A Paramecia-type Sour-Sour Fruit, and that exceedingly rare Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Nyūdō!
Even a single ordinary Devil Fruit would fetch an astronomical price on the black market—let alone a Mythical Zoan, rarer still than even the Logia types!
The gaze hidden behind Doflamingo's sunglasses froze in an instant. The wild, arrogant grin that had been plastered across his face seemed to have been sealed in cement, stiff and immovable.
Ripples of disbelief surfaced in Stussy's beautiful eyes. Her red lips parted slightly as she asked, her voice trembling,
"Are these… truly all meant to be the champion's prizes?"
"Of course," Tenma replied calmly. "Treasures are meant for heroes. Whoever stands at the end of this battle earns the right to dispose of these spoils as they please."
His hearty laughter made the very air tremble. "Even that Logia fruit will be thrown into the prize pool as a grand reward in the future—and the good stuff doesn't end there."
"The victor may even make one reasonable request of me, or receive a peerless famous blade, forged with the utmost devotion by Wano's top swordsmiths—far surpassing even the Great Grade swords!"
The moment those words fell, the expressions of everyone present became wonderfully colorful. The restraint in their eyes vanished, replaced by flames of naked greed.
"That's far too tempting. Even I'm feeling the urge to swear allegiance to you, my lord, and seek an official post in this land,"
Stussy said with a coquettish laugh, her gaze flowing with probing intent.
Several people immediately echoed her words. After all, those who had made it this far were no fools.
As covetous as they felt, everyone understood perfectly well—this high-profile tournament was clearly a means for him to filter elites and cultivate his own core faction. Outsiders had no place sharing in the spoils.
Just as everyone harbored their own thoughts—
A blinding bolt of lightning, like a sword tearing through the heavens, suddenly exploded across the massive broadcast screen!
Its brilliance was overwhelming, as if a divine spotlight had been forcibly cast upon the already boisterous Fire Festival.
Crackling thunder roared without end. Countless serpents of lightning wildly licked every inch of the arena floor.
At the heart of that scalp-numbing tempest, a youthful girl of about thirteen slowly condensed into physical form amid the leaping electric particles.
She carried a massive kanabō in one hand. Bathed in lightning powerful enough to turn an ordinary person to charcoal, she strolled forward as casually as if walking through a garden—completely unscathed.
"The scale of that lightning pillar is absolutely insane! That full-body elementalization—my god!"
"Could it be that one?! The legendary Devil Fruit that's been lost to history for nearly a hundred years—one of the strongest Logias at the pinnacle of nature itself… the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!"
Morgans' avian eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped out. His journalistic instincts kicked into overdrive as he howled like a commentator on stimulants.
The reactions of the other guests were no better—mouths agape, faces frozen in shock.
After all, the Fire Festival had been underway for less than an hour, yet it had already delivered shock after shock.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit—an apex Logia on the same tier as the abilities possessed by the Navy Headquarters' three carefully cultivated monster admirals!
A newcomer with such potential was destined to become a top-tier force standing at the very summit of the seas.
Tenma… or rather, all of Wano—was their fortune truly this outrageous?
Not only could they casually give away Mythical Zoans as prizes, they even had a peerless genius wielding a top-tier Logia hidden under their banner!
Just as everyone's minds churned, the passionate voice of the announcer rang out across the arena:
"Next to enter the field is a member of the Oniwabanshu personally commanded by the Shogun himself—the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user… Lord Yamato!"
As the image froze on the giant screen, deafening cheers swept across all of Wano.
On-screen, Yamato seemed to sense the crowd's enthusiasm. Amid the lightning-filled sky, she raised both hands and waved energetically.
"And her opponent is no less formidable—a man who passed layer after layer of grueling trials a year ago to rise into the Shogun's core combat forces… Drake!"
As the announcement ended, a lithe figure had already followed the schedule and steadily stepped onto the floating sky-island arena.
The guests were hardly unfamiliar with him.
Two years ago, he had cut his way from the West Blue into the Grand Line. With ruthless, razor-sharp swordsmanship, he had forcibly claimed the title of top Supernova pirate.
It was Morgans himself who had broken the exclusive story of Drake entering the New World and joining Tenma's camp.
A year had passed since then. In a country that revered bushidō, anyone could guess that this man's strength had grown far beyond his former self.
Anticipation and curiosity filled the crowd's expressions.
This was bound to be a spectacle.
The banquet guests adjusted their seats, eyes locked onto the screen, afraid to miss a single detail.
Most of them, however, were focused on Yamato—desperate to see just how far this lightning-wielding young girl had developed that invincible fruit.
