The celestial phenomena in One Piece world were remarkably strange. Not to mention red full moons, occasionally two moons would appear in the sky simultaneously. The astrological signs were ever-changing with basically no discernible pattern.
Therefore, in this world where the navigation industry was highly developed, there was no reliable way to use the sky to determine direction. When sailing on the sea, people could only rely on the technology of Log Poses.
Though speaking of it, Finn had now developed the ability to sense the lines of his Force Field Perception. Therefore, as long as he'd visited an island once and recorded its unique gravitational signature, he no longer needed to prepare any Log Poses when returning there. He could simply follow the guidance of his own ability.
Finn and Garp stayed on the warship for two days without setting up camp on the island or disturbing the refugees.
On the third night, the red moon arrived as expected.
The entire night sky became eerie and oppressive. The originally bright moonlight turned an extremely deep scarlet. Even the beasts on the island became violent and restless.
It was at this time that Finn and Garp returned to the altar.
"How often does the red moon appear?" Finn asked.
"Some say once a year, some say once every ten years, and some say once a century," Garp said carelessly.
"Why have I never seen it before?" Finn looked up at the blood-red moon hanging in the sky.
For some reason, he suddenly wanted to shout "Infinite Tsukuyomi!" However, he quickly suppressed this immature thought.
Garp shrugged. "That's the weird part. Even though we can see the red moon now, if we were in another sea, the celestial phenomenon would probably be normal. Nobody knows what's going on."
"Is it really that localized? I thought the whole world would be experiencing the red moon at this time," Finn said in surprise.
"This world is just that magical. Never mind all that, let's go!" Garp said nonchalantly.
After a while, the two arrived before the statue of Saint Claudius again.
At this moment, the demon sword Shindokutō, still placed on the sword rack, looked no different than before. However, the scarlet moonlight shining on the blade's scabbard made this strange sword appear even more mysterious and ominous.
"I wonder if there really is a curse," Finn said with a slight smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out to grasp the hilt again, remaining vaguely on guard and fearing something unexpected might happen.
But surprisingly, the mysterious force that had isolated Shindokutō two days ago had completely disappeared. His palm firmly grasped the hilt of Shindokutō's low-key yet luxurious sword.
Garp looked at the scene in bewilderment, then said with disbelief, "Is it that simple? I thought there would be some big commotion."
Finn was also somewhat puzzled. He tried to lift Shindokutō from the sword rack, but there was no resistance at all. It was as if the shadows of the battle axes, hammers, and daggers they'd seen two days ago were all illusions.
"When the red full moon arrives, the day when Shindokutō is born, it may really be that simple," Finn said with emotion.
Shindokutō felt neither too light nor too heavy in his hand, perfectly balanced.
After taking a few steps back, Finn placed his other hand on the scabbard in the crimson moonlight and gently drew the blade. A cold light reflected scarlet fell across his face.
It was only halfway out of the sheath, but the sharp aura of the blade could no longer be suppressed. It emanated outward as if wanting to vent all the repression that had been building for more than a hundred years.
However, the next moment, a sudden change occurred. A massive amount of scarlet aura suddenly poured from the scabbard, dark and obscure. Just one glance at it was enough to make people terrified.
Finn, who was holding the sword, was the first to be affected. His eyes suddenly became ferocious and malevolent, bloodshot appearing instantly.
This sudden change startled Garp, who stood nearby. He couldn't help but keep some distance from Finn, watching him warily, fearing that Finn would suddenly attack.
But it lasted only a moment. Finn's aura shook, the ferocious look in his eyes quickly dissipated, and the bloodshot vanished.
"What a fierce blade!" Finn exclaimed.
To be honest, he hadn't taken the demon sword seriously before. No matter how demonic it was, it was still just a sword, right?
But at that moment just now, he was absolutely certain that Shindokutō had affected him.
If someone with weaker willpower were to wield this blade, they'd probably turn into a mindless butcher and kill everyone they saw, right? Or perhaps commit suicide directly?
Fortunately, Finn possessed his Iron Will ability. At that critical moment, he'd suppressed Shindokutō's strange power.
"Can the so-called demon sword really affect its owner?" Garp asked in surprise.
He looked at the scarlet and obscure aura emanating from the gap in the scabbard and said eagerly, "Let me try touching it."
Finn hesitated. What if Garp was affected by Shindokutō and attacked with the blade? Wouldn't that be disastrous?
But before he could voice his concerns, Garp had already grabbed Shindokutō's handle.
The next second, his eyes turned blood red.
Finn was startled and quickly slapped his hand away. Garp's eyes became clear again immediately.
"What? I haven't even experienced the feeling properly!" Garp said very unhappily.
"You're still excited about it? What if you went berserk? What should I do? I can't kill you on the spot, can I?" Finn said irritably.
"No, although it has an impact, I feel like if I was given some time, I could suppress it," Garp shook his head.
