Setting Out

Time flies. Half a month before the official start of the Kendo Tournament, Pagila Island was bustling with activity, and almost all the swordsmen who wanted to participate had already registered.

Apart from a few lone warriors from far away, swordsmen from all corners of the world, and those from the first half of the Grand Line.

Of course, many people know that there is also the navy and the samurai of Wano Country.

Some samurai from Wano Country had already arrived. These were people who had left Wano Country in recent years and had been wandering and honing their skills on the sea. After receiving news of the swordsmanship tournament, they came directly over.

However, a large number of samurai from Wano Country have not yet arrived. They will come here with the Wano Country shogun, Kozuki Oden.

News of various forces setting off one after another quickly spread.

Wano Country, Hakumai, Blade Port.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon. Everyone, just wait and see the heroic figures of our samurai!" Kozuki Oden waved his arms, laughing as he addressed the Wano Country residents and ministers on the shore.

Huge ships were moored on the shore, waiting to depart.

One by one, the Wano Country samurai who were preparing to participate in the competition boarded the ship moored at the shore.

"Go with peace of mind, Oden. We'll keep a close eye on Wano Country," Shimotsuki Ieyasu said earnestly, with several other Daimyo following beside him.

Accompanying Oden to Pagila Island, the venue for the kendo tournament, were many samurai from Wano Country, as well as Shimotsuki Gyumaru, the Daimyo of Reiko.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, ships soon departed from Blade Port and left Wano Country.

Breathing in the sea air, Kozuki Oden opened his arms and looked at the boundless ocean, feeling a sense of exhilaration.

The Sky Kingdom, a Great Pirate ship transformed from an island, flew away into the distance, leaving the Sky Kingdom behind.

"Look at this new era, and see some old friends again." Golden Lion Shiki chuckled to himself, his domineering aura unmistakable.

In the Babarossa Kingdom, Kaido of the Beasts his waist, strode towards his pirate ship. His flag, with its curved horns, fluttered high, and his officers— Laimer, "Warhammer" Omon, Krell— followed him, along with his daughter Yamato.

As for Queen, Gates remained in the Babarossa Kingdom. It was his own territory, and naturally, he needed to send someone to guard it. Although no one would be foolish enough to cause trouble at such a time, and since becoming emperor, few people dared to provoke them unless it was a territorial dispute, he still had to be on guard.

The Big Mom Pirates were in a state of high spirits, with cheerful songs filling the air. The Queen Mother's Singing Ship had already left Whole Cake Island, and the Big Mom Pirates had essentially wiped out their entire crew. Aside from a few children maintaining order, almost all the adults with fighting ability had come out with them.

The Big Mom Pirates are not worried about their territory being threatened, as they possess the Mirror-Mirror Fruit ability, allowing them to return to any island in their territory at any time through mirrors.

If this trip weren't so formal, they would have preferred to have someone bring a mirror to Pagila Island so they could just walk through it, avoiding all this trouble.

Meanwhile, the Moby Dick temporarily halted its expansion into the New World and began sailing towards the territory of the Night Pirates.

The leaders of underground forces, the kings of the dark world, and some people who didn't attend the Expo are all flocking to the current kendo tournament.

The Four Emperors sharing an island, and the top powerhouses of the New World gathering together, is undoubtedly a historic moment that none of them want to miss.

Even though the kendo tournament hasn't started yet, many people who can't be there in person are waiting. Some are so eager that they've even sent letters urging Morgans to hurry up and get to Pagila Island to bring them news from the Paraji Island, or even a live broadcast.

At the same time, a massive war machine also departed from Marineford, the port of Marine Headquarters, under the watchful eyes of a large group of marines.

The warship had a large crew of a thousand, at least half of whom were swordsmen from the participating navy. The rest were ordinary marines, but they were all elite soldiers, some of whom could have earned the rank of lieutenant colonel or even colonel.

Furthermore, half of the Marine Headquarters' high-ranking combat force is gathered there. In addition to Garp, Tsuru, Gion, Kake Kakei, who participated in the Expo, there are also Admiral Aokiji, Admiral Kizaru, and several Marine Vice Admiral.

Such power would not deter them even from facing Four Emperors -level pirate crew, but their expressions were serious. Although their main purpose was to participate in the swordsmanship tournament and to watch the matches, they were, after all, Marines.

This time, they will face four Sea Emperors and many Great Pirate.

There aren't many people as relaxed as Garp. Even Admiral Aokiji and Kizaru, who were on vacation, still had some seriousness beneath their leisurely exteriors.

