'Thump, thump, thump'
In his sleep, Dante heard a knocking sound, then he opened his eyes and looked out the window.
By this time, half of the sun had already sunk into the sea, and it was almost dark.
"Come in," Dante said, sitting up from the sofa.
As soon as he spoke, a Marine Branch Lieutenant Commander pushed open the door and walked in, holding a sword in his hand.
"Reporting, Colonel Dante, mission accomplished, Nagasone Kotetsu secured," the Marine Lieutenant Commander quickly said.
Dante waved him over.
The Lieutenant Commander took a few steps forward, holding the sword horizontally in front of Dante with both hands.
Nagasone Kotetsu, one of the famous swords.
There are many famous swords in this world, but if they were to be graded, they would be divided into:
Supreme Grade 12 Works, 21 Great Grade Blades, Skillful Grade 50 Works, and an unequal number of 'Works' grade famous swords.
The Supreme Grade is naturally the top dog among famous swords.
The more famous ones include the Black Blade: Night, wielded by Dracule Mihawk, who would later become a Shichibukai and the World's Greatest Swordsman.
There's also Murakumogiri, wielded by the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, and the legendary First Generation Kitetsu, all of which are peerless treasures ranked among the Supreme Grade.
The 21 Great Grade Blades are slightly inferior to them.
More famous ones include Wado Ichimonji and Shusui, which Roronoa Zoro would later wield.
There's no need to say more about the Skillful Grade.
And at this moment, the Nagasone Kotetsu in front of Dante is also a famous sword ranked among the 21 Great Grade Blades.
The scabbard is entirely dark, with faint patterns appearing, the guard is in the shape of a tiger's mouth, and the hilt is wrapped and woven with black rope, interspersed with some dark red stripes.
Before being unsheathed, overall, this sword appeared very understated and inconspicuous.
Taking the Nagasone Kotetsu, Dante grasped the scabbard and hilt, slowly pulling them apart, and the blade, encased within the scabbard, gradually revealed its sharpness.
Just unsheathing it by two finger-widths, Dante could already feel the sharp aura.
The blade faintly emitted a pale blue, ethereal glow, and its presence was exceptionally keen and chilling.
A smile also involuntarily appeared on his lips.
His hands no longer paused, and he suddenly pulled Nagasone Kotetsu out of its scabbard, revealing its true appearance.
The blade was a deep blue, with layers of cascading 'order' (Shun/Flow) character patterns.
Held in hand, it felt just right in weight and length.
At first glance, this sword seemed to evoke the image of a mountain stream, gently flowing, very serene.
But once held, the feeling was entirely different; it was as if a fierce tiger was gripped in hand, capable of devouring people with a single slash!
As a swordsman… well, I guess I can call myself a swordsman, even if I'm not that great.
In any case, after drawing this sword, Dante no longer doubted its authenticity.
This was definitely Nagasone Kotetsu, one of the 21 Great Grade Blades!
It was intuition!
It was completely different from the ordinary sword he had previously carried.
This feeling, just by holding this sword, could be clearly experienced!
"Good sword, worthy of being a famous sword ranked among the 21 Great Grade Blades.
With this Nagasone Kotetsu in hand, I have even more confidence for this Officer Training Camp assessment," Dante said with a hint of excitement in his eyes and a very pleased tone.
"Colonel, with your immense strength, you will surely pass the assessment and be promoted to Marineford." The Marine Lieutenant Commander quickly flattered him.
Dante was not a native of this world; over a decade ago, his soul transmigrated here, becoming who he is today.
He was born in North Blue, a commoner, with the full name Rodriguez Dante.
Now nineteen years old, seven years ago, finding himself unable to make ends meet alone, he gritted his teeth and joined the Marine. He started as the lowest-ranking orderly in the Marine Headquarters, Marineford, stationed at the North Blue 113th Marine Branch.
Sweeping garbage, mopping decks—he had to do all the lowest-level chores during sea voyages.
Over these seven years, he climbed step by step, and now he has become the second-in-command, the Deputy Commander, of the North Blue Marine 113th Branch.
His military rank has also reached the Colonel level.
Of course, it was at the Branch Colonel level.
Overall, he endured much hardship and faced many dangers over these seven years. Reaching the position of Marine Branch Colonel was both inevitable and a stroke of luck.
Dante knew how cruel this world was, and he had indeed experienced some of it.
Therefore, he placed great importance on his own strength.
But it was of no use; he didn't have a good background, no famous teachers, no one to mentor him, so he could only work hard.
For these seven years, he had always wanted to find and eat a Devil Fruit, but as a treasure of the sea, Devil Fruit are not something one simply stumbles upon.
