~ Support & Read 13 Advanced Chapters on Patreon

❁❁❁❁

Shiryu walked step by step into the stone chamber at the top of the altar, his figure slowly swallowed by the darkness, as if a demon had opened its gaping maw, quietly waiting for its prey to walk right into a trap.

Arthur stood below, his face expressionless. Shiryu's words just now had been resolute. To trust him... meant he had the determination to subdue the Seven Star Sword. If he failed, knowing Shiryu's character, he probably wouldn't come out of there alive.

But determination alone was useless. It all depended on whether he could resist the temptation of its power.

So, all Arthur could do was wait.

————————

Using the faint light from the entrance, Shiryu walked forward at a steady pace. The sparks from the cigar in his mouth flickered, illuminating the walls as his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness.

The cave was filled with piles of rubble. In the center was a coffin carved from a massive, heavy stone.

'So this is what the Captain was talking about... the coffin that holds the Seven Star Sword?' Shiryu was silent for a moment, then slowly reached out his right hand.

A powerful swordsman could not be without a famous blade. The breaking of the Raiu had left him, for a time, without a clue where to find a sword of comparable quality. So when Arthur told him the whereabouts of the Seven Star Sword, he had immediately agreed to come and claim it.

It wasn't just because Mihawk had broken the Raiu—Shiryu also wanted to obtain a Great Grade Sword that was no weaker than the Black Sword, Yoru, to prove to Captain Arthur that he was not weaker than any other swordsman.

As for whether he could subdue the Seven Star Sword—that had never even entered his consideration.

The thing that made Shiryu most compatible with Arthur was this:

—No matter how severe the consequences, was there anything more scary than death??

If he couldn't claim it, the worst that could happen was death.

His sharp left fingernails sliced open his right hand. Crimson blood flowed down. Shiryu placed his right palm on the seam of the stone coffin, allowing the blood to flow smoothly inside.

"Drip... drip..."

The sound of dripping water echoed as the blood poured into the stone coffin. His face gradually grew pale. Even with Shiryu's physique, he found it difficult to withstand the loss of so much blood.

But his expression remained unwavering. He did not move his hand from the seam.

————————

After waiting quietly for a moment, a strange sound came from within the coffin. As if it had communicated with the Seven Star Sword, Shiryu suddenly removed his hand, and with a surge of strength, he pushed aside the stone lid that seemed to be rooted in place.

A shimmering green light shone from within the coffin, dyeing the four stone walls green, like the ghostly fires of a tomb.

The Seven Star Sword, emitting a green glow, lay quietly in the coffin, beautiful beyond compare!

This was a sword of ultimate beauty.

Legend had it that the Seven Star Sword was the most beautiful, invincible sword of all.

Whether it was invincible, no one knew. That depended on who held the longsword. If an unknown nobody held the Supreme Grade Sword Yoru, he still wouldn't become the World's Greatest Swordsman.

But Shiryu could guarantee that no Great Grade or Supreme Grade Sword on the seas was more beautiful than the Seven Star Sword.

However, on the seas, everyone knew a simple truth: The more beautiful and moving something was, the more dangerous it often was.

Shiryu did not lower his guard because of the Seven Star Sword's beauty. On the contrary, the closer his hand got to the sword, the stronger the lingering sense of crisis in his heart became.

With an excited yet bloodthirsty smile, Shiryu didn't hesitate for a moment. He reached out and grasped the hilt of the Seven Star Sword!

"Come with me and rampage across the seas. LET US TASTE THE BLOOD OF EVERY STRONG SOUL, SEVEN STAR SWORD!"

As if the Demonic sword of ultimate splendor had heard his vow, or perhaps in resistance, the Seven Star Sword, now held by Shiryu, began to hum and tremble.

The green fluorescent light became even more dazzling—so bright that it shone through the entrance of the cave to the outside.

————————

Arthur waited quietly for Shiryu to emerge from the cave.

The agreement they had made was to obtain the Seven Star Sword within a day and then return to the East Blue to witness Roger's execution by the Marines.

If Shiryu didn't appear within a day, then he would never appear again...

Among all his Fleet members, the ranking of their strength was, in order:

Byrnndi World, Naguri, Don Chinjao, Shiryu, Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, and Vasco Shot, followed by the non-combatants Jessica, and Vegapunk!

However, Shiryu's potential was the greatest. Surpassing World and Naguri was only a matter of time. Perhaps after being brought to the grand stage of the New World, where the strongest freely shine, it wouldn't take long for him to unleash all his potential.

Moreover, Shiryu was one of the few who genuinely acknowledged Arthur as his captain. To lose such a crewmate would be, for Arthur, no less than losing one of the abilities he currently relied on most—the Castle-Castle bracelet.

Shiryu's position in Arthur's heart was self-evident.

At this moment, all he could do was wait. Wait for Shiryu to walk out of the altar on his own, not for him to go and help.

To help Shiryu would be a sign of disrespect.

For another person to interfere in something one was facing alone was a disrespectful act. Arthur chose to believe in Shiryu.

He looked up at the gradually darkening sky. Time was passing without him realizing it. Half a day had already gone by.

"Hm?"

As he waited, the corner of Arthur's eye was suddenly caught by something in the area where the villagers he had knocked out were gathered. On a raised rock, there were three fist-sized, pearl-like objects that attracted his attention.

Arthur had no interest in gold, silver, or jewels. In his eyes, these things were like the dirt on the island or the water in the sea—useless trash he wouldn't feel a thing for if he lost them.

However, these three fist-sized, glowing orbs seemed to be wrapped in a mysterious power. This power felt familiar, as if it were something he saw or even used often, yet he couldn't quite place it.

"What is this?" Arthur's brow furrowed slightly. He walked over and picked up the three luminous pearls.

"Are these the Sacred Jewels the people of Asuka Island use to restrain the Seven Star Sword?"

He examined them over and over, still not finding anything out of the ordinary, but that sense of familiarity lingered.

"A... barrier to restrain the Seven Star Sword!"

Suddenly remembering something, Arthur's eyes fixed on the three jewels. "THIS IS THE POWER OF A DEVIL FRUIT!"

He finally remembered. The jewels seemed to have a special ability, just like his Castle-Castle bracelet.

This familiar ability was definitely from a Devil Fruit...

————————

"There's no mistake. This is the power of a Devil Fruit!"

Arthur focused his mind. He felt a minuscule amount of his stamina being drawn, and the three jewels instantly shot out three connected beams of light, forming a transparent barrier.

"A huge piece of Gem ate a Devil Fruit and was then polished into three jewels??" Arthur thought in astonishment.

This meant that the technology to transfer a Devil Fruit's ability to an object had existed a long, long time ago.

❁❁❁❁

~ 13 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)