Although they had all faced the Sea Emperor to varying degrees, the fact that so many powerful figures were facing the same opponent again, and that they could all imagine that this swordsmanship tournament, even if it didn't result in a major battle, would certainly not be peaceful.

Compared to the previous two months, with news of various major forces setting off one after another, this sea has become turbulent and has finally reached a critical point.

This kendo tournament, Pagila Island, was the eye of the storm of the era.

Numerous media outlets arrived at the Night Pirates' territory ahead of time, publishing various news reports describing and promoting the Night Pirates.

The sparring and fierce battles between some of the early-arriving swordsmen were also presented to people all over the world in various ways, whether through text or images.

The Transponder Snail contains all sorts of videos, and the thirty-six arenas of the Night Pirates have undoubtedly become star buildings, receiving astonishing exposure.

Before the kendo tournament begins, many swordsmen also enjoy fighting in the arena to hone their skills.

Even before the tournament began, some powerful swordsmen had already made a name for themselves, proving their skills through battle.

Meanwhile, various media outlets and some residents are ranking these swordsmen or selecting the strongest contenders for the World's Greatest Swordsman ".

They were all delighted by this, and three candidates for the World's Number One Swordsman were selected.

First is Jora Mihawk, known as "Hawk Eyes." This young Great Swordmaster challenged various famous Swordmaster and Great Swordmaster to hone his swordsmanship after entering the Grand Line, and is now no weaker than many veteran Great Swordmaster.

He has never been defeated and is now one of the Shichibukai. However, what is even more noteworthy is his supreme Great Grade Swords, the World's Strongest Black Blade, Yoru.

Mihawk had originally planned to go to Wano Country soon, but then news of the kendo tournament came out, and the samurai from Wano Country would also be coming to participate. So Mihawk stayed in the Night Pirates' territory, waiting for the kendo tournament to begin.

The second is Great Swordmaster was extremely famous in the previous era and is also the most representative Great Swordmaster. He has mastered the powerful swordsmanship of the strange "Ultimate Art of Annihilation". His Sword Intent seems to annihilate everything. Known as the Demon Slayer Great Swordmaster Kiyotsune Kuniichi Golden Lion Shiki. Although he was defeated in the end, he left injuries on Shiki.

Kiyotsune Kuniichi is currently at the peak of his life, at only forty-seven years old.

It is said that, in addition to his powerful and unpredictable Sword Intent, what makes Kiyotsune Kuniichi so fearsome is his Observation Haki, which is also an extension of Observation Haki in the microscopic world, based on the realm of time.

But unlike "Future Sight," his "Clear World" seems to be able to see everything clearly, even the rise and fall of his opponent's lungs and the flow and contraction of blood vessels.

At the same time, time seems to slow down in his eyes, meaning that other people's actions slow down. In battles between strong individuals, this ability is even more terrifying than Future Sight.

His ability was no secret; once he appeared on Pagila Island, all the information about Kiyotsune Kuniichi was leaked.

The last one is the unknown Slaughter Swordsman. Unlike the other two, he has a terrifying record and chilling methods.

The Slaughter Sword Style is a very famous sword style in this world. In fact, all styles have something in common with the Slaughter Sword Style. For example, Shiryu of the Rain and Lafitte of the Night Pirates are members of the Slaughter Sword Style, just as extreme as this mysterious Swordmaster. However, this Great Swordmaster is even stronger.

This masked Slaughter Swordsman's killing intent was evident in his swordsmanship. No swordsman who fought him survived; they were all killed with extreme cruelty. The fear he instilled made others afraid to fight him.

Unfortunately, Kiyotsune Kuniichi rarely made a move, and among the three candidates, only Mihawk had a brief encounter with the Slaughter Swordsman; they didn't actually fight each other.

Of course, these are only three; many other powerful Swordmaster have not yet made their move, or even arrived yet.

For example, Flower Sword Vista, the Captain of the Fifth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, is the top swordsman of the Whitebeard Pirates and has a great reputation in the New World, so he is naturally one of the participants this time.

A blind swordsman who frequently gambled at the casinos on Pagila Island once easily dealt with Great Pirate with a bounty of hundreds of millions who was after the money he won at the casinos, which made him famous overnight, though he rarely made a move.

Demon Sword Apep, the captain of the dominant Demon Sword Pirates, Devil Fruit User. However, he is not a pure swordsman. Although he is Great Swordmaster kills, what people remember most about Demon Sword Apep is his Teleport-Teleport Fruit ability.

This is undoubtedly a teleportation ability. With such Demon Sword Apep is the most terrifying assassin in the world, which is why no one dares to offend the Demon Sword Pirates.

