Another ten months of repetitive, busy days passed in Shimotsuki Village, East Blue.
"Vic, I need your help forging a sword," Kozaburo said solemnly.
"What kind of sword? Why do you need me to forge it?" Vic was a little puzzled. Kozaburo had taught him everything he knew about forging.
"It's a sword I'm leaving for Kuina. I'm getting old. If I don't prepare it now, I won't have the energy to do it later. I wanted to forge it myself before, but I was never satisfied with the results. If you hadn't come here, I would have done my best to forge it myself. But now that you're here, things are different. You've learned all my techniques. I'm old and frail, and there are many techniques I can no longer use. Now, when I forge a sword, I can't bring out all the properties of the materials. That's why I want you to do it!" Kozaburo sincerely asked Vic.
After a moment's thought, Vic knew it was the Great Grade Sword Wado Ichimonji, Kuina's sword.
In the original story, Koshiro had given the sword to Zoro after Kuina died.
So the old man forged it when he was already old and frail. That means the sword still has room for improvement. I wonder if it could reach the Supreme Great Grade Sword level. He felt a little excited. If he could forge a Supreme Great Grade Sword himself, his own sword would be top-of-the-line in the future.
"All right, I'll forge Kuina's sword," Vic said solemnly.
After that, Vic spent most of his time forging the sword. As he worked, he kept his Observation Haki active, watching every detail as a red light flickered in his eyes.
He had to take Kuina's future sword especially seriously, and it was one that might become a Supreme Great Grade Sword. This was also a rare experience for forging his own sword in the future. After all, Kozaburo was there beside him, ready to offer guidance at any time.
After a month of work, Wado Ichimonji was finally complete. Vic looked exhausted, having spent a great deal of mental energy. Kozaburo was much the same. Though he hadn't taken part himself, he had watched from the sidelines the entire time. He was old and short on energy, so managing that much was already impressive.
"Ah, it still fell a little short!" Vic sighed with some regret.
"Brother, this is already the best these materials could produce. You didn't make a single mistake. The materials were what held you back. Once you get good materials, you'll definitely be able to forge a Supreme Great Grade Sword. If I'd done it, I'd be thanking my lucky stars just to produce a Great Grade Sword!" Kozaburo, however, was positively thrilled.
Vic had forged Wado Ichimonji, a sword that far surpassed a Great Grade Sword and fell just short of the Supreme Great Grade Sword level. He had raised Wado Ichimonji, originally a Great Grade Sword, by half a grade. Kozaburo thought it was excellent, but Vic was a little disappointed.
"When the Reverie comes around, I'll send this sword to the Famous Sword Conference and let the whole world get to know it. Haha," Kozaburo said happily.
Vic was a little confused. The original story had never mentioned this. There was a conference like that?
After thinking about it, Vic figured there probably was. Otherwise, how would everyone know about those Famous Swords? Even ordinary people knew what grade they were, so they must have been written about in books and reported in the papers. This Famous Sword Conference was probably a worldwide event too.
Vic was curious about the Famous Swords that existed now. "Brother, what Famous Swords are there these days?"
"There are eleven Supreme Great Grade Swords, eighteen Great Grade Swords, and forty-one Skillful Grade Swords. Those are the Famous Swords that appeared at the last Famous Sword Conference, along with all the ones that appeared at previous conferences. Of course, there are also many fine swords that weren't entered in the conference but became known to the world through the powerful people who wielded them. They were added to the list of Famous Swords as well. And naturally, there are some fine swords that remain unknown and haven't made the list. So there are more fine swords in this world than there are Famous Swords," Koshiro explained.
Only then did Vic learn the origins of the Famous Swords. He wondered when the Famous Sword Conference had first been held. There weren't many Famous Swords, though swordsmanship was only a small part of this world's system of power.
Only one Supreme Great Grade Sword appeared over the next twenty years? Could it be the one in Hawk-Eye's hand? Three Great Grade Swords appeared, including Wado Ichimonji, probably. Nine Skillful Grade Swords appeared too, which isn't many either. The number of Grade Swords wasn't recorded, but there should be quite a few. The blacksmiths in this world aren't up to much. When it comes to forging, we still have to look to our ancestor Gan Jiang, Vic muttered to himself.
Wado Ichimonji looked the same as it had in the original story. After all, Kozaburo had made the guard and hilt decorations himself. But the blade was stronger than its original counterpart, and it also bore a temper line that made it look more imposing.
After finishing the sword, Vic slept for three days and three nights to recover the mental energy he had spent over the past month. When he woke up, he found that his Observation Haki had grown considerably stronger and more precise, and his understanding of swordsmanship had deepened quite a bit.
After completing the sword, Vic returned to his previous training. He had been in Shimotsuki Village for a year and a half now, and he could use Sword Gang perfectly. Cutting a large ship apart from a distance was no problem at all. Before, his blade had needed to bite into the wood before he could split a ship with the sword qi that spilled out.
His training over the past year and a half had yielded impressive results: Cutting Steel, Observation Haki, Geppo, Soru, Sword Gang, and sword forging. An ordinary person would have done remarkably well to learn even one of those in a year and a half.
That day, Vic was once again running at great speed with a mountain on his back when he heard someone calling him from afar. His Observation Haki sensed that someone was indeed running toward him, so he stopped.
"Vic, V-Vic! Master's looking for you... He wants you... to see him right now..." an apprentice shouted as he ran, panting for breath. It looked like he had run all the way over.
"Got it. I'll go now." With that, Vic put down the stone mountain and used Geppo to head straight for the dojo. He knew Koshiro had something important to discuss with him; nothing like this had happened before.
The stone mountain fell, and the earth shook violently. The apprentice stared in horror, frozen in place.
Vic soon arrived at the Isshin Dojo and went straight to Koshiro's quiet room. When he reached the door, he knocked.
"Come in," Koshiro's voice called from inside.
Hearing the answer, Vic entered. There was a guest in the quiet room today, someone Vic knew: Captain Buck.
"Vic, you're here. I have something important to tell you," Buck said.
At the sight of Buck, Vic had a bad feeling. "What is it? Just tell me," he said in a low voice.
"I came straight from Laipe Island. Rebecca asked me to bring you a message. She said your grandmother is seriously ill and wants you to come back and see her," Buck said quietly.
"Grandma's sick? How serious is it?" Vic asked quickly.
"I don't know. Rebecca didn't go into detail, and I didn't go see her because I wanted to leave quickly. You'd better hurry back on my ship," Buck replied.
Vic thought for a moment and glanced at Koshiro without speaking.
Koshiro seemed to sense something and spoke.
"Go. Actually, there's not much more I can teach you now. I've taught you everything I should. The rest is for you to understand and experience for yourself. Just come back and visit Kuina when you have time. That child is very attached to you. Go say goodbye to her." Koshiro said no more after that.
"I understand, Master."
"Uncle Buck, thank you for bringing me the message. It's held up your business quite a bit. If you ever need anything, come find me," Vic said gratefully.
"It's nothing. My business is a small matter. Yours is more important." Buck was delighted. A promise from a powerful man was worth far more than half a month of sailing.
"Uncle Buck, go ahead and take care of your business. I'll be faster traveling on my own," Vic added.
"In that case, I'll be going first." Buck said no more. He knew a powerful man like Vic had many methods at his disposal. With that, he stood, bade them both farewell, and left.
"Master, I'm leaving. Take care!" Vic stood and bowed slightly to Koshiro. After saying that, he turned and left.
Koshiro nodded without speaking.
Vic went to his wooden cabin and began making a bamboo sword. He carefully polished every inch of it until there wasn't a single splinter left on the entire sword.