Amid thunderous cheers, the battle officially began, and the festival atmosphere surged to its peak.
Swallowtail · Sixfold!
After a year of interaction, Drake knew all too well how terrifying this seemingly harmless thirteen-year-old truly was. He dared not hold back in the slightest, unleashing his full power from the very first move!
The fierce aura of a swordmaster erupted instantly. Cold light flashed from his blade as six vicious slashes were unleashed in a blink.
Tracing bizarre looping trajectories, the attacks sealed every escape route, striking from six deadly angles at once.
—Crackle!
A teeth-grinding burst of electricity rang out as violent lightning instantly crawled over Yamato's entire body.
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward from her, and the solid stone beneath her feet didn't last even a second before being pulverized into dust.
Kanabō in hand, Yamato lifted her right foot sharply—and in the next instant, her entire body transformed into a dazzling bolt of lightning, vanishing from the spot.
Drake's sure-kill sixfold slash struck nothing but empty air!
"Thunder Bagua!"
Before Drake could even react—less than a second later—the shrill roar of thunder detonated beside his ear.
Crackling arcs of electricity converged madly before him. The kanabō, wrapped in terrifying high-voltage lightning and jet-black Haki, crashed down like the hammer of judgment.
—BOOM!!
Devastating thunder energy exploded across Drake's body.
Just one strike!
Advanced Haki intertwined with destructive lightning crushed every layer of his defense in an instant.
Coupled with that overwhelming brute force, Drake didn't even have time to scream. His eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness on the spot.
Like a baseball hit clean out of the park, his body was sent flying hundreds of meters away, blasting straight out of the arena island.
Only after leaving the field was he barely caught by the waiting staff and rushed to the medical ward.
"The first victor is decided! The winner is—Lord Yamato!"
This battle could scarcely even be called exciting. It was a one-sided massacre.
But the problem was—this was Drake who'd been defeated!
A Supernova of this caliber could serve as a core officer in any New World faction, yet he'd been one-shot by a girl who hadn't even finished growing?
Dead silence fell over the guest seats.
Such crushing victory only highlighted how unfathomable Yamato's strength truly was.
That terrifying lightning ability… that youthful yet domineering combat instinct—if she were allowed to fully mature, she would undoubtedly become another existence on par with the Navy's three monsters!
Just where did Tenma dig up a monster like this?!
Many big shots were screaming internally. Even the ever-arrogant Doflamingo couldn't help but feel a chill as he looked at the Yamato on-screen, far younger than himself.
What kind of sick joke was this?!
"How the hell are you supposed to fight that?" he cursed inwardly.
All of Wano erupted into tsunami-like cheers.
On the screen, Yamato once again waved happily at the projection Den Den Mushi, smiling like a child who'd just received candy.
One moment a decisive thunder god of slaughter, the next a sweet girl next door.
With that stark contrast and Wano's deep-seated worship of strength, Yamato's popularity skyrocketed like a rocket.
The scene shifted immediately.
As the dust settled on Island No. 1, the camera cut to Island No. 2, where two figures had long been standing.
One was a middle-aged man with round spectacles and a gentle, refined demeanor.
The other was instantly recognizable to the guests—the former Navy Headquarters admiral candidate who had recently betrayed the Marines and shaken the world… "Momousagi" Gion!
The moment Gion appeared, Stussy and Rosinante's expressions changed dramatically. Their previously relaxed postures tightened, faces turning solemn.
All eyes were glued to the massive screen.
Only Morgans, the news-crazed maniac, muttered excitedly to himself while his pen moved so fast it nearly left afterimages.
"Next is the highly anticipated battle on Field No. 2! The two combatants are—two towering pillars of Wano's swordsmanship!"
"One is the renowned sword master, second only to the Shogun himself in sword attainment—Master Shimotsuki Kōshirō!"
"The other is a core member of the Shogun's Oniwabanshu—Lady Gion! She has consecutively defeated the famed Ushimaru and Lord Yasuie in sword duels, and is without question the strongest female swordmaster in the land!"
In Wano, samurai and swordsmanship were supreme beliefs.
A clash between these two figures at the very apex of the sword path ignited cheers even fiercer than Yamato's earlier match.
Yet on the arena, both Gion and Kōshirō felt rather helpless.
Neither had volunteered for this fight, nor were they interested in the so-called lavish prizes.
Gion sought abilities that could enhance her talent and adaptability, while Kōshirō cared for nothing but the sword.
They were here purely to cooperate with Tenma's display plan.
