Wano Country, Kuri, Amigasa Village.
In the middle of a dense bamboo forest, Sephiroth, wearing a white coat and a black suit, stepped out of his Spatial Door with his Butcher's Knife in hand. He stood before a small mound. Recalling the information he had extracted from Kozuki Sukiyaki's blood, he identified the precise location and sliced the mound open with his Spatial Door.
Click!
As the top of the mound lifted, a cubic burlap sack was revealed. He took the sack and unwrapped the cloth, revealing a rectangular black wooden chest. When he opened the chest, two long swords lay within: one with a white sheath named Ame no Habakiri, and the other with a purple sheath named Enma.
Both of these swords are among the 21 Great Grade Swords, with Enma being known as the most unique. However, compared to the Butcher's Knife and Hades Fire Sword that he used, they were still below his level. Ame no Habakiri can enhance flying slashes, and Enma can independently draw out the user's Armament Haki for stronger attacks. The combination of these two swords could unleash devastating power.
Even so, his Butcher's Knife, which has the ability to extract vitality, had already incorporated the characteristics of both without their weaknesses. Shimotsuki Kouzaburo once mentioned that the Butcher's Knife was utterly malevolent and vicious, and had traces of the Onitetsu faction's forging style. Based on that, Sephiroth concluded that its smith was likely a top craftsman from that faction. His conviction was strengthened after he read Kozuki Sukiyaki's memories of swordsmithing techniques. He was certain that when the Butcher's Knife was forged, it must have been sacrificed with the blood of a powerful individual, making it so vicious that an ordinary person would be completely unable to control it.
Sephiroth realized that he could not use these two swords, but he could consider giving them to the people around him. Scarlet already had the black blade Shusui, which was more than enough, and swordsmanship was just a bonus for her. Marigold also used a sword, but she relied on her Goro Goro no Mi Devil Fruit ability to condense lightning and use Armament Haki to create a Thunder Sword. Giving her a sharp sword of this level would not significantly increase her strength.
So... what about... he thought. He would wait until Iska finished her sword training and give Ame no Habakiri to her. He would consider it a gift for his student.
As for Enma, this sword was too ferocious. It was not a weapon that a weak person could control. One had to be at least close to a Yonko's level to wield it perfectly. For now, this sword will just be left in a corner until I find the right person!
Mentally organizing what to do with the two swords, Sephiroth swung his Butcher's Knife, opened the temporary space he had built, and put the two swords into the black wooden chest. After that, he took a blue kimono, a blue haori, and geta from the space, then quickly changed out of his white coat, black suit, and leather shoes.
Immediately after, he took out a spray bottle and a mirror. He shook the spray bottle with his right hand and aimed it at his long silver hair.
BAH!
As he pressed the spray, a burst of black gas quickly covered his silver hair, turning it black without affecting anything beyond the hair. This was the ability of the Iro Iro no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, to color targets and provide mental suggestion. If he continued to develop this ability in the future, he might be able to directly confuse the genuine with the fake and impersonate any designated person. In this world of One Piece, where his disguise could not be recognized by anyone, he would surely be at the top level of master disguisers.
After Sephiroth colored his hair, he took out a blue ribbon, tied part of his black hair into a bun, and observed his face in the mirror.
Hmm! So handsome, it suits me! he thought. However, he felt that just coloring his hair was too simple. After thinking about it, he used his power to go back, manipulated the hair follicles on his chin, and grew a thin silver beard. Soon, he used the spray bottle again and colored the beard black. Finally, he used partial animalization to change his blue eyes to red.
"Not bad! Not bad at all!" Sephiroth looked at the reflection of the slightly decadent samurai ronin's face in the mirror, and he nodded in satisfaction. After his disguise and makeup, he also used the spray to disguise the two long swords at his waist. The sheath of his Butcher's Knife was painted white, while the sheath of the Hades Fire Sword was painted red, and its blade became orange. Under the effect of the "color hint," the two swords gave a completely different impression from their originals. This way, he would not have to worry about his true identity being exposed due to the swords.
Furthermore, if he wanted to secretly develop his power in Wano Country, he had to try to integrate into it. Therefore, perfecting his disguise was a must. Wano Country is a closed country. Not only is it extremely xenophobic, but it also retains a very barbaric and backward concept of feudal class and holds a deep reverence for strength. This is a big part of the reason why Kozuki Oden, a man who was incredibly foolish, was revered by the people of Wano, because of the overwhelming strength he possessed, followed by his status as a shogun's son. There's no way those people would worship him just for fighting, womanizing, and doing vandalism everywhere.
It seems so. After all, the retainers he originally gathered under his command were basically criminals and thugs, all of them pretty bad! It was only later, when they became strong, that they began to pretend to learn etiquette and culture in an attempt to cover up and beautify their pasts. This is generally known as "whitewashing the past." If this is the case, Sephiroth felt that he could imitate that trend and make himself a great hero of Wano Country in a flash!
While Sephiroth was still thinking wildly in his mind, he unconsciously walked out of the boundaries of Amigasa Village and into a lifeless wilderness. He raised his head slightly and saw a weapons factory standing on a distant hill with black smoke billowing out. Through Kozuki Sukiyaki's fragmented memories, he learned that the original Wano Country had a population of more than one million people. However, after experiencing Kaido's Rebellion and the turmoil of Kurozumi Orochi's power, the population of Wano Country had dropped dramatically.
Especially in the face of the four daimyos' rebellion, Kaido directly chose to use cruel means to suppress it. He carried out a large-scale slaughter that shed blood, killing so many people that the corpses were scattered, and killing people with fear. Now, in all of Wano Country, it is estimated that there are only seven or eight hundred thousand people left. If it goes according to the current situation, let Orochi continue to waste, it is estimated that if 15 years later, in the year 1522 of the Haiyuan calendar, half of the population of Wano Country will be left, even if it is lucky! It was a waste of human resources! The wool comes from the sheep. If you want to keep shearing the wool, you must at least keep the sheep alive! Sephiroth, who was a big capitalist, secretly regretted it in his heart.
After wandering around the wilderness for a while, he felt a little bored. Then, he opened a Spatial Door and entered through the perception of the position of a black bat that had just flown to the edge of the town.
Kuri, The Remnant Town, Outskirts.
As Sephiroth stepped out, sheathing his swords, the Spatial Door behind him immediately closed. In the blink of an eye, the door disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
SHU!
Sephiroth's ears moved, and he clearly heard the cries of death from a distance. Curious, he immediately rushed toward the sound.