Seeing this, Ryuuto could only halt his pursuit. He reached out with his right hand, pulling at the empty air. A spear of violet lightning materialized, crackling ominously.
"Take this!"
With a great roar, Ryuuto hurled the lightning spear toward Kizaru.
A piercing shriek tore through the air as the spear moved with incredible speed, as if it had punched a hole through space itself, leaving a long, brilliant tail of electricity in its wake.
Bang!
The spear shot past Kizaru's side and vanished over the horizon. Soon, Kizaru's own figure disappeared from sight.
"As expected... when a user of the Glint-Glint Fruit is determined to escape, they're almost impossible to catch," Ryuuto said with a sigh, slowly descending to the ground.
He landed and surveyed the scene of utter destruction around him, when a sudden thought made him freeze.
"Did I forget something?"
"My sword!"
Ryuuto slapped his forehead, finally remembering. After throwing Yubashiri aside, he hadn't given it a second thought. It must have been caught in that terrifying lightning storm as well. He immediately began to search the area for any sign of it. Fortunately, the blasted zone wasn't too large.
It didn't take long for him to find what was left of his blade. The once-pristine, elegant Yubashiri now lay in several pieces scattered on the ground, arcs of residual lightning still crackling across the fragments.
"So it's true... even Yubashiri couldn't withstand it."
Ryuuto's expression turned somber as he looked at the shattered remains. Although it was only a Ryo Wazamono grade sword, it had been with him for a long time.
"Since it's broken, I'll just have to reforge it," he thought, his mind turning to the various metals in his system's exchange shop and the new abilities he had just acquired.
With his decision made, Ryuuto carefully gathered the pieces of Yubashiri. He then immersed his consciousness into the system's exchange interface.
"Found them."
At his quiet command, a pile of shimmering ores appeared before him.
[Celestial Crystal: 20,000 Reputation]
[An unknown ore from beyond the stars. The intense heat of its entry into the planet's atmosphere burned away most of its impurities, granting it a hardness far exceeding any terrestrial metal.]
[Legend says that the Supreme Grade Swords were forged with this ore, which is the secret to their unparalleled sharpness.]
[Of course, its extreme hardness also makes it incredibly difficult to smith.]
A look of delight spread across Ryuuto's face as he read the description. This was exactly what he was looking for. But he wasn't done yet. He continued to browse the exchange list.
[Aetherium Ore: 10,000 Reputation]
[Aetherium Ore can absorb and amplify the user's energy, such as Haki and Devil Fruit powers, allowing for a massive increase in attack power.]
A moment later, he found this other rare mineral.
"Exchange. I'll take them all!"
With another mental command, two small piles of ore appeared in front of him: the brightly shining Celestial Crystal and the Aetherium Ore, which pulsed with a dim, blackish-red light.
"Excellent... with these two ores, Yubashiri will surely be reborn."
Muttering to himself, Ryuuto laid out the sword fragments on a clean patch of ground. He then took a piece of Celestial Crystal in his left hand and Aetherium Ore in his right.
As he clenched his fists, a surge of violet lightning erupted, enveloping his hands. The golden patterns on his body began to glow, and soon, the Celestial Crystal and Aetherium Ore melted into two pools of liquid metal, dripping down onto the broken sword.
Hiss...
The silvery liquid and the dark-red liquid slowly flowed over the fragments, seeping into every crack and fissure.
"But this isn't enough!"
Once the two molten metals had completely coated the pieces, Ryuuto grabbed the hilt.
Boom!
An intense burst of violet lightning exploded from his right hand, instantly engulfing the blade.
"Now, to use lightning as my forge!"
Ryuuto carefully controlled the power, using the force of the lightning to fuse the Celestial Crystal and Aetherium Ore into the blade, pushing them toward a state of perfect integration.
While Ryuuto was engrossed in his work...
At Marine Headquarters, Marineford...
A flash of light streaked down from the sky and crashed directly into the tallest building on the island.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku was sitting at his desk, munching on a rice cracker.
CRASH!
A human figure smashed through the roof and landed in a heap right in front of him.
"What was that?!"
Sengoku leaped to his feet, the rice crackers in his hand scattering across the floor. He had clearly been startled.
"Fleet Admiral... it's me! Borsalino!" Kizaru groaned from the floor, raising a single finger as he spoke in an extremely weak voice.
"Kizaru? Weren't you sent to the Sabaody Archipelago to deal with a few rookie pirates? How did you end up like this?" Sengoku demanded, rushing to Kizaru's side as he took in the admiral's miserable state.
"It... it was Ryuuto!"
With those final words, Kizaru could hold on no longer and passed out. He had already been severely injured, and using his remaining energy to fly all the way back from Sabaody had pushed him beyond his limits.
"Someone get in here!" Sengoku roared toward the door.
"Fleet Admiral, what are your orders?" a captain asked as he ran in, saluting respectfully before his eyes fell on the unconscious Kizaru on the floor. "The Admiral... what happened to him?"
The captain was stunned. He couldn't imagine what kind of battle Kizaru had been in to be wounded so badly.
"Get the medics, now!" Sengoku thundered, infuriated by the captain's slowness.
"Yes, sir!"
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed as the captain scrambled out. A moment later, several men with a stretcher rushed in, and just as quickly, rushed back out carrying Kizaru.
Sengoku remained frozen in place, the name Kizaru had uttered echoing in his mind.
"He's already strong enough to defeat an Admiral like this?" Sengoku murmured, still reeling from the shock.
Back on the island, Ryuuto's work was nearing its end, and a smile of pure joy lit up his face.
Yubashiri's appearance had been completely transformed. Its once-slender, lightweight blade was now wider and thicker after being infused with the two new ores, and its color had shifted to a deep, dark silver. But those were just the external changes. The truly miraculous transformation happened when the blade was in use.
Hum!
As the last of the molten metal fused into place, the sword let out a soft, clear ring. It vibrated once, then, guided by the violet lightning, levitated into the air before him.
"What a magnificent blade! I wonder if it's reached the level of a Supreme Grade Sword," Ryuuto said, admiring his handiwork.
He reached out and grasped the hilt. As he channeled his violet lightning into it, a complex pattern of lines appeared, spreading across the entire length of the blade. A moment later, the pattern lit up with a brilliant purple glow, and the sword began to radiate a terrifying, destructive aura.
"Let's see what you can do."
"Slash!"
With a casual swing of his right arm, Ryuuto sent a colossal arc of violet energy flying from the sword. It shot out and struck the surface of the sea.
BOOM!
The massive blade of light cleaved the ocean in two, a terrifying display of raw power!
"Incredible," Ryuuto said with a satisfied nod, gazing at the spectacle. "Yubashiri has been completely reborn! The Celestial Crystal gives it its sharpness, and the Aetherium Ore grants it the ability to absorb and unleash my lightning's destructive power!"
"From now on, your name is Kuidra's Edge!"