Tribulation?!

Lu Zhuo looked at the Kitetsu hovering before him, a hint of delight on his face. He couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to the strange sight in the sky.

Just as Lu Zhuo reached out, intending to take hold of the Kitetsu,

a tremendous sword aura stirred with the wind and suddenly pressed down on him.

Lu Zhuo's expression turned cold. He snorted, and his own sword aura abruptly gathered, pressing back against the Kitetsu.

Could there be another sword spirit inside the Nidai Kitetsu? Had the two sword spirits fused, giving the sword a new spirit?

The new sword spirit clearly wasn't too fond of Lu Zhuo, its master. It wanted to turn the tables and suppress him.

How could Lu Zhuo let it have its way? Their two sword auras clashed and collided.

"You're just a sword. You can only unleash your power when a swordsman holds you!"

Faint flashes of electricity flickered in Lu Zhuo's eyes. His sword aura suddenly condensed, showing signs of becoming a sword domain.

But his strength wasn't yet enough to turn a single sword into ten million, so his sword domain had the force of a domain, but not its power.

Under the pressure of the sword domain, the Kitetsu finally gave a low hum and slowly drifted down into Lu Zhuo's hand.

Lu Zhuo stroked the blade and smiled. "I'm your master, and I'll always be your master."

The Kitetsu had now become a supreme Great Grade Sword.

The sky grew even darker. Lightning surged overhead, one bolt after another, as if something were brewing.

A strange thought suddenly occurred to Lu Zhuo. Could this be some kind of lightning tribulation?

What a joke! He wasn't some immortal cultivator ascending to the heavens. A lightning tribulation in the world of One Piece? That was ridiculous!

What Lu Zhuo didn't know was that the Kitetsu in his hand had been struck by Enel's lightning countless times. It had already begun to absorb the power of lightning.

Lightning was yang, while the Kitetsu's demonic nature was yin. The two forces clashed, keeping the Kitetsu stuck at the threshold of becoming a supreme Great Grade Sword.

It wasn't until the fusion with the Nidai Kitetsu that the Kitetsu's yin nature overpowered the yang of the lightning, allowing it to ascend to a supreme Great Grade Sword.

But lightning was a force of nature, sacred and inviolable in any world. Without Enel, Lu Zhuo could never have acquired such power.

Now that the Kitetsu had suppressed the power of lightning, it was a provocation against the will of the heavens. That was why this lightning tribulation had appeared in the world of One Piece.

Staring at the thunderclouds gradually taking shape overhead, Lu Zhuo gaped in disbelief.

My god, you've got to be kidding me!

But this was no joke. A bolt of lightning as thick as an arm crashed down from the sky, hurtling straight toward Lu Zhuo!

What was going on?!

Everyone watching the scene was stunned. Nami had just returned to the ship with Ain when Robin gave her a strange look.

"That had nothing to do with me!" Nami hastily explained.

Damn it, it really is striking me! Do you think I'm afraid of you?

Seeing the lightning actually descend, Lu Zhuo decided to face it head-on. He swung his sword to meet it, cursing all the while.

As if sensing his will, a sharp pressure suddenly gathered around Lu Zhuo.

Lu Zhuo had just cut down one bolt of heavenly lightning when his chest suddenly tightened. He nearly spat out blood.

He forced himself to raise his head and shouted at the thunderclouds overhead.

"Damn it! Just because I'm not from this world, you're treating me unfairly? Fine! Then how about I surpass you, you damn heavens?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a powerful aura suddenly surged from Lu Zhuo—

It was completely different from his sword aura. It was a kind of majesty.

Lu Zhuo sensed it too. He immediately recalled his battle with Aokiji. At the very end, he seemed to have unleashed this same power.

Could this be Conqueror's Haki?

Forget it. I'll deal with the lightning first!

A bolt of lightning, now as thick as a thigh, descended once more. Lu Zhuo let out an angry shout.

"Heavenly Thunder, Wave Sword!"

He channeled the bolt of lightning with his sword and sent it crashing into the third bolt from the heavens.

This lightning was nothing compared to Enel's 100 million volts!

Lu Zhuo sneered at the third bolt, which was as thick as a barrel but had already lost most of its energy, and cut it apart with his sword.

After taking three bolts of heavenly lightning, a strange white glow appeared on the Kitetsu's blade.

Lu Zhuo didn't know what was happening to the Kitetsu, but he had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

The next moment, he felt two forces suddenly surge out of the sword. The Kitetsu trembled continuously in his hands!

Seeing this, Lu Zhuo let out an angry shout. He unleashed his unfinished sword domain once more, forcing it down on the Kitetsu.

Inside the Kitetsu, the yang force of the lightning and its own yin force were already locked in a furious struggle.

The thunderclouds seemed to sense what was happening inside the Kitetsu. They stopped sending down lightning and slowly dispersed. Lu Zhuo, however, gripped the sword with both hands, veins bulging across his forehead.

"Damn it, I can't hold it down! Conqueror's Haki, come out!"

Lu Zhuo could feel the sword slipping beyond his control. The power inside it seemed ready to burst out, and he could tell by instinct that it wouldn't end well.

He wanted to unleash his Conqueror's Haki, but no matter what he did, he couldn't summon it.

If it was my power, then I should be able to control it! Even if I haven't found Dark King Rayleigh, I need this power now, so come out already!

Lu Zhuo gripped the Kitetsu's hilt with all his strength. His sword domain reached its limit, pressing down completely on the blade.

The next moment, that familiar feeling suddenly surfaced. Conqueror's Haki finally answered Lu Zhuo's call, surging forth and pressing down on the Kitetsu as well.

The two forces of pressure clamped down on the yin and yang forces inside the Kitetsu, forcing the raging powers together.

An even more unusual force emerged, born from the fusion of the power of lightning and the Kitetsu.

Since the Kitetsu was not pure yin, and lightning was not pure yang, this new power had nothing to do with chaos.

Feeling this strange power, a glimmer of understanding appeared in Lu Zhuo's eyes.

His thoughts were not limited by this world, and he quickly pieced together the likely cause of everything that had happened.

If the Kitetsu hadn't happened to go through all this, then even if all its fragments were gathered and reforged, it still wouldn't be a match for the Light of the Millennium.

But now, there was hope! No, this wasn't merely hope. It was a fact. Once the Kitetsu was whole again, it would certainly surpass the Light of the Millennium!

Now that two Nidai Kitetsu and three Sandai Kitetsu had fused into the New Kitetsu, it had probably become the strongest of the supreme Great Grade Swords.

Lu Zhuo slowly stroked the blade, a satisfied look on his face.

"In that case, the name Kitetsu doesn't suit you anymore. From now on, your name will be... Zhankong!"

The sword spirit was now almost complete. The entire blade hummed, as if giving an approving response.

Lu Zhuo gently released his grip. Zhankong circled around him once on its own, then slipped naturally into its scabbard.

Watching this, Lu Zhuo nodded with satisfaction and strode away.