Time passed.
Time passed an incredibly long time.
An incredibly long time passed after Rengoku joined the Marines.
During that time, Rengoku fought through every kind of life-and-death battle under Garp’s hand.
Surely, the tension and intensity were no different from killing demons on Earth.
By now, Rengoku’s skill had already surpassed that of [Rengoku Kyojuro], who had originally died at the age of twenty when he was only thirteen.
Perhaps because this was a different world, most serious injuries could be fully healed here, and in fact the body’s recovery was far faster than on Earth.
In addition, the Marine promotion system in this world had something in common with the Demon Slayer Corps.
Namely, pure meritocracy.
Although Rengoku did not have much experience, his strength made up for it.
Thanks to that, he was promoted to colonel within a year of enlisting, and to major general in his second year.
In his third year of service, at the age of only sixteen, he became a Marine Headquarters vice admiral.
At first, Rengoku had questioned this merit-based promotion system, but he quickly came to understand it.
The Marines did not operate by one man alone.
He had subordinates under him, and the vast majority of the work was handled by each person’s assigned post.
The captain only had to be strong.
Navigation would be handled by the deck officers and the rest of the crew,
cooking by the cooks and the rest of the crew,
and administration by the clerks and the rest of the crew.
All the captain had to do was stand at the front and take responsibility!
Rengoku, in a way, liked that system.
For a strong man like himself to stand in the vanguard and protect everyone—that was the same as what his mother had told him in his previous life.
"It is the duty of those born strong to save the weak. It is a mission you must take responsibility for and fulfill. Never forget that."
Even after years in this world, his mother’s words still echoed in his ears.
*
By now, Rengoku even had his own private office in the Marine administration building at Marineford.
After returning from a mission for the first time in a while and taking some time to tidy himself up, he heard a Marine’s voice from outside.
"Vice Admiral Rengoku! A letter and a gift have arrived from your father!"
My father?
The father who, years ago, had left him in Garp’s care and disappeared into a Marine factory, saying he would make swords.
Though he was practically a stranger with no memories attached, he was still blood-related, so Rengoku quickly told them to bring the letter and gift.
"Good work."
"Thank you! Justice!"
After the Marine snapped a crisp salute, Rengoku took the letter and gift box and opened them.
The contents of the letter his father had left behind were somewhat shocking.
"So in the end... he never said a word and just left."
Stripped down to its essence, the letter contained only one message.
[I am sorry for you.]
Rengoku had no memories of Wano at all.
So he could not sympathize with the account of Wano’s tyranny written in his father’s letter.
But the apology conveyed through the letter itself was genuine.
After finishing the letter, he opened the gift box.
Even without looking, he could already guess what would be inside a gift box.
Swish.
A sword.
It was a single blade.
A fine sword hidden in a dark red scabbard.
Shing.
To see the blade, he held the scabbard and slowly drew the sword.
"This is...!"
Was it a coincidence, or a prank by the gods?
After reincarnating into this world, having the same name and face was one thing.
But even the sword his father had left behind...
It was the same.
It looked exactly like the Nichirin Sword he had used in the Demon Slayer Corps.
The blade, tang, guard, hilt, and scabbard—everything was the same.
The only difference was that the words [Destroyer of Demons] were not engraved on the blade.
The sword was longer than his original Nichirin Sword. That made sense, because although Rengoku had originally grown to 177 cm, in this world he had reached 192 cm, likely due to the influence of this world.
His weapon had been adjusted to match.
The weight was perfect, and the grip fit his hand beautifully.
The blade was long and beautiful, and especially the hamon pattern along it closely resembled the Nichirin Sword of the Flame Breathing style.
Flame Wave, Small T字
A red hamon that gradually narrows, with a flame-wave pattern.
As Rengoku examined this precious blade, he soon found a note enclosed with it.
Fifty-first of the demon blades.
Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade.
Note: cursed blade
Twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
Twenty-One Great Grade Blades.
Fifty Demon Blades.
While the first generation of the demon blades belonged among the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades,
and the second generation belonged among the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades,
the third generation of the demon blades had only reached the level of a fine blade rather than the Fifty Demon Blades.
Perhaps it was because it was a cursed blade, or perhaps the quality of the demon-blade lineage had declined.
