Chapter 152: The Swordsmanship Style Created by Wood

Even though they weren't the colossal Sea Kings that could devour islands, the large Sea Kings blocking their path were still massive.

From the sea train, they looked like towering walls of flesh blocking their way forward. In front of these giant Sea Kings, the sea train appeared no more than a toy train in an adult's hand.

"Your solution is to just cut down these giant Sea Kings?" Franky asked, his expression briefly stunned before he looked at Wood as if he were a fool.

There were rumors of famous swordmasters in the world who could slice a massive pirate ship in two with a single slash. Wood, being a pirate with a bounty over a hundred million, was certainly strong—something Franky and the others had already believed. That's why they had trusted him earlier.

However, hearing Wood's so-called "solution" now, not only Franky, but even Tom had a dejected look on his face.

Compared to large pirate ships, the giant Sea Kings were much bigger, and there were several of them blocking their way. The idea of slicing such enormous creatures in half as the train sped by was nothing short of a pipe dream. Even legendary swordmasters would struggle to achieve that.

Swordmasters were ranked, and for ordinary swordmasters, splitting a giant Sea King in half wasn't an easy task. However, for legendary figures like Golden Lion or Mihawk, such feats were almost effortless.

Wood was a swordsman, but there was still a gap between him and a true swordmaster. If this had been before, he would have been at a loss in this situation.

But now, he had a way to use external power to elevate his slashes to the level of a swordmaster—perhaps even stronger than an ordinary one!

"Franky, the world is vast. I rejected the idea of installing the cannons you developed on the pirate ship, not just because I didn't have the money at the time," Wood explained. "The other reason is that on my ship, there's no need for such things. I am the most powerful weapon!"

The Puffing Tom drew closer to the Sea Kings. Now, even the passengers who had been casually looking around noticed the abnormality ahead and began to panic.

The Sea Kings, which had been floating on the surface, also noticed the approaching sea train and opened their massive jaws wide.

"Senro Bansei, Hyakki Yakou, Hyakki Yoken-ryu: Two-Faced Buddha!"

Standing at the front of the train, Wood activated Geppo and leaped into the air. He paid no attention to the Sea Kings' gaping maws and instead gripped the handles of the two long swords at his waist.

A terrifying aura and killing intent gathered behind Wood, causing the very air around him to distort. A giant, menacing figure of an Asura, with one face smiling and the other frowning, slowly emerged behind him.

The two-faced Asura's powerful arms mirrored Wood's movements. As Wood swung his blades, time itself seemed to freeze for a moment.

Two slashes, one black and one white, erupted from the blades Tenku and Asahi simultaneously, forming an "X" shape as they shot towards the Sea Kings.

Almost instantly, the runes on Wood's chest shone through his clothes, emitting a silver-white light.

The double-faced Asura behind him grew more solid under this radiant light, and with a thunderous roar, the size and speed of the slashes increased several times over!

Every swordmaster had their own style. Wood, though self-taught, had honed his skills through his time at the Navy school and his personal understanding of swordsmanship, resulting in what he called "Hyakki Yoken-ryu."

Wood's previous techniques, such as Kama Itachi, Kuchisake Onna, and Ushi Oni, all stemmed from the concept of a hundred spirits and demons, including his current move, Two-Faced Buddha.

"Two-Faced Buddha" was a technique he had recently mastered, and it was currently Wood's strongest sword technique.

The Two-Faced Buddha symbolizes life and death, representing both salvation and destruction. In the world of Familiar of Zero, Wood had faced death and slain thousands of enemies, his hands stained with blood, which allowed him to master this technique upon returning to his world.

Although the life simulation was just that—a simulation—it felt like Wood had genuinely lived another life. He realized that after each simulation, his insights and state of mind would evolve alongside the rewards from the system.

Experiencing the myriad aspects of life and tasting its various flavors—that was probably what it meant.

The "X"-shaped slash, composed of black and white, tore through the wind and surged toward the roaring Sea Kings with increasing momentum.

Pshhhh—!

The sound of blades slicing through flesh echoed clearly through the air. The Sea King that had opened its maw wide to attack them froze mid-action, then was cleanly sliced into four pieces.

The slash didn't dissipate after cutting through the first Sea King but continued its trajectory, slashing through the second, then the third...

The Puffing Tom roared past the falling chunks of flesh on either side, leaving Franky, Iceburg, and even Tom in a state of stunned silence.

As for the other passengers on the sea train, their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the sight. What they had just witnessed completely shattered their understanding of what a swordsman could do!

The massive Sea King corpses still floated on the sea, their eyes alone larger than the sea train's carriages. No one doubted that what they had just experienced was real.

But if this wasn't a dream, then what Wood had just done was beyond belief. He had actually sliced through several large Sea Kings with a single slash!

As Wood used Geppo to return to the top of the train, his body suddenly went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

In the world of One Piece, this was the first time Wood had used the power of the divine heart Lífþrasir.

Just as he had suspected, the heart's power amplified his strength by a percentage of his own abilities. Compared to his experience in the world of Familiar of Zero, the increase in his slash's power in the One Piece world was downright absurd.

Though Wood's own level was still a step away from that of a true swordmaster, with the divine heart Lífþrasir amplifying his strength, his slashes had rivaled the power of the legendary Golden Lion Shiki!

However, despite the immense strength provided by the "divine heart," its side effects were equally severe. The power surge had consumed a significant portion of Wood's life force, leaving him momentarily weak and drained.