One Piece: Saving Hancock with the Batto Batto no Mi

Somewhere on the coast of Shimotsuki Village, East Blue, an old white-haired man in a kimono, a long sword hanging at his waist, and a thin figure with a unibrow sat cross-legged, relaxing on the grass. A dry tobacco pipe was tucked into his mouth, and in front of him, a fishing rod was planted, its line extending into the sea, drifting gently with the current.

This was Shimotsuki Kozaburō, a renowned swordsmith, also a Samurai. He arrived in East Blue more than thirty years ago with a group of Samurai who had illegally left Wano Country. It was on this island that he met a woman and fell deeply in love. Therefore, he chose to settle here, drove away evil bandits, established Shimotsuki Village, and opened the "Shimotsuki Dojo" to teach swordsmanship to the villagers.

Now, the old and frail Shimotsuki Kozaburō had handed over his dojo to his son, Shimotsuki Koushirou, to manage. Meanwhile, he came to the beach every day to fish when he had no work.

In the distant sky, a black shadow flapped its wings, flying towards him. Shimotsuki Kozaburō glanced at it and ignored it. He remained seated on the grass, leisurely puffing on his dry tobacco.

A moment later, Sephiroth landed on the grass, retracted his black fleshy wings, and stood two meters in front of the old man.

"...Shimotsuki Kozaburō."

Hearing his name called, the old man seemed puzzled and turned to stare at Sephiroth several times. He wondered why the strange young man in front of him was looking for him.

Whoosh!

When Shimotsuki Kozaburō's gaze fell upon the two long swords at Sephiroth's waist, his eyes couldn't turn away.

"I heard you are from Wano Country and are a renowned swordsmith who once forged the Meitou Yama..."

"I want to ask you to help me forge a Meitou no less formidable than it!"

"Currently, I... But I can't forge a sword of that caliber. In my current physical condition, I can at most forge ordinary blunt swords. Besides, don't you already have two Meitou? If I'm not mistaken, one of them is Kokuto Shusui, isn't it?"

"I do have two Meitou, and one of them is Kokuto Shusui..."

As he spoke, Sephiroth clanged as he unsheathed Shusui, that Kokuto, revealing its dark blade to the old man's eyes.

Shimotsuki Kozaburō stared intently at Shusui for a while, then said with some doubt, "This is our national treasure from Wano Country, how did you get it...?"

"Seized from a pirate named Moonlight Moriah..."

"Moonlight Moriah... That's him!" Shimotsuki Kozaburō nodded clearly, as if he understood something. Several years ago, the news of Moriah's decisive battle with Kaido in Wano Country had indeed reached him.

"This Kokuto Shusui is excellent! Unfortunately, it has been refined into a Kokuto by Ryuma, and it will never exert its maximum power in my hands. Therefore, after I obtained Kokuto Shusui, I have always wanted to find a weapon that can replace it."

Hearing what the silver-haired young man said, Shimotsuki Kozaburō immediately nodded and praised, "Good spirit! A truly powerful swordsman will not covet a Kokuto that only belongs to others. The best choice is to refine your own Kokuto!"

The corner of Sephiroth's mouth curved slightly, forming a faint smile, "So... I just want you to help me forge a Meitou to replace Shusui..."

Ever since he had the idea of making a Meitou, he had asked Gild Tesoro to hire famous swordsmith craftsmen to help him forge a sword all this time. However, when the other party heard that he wanted to forge a weapon of Ō Wazamono caliber, or even Saijo Ō Wazamono caliber, they all shook their heads and frankly said that their skills were limited and they couldn't make it! In desperation, he had no choice but to turn to the swordsmithing techniques from his collection. After studying them for a while, he realized how difficult it was to make a weapon of Meitou grade!

Sephiroth followed the technical data for forging swords and picked up the hammer himself. After hammering for more than a month, he only stopped making swords with relatively good craftsmanship. He couldn't even reach the Meitou level.

"Didn't I already tell you? With my aging body now, I can't forge a good sword at all."

"What if I can help you regain your youth?" Sephiroth smiled.

"How is this possible?" Shimotsuki Kozaburō looked shocked, and subconsciously felt that the silver-haired young man in front of him was lying. How could it be possible for a person to regain his youth from old age, unless it was the power of a Devil Fruit!?

Thinking this, the old man's breathing couldn't help but become a little heavier, and his heart even pounded erratically. To be honest, he was already tired of his aging body, which was exhausted of qi and blood and on the verge of death. He would usually pant slightly when he ran a few steps faster.

"This world is full of incredible wonders. If I can help you regain the youth you had forty years ago, what if you help me forge a Meitou equivalent to Wado Ichimonji and Yama?" Sephiroth, with a smiling face, offered the terms of his own deal.

"Can you really help me regain my youth?" Shimotsuki Kozaburō was still a little doubtful.

"Certainly!"

"Alright!... If you can help me regain my youth, I will help you forge a Meitou no weaker than Yama!"

Getting the answer he wanted, Sephiroth smiled with satisfaction, and he immediately grabbed the old man's neck. A surging source of life flowed back from his palm and poured into the old man's limbs, causing the other party's skin, flesh, and height to undergo earth-shattering changes! The wrinkled skin became full, the thin muscles of his arms and legs began to swell, and his hunched spine gradually became straight and robust.

In an instant, the white-haired old man returned to being a tall, muscular, and strong black-haired youth.

"I actually regained my youth..." With a shocked expression on his face, Shimotsuki Kozaburō looked at his strong hands. He could even clearly feel that the strength surging from his limbs, as well as the previous feeling of weakness and old age, had all vanished!

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled as he explained to the other party, "I instilled forty years of life into your body... However, you need to note that this source of life is not yours after all, it is an external force! If you are severely injured, this source of life will quickly dissipate, returning you to your old state. Of course, if you live peacefully without injury, your body will age at a normal rate..."

Shimotsuki Kozaburō calmed down, and then looked at the silver-haired young man again. He said respectfully, "I don't know... How should I address this adult?"

"Just call me Sephiroth."

"Alright! Lord Sephiroth, may I take the liberty of watching your other sword?"

Hearing this, Sephiroth looked down at the Butcher's Blade at his waist, and he spoke, "This is a very ruthless blade, you'd best be mentally prepared..." As he spoke, the long blade was unsheathed, and a cold light was lifted. He handed the hilt of the Butcher's Blade to the other party.

Shimotsuki Kozaburō extended his right hand and held the sword's hilt. As soon as he touched it, he felt a suction emanating from the sword, continuously drawing his vitality! However, Shimotsuki Kozaburō had no intention of letting go. While carefully looking at the blue-black blade and the red patterns on it, he sighed:

"Good sword!... Good sword!... What a sword! Swords are tools for killing! The purpose of our swordsmith craftsmen is to make swords kill better and take more lives... The maker of this sword, simply took this idea to the extreme! What's its name?"

"Butcher Knife!"