Chapter 133: Echoes Across the Sword Graveyard

“I want to set out to sea too.”

“Oden!”

Kozuki Sukiyaki interrupted Oden, who was practically bursting with excitement.

Oden was still too young. He didn’t understand how dangerous this really was.

Sukiyaki’s face darkened instantly.

“Why not?”

Of course Sukiyaki had his own reasons. If Oden followed him out to sea, wouldn’t he just become a hostage?

But Oden wasn’t thinking like that. He’d wanted to leave Wano for ages.

With such a golden opportunity right in front of him, how could he let it slip away?

“Of course you can.”

Karl didn’t overthink it. With his strength, there was no need to use Oden as some kind of bargaining chip.

What was the big deal about heading out to sea anyway?

Besides, Oden was bound to leave sooner or later and he was already eighteen.

If he left now, maybe Karl could mark him as his own. Breaking away from his crew later wouldn’t be so simple.

If Karl remembered right, Oden was pretty strong. After all, he managed to leave scars on Kaido.

What a shame he died so young—barely thirty-nine.

He left a mess behind that Luffy ended up cleaning up.

“Father!”

Oden looked over at Kozuki Sukiyaki.

Just as Sukiyaki was about to speak, a wave of pressure crashed down on him.

From the corner of his eye he saw Karl standing calmly and felt a jolt of fear.

He opened his mouth, but the words he’d wanted to say never made it out.

“Go ahead, but be careful out there.”

He let out a heavy sigh. His mood had shifted so fast that Oden didn’t pick up on what it really meant.

Karl just chuckled softly and withdrew his Haki from Sukiyaki.

“Lord Karl, can you tell us about the world outside?”

Looking at Oden’s eager face—and everyone else quietly hanging on his every word—

Karl raised his cup, cleared his throat and began.

He gave a broad rundown of the current situation on the seas: the pirates, the Navy and the tangled relationships between the various kingdoms.

“So the Rocks Pirates are really that strong?”

“Who’s stronger, the Rocks Pirates or the Navy?”

Oden asked the exact question that was on everyone else’s mind too.

If the Rocks Pirates had a true rival, that’d actually be good for them right now.

“Who knows?”

Karl didn’t answer directly.

……

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

Yesterday Oden had already decided to go out to sea with Karl.

Sukiyaki couldn’t stop him, so he reluctantly agreed.

But he still sent along several retainers: Kin’emon, Denjiro, Kikunojo, Kanjuro, Raizo and Ashura Doji.

These six had joined Oden during his travels across Wano.

They’d originally been meant to learn the family rituals, but things rarely go as planned.

“Creak… creak…”

Early that morning, Karl wandered alone to the Sword Graveyard.

“Hard to believe a single island has all four seasons.”

The Sword Graveyard was locked in winter year-round, thick snow blanketing everything.

Every step brought a new chorus of crunching snow.

“Phew—”

“Still a bit chilly out here.”

Karl walked through the snow, cupped his hands and breathed out warm air, watching as his breath faded into the morning.

He remembered building his first snowman as a kid—couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic.

“Since coming to this world, I’ve never really experienced winter.”

“Looks like I need to speed things up.”

Still, the cold here just made him feel a little cool—nothing more.

He stared ahead at the Sword Graveyard, taking it step by step.

At this point in time, the swords collected by Gyukimaru hadn’t been brought here yet.

So instead of rows of dazzling blades, the whole graveyard was filled with coffins.

“If I remember right, there should be three or four Devil Fruits here now.”

Gyukimaru was actually a fox who’d stumbled in and eaten a Mythical Zoan—Oni Spirit Form.

In the original story, Kaido’s son Yamato also ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan—Great Jawed Deity Form right here.

Rumors had it both fruits were hidden in the Sword Graveyard on Wano.

There was even said to be a Mythical Zoan—Nue, although that only ever showed up in the movie so details were scarce.

No way to know if it was here now or not.

“Finally made it.”

He gazed at the nearby valley, a grin spreading across his face.

Soon he’d have his hands on Devil Fruits—two of them even Mythical Zoan types! Who wouldn’t be excited?

“Oh, there they are.”

He entered the valley, walked several hundred meters, and found a small temple at its heart.

The building wasn’t large. Years of wind and snow had left it looking battered and faded.

“Creak!”

He pushed open the rotting wooden doors. Inside were a few unfamiliar statues, and in front on the altar: a sword and three wooden boxes.

Spotting the narrow doorway, he quickly used his Bone-Shrinking Art to compress his body to four meters—just enough to squeeze in.

“Could this be the famous sword, Shusui?”

He reached up, took the sword from its rack, and drew it—the blade was as black as midnight.

Only a true master, forging their weapon with years of Armament Haki, could create a blade like that—a Black Sword.

For it to be enshrined here, this had to be the legendary blade, Shusui, the one Moria stole.

“Not bad. Now it’s mine.”

Karl wasn’t a swordsman, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t collect one.

And since he’d come all this way, he wasn’t about to leave empty-handed.

He slipped Shusui into his system space, then rubbed his hands together, letting the thrill of treasure-hunting show on his face.

“Let’s see, which to open first… Alright, it’s you.”

Starting from the left, he unlocked each of the three wooden boxes. The chains meant nothing to him.

Inside each was a single Devil Fruit.

The fruits had been gathered by Wano’s clans and brought here.

They believed the fruits were cursed and would bring their families bad luck, so they placed them in the temple for purification.

If only they’d known—these were treasures of the sea, worth more than they could ever imagine.

“System, run an analysis!”

Karl knew at least one of these Devil Fruits was likely a Mythical Zoan.

But he wasn’t sure which, so he had to rely on the System’s appraisal.

“Deducting 300 points. Scanning…”

The System was getting more and more user-friendly.

A transparent screen bathed the fruits in blue light, scanning them one by one.

“Appraisal complete. The three Devil Fruits before you are: Paramecia—Suit-Suit Fruit, Paramecia—Human-Human Fruit: Mythical Zoan—Oni Spirit Form, Zoan—Dog-Dog Fruit: Mythical Zoan—Great Jawed Deity Form.”

“Nice!”

“Definitely worth the trip.”

Getting here early had paid off—two Mythical Zoans, just waiting for him.

If he was right, that fox must’ve eaten the Oni Spirit Fruit and gained a guardian form for the temple.

Then, when Kaido showed up, sensing something dreadful, he found the Great Jawed Deity Fruit.

As for the Suit-Suit Fruit, it was still a mystery when Kin’emon ate that one.

“Suit-Suit Fruit…”

“Wonder what kind of person could unlock a whole armored warrior series with it?”

Karl put both Mythical Zoan Fruits away in his system space.

Holding the Suit-Suit Fruit, he slipped into deep thought and then took to the sky, heading straight for the Tsuki Clan stronghold.