A smile curled at the corner of Kyle's lips.
Spreading his hand open, Gryphon instantly appeared in his palm.
The moment he saw the sword, Garp's eyes narrowed slightly as he probingly asked, "Is that the sword that old Rayleigh used to have?"
Kyle nodded, "Yeah! He gave it to Shanks later!"
After speaking, he turned his gaze toward Zoro.
"So? Any interest?!"
Zoro glanced at Gryphon but ultimately shook his head.
"I don't like swords with that kind of handguard; they don't feel right to use! Besides, my current swords are already good enough, no need to switch!"
The three swords Zoro currently used were all great grade blades, a lineup that was already considered quite impressive.
Among them, one was White Snow, given to him by his master Koushirou, another was Shuusui, which he had taken from Moria back then, and the last was a famous sword he had acquired by chance during a mission—Oborozukiyo.
Famous swords all possessed their own 'soul,' after all, and weren't so easy to master.
Thinking back to when he first started using Shuusui, it had been very difficult to get used to, and since Gryphon was a supreme grade blade, mastering it would surely be even harder. Besides, he genuinely didn't like the style.
Kyle raised an eyebrow and put Gryphon back into the system space.
"If you don't want it, then forget it!"
It seemed Shanks's sword was safe for now; as for whether he could later trade something valuable to get it back from Kyle, that would be up to him.
He had never promised Shanks he'd definitely keep the sword; if Zoro had wanted it, he would have given it to him first, no question about that.
As for why he didn't ask Kuina, it was simply unnecessary.
Kuina used a single sword; one blade was enough for her, and in terms of sentimental value, Wado Ichimonji was far too important to her, and its quality was excellent too, so there was no way Kuina would abandon Wado Ichimonji to use Gryphon.
Besides, frankly speaking, Gryphon wasn't really suited for a woman; it leaned more towards a masculine style.
"Since neither of you wants the sword or the Fruit, I'll hang onto both for now. We'll see what happens when we get a new crew member later."
"As for now..."
Kyle paused briefly, then his hand shot out instantly, reaching for the food on the table.
"Slow hands get none!!"
w(ﾟДﾟ)w!
"Bastard, stop right there~"
...
---
A few days later, a Marine battleship departed from Marine Headquarters, heading towards Water 7.
Onboard, everyone gathered together.
"We're going to Water 7 soon, I'm so excited!!"
Luffy's eyes were full of anticipation.
"The most prosperous water metropolis in the world, I wonder just how prosperous it is?"
Chopper was also looking forward to it, a bubble seeming to appear above his head, inside which was his imagined version of Water 7.
Although the others weren't as openly excited as those two, they were also full of anticipation for this trip.
Meanwhile, on an island next to Water 7, formed from the accumulation of hundreds of abandoned ships, a blue-haired man wearing only a pair of shorts was tinkering around a strangely shaped ship.
His name was Cutty Flam, the disciple of Tom, the world's greatest shipwright.
[Info: Franky birth name is Cutty Flam]
The ship he was currently tinkering with was one he had built himself—the Battle Frankly No. 35 battleship.
Since it was No. 35, that proved there were other series before it, but none of the ships he had built previously could defeat Sea Kings; this battleship of his was one that could defeat Sea Kings, showcasing its immense power.
Flam was now adjusting the firing of the salute cannons to celebrate the great success of his shipbuilding.
Before long, Flam had finished tuning his battleship; under his control, the ships of the Battle Frankly series began firing salute cannons one after another, exploding in the distant sea.
Watching this scene, a smile couldn't help but curl on Flam's lips, a look of pride appearing on his face—this was his achievement!!
But suddenly, the smile on his face froze, because one of his salute cannons had struck a ship in the distance, and thick black smoke was rising from it.
Oh no!!
Flam's face instantly turned extremely pale. He was in trouble!
Without a moment's hesitation, Flam immediately jumped down from his battleship and ran towards the nearby Water 7. He had to run fast; he couldn't stay here any longer, otherwise, if he was found out, it would be disastrous.
At that moment, on the ship that had been hit, a sinister-looking man with pale skin, sharply defined features, a narrow deep-purple nose, and heavy dark circles under his eyes, suddenly scrambled up from the deck and roared: "Who, who did it!!"
"Who did this? Attacking a World Government ship, do you have a death wish?!!"
This man was Spandam. At that moment, he was furious, absolutely furious. God knows how he felt when he saw a cannonball flying towards him.
If he hadn't run fast, he would have been blown up by that cannonball.
Damn it, he was a member of the World Government, CP5, and someone actually had the guts to fire on him.
Find the culprit, he would definitely kill him, definitely!!
With that thought, Spandam immediately roared again: "Everyone, find out where that cannon fire came from and find me the culprit!!"
"Sir!"
A flurry of voices immediately rang out on the ship, followed by a group of CP5 agents in black suits springing into action, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
Soon enough, one CP5 agent shouted: "Sir, we found the ship that attacked us, at 1 o'clock!"
Spandam walked over and looked in the direction he was pointing, seeing several strangely shaped ships anchored at the edge of the nearby abandoned ship island.
"Steer the ship over there; I want to see which idiot has a death wish!"
Spandam immediately commanded.
The ship changed course and headed straight for those vessels, soon arriving right in front of them.
The next second, over a dozen CP5 agents jumped down from the ship onto the Franky-series battleships and began searching them.
Shortly after, the CP5 agents emerged one by one, reporting simultaneously: "Reporting, sir, no one found!"
"Reporting, sir, no one found!"
"Reporting..."
After a series of reports, Spandam's face grew increasingly gloomy, because none of the CP5 agents had found any trace of a person.
"Damn it, ran off that fast? You think you can hit me and just run? It won't be that easy!!"
As he spoke, Spandam turned his gaze towards the nearby Water 7. It was extremely close to Water 7, connected by a huge stone bridge. Since the culprit wasn't here...
Then there was a 100% chance they were from Water 7.
And if it was someone from Water 7 who could build these ships, he was sure he could find them!!
With that thought, Spandam also disembarked from the ship and called out to the assembled CP5 agents:
"Let's go!!"
...
---