Swords hold great importance inOne Piece, especially when it comes to the plot points surrounding Roronoa Zoro, the swordsmanof the Straw Hat Piratesand one of the most important characters in the story.
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Over the years, Oda has introduced quite a lot of powerful blades in his story, however, none of them hold the same grandeur as the black blades of theOne Pieceworld. The black blades are incredibly rare and so far, fans have only seen two of them. They’re full of mystique and while Oda is exploring them more as the story goes on, there is still a lot that is shrouded in mystery.
What Are Named Blades?
Before jumping into Black Blades, fans need to know what named blades are. Also known as Meito, named blades are some of the stronger weapons in theOne Pieceworld. These weapons can range from swords to axes to naginata, among other weapons. Each named blade in the world ofOne Pieceis assigned a specific class. Fans have seen quite a few named swords inOne Piece, each belonging to a different class. For instance, when Zoro started his journey inOne Piece, the only named blade that he possessed was Wado Ichimonji.
He received Wado Ichimonji from Kyoshiro as this sword belonged to Kuina. His other two blades at the time were not named blades and, thus,in the fight against Mihawk, they ended up shattering. He immediately realized that he needed better blades and, in Loguetown, he finally got his hands on stronger named blades. Zoro grabbed a hold of Yubashiri, which was one of the Ryo Wazamono Grade swords, and the Sandai Kitetsu, one of the Wazamono Grade Swords.
The Wazamono is the most inferior class of named blades in the world ofOne Pieceand it is followed by Ryo Wazamono. While it isn’t known exactly how many Wazamono swords there are in the world, fans do know that there is a total of 50 Ryo Wazamono swords in the world currently. These are followed by 21 O Wazamono Grade swords, and fans have already seen quite a few of them, with Enma and Wado Ichimonji being the prime examples, as both of them are wielded by Zoro.
Finally, there are the Saijo O Wazamono swords inOne Pieceand these are 12 in number. So far, fans have seen four of those and they are Ace, which belongs to Gol D. Roger, Murakumogiri, which belonged to Whitebeard, Yoru, which belongs to Mihawk, and Shodai Kitetsu, which belongs to V. Nusjuro.
What Are Black Blades?
Among the named swords of theOne Pieceworld, there are a select few that are believed to be extra special. These swords are pitch black in color and, thus, are known as black blades or Kokuto. Fans saw the very first black blade in the Baratie arc, where Mihawk debuted and fought against Zoro. His black blade, Yoru, is believed to be one of the strongest blades in the entire world. Black blades are known especially for their resilience and it is believed that no matter what, they simply can’t shatter, even if a dinosaur were to step on them. They are incredibly hard and, thus, the attacks they produce weigh that much more.
Black Blades don’t simply exist naturally in theOne Pieceworld. Instead, they need to be forged by the user themselves. A swordsman can’t simply expect for a swordsmith to make a Black Blade for them. That is something that the swordsman has to do on their own using their own skill. It is believed that every single sword in the world of One Piece can be turned into a Black Blade if the swordsman is skilled enough. While a sword can temporarily be turned blackby imbuing it with Haki, as seen in many instances in the story, permanently blackening the blade and turning it into a Black Blade is a different thing altogether.
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So far, Oda has not revealed the secrets about how to make a Black Blade, however, it is believed that constantly imbuing the sword with Armament Haki is the key to turning the blade black. Likely, the more refined the Haki is, the more it will blacken.
The Power Of Black Blades
As mentioned earlier, it is believed that a Black Blade is much more resilient than a regular blade and wouldn’t bend even if a dinosaur were to step on it. However, there is more to Black Blades than just that. It is believed that Black Blades lead to an increase in the rank of the sword, making it better overall. This means that every single named sword in the world of One Piece can be made better and upper in rank. Fans found this out in the Wano arc where Kozaburo, the legendary swordsmith, mentioned to Zoro that Enma can be turned into a Black Blade with time. If Enma were to become a Black Blade, then it would be classified as one of the Supreme Grade Swords and the total number of the Supreme Grade swords would increase from 12 to 13. Similarly, Zoro can also blacken Wado Ichimonji and this would increase the total number of Supreme Grade Swords to 14. Since every sword can be blackened, it certainly shouldn’t be a surpriseto see Zoro achieve this feat in the future.
Unsurprisingly, there are many mysteries surrounding the Black Blades of theOne Pieceworld even now. Since they are forged by using Haki, it is unknown if Black Blades have a special effect on Devil Fruit powers. Judging by Mihawk’s fight against Buggy in Marineford, it appears that is not the case, which then raises the question as to whether Black Blades even have a special ability other than added resilience. Only Oda can answer these questions to the fans later on in the story. For now, fans will have to wait patiently and see the story elaborate on this plot point in the future.
How Black Blades Will Be Important In The Future
In the world of One Piece, fans have only seen a total of two black blades so far. Mihawk was the first person in One Piece to have a Black Blade. He displayed this blade for the first time in the Baratie arc where he absolutely demolished Zoro in combat. At the time, fans didn’t know much about Black Blades and just assumed that Mihawk’s blade was one of the many others that would simply be black-tempered for show.
However, later on, a different meaning was assigned to Black Blades. In the Thriller Bark arc, fans were introduced to yet another Black Blade called Shusui, wielded by none other than the zombie of the legendary Shimotsuki Ryuma. This blade was incredibly resilient and the attacks from it were quite powerful. After fighting against Zoro, Ryuma gifted this sword to him and he received his first Black Blade inOne Piece.In the Wano arc, Zoro ended up returning this blade to the country and received Emma in exchange. Kozaburo believes that Enma can be blackened in time and this is especially true for this sword due to its tendency to suck Haki in exorbitant amounts.
In the future, Oda will surely shed more light on these Black Blades. However, for now, they are still shrouded in mystery. Both their power, along with the process of their creation remain intriguing mysteries in One Piece that fans will learn answers to in the Final Saga.