After he finished speaking, he looked at Finn with some surprise. "But your willpower is really beyond my expectations. You actually suppressed Shindokutō's influence so quickly."
I was cheating with my transmigrator ability, okay? Finn complained internally. But at the same time, he understood what was happening.
Just as people chose swords, a mystical blade like Shindokutō also possessed the concept of choosing its master. The power that could affect people's minds just now should be Shindokutō testing the person holding the sword.
If the person couldn't resist Shindokutō's influence, they would inevitably become a murderer under the blade's control, or commit suicide directly. This must be the origin of Shindokutō's nickname as a "demon sword."
"It's nothing special," Finn said dismissively to Garp. Then without hesitation, he suddenly released Shindokutō completely from the scabbard.
At that moment, the surrounding environment changed dramatically. The dark, obscure, evil and fearful atmosphere condensed into substance and spread through the surrounding air, visible to the naked eye.
"Before, I thought it was nothing, just a demon sword," Garp said in surprise. "But now, you don't look like a Marine at all with this sword in your hand. You could easily pass for a pirate!"
This blade was so strange that it could actually condense this dark aura into something tangible. Whoever held this sword wouldn't look like a good person at all.
Just as Finn was about to respond, the situation changed again.
A powerful wind pressure suddenly erupted from the blade. The moment it flew out, it transformed into a wind blade slash, striking directly at the statue of Saint Claudius not far away, cleanly severing the statue's head.
Both Finn and Garp were confused by this sudden development.
Garp looked at the statue's head tumbling to the ground and smacked his lips. "Do you have a grudge against him?"
"It wasn't me!" Finn said immediately.
Then, without paying attention to Garp's skeptical look, he swung the sword back and slashed toward the distant air again. He didn't use any strength, yet another wind blade flew from the sword's edge.
At this moment, Finn's eyes flashed with genuine surprise. "This sword can create wind blade on its own!"
Garp's eyes also showed a hint of surprise. "It's worthy of being the legendary demon sword."
Of course, it was just surprise, nothing particularly earth-shattering. In this world, some blades possessed strange abilities and many unusual functions.
For example, that Foxfire Kin'emon fellow in Wano Country. The sword in his hand could cut flames. Another example was Kozuki Oden's sword, Enma, which could absorb Haki and increase the power of strikes. If an ordinary person wielded that sword, they'd be instantly drained to death.
Swords like Enma and Shindokutō could be considered sentient blades.
Finn looked at the stone head that had fallen to the ground and smiled. "Perhaps after being suppressed by Saint Claudius for over a hundred years, Shindokutō harbors deep hatred for him. That's why it unauthorized unleashed the wind blade and severed his head."
Without paying further attention to the decapitated statue, Finn raised Shindokutō to the scarlet moonlight and carefully observed its blade.
The blade was bright and without any flaws, definitely a rare masterpiece. There was a line of small characters engraved at the intersection of the handle and the blade. Upon closer inspection, it read: "Shindokutō - Hellscream."
At the same time, text was engraved on both sides of the blade near the handle.
One side bore the inscription: "The blade cuts flesh, the heart cuts soul."
The other side read: " To save others, save the heart. Thus is Shindokutō.."
Originally, in Finn's opinion, this sword was already extremely impressive. But with these two inscriptions on the blade, it simply elevated the weapon's magnificence to another level entirely.
But what did that "Hellscream" epithet mean?
"It truly is a top-tier blade. I like this sword!" Finn laughed.
As if sensing Finn's affection, Shindokutō actually released a soft, almost melodic hum and unleashed a powerful wind pressure slash toward the blood moon hanging high in the sky.
"Hahahaha!" Finn laughed heartily, raised his hand, and returned Shindokutō to its scabbard, hanging it at his waist.
Simultaneously, the obscurity and darkness surrounding him quickly disappeared.
"What a pity. I'm not a swordsman, otherwise I would definitely snatch this blade from you," Garp said with some regret.
But soon, he was stunned again. "That's not right. If I remember correctly, aren't you also half-baked when it comes to swordsmanship? What do you want such a good sword for?"
"What are you talking about? I've been a renowned swordsman for many years!" Finn said shamelessly.
After a brief pause, he patted the scabbard at his waist. "What's more, Shindokutō is a bit temperamental, and I'm the only one who can control it. If it gets into the wrong hands, it will cause disaster. It's reasonable for me to uphold justice and keep it with me. I believe that as long as I'm sincere, it will eventually become a blade of righteousness."
Looking at Finn's shameless expression, Garp opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He shook his head. "Shameless."
"Right back at you," Finn said with an insincere bow toward Garp.
The sword was already obtained. Perhaps there were other secrets scattered around the island, but Finn and Garp were no longer interested in exploring.
The two men quickly descended the mountain and rested on the ship for the night. The next morning, the warship set sail for Garp's hometown, Windmill Village.
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