Awakening, Awakening! The Famous Blade, Devourer of Masters

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

For Zoan-type fruits, awakening grants a terrifying enhancement to physical attributes; recovery, offense, and defense all undergo a qualitative transformation.

On the way back to the Isshin Dojo, Dunn recalled the information 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 instance. Up until 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 Zoan-types were easier to awaken compared to Paramecia or Logia types.

As for Paramecia, there were those who had awakened, such as Doflamingo with his Ito Ito no Mi and Katakuri with his Mochi Mochi no Mi.

When it came to Zoan-types, there were plenty more; not even counting the Five Elders or Monkey D. Luffy, there were five awakened Zoan jailers in Impel Down alone.

They had simply lost their minds during the awakening process.

If he followed the system panel's prompts to enhance the Mera Mera no Mi, he might actually be able to attempt an awakening.

If he succeeded, he might even be able to replicate the techniques of old man Yamamoto.

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

With a harvest of new ideas, a smile appeared on Dunn's face as he returned to the Isshin Dojo.

Under the watchful eyes of the other students, Kuina and Zoro were in the middle of their 2000th duel.

Compared to the lopsided beatings at the start of their rivalry, Kuina was clearly finding it much more difficult now.

Through diligent training, the gap in swordsmanship between Zoro and Kuina was narrowing.

Just as Koushiro had said, it was becoming 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 knock the bamboo sword from his hand with a single strike.

"Damn it, so close."

Zoro looked utterly frustrated.

The surrounding students let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

"Sigh, he lost again!"

"What a pity!"

These people had clearly all been beaten by Kuina before, but unlike the stubborn Zoro, they hadn't thought about challenging her again after losing.

Dunn watched as Kuina walked away 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, so 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, the seas would gain another female Great Swordsman.

It seemed the only female Great Swordsman was the future Admiral candidate, Momousagi Gion.

However, Dunn did not expect things to happen so quickly.

"Challenge number 2001!"

Zoro clutched 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 any longer.

He would defeat Kuina, and then challenge Dunn.

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

The sound of clashing swords rang out through 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 duel 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 settled thanks to Dunn, reigniting her desire to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

The two of them reaffirmed their ideals, setting their sights on the position of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"What a fine age to be."

Dunn, sensing all of this through his Observation Haki, found himself stirred by the passion of these two brats.

Although his current body was fourteen, Dunn, having transmigrated, possessed a mature mind.

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

"Should I give it a try?"

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

"Better leave that to Zoro and Kuina."

Dunn had the confidence to keep growing stronger, but to set a mandatory goal for himself? That would just be creating unnecessary pressure.

Since he had managed to transmigrate, he might as well just go with the flow and do what made him happy.

Thinking of this, Dunn nodded repeatedly.

Kuina and Zoro, who had been surrounded by onlookers the whole time, left separately without anyone noticing.

The next day, Kuina, who had used Wado Ichimonji the previous night, went upstairs to look for a whetstone and accidentally tripped, falling 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 the neck of Kuina, who had fallen onto her back.

Bang!

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

Kuina lay on her back, staring blankly at the flames that had burst forth and vanished as quickly as they appeared, 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 upon seeing the scene.

Flame!

It was Dunn who had intervened.

Kuina sat up with a dazed expression, turning her head to look at Shimotsuki Koshiro, who had suddenly appeared.

"Father!"

Shimotsuki Koshiro nodded, then looked toward the Wado Ichimonji.

Wado Ichimonji was certainly no cursed blade.

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

In the legends of Wano Country, there were many tales of cursed blades that would devour their masters.

As descendants of swordsmiths, they believed in this implicitly.

Seeing Kuina get 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 the Wado Ichimonji from the floor, gazing at its snow-white, razor-sharp blade with an unreadable expression.

"To you, this sword is now a blade of ill omen."

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

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

Footsteps rang out, and Shimotsuki Koshiro and Kuina turned their heads to see Dunn approaching, carrying the long sword Flame.

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

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

"This sword was left to Kuina by my father, but it seems it doesn't suit her. 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 too happy."

Dunn raised his hand to display the unusually long sword he held.

"Perhaps it was just a coincidence."

Hearing that Shimotsuki Koshiro intended to give the sword away, Kuina cast her eyes toward the Wado Ichimonji and spoke hesitantly.

"Until you master Armament Haki, you are only permitted to use a bamboo sword."

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