haki into Ame no Habakiri.
A gentle flow of Haki trickled out from his arm, like cherry blossoms swirling or a stream meandering through rocks...
To avoid provoking an overreaction, he infused it with extreme gentleness, like soothing a new lover.
Bit by bit, under the infusion of Daren's Armament Haki—now at a strength of 73—Ame no Habakiri began to tremble, its blade quivering slightly.
The more Haki he poured in, the more violently it trembled.
Daren narrowed his eyes.
It feels different...
If Enma had been like a giant whale devouring greedily, then Ame no Habakiri was like a vast, gentle sea, embracing and sharpening his Haki.
Under its influence, his Haki seemed to grow ever keener.
The destructive force of his internal damage technique would surely become even more terrifying with this sword.
The trembling became more pronounced, more intense...
As if reaching a breaking point, Daren suddenly let out a sharp shout and fiercely increased the Haki infusion.
In the next moment—
Ame no Habakiri erupted with a piercing, high-pitched hum, and a terrifyingly sharp aura exploded outward from it, sending a chill down the spines of everyone in Ryugu Castle and making the hairs on their entire bodies stand on end.
They stared in amazement at the Meito, which seemed to be emitting a joyful hum.
Just from its natural aura, they felt the sensation of being locked onto—an inescapable sense of impending death, as if they could be sliced clean in half at any moment.
Huff...
Daren lightly exhaled and withdrew his Haki.
The suffocating sharpness that blanketed Ryugu Castle instantly disappeared.
Neptune and the others simultaneously let out a huge sigh of relief, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.
"Hmm, both are fine swords."
Daren looked at the pair of Meito, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, in front of him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The characteristics and grade of these two swords were clearly superior to Shiki's "Oto" and "Kogarashi."
Of course, that didn't mean Oto and Kogarashi were bad.
It only showed that even among the 21 Great Grade Blades, more energy and effort had been poured into the forging of Enma and Ame no Habakiri.
As for a sword's true power, it depended largely on the skill of its wielder.
Never mind Oto and Kogarashi—if it were Shiki, he could probably butcher Kozuki Oden with any two standard-issue Marine sabers as easily as slicing melons.
Kozuki Oden had never been able to fully draw out the potential of those two blades; in his hands, it was simply a waste.
Even so, feeling the vastly different auras of the two Meito, Daren couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of Tenguyama Hitetsu.
Wano Country truly lived up to its reputation—its bizarre and intricate techniques were impressive.
Despite coming from the same land, the characteristics of these two swords were like night and day.
Daren scratched at the prickly stubble on his chin.
If he had to put it in human terms, Enma was like a ravenous black-stockinged temptress, always eager to drain her master dry at any time.
Ame no Habakiri, on the other hand, was like a warm and gentle neighborly aunt, broad-minded and tolerant of all your flaws, a little ditzy and quietly accepting.
Both were good people—no, good swords.
After admiring his newest acquisition, Daren felt his mood lift quite a bit.
"But you, little brat, staring at me like that isn't very polite, is it?"
He turned his head and caught sight of a tiny figure.
A slightly chubby face with pale skin, short black hair covering half of it, a hood pulled up over her head...
She cradled her cheeks in her hands, staring at Daren with the seriousness of a little adult, while a small shark tail twitched restlessly behind her.