After all, Tenma had already declared that this tournament would be held every year during the festival. As the first edition, it had to make a statement.
Though dragged onto the stage, when Gion turned to look at Kōshirō, her battle intent instantly ignited.
She truly wanted to fight him seriously here.
After all, aside from Tenma himself, this was the only man who could completely suppress her through pure swordsmanship.
"Then—begin!"
As the referee's words fell—
Whoosh!
Gion's figure vanished without warning!
The speed was absurdly fast—so fast that even the high-end imaging Den Den Mushi nearly failed to capture her trajectory.
Only a fading afterimage remained. In the blink of an eye, Gion appeared above Kōshirō's head, gripping Konpira, descending like a ghost.
A shrieking slash came crashing down!
"You truly are the swordmaster I've seen who pursues speed to its absolute extreme,"
Kōshirō said calmly. "I'm very curious, Gion—what kind of transformation you'll undergo once you cross that threshold and become a Great Swordmaster."
At the instant the blade was about to strike, Wadō Ichimonji flashed from its sheath!
No flashy movement—just a flick of the wrist.
A terrifying sword momentum surged skyward, chilling to the bone, meeting Gion's lightning-fast strike with absolute precision.
Boom!!
Violent air currents exploded outward. Sand and shattered stone were hurled into the sky before blasting in all directions, like a doomsday sandstorm.
The solid arena floor cracked apart under the shockwaves, spiderweb fissures spreading wildly.
Even through the screen, even without being present, the distorted air alone conveyed how terrifying their swordsmanship truly was.
Kōshirō blocked the strike steadily. In the next moment, his entire being seemed to enter a sublime, elevated state.
An invisible yet heavy pressure burst forth, forcing Gion—still in an attacking stance—to retreat.
Gion's heart clenched.
This feeling again! This was exactly how she'd lost to him before.
The dividing line between top swordmasters—the bottleneck she was currently stuck at.
The realm of the Great Swordmaster!
"Then, it's my turn to attack."
Kōshirō spoke plainly and casually swung his blade toward Gion.
The seemingly ordinary slash underwent a qualitative change in the next instant. Sword energy condensed into a vast white arc, crashing down with irresistible might.
To experience that state once more, Gion gritted her teeth and advanced instead of retreating, raising her blade to block.
Only after expending enormous stamina did she barely withstand the strike.
With just a single exchange, the gap between them was laid bare.
"So this is what they call returning to simplicity…" Gion thought in awe.
She had often sought Tenma's guidance in private on how to advance further in swordsmanship.
His answers were always profound and elusive: merge one's heart and intent completely with the sword, comprehend deeper transformations of sword momentum, and ultimately reach a state of perfect control.
When ordinary swordmasters strike, their sharp intent is so blatant it feels like it could pierce the heavens.
But at the level of Tenma and Kōshirō, that sword momentum is restrained to the extreme.
Even when holding a blade and facing an opponent, unless deliberately unleashed, they appear no different from an ordinary man holding a firewood stick.
That was only the most basic change in presence.
At a deeper level—like now—even without flashy techniques, every casual slash carried terrifying layers of "intent" and "momentum."
Through Tenma's personal instruction, Gion had begun to grasp this state—not just in theory anymore.
Momousagi snorted softly and shook her head. The ribbon binding her hair snapped and fell away.
Her jet-black hair instantly spilled free, dancing wildly in the gale.
"Then let's do this seriously—one more time!"
After adjusting her breathing, Gion forced herself into the mental state Tenma had taught her.
With a low shout, she drew her sword and charged again. Her spirit, energy, and focus condensed to their peak. Sharp and swift, she now faintly carried the air of unity between person and blade.
"One-Sword Style · Break Slash!"
At the moment she struck, boundless sword momentum surged onto Konpira.
A point of pale cyan light exploded forth, merging with the sword force into a colossal azure blade of energy that surged forward with world-shattering might, cleaving toward Kōshirō!
"To condense your entire flow of energy to this extent, and unleash such a stunning strike…"
"It seems, Gion, that you've already touched the threshold. Achieving Great Swordmastery is now only a matter of time."
Praise flickered in Kōshirō's eyes, yet his hands did not slow in the slightest.
With the same plain, momentum-infused slash, he met her attack head-on.
Humm!!
Where the sword energy passed, it was as if space itself were being cut apart. The void trembled with a strained, resonant hum.
Boom!!
A heaven-shaking sonic boom erupted over the Flower Capital.
Amid the violent collision of air currents, the land around the training ground collapsed as if struck by a colossal hammer, caving in with a thunderous roar.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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