Chapter 111

I'm standing in front of a huge sabertooth tiger.

'I actually feel kinda scared. This guy is amazing.'

"Alright, turn back."

He stopped using his Devil Fruit and turned back into his human form.

"You looked so cool, Akari. If you train hard enough, you will become even more awesome. So do your best."

"Yes, Captain! I will definitely make this power mine!"

"Good, now go and have fun."

He bowed and went back to the ship. I sat down on the ground and looked over at the White White Sea. I grabbed Shusui and unsheathed it.

"You're being quite the pain, Shusui. Ryuma already acknowledged me, but you're still refusing to corporate. Am I really that weak to you?"

I didn't get any kind of response.

"Sigh."

'If someone heard me talk to a sword, they would think that I've gone crazy. But I have a reason. Whenever I wield Shusui, I feel like it's holding me back. Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu didn't react like that. Especially Sandai Kitetsu. That thing just let me do whatever as long as someone ended up cut. But Shusui is being annoying.'

I sheathed it back.

'I wonder if I should trade it for Enma. It's not like I could upgrade it's rank any further since it's already a black blade. So technically, Enma should be the better choice. But Ryuma did entrust it to me, and I don't want to break my promise.'

"AAHH! If you weren't acting up, I wouldn't be in this predicament!"

I unseated it.

'Should I hold onto Shusui or find another more suitable sword? I guess I should just train till the answer pops in my head.'

I started swinging Shusui in front of me.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

-

-

-

-

...9996, 9997, 9998, 9999, 10000."

'Hm?'

Shusui suddenly started vibrating.

"BOOOOOOOM!!!" [SFX: Big ass explosion]

I got sent flying back and landed on my back. My crew came running towards me.

"What happened here!? Are you okay?" asked Ace

"I'm fine. I managed to protect myself with Haki."

I stood back on my feet.

"Did an enemy attack?" asked Robert

"It was Shusui."

"WHAT!?"

Everyone was shocked.

"Are you talking about your sword?" asked Sabo

I nodded.

"While I was training, it suddenly exploded. I didn't do anything to it. I was just swinging it with physical power."

The white dust cloud started disappearing, and I started walking towards Shusui.

"Stay here. I'll go beat some sense into the bastard."

The white dust cloud disappeared, and I saw something I didn't expect. Shusui's blade turned into a normal one. I quickly picked it up while enveloping myself in Haki, just in case an explosion appears again.

'This is impossible! I've never heard about a black blade reverting to its original state. What should I do now!? Even if I wanted to return it to Wano, they would all want to kill me! Huh? Why does it feel so comfortable in my hand? It never felt like this.'

(An: I don't know if this is possible, but this is a fanfic, so if you were expecting everything to be canon… well, that's just too bad.)

My crew came to see what happened.

"Is that Shusui!? Wasn't the blade black before? What happened to it?" asked Perona

"I don't know. I've never heard about something like this happening. Ey Shiryu, attack me with your sword. I want to test it out."

"Yes, Captain."

He unsheathed his blade, and the rest got out of the way.

"Come at me, Shiryu."

He immediately ran towards me and swung his sword towards me.

"Clang!" [SFX: Swords colliding]

I also swung Shusui towards his sword, but what I expected didn't happen. I didn't block it, but I instead slammed it out of his hand. And an energy blade suddenly flew towards Deuce, which he managed to dodge before he got cut in half.

"What was that for you bastard!" screamed Deuce

"That was an accident, and since there was no Haki in it, it wouldn't have affected you anyway."

"Even so, do you know how scary that thing is!? It scared the shit out of me!"

"Then go clean your pants."

He glared at me.

'I used more power to block Shiryu's blade than I would have used normally because I thought that Shusui's rank went down. But contrary to what I thought, the power stayed the same. It might even be stronger now. So the rank hasn't decreased, huh."

I smirked.

"Kekekeke."

"Why are you laughing like that, Captain? I thought that you said that a black blade is strong, so why are you laughing?" asked Robert

"Hahahahahaha! I'll tell you later. Just leave me alone for now. Or I'll ask you guys to spar with me."

Everyone immediately disappeared.

'Good, I needed some quiet time.'

I looked at Shusui.

"So it wasn't that you didn't acknowledge me, but since you still had a bond with Ryuma, you couldn't accept me. But why now? Why did you even break the bond with your former master."

I looked closer at the smooth blade, which looks like a normal sword except for the patter that goes through the middle of the sword, which is a little darker. I swung it around a bit and cut up a couple of rocks.

'Hm, Shusui has become a little softer, and it doesn't feel like an indestructible blade anymore. That's only something a black blade has.'

"Wait, I know why you didn't do it before! A black blade is indestructible, and who would ever want to give up that kind of defense. So does that mean that you trust me now? I hope so. Because we will be having a lot more battles in the future, and they will be strong opponents, so I'll make sure to turn you into a black blade again. This time, you will be able to become the highest rank. You will be even more famous than you already are."

I got into a sword stance.

"Let's train harder than we ever have and this time as true friends, right buddy?"

It shook a little.

"I don't understand shake language, but I'm sure that was you acknowledging me as your friend. So let's do this!"

'I don't know what the hell is happening, but I'm so happy that I still have Shusui. This Sword definitely suits me more than Enma. And I'll make sure to take it with me to the top!'

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[I didn't want to get rid of Shusui, but since it already was a black blade, it would never be able to become the highest rank. And of course, I can't have my mc end up with a second rank sword because I didn't give him enough plot armor.

So I thought of this idea. Since black blades are made by the connection between the sword and its wielder, I thought if that connection were to be cut, it would turn back to a normal blade. And since it's been a black blade for so long, it was able to keep its strength.

It sounds possible to me. So what do you guys think? But I guess it's kinda late to ask for your guys' opinion, but whatever.]

Anime Quotes:

"I would rather be a brainless monkey than a heartless monster."

– Goku (Dragon Ball)

"People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts … their "reality" may all be a mirage. Can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs?"

– Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

"You think you're the only ones who matter. You think you can put off death. But that peace made you foolish and thoughtless. If you kill someone, someone else will kill you… this hatred binds us together."

– Pain/Nagato (Naruto)