Awaken, Awaken! The Famous Blade Devours Its Master

The awakening of a Devil Fruit allows for a massive boost in the fruit's capabilities.

If it is a Zoan-type fruit, awakening grants a terrifying increase in physical attributes; whether it be recovery, offense, or defense, everything undergoes a qualitative change.

On the way back to the Isshin Dojo, Dunn recalled the things stored in his memory.

Most of the information about this world had become somewhat blurry, but certain important events remained deeply etched in his mind.

Take the awakening of Devil Fruits, for example; up to the point in his memories, only a very small number of people had achieved it, and most of them were Zoan-types.

It seemed that compared to Paramecia and Logia types, Zoan-types were easier to awaken.

As for Paramecia, there were those who had awakened, such as Doflamingo with his String-String Fruit and Katakuri with his Mochi-Mochi Fruit.

As for Zoan-types, there were plenty; not to mention the Five Elders or Monkey D. Luffy, even in Impel Down, there were five awakened Zoan jailers.

It was just that they had failed during the awakening process.

If he followed the system panel's prompts to improve the Flame-Flame Fruit's power, he might actually be able to attempt an awakening.

If he succeeded, he might truly be able to replicate the methods of old man Yamamoto.

After all, being strong is temporary, but being cool is for a lifetime.

With his gains in mind, Dunn returned to the Isshin Dojo with a smile on his face.

Under the watchful eyes of the other students at the dojo, the 2,000th duel between Kuina and Zoro was underway.

Compared to the complete domination at the beginning of their rivalry, Kuina was clearly finding it much more difficult now.

After diligent training, the gap in swordsmanship between Zoro and Kuina was becoming smaller and smaller.

Just as Koshiro had said, it was becoming very difficult for Kuina to defeat Zoro cleanly and efficiently.

Dunn stood to the side and watched for a long time before Zoro finally revealed an opening, allowing Kuina to strike the Bamboo Sword from his hand with a single blow.

"Damn it, so close."

Zoro looked annoyed.

The other students in the dojo let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

"Sigh, lost again!"

"What a pity!"

These people had clearly all been beaten by Kuina, but they weren't as stubborn as Zoro; once they lost, they didn't think about challenging Kuina again.

Dunn watched as Kuina left with her head held high, his gaze following her until her figure disappeared.

He wondered if his arrival would change Kuina's future and prevent that fatal danger from ever occurring.

However, his Observation Haki was always active, and if such a situation were to arise, he would be able to detect it immediately.

In truth, Dunn really wanted to see if, should Kuina survive, there would be another female World's Greatest Swordsman on these seas.

It seemed the only female candidate for the title was the future Marine Admiral candidate, Momousagi Gion.

However, what Dunn didn't expect was that things would happen so quickly.

"Challenge number 2001!"

Zoro held his three real swords, looking at Kuina with a serious expression.

The battle during the day had shown Zoro a chance at victory, so he didn't want to wait that long.

He would defeat Kuina, and then challenge Dunn.

Kuina held the Wado Ichimonji and readily accepted Zoro's challenge.

The sound of clashing swords rang out in the forest.

Dunn, whose Observation Haki covered the area around the dojo and could even slightly perceive the island where Shimotsuki Village was located, watched their exchange clearly with his Haki.

The result did not change.

Even with real swords in hand, Zoro still lost.

However, this time, Zoro didn't throw a tantrum, and Kuina's inner turmoil had been reignited by Dunn, sparking a renewed desire for the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

But both of them reaffirmed their ideals, moving forward toward the position of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"What a wonderful age to be."

Dunn, feeling all of this through his Observation Haki, was actually stirred by a hint of passion from these two brats.

Although his current body was fourteen, Dunn, who had transmigrated, already possessed a mature mind.

Passion was something he might have had as a child, but as time passed, it had long since been worn away.

"Should I give it a try?"

Dunn muttered to himself, then shook his head the next moment.

"Better leave it to Zoro and Kuina."

Dunn had the confidence to maintain his drive to keep getting stronger, but to set a mandatory goal for himself—wasn't that just creating unnecessary pressure?

Since he had managed to transmigrate, he might as well do whatever made him happy.

Thinking of this, Dunn nodded repeatedly.

Kuina and Zoro, who had been surrounded by onlookers, left separately without knowing what had happened.

The next day, Kuina, who had used Wado Ichimonji the previous night, went upstairs to look for a whetstone and accidentally fell down the stairs.

The Wado Ichimonji she was holding slipped from her grasp, spinning as it fell through the air.

The sharp blade slashed toward Kuina's neck as she lay fallen on her back.

Bang!

A ball of Flame appeared out of thin air and exploded instantly, knocking the descending Wado Ichimonji away; it spun through the air before its blade plunged straight into the floorboards.

Kuina lay on her back, staring blankly at the flames that had burst forth and quickly vanished above her, then turned her head to look at the Wado Ichimonji with half its blade embedded in the floor.

Swish!

A figure appeared, letting out a sigh of relief after seeing the scene.

Flame!

It was Dunn who had intervened.

Kuina sat up with a dazed expression and turned to look at Shimotsuki Koshiro, who had suddenly appeared.

"Father!"

Shimotsuki Koshiro nodded, then looked toward the Wado Ichimonji.

Wado Ichimonji was certainly not a Cursed Blade.

However, his Observation Haki had just observed that Kuina had nearly died beneath its blade.

In the legends of Wano Country, there were many tales of Cursed Blades consuming their masters.

As descendants of swordsmiths, they believed in this implicitly.

Seeing Kuina stand up to retrieve the Wado Ichimonji, Shimotsuki Koshiro spoke up to stop her.

"Wait a moment, Kuina!"

After calling out to stop her, Shimotsuki Koshiro stepped forward and pulled out the Wado Ichimonji, looking at its snow-white, sharp blade with an unreadable expression.

"For you, this sword has become a blade of ill omen."

Although it hadn't succeeded, in Shimotsuki Koshiro's eyes, the sword had attempted to consume its master.

If he allowed Kuina to continue handling it, she might eventually be injured by the Wado Ichimonji, or even lose her life to this very sword.

Footsteps rang out, and Shimotsuki Koshiro and Kuina turned to see Dunn walking over, carrying the long sword Flame.

"No need to thank me; you know I always keep my Observation Haki active."

Seeing their gazes fixed on him, Dunn smiled before his eyes fell upon the Wado Ichimonji.

"This sword was left to Kuina by my father, but it seems this sword is not suitable for Kuina now, so, would you like to try it?"

Shimotsuki Koshiro looked at Dunn and said with a solemn expression.

Saving Kuina's life was a debt that no amount of gratitude could repay.

"Forget it; if I accepted it, the Flame in my hand wouldn't be happy."

Dunn raised his hand to show the unusually long sword in his grip.

"Perhaps it was just a coincidence."

Hearing that Shimotsuki Koshiro intended to give the sword away, Kuina's eyes fell upon the Wado Ichimonji as she spoke hesitantly.

"Until you master Armament Haki, you are only allowed to use a Bamboo Sword."

Hearing his daughter's words, Shimotsuki Koshiro spoke sternly.