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Chapter 728: Tiger Sword? Sliding Tackle Sword?
Chapter 728: Tiger Sword? Sliding Tackle Sword?
"Chuan Zang?"
Kuro raised an eyebrow. "Clan Joseph?"
"No such clan."
Chuan Zang drew a wakizashi from his waist and aimed it at Kuro. "I want your blade, and I want your life. Slaying swordsmen to claim their blades is my favorite pastime."
"This aura..."
Kuro glanced at the short sword. His brow furrowed. "A Famous Blade?"
The wakizashi was shorter than a standard katana but longer than a dagger. A groove ran along its spine, and snowflake-like specks dotted its surface. The aura radiating from it unmistakably belonged to a Famous Blade.
"A swordsman can sense a blade's aura", Chuan Zang tightened his grip on the hilt, praising, "This is one of the Gojūsan Kuni no Tachi - the Famous Blade 'Tora Michi.' Can you feel it? It exudes battle intent."
Kuro studied Chuan Zang. This man's bounty stood at 830 million Belly - he should be formidable. Yet...
"Wait, you don't even know how to use a sword, do you? Your build doesn't suggest a swordsman's physique. Why carry so many blades?"
Besides the wakizashi, multiple other swords on his person radiated the aura of Famous Blades. This man was practically a walking collection of legendary weapons.
"I might not know swordsmanship", Chuan Zang's voice dripped with smugness and menace, "but the blades' masters do!"
Whoosh!
Before his words faded, Chuan Zang rocketed forward like a striking hawk. With a single hand gripping the wakizashi, he lunged straight at Kuro's abdomen. The attack carried relentless momentum, making Kuro's eyes widen slightly.
The blade pierced through flesh - only for Kuro's body to ripple like water and dissipate into mist.
"The aura changed."
Kuro reappeared elsewhere, surprised. "Now this is a swordsman's skill."
In that instant, the man's aura transformed from a feeble, hunched presence to something ferocious as a tiger. A swordsman who seemingly couldn't wield a blade now radiated the experience of a veteran.
Swish!
Chuan Zang pivoted the moment Kuro materialized, slashing the wakizashi backward. A wispy slash hurtled toward Kuro like a wild tempest.
"You can even perform sword techniques?"
Kuro unsheathed Autumn Water and cleaved the slash apart, his expression shifting to genuine alarm. "This is getting dangerous."
Now his aura definitely belonged to a seasoned swordsman.
Chuan Zang grinned. "I've eaten the Memo Memo Devil Fruit - the 'Memory Human.' Touching non-living objects lets me inherit their entire history. Blades make the perfect medium."
He raised the wakizashi into a fighting stance. "This Famous Blade 'Tora Michi' once belonged to Tora Tetsuro, a swordsman from the New World's Iron Country. By memorizing the blade's history, I've inherited its master's combat memories and techniques."
"Tora Tetsuro?!"
A Marine nearby gasped. "The 'Tiger Sword' Tora Tetsuro?!"
"You know him?" Kuro asked.
"Vice Admiral", the Marine saluted, "I'm from Iron Country. Tora Tetsuro is our national legend. A century ago, our homeland was ravaged by a ferocious tiger - until Tora Tetsuro slew the beast!"
This Marine hailed from the New World's G-3 base.
Kuro arched an eyebrow. "An ability to mimic masters?"
Interesting. While most would become historians by memorizing objects' histories, Chuan Zang had found a unique application - emulating blade masters' skills.
"Witness the deadly technique of a swordsman from a hundred years ago!"
Chuan Zang's body lowered, gliding along the ground like a wisp of an afterimage as he rocketed toward Kuro. Moving at incredible speed, he emerged beneath Kuro with the wakizashi trailing a wisp of Haki. The blade cleaved upward like thunder, a black lightning strike aimed at Kuro's core.
No chance to retreat upward!
Kuro's pupils constricted. He aborted his mid-air escape maneuver, slamming Autumn Water downward with both hands. The black blade bit into the attack, locking in a fierce contest.
Kuro's free hand clenched, seismic waves erupting through the ground. Chuan Zang sensed the danger, kicking off the earth as his body shot backward. Flipping mid-air, he landed with catlike precision.
"Did you notice?" Chuan Zang narrowed his eyes. "If you'd tried escaping upward, I would've struck you down."
Indeed, that strike echoed Kuro's Swallow Return technique - though not locking all escape routes, it specifically targeted upward movement. Whether jumping or flying skyward, any vertical escape would trigger the blade's wrath.
It was almost...
"A sliding tackle?" Kuro mused, stroking his chin in astonishment.
That was exactly what it felt like - a swordsman performing a sliding tackle to disembowel a tiger. This blade truly could slay tigers.
Chuan Zang smiled. "You've seen the essence. A century ago, Tora Tetsuro defeated that monstrous tiger using this exact technique - sliding beneath it to deliver a fatal gut wound. Hence the name 'Tiger Sword.'"
"Eh?"
The Iron Country Marine's eyes widened again. "But the legends say he defeated the tiger with a heroic slash? Like how Mr. Kuro does - cutting it down in one strike, with the tiger only dying after the blade returns to its sheath?"
"I have the memories. This is the truth." Chuan Zang declared.
His Devil Fruit ability had preserved that legendary swordsman's history. Against numerous famous swordsmen of the era, Tora Tetsuro had used this technique to claim victory.
"Escaped the Tiger Sword? Then face this one!"
Sheathing the wakizashi, Chuan Zang drew a curved katana. This blade lacked a handguard or groove, its smooth surface blending seamlessly with the spine. Only the razor edge gleamed ominously.
"This is the Famous Blade 'Mune Chika.' Not among the Great Quick Blades or Supreme Great Quick Blades, yet it rivals them all."
Chuan Zang announced, "One of its past masters was 'Swordsman King' Phil. Pray you can keep up!"
The Famous Blade's aura intensified as he unsheathed it.
If Kuro had doubted before, now he was certain - this man's collection of Famous Blades was staggering.
Quantity-wise, it paled next to Kuro's Heavenly Treasure Vault.
But in terms of quality...
Kuro felt a flicker of envy.
This was a true Sword God.
The ability to obtain weapons and inherit their masters' skills.
After all, while Devil Fruit powers might grant strength, true swordsmanship required relentless honing of technique.
(End of Chapter)
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