Still, Rengoku wondered how his father, whose skill was said to be only enough to assist the third generation of demon blades, had managed to forge a cursed blade at the level of a demon blade, but he quickly brushed the thought aside.
Wasn’t it enough that it was good?
Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade.
It was only ranked as the fifty-first blade among the eighty-three high-grade swords in total, placing it at the very bottom of the demon-blade tier.
Although it had not reached the level of a great blade or a supreme blade, the grade of the sword was never important to Rengoku.
"When Armament Haki reaches its limit, any sword can become a black blade."
Those were the words of one of the Navy’s top swordsmen, Vice Admiral [Momousagi] Gion.
The Armament Haki he had mastered over the past few years was extremely useful.
A black blade.
A state in which a sword is completely coated with Armament Haki.
Because of that, the reinforced blade would never break.
Just like a Nichirin Sword turning into a crimson blade, it was a way to upgrade a sword’s power.
Unlike a crimson blade, whose power only increased when used against demons, a black blade made with Armament Haki rendered the sword itself indestructible, allowing one to unleash even stronger attacks more freely.
As he ran his hand along the blade of the Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade, he could feel a presence like a fire demon roaring.
"So this is a cursed blade..."
Rengoku did not forget the feel of that sinister aura as he drew the sword.
Then, gripping it with both hands, he took the middle stance of Flame Breathing.
Fwoosh!
Rengoku, who had originally been in the state of [Total Concentration Breathing: Constant], steadied his heart and exhaled Flame Breathing once more. The Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade hummed and sent flames surging from its edge.
He did not use a technique. He simply held the blazing sword and performed a few basic cuts.
The flames were very unstable. If Rengoku’s focus loosened even slightly, they would scatter at once.
From what Rengoku had learned, cursed blades each had their own traits.
Some cursed blades absorbed the user’s Haki at will.
Some cursed blades would cut things the user never intended to cut.
Some cursed blades would close themselves off and refuse to cut even a sheet of paper unless they acknowledged the user.
It sounded like a living creature rather than a sword, but that was what a cursed blade was.
And the Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade seemed to be a cursed blade that spewed flames.
"The fact that the flames aren’t scattering everywhere means you’re at least willing to acknowledge me, is that it?"
Rengoku steadied the sword, then immediately sheathed it and attached the Flame Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade to the belt that had come with it.
'Thank you for the gift, Father.'
Crash!
"...!!...!"
"...!!!...!!"
"...!...!!"
There was a rather noisy commotion outside his office.
"What’s going on?"
As Rengoku opened the office door and asked the Marine outside,
"Jus...!"
he stopped the Marine’s overly loud salute.
"Vice Admiral, the thing is, this person says they’re looking for you..."
The Marine whispered in a low voice and pointed, and there stood a female Marine rubbing her head.
"What should I do?"
At the Marine’s cautious question, Rengoku waved him off to go ahead and leave.
The Marine immediately hurried away.
After sending the Marine off, Rengoku observed the female Marine, who was bent over in front of his office door and still feeling around the floor.
From the way she looked, it seemed like she was searching for her glasses...
Rengoku scanned the area and tried to help look for them.
Thud.
"Hm?"
"Ah? Are you the one who bumped into me earlier?"
Earlier?
At her words, Rengoku remembered the Marine who had been standing in front of the door just a moment ago.
"Instead of just standing there like an idiot, hurry up and find my glasses! From the looks of it, you’re just a regular Marine, and if you bumped into an officer, shouldn’t you apologize?"
What was this woman?
She seemed to have truly terrible eyesight.
Ordinary Marines who had not become non-commissioned officers and high-ranking officers wore different uniforms from the start.
But Rengoku was wearing a Justice coat that only officers could wear. Even a three-year-old could tell he was not the same person as the Marine from earlier.
And the glasses...
"If you mean your glasses, they’re caught on my coat."
Rengoku said.
"Ah, they are!"
She wiped the glasses clean where they had caught on his coat and put them back on.
"And about bumping into me, you should apologize... huh?"
Now that she could finally see, the female Marine looked at Rengoku’s face and reflexively snapped to attention.
"Justice!"
"Yes! What business brings you to my office?"
"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi! As of today, I have been assigned as Vice Admiral Rengoku’s personal adjutant!"
*
Rengoku’s current body proportions and appearance, compared with Hancock in a reference shot.
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