He had been a Marine from the age of twelve to nineteen, and to this day, he had never seen what a real Devil Fruit looked like.
Originally, he had thought that after joining the Marine, he would be able to practice the Rokushiki or similar techniques.
In the end, it was all for naught.
The Rokushiki, seemingly common, actually had a threshold. Marines in the Four Seas branches were not qualified to learn the Rokushiki at all.
Only Marine branches within the Grand Line had this qualification. Of course, Marine Headquarters, Marineford, goes without saying; they definitely had it.
Thus, after mixing with the Marine for so many years, Dante still hadn't learned any Rokushiki.
Not to mention high-end abilities like Haki; he had absolutely no chance of encountering them.
If one were to insist on what abilities he possessed now, it would be the most rudimentary swordsmanship he learned from the Branch's sword instructor.
Therefore, Dante could barely call himself a 'swordsman'.
However, as a transmigrator, Dante was not without advantages. If one were to talk about golden fingers or cheats, he could be said to have one.
The first golden finger, perhaps a natural talent?
It was called 'Iron Will', and Dante had already figured out its effects over the years.
He had a high immunity to pain, injuries, and fatigue.
Especially during combat, no matter how severe his injuries, he would hardly feel any pain and would not lose his will to fight due to pain.
Of course, this did not mean he was immune to injuries; he would still suffer severe injuries as he should. If his head was cut off, he would still die, and if he lost too much blood, he would still lose his life.
It was simply that his willpower, or rather, his mental state, was immune to such pain.
For example, if an enemy stabbed him, he wouldn't feel much pain, wouldn't make unnecessary movements due to pain, and could quickly counterattack.
However, in Dante's opinion, the most powerful aspect of this ability was not in combat, but in daily training.
Honing one's strength is a very monotonous, boring, and quite exhausting task.
But precisely because of this Iron Will, Dante, for seven years, never relaxed his foundational swordsmanship, making his basics extremely solid.
Coupled with his resistance to fatigue, it helped him continuously break through his limits at the fastest possible speed.
In short, he had benefited greatly over the years.
Besides this Iron Will, his consciousness... or perhaps his soul, his spirit?
In short, there was a black core within him. He still hadn't figured out what this black core was.
But thanks to it, Dante could clearly feel that his strength would experience an extraordinary increase with each breakthrough in his stamina and physical fitness, far surpassing that of ordinary people.
Therefore, overall, his strength was not astonishing, and it wouldn't even stand out in a sea region like North Blue.
But to say it was bad, it wasn't too bad. At least he held the position of Marine Branch Colonel without any strain.
It was entirely based on his strength.
Regardless of swordsmanship, relying solely on his most ordinary strength, Dante could shatter a solid mountain rock, five meters wide and three to four meters high, in the Marine training ground with a single punch!
This was the fundamental reason he could firmly hold the position of Marine Branch Colonel at the young age of nineteen.
"I'll take that as a good omen," Dante said cheerfully.
After a slight pause, he asked again, "Were there any problems?"
"No," the Navy Lieutenant Commander quickly replied.
It was nothing more than eliminating a group of criminal organizations at the dock and confiscating their criminal evidence. For the Marine, this was reasonable and legitimate, so what problems could there be?
"Very good. Let's return to base," Dante nodded and said.
Soon, this warship of the North Blue 113th Marine Branch left the port and headed back to the Marine base.
A few days later, on an island in North Blue, at the Donquixote Family's stronghold.
The young Doflamingo was not yet an adult at this time; he was just a kid.
His temper was exceptionally volatile, and he harbored a deep hatred for this world. At this point, he hadn't even learned how to conceal this hatred and destructive aura.
Even if he tripped over a protruding stone while walking, the Donquixote Family would destroy and bomb the entire street to vent their anger.
One can imagine how volatile this kid was now.
"The Marine took that sword?" Diamanti asked with some surprise.
Trebol nodded and said, "That's right. It was a Colonel from Marine 113th Branch. Doffy, should we go eliminate him?"
Doflamingo had no intention of caring about this at all. He shook his head and said, "No need. We'll talk about it later. I heard some important figures from Marineford have come to North Blue... Now is not the time to clash with the Marine."
It was clear that even though his temper was very volatile now, he had shown his clever side since childhood.
It was just a famous sword; Doflamingo wouldn't provoke the Marine's authority head-on just for that, especially at this time.
Compared to that, he had more important matters to handle.
"Still haven't found Rosinandi?" Doflamingo asked in a deep voice.
His younger brother, Rosinandi, had run away from home... and disappeared a while ago!
Doflamingo and his crew had searched for a long time but hadn't found him.