The Demon Sword Pirates also possess considerable power, and like the Demon Pirates, they are both pirate crews qualified to become emperors.

However, this qualification is just an opportunity. It will take many years of development, including the captain's improvement in strength and the overall enhancement of the pirate crew's power.

It is naturally incomparable to the Night Pirates. The Night Pirates are destined to become emperors. In a short period of time, the Night Pirates have already covered the path that other forces took more than ten years to complete. They are just waiting for Teach to have enough strength, and becoming emperor will be just a thought away.

The swordsmen of the Night Pirates, including "Shadow Dragon" Rediat, Shiryu of the Rain, Mostima, and Xiouyapufu, are all relatively famous swordsmen in the Night Pirates. Although Rediat has not made many moves, he is undoubtedly Great Swordmaster.

Although the Night Pirates are the organizers of the kendo tournament, that doesn't mean they don't have any participants.

The Navy has not yet arrived, and although there are many Swordmaster among them, few people are optimistic about them, as there are no well-known Great Swordmaster in the Navy.

Finally, there are the samurai of Wano Country. Although Wano Country has partially opened its borders and some of Wano Country samurai have appeared in the sea, Wano Country remains a mystery to many.

There are relatively few people who can enter Wano Country, and there are certain restrictions; they are mostly swordsmen.

Wano Country boasts Kozuki Oden, one of the world's top powerhouses, and its number of Great Swordmaster is astonishing, especially Swordmaster. The information subtly revealed already explains everything.

As for everything on Pagila Island, and even within the Night Pirates' territory, the Night Pirates, led by Teach, had complete control. After all, at such a crucial moment, Teach dared not be careless.

Teach hadn't expected the kendo tournament to attract so many people. He had heard of the Demon Great Swordmaster, Kokuichi Tsuyoshi, but Kiyotsune Kuniichi then, although he hadn't retired, he had returned to his hometown, an island in the New World.

Mihawk, whom I had met once in Loguetown, was not surprised by his participation in the Teach, Expo.

Fujitora Issho, who will become Marine Admiral through World Military Draft in the future, will also participate in this kendo tournament. His Observation Haki has now reached a terrifying level. After receiving news about Issho, Teach tried to test him with his Observation Haki, but was quickly discovered. The two made contact out of thin air once.

Teach already knew the identity of that mysterious, Slaughter Swordsman: CP0's ace. Those who could be called aces possessed extremely powerful strength, essentially at the Admiral level.

This is information Teach received from Stephanie. His codename is "Gentleman," but he is nothing like the codename suggests. This CP0 member is a madman, obsessed with killing. Although he has reason, his temperament is very unstable, he cannot perfectly execute orders, and he likes to cause trouble for others.

For example, during one mission, he inexplicably massacred an entire town, leaving no one alive, forcing the World Government to spend a great deal of money to clean up his mess.

So he usually stays in the Holy Land.

Such an unstable personality meant that even the two CP0 vice-commanders, Alastair and Gaia, couldn't be controlled, even though they were stronger than "Gentleman".

The World Government had considered getting rid of the "Gentleman," but was reluctant to give up this powerful fighting force.

The arrival of the "Gentleman" was entirely his own decision, and was not reported beforehand.

Teach hadn't expected CP0 to join in the fun. He didn't know what their purpose was, but the chances of them disrupting the kendo tournament were slim.

However, based on the Swordmaster's swordsmanship, Teach guessed his target.

To increase the intensity of the kendo tournament, Teach expanded the prize pool, adding two more swords that represent the ultimate pursuit of every swordsman.

The Blade of Twilight is a katana, one of the Great Grade Swords. It bears obvious traces of being forged in Wano Country, as it originated there. In Wano Country, it also has another name, Kikuichimonji, a sharp blade of killing.

It is unknown when it was lost from Wano Country to the sea, then it was reforged and transformed into the Supreme Great Grade Swords. The specifics are not recorded, but it is indeed one of the world's top-ranking Famous Sword.

This knife had been hidden deep within the royal tombs of a vanquished kingdom for an unknown period of time.

Teach obtained information about the intelligence organization she took over from Shakky, which allowed her to acquire the knife and bring it back into the light of day.

The other sword is a Demon Sword, the Seven Star Sword. It was once a holy sword, but it transformed into Demon Sword after being tainted by endless slaughter.

While it cannot compare to the Great Grade Sword in terms of hardness, it possesses a strange and bewitching power, as well as the ability to absorb blood, which is not something that ordinary people can master.

This was Teach sent Nelson to bring back when he went to the first half of the Grand Line.

This "Gentleman's" target is very likely the Seven Star Sword. (To be continued)