One Piece: Start with Zanpakutō

"I see now."

"This navy man named Rosen…"

"Beyond Hardening, Imbuement, Emission and Internal destruction—he has actually created a Fifth technique of Armament Haki."

As he recalled Rosen using the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) just moments ago in Freezing Hell, Shiryu felt as if a lightning bolt had pierced straight through his heart.

The mystery was resolved.

No wonder former Admiral Zephyr and Admiral Candidate Borsalino would personally escort him.

It turned out that this Rosen—this man not even graduated from the Naval Academy, not yet qualified to be called a proper recruit—had shattered the world's perception that there were only four Armament Haki techniques, and pioneered the Fifth.

Only a monster with such transcendental comprehension could earn the protection of Black Arm and Kizaru.

"So this is the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) you created, Junior?"

"It resembles the Emission technique, but far more advanced."

"A full 360-degree, continuous defense like this… cannot be achieved by simple outward flow alone."

Borsalino couldn't help but step into the half-spherical barrier, inspecting it closely.

"This is merely another application of the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress),"

"Exactly as you said, Senior,"

"I combined the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) with Emission—thus forming what you now see: the Blut Vene Anhaben."

Seeing that Borsalino could instantly see through the principle with a single glance, Rosen quietly praised him in his heart.

As expected of Kizaru—his strength lay not only in the Pika Pika no Mi, but also in his keen perception and deep insight.

"I see now."

"No wonder I sensed faint traces of Emission within your Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress)…"

Borsalino's gaze toward Rosen now resembled looking at some mythical creature.

The first day, he created the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress).

The second day, he had already mastered combining Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) with another technique to evolve it further.

No wonder Sengoku had said—Rosen was a monster surpassing even the Fleet Admiral.

As for Zephyr, he showed no surprise.

During Rosen's battle with Garp's students Tokikake and Gion, Zephyr had already witnessed Rosen combining Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) and Hardening to forge an ultimate defense.

Since the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) could blend with Hardening, naturally it could also integrate with Emission.

"So that's it…"

Shiryu listened to the conversation between Rosen and Borsalino, and his last doubts finally evaporated.

The man before him, named Rosen, was no mere prodigy—he was a monster wearing a new skin.

At this realization, Shiryu's curiosity toward the purpose of this group only deepened further.

"Is he really this powerful…?"

Domino, too, heard the entire exchange, and her eyes changed as they fell upon Rosen.

In addition to gratitude, there was now a strange light.

Not love—

But reverence.

As chief warden of Impel Down, Domino saw the darkness and cruelty of pirates every single day. Her nature thus bred an instinctive worship of power and the strong.

In her eyes, only the strong could capture and imprison the scum of the sea.

"Let's move on."

Zephyr watched Rosen quietly assisting Domino, and nodded secretly.

Whether as a teacher or as a former Admiral, he did not wish for his student to become like Shiryu—someone who could not even spare kindness for his comrades.

Even something as simple as lending a hand—he would refuse.

In Zephyr's eyes, if Rosen could overlook Domino today, he might one day ignore a navy colleague in distress, or even a helpless civilian.

… 

"It truly lives up to its name…"

"Freezing Hell."

"Completely opposite to the fourth level—like stepping from one world into another."

Rosen strolled through the frozen wasteland. All around him: endless wind, snow, and solid ice.

There were no Den Den Mushi here.

Almost no prison staff were visible.

Only a horde of blood-eyed beasts known as "military wolves" roamed the outer forests, while former pirates with bounties above 100 million were forced into hard labor in this snowy purgatory.

Rosen originally thought the next stop would be Impel Down's Level 6—Infinite Hell.

To face those monsters with bounties starting at 300 to 500 million.

To prepare, he slowed his pace, deep in thought about what kind of Zanpakutō to forge next.

"A direct-attack type? I have Senbonzakura."

"A fire type? I already have Engetsu."

"Then… it's time for an ice-type Zanpakutō!"

Soon, Rosen made up his mind.

He began contemplating which ice-type Zanpakutō he should "Forge" this time.

After only a few seconds, his surroundings suddenly blurred—and then everything changed.

The ice and snow vanished.

In their place: a dark sky, a ruined land scattered with dilapidated buildings.

… 

Atop a shattered rooftop—

A female Shinigami wearing a white captain's haori stood with Zanpakutō in hand, her gaze as cold as an icy abyss.

Opposite her, a strange woman wearing a black horned mask, exuding a ferocious aura.

"Sode no Shirayuki is not a sword that simply emits cold air from its blade tip…"

"Sode no Shirayuki—"

"Is a Zanpakutō that lowers its wielder's body temperature below freezing itself."

Kuchiki Rukia murmured softly.

From hilt to tip, the Zanpakutō in her hand began shimmering with white light, becoming as pure and white as snow.

Hiss—!

Starting from the tip, along the blade, and finally covering the hilt—visible frost spread, exhaling a biting cold.

Crack!

Bathed in this freezing aura, the entire sword turned into an ice blade, radiating a horrifying cold.

"Everything I touch will freeze."

"The so-called blade is merely an extension—an arm to expand my freezing reach."

"So then… guess just how low I can lower my body temperature?"

As her words fell, the icy glow wrapped completely around her blade.

Even the goggles on her opponent's face cracked and shattered under the fearsome chill.

Snap!

When those frozen goggles fell and shattered into shards, Rukia vanished forward in a swift flash.

With her body wrapped in that terrifying sub-zero aura, she appeared before the masked woman, and lightly tapped her with her Zanpakutō.

Not a slash—just a light touch.

"Absolute zero."

Kuchiki Rukia turned her head slightly, casting a calm glance behind her at the now-touched woman.

Hiss—!

White mist curled upward.

The woman's entire body was instantly frozen into ice.

Crash!

At that very moment—

The scene before Rosen suddenly shattered like a falling mirror.

The dark sky.

The ruined cityscape.

Kuchiki Rukia.

And that beautiful yet deadly Zanpakutō—

Sode no Shirayuki.

All vanished.

In their place returned the familiar ice and snow, and the occasional distant roars of beasts.

Impel Down, Level 5.

Freezing Hell.

As Rosen's mind withdrew from the image of Rukia wielding Sode no Shirayuki, a line of information emerged quietly in his consciousness.

[You possess extraordinary comprehension. Through visualization and self-realization, combined with the Arms-Arms Fruit, you have mastered a unique skill: Sode no Shirayuki.]

... 

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