Summary
Supreme Grade Weapons are the pinnacle of armament artisanship in all ofOne Piece. Despite there being an almost innumerable amount of weapons that have been introduced over the 1100+ chapters of the series, there have only been 5 that are currently confirmed to be Supreme Grade Weapons, showing just how rare, powerful, and sought after they are. However, even among these 5, only 1 has reached a further state of power.
This weapon is Yoru, the long sword of Dracule Mihawk. This sword is the only one ofOne Piece’sSupreme Grade Weapons that has been blackened, perhaps putting it in a league above even the others in its category. With Mihawk’s exceptional swordsmanship and strength, Yoru’s full might can only be realized by someone as skilled as him, so let’s take a look at why it may bethe strongest Supreme Grade Swordof them all!
Story Arc
Baratie Arc
Yoru’s first appearance came toward the end of the short Baratie arc. In this arc, it was only used briefly when Mihawk was able to singlehandedly destroy the ship of the Don Krieg Pirates using the blade. Since it is one of the 12 Supreme Grade Weapons, its durability and strength are second to none, making it more than a worthy weapon to be used bythe World’s Strongest Swordsman.
Due to the power of the sword itself mixed with the fearsome skill of its wielder, Yoru has had some incredible feats in the story. However, due to Mihawk’s sparing appearances, these abilities are few and far between. One such example comes during the Summit War at Marineford, where the swordsman easily cut a mountain-sized glacier with a simple movement, seemingly without any infusion of powerful Haki!
Without subtlety, a sword is but an iron bar.
Mihawk’s main way of fighting over long distances seems to be with his unique ability to send green slashes towards his opponents by swinging Yoru. These slashes can cut through most solid objects and don’t really lose effectiveness at great distances either, making it an incredibly powerful attack. Moreover, despite its massive and heavy appearance,Mihawk can use Yoru in a very nimbleand precise manner.
This can be seen when Mihawk is shown to alter the course of bullets or cut things incredibly finely, despite Yoru being a massive sword that seemingly makes this difficult. This may be because of its nature being a Supreme Grade Sword, which makes it unlike any other weapon on the planet.
Yoru as a Black Blade
InOne Piece, there exists the concept of a blade being blackened. This process is not something that exists naturally in the world, nor can blacksmiths forge weapons with this unique property. Instead,swords essentially absorb the Haki of their userover a long time and, in doing so, make themselves far more durable, heavy, and powerful, greatly increasing their strength and durability. The blade is strengthened so much that it is said that even if a dinosaur were to step on the blade, it would not bend or break.
In concept, any sword can be turned into a Black Blade if the user is skilled enough and if they’ve used the sword for a sufficient amount of time, and this is even what happens temporarily when someone imbues their weapon with Haki. However, the act of permanently transforming the sword into a Black Blade is so difficult and rare that currently, only 2 weapons are known to be permanent Black Blades; Mihawk’s Yoru and Ryuma’s Shusui.
As such, the strength of these swords is also the stuff of legend. It is also implied that when a blade has blackened, regardless of its current rank, its rank will increase due to the incredible power-up that blackening gives. So, Yoru’s power is made even more formidable whencompared to other Supreme Grade Swords, since it is the only one of the confirmed Supreme Grade Blades to have received an extra power-up through its blackening, most likely putting it even above the likes of Roger’s Ace or Whitebeard’s Murakumogiri!
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One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
