The crimson glow faded away.
A ripple-like sheen washed across the blade, as if liquid were cleansing it. The edge shifted to a deep blue for a brief moment—then settled into an ordinary, unassuming appearance.
The instant Karl gripped the hilt, he felt it.
A surging desire for slaughter, rising relentlessly in the back of his mind.
Even now, it hadn't subsided.
"So this really is a cursed blade… damn, it lives up to the name."
No wonder Shiryu had been so bloodthirsty.
This sword suited him far too well.
Smoker walked over, eyeing Raiu curiously.
"A cursed blade? This thing? I don't see anything special about it."
"Here—try it yourself," Karl said, casually tossing Raiu to him.
"Whatever, it doesn't feel any dif—"
Smoker suddenly froze.
A faint red flash streaked through his pupils. His expression went blank as he tightened his grip on Raiu and instinctively assumed a fighting stance.
"Smoker?"
The next instant, a strange crimson arc sliced past Karl's side—
Clang!
Karl drew Autumn Water halfway, narrowly blocking the strike.
"Tsk—this thing…!"
Bang!
He countered with a sharp kick, sending Raiu flying upward. As the blade fell, Karl caught it perfectly by the hilt.
Smoker stood there, stunned, scratching his head.
"…What just happened?"
Karl glanced at Raiu, then at Smoker.
"You couldn't handle it. The sword took control of you."
"So just now I was—"
"Yes. You were trying to kill me."
Smoker swallowed hard, instinctively backing away from the blade.
"That's a cursed sword? Good thing I don't use blades…"
Karl chuckled.
"What people call a cursed blade is usually a famed sword," he explained calmly.
"Famed swords choose their masters. The weak can't handle them—and when they die from losing control, the blade gets labeled cursed."
"In reality, being called a cursed blade is an honor. It means its notoriety is feared."
He sheathed Raiu smoothly.
"To wield this sword, you either submit to its will—let it gorge on blood, like Shiryu did…"
"Or you completely dominate it, turning it into nothing more than a weapon of slaughter in your hand."
"…"
Smoker lit a cigar, said nothing more, and walked off.
The transport ship had to sail through the Calm Belt, reach the Red Line, pass the Mariejois gateway, enter the New World—and only then continue on to Punk Hazard.
All told, the journey would take roughly two days, nights included.
Near dinnertime, Karl removed the Aokiji-style sleep mask from his face, sat up on his lounge chair, and yawned.
"Accumulated slacking time: 8 hours. Daily task complete."
"Reward: 7 targeted stat enhancement cards + 4 random rewards (storable)."
All into physique, Karl thought instantly. And save the random rewards.
These days, he used the enhancement cards immediately and saved the random ones.
With today's additions, he had stocked up 122 pulls.
I'll draw everything once I hit 150.
A faint tremor passed through his body as the enhancement ended. The numerical changes were small—nothing dramatic.
Then, a new system prompt appeared.
"Detected: Devil Fruit Awakening Progress has reached Stage One."
"Host may now freely develop new abilities."
"To help the host slack off more enjoyably, the system will automatically explore optimal development paths."
"Collecting data…"
Karl's lips curved upward.
Now this, he thought, is what a mature system looks like.
"Data analysis complete."
"Optimal Stage One development direction: Purification."
Karl raised an eyebrow.
"Go on."
"Purification: By greatly amplifying the healing aspect of Holy Light, the body can be restored to a normal state instantly."
"Removes common negative statuses such as burns, poison, bleeding, etc."
"When fully developed, can negate negative effects inflicted by other Devil Fruit abilities."
Not bad at all.
No offensive power—but the support value was insane.
"Sounds good."
With the system's guidance laid out clearly, Karl immediately began experimenting.
He gathered Holy Light in his left hand, then frowned.
At present, his Holy Light always carried both enhancement and healing effects together.
To strengthen healing alone, he first needed to separate the two.
After several failed attempts, Karl dismissed the light and headed straight for the mess hall.
Man is iron. Food is steel. Skip one meal and you're weak as hell.
Ability development could wait until after dinner.
That night, Karl dreamed.
In the dream, his left hand glowed white, his right hand golden—one for healing, one for enhancement.
With his support, the Marine Admirals slapped pirates around like misbehaving children.
Then he woke up.
Karl sat up in bed, confused. Dawn had already arrived.
"…Was that a hint?"
No hesitation. He went to eat first.
Afterward, Karl locked himself in his room to develop his ability.
It counted as slacking and progress—killing two birds with one stone.
As for guarding the transport ship from Sea Kings or pirates?
That's why Smoker was here.
What else was he brought along for?
After an entire day of effort, Karl finally felt something click.
"This is it—success or failure hinges on this!"
He took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and formed a basketball-sized sphere of Holy Light.
Closing his eyes, he carefully felt the flow within.
"Easy… yeah, that's it… separate—slowly—yes, perfect!"
The golden sphere began to split at a painfully slow pace.
Gradually, the separation accelerated—until, under Karl's control, it divided cleanly into two equal orbs.
One white.
One yellow.
White for healing.
Yellow for enhancement.
Karl opened his eyes, stared at the twin lights, and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! I did it! Finally!"
It took over an hour just to split them, but this was only the first time.
Some people finish quickly. Others… have endurance.
With enough practice, he could reach instant separation—or even directly form a pure white healing orb.
At that point, Purification would be officially complete.
Knock knock knock.
"It's me—Smoker."
Karl dismissed the lights and opened the door.
"What's up?"
"We need the clearance documents," Smoker said.
"For passing through the Mariejois checkpoint. You've got those, right?"
"Yeah." Karl handed them over.
"Just show these and you're good."
Smoker accepted them, staring suspiciously at Karl.
"You stayed in your room all day… hiding something shady?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"How do you know?"
Smoker's expression immediately turned I knew it. He smirked.
"So—wanna tell me?"
Karl's face went serious.
"Nope."
Bang!
The door shut.
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