Something's occurred to me about Imu's attack on Loki in this latest chapter.
(Chapter 1181)
There's some debate about whether or not this is actually another example of a Black Blade. Personally, I'm leaning towards "not". It seems to be more of a "energy construct" made of Imu's Black Flames, rather than a "normal" sword made of metal. I don't think this qualifies, technically. But, we'll have to see how or if Imu uses it again, in the future. I could be wrong about that.
But, that doesn't mean it's totally unrelated. Because I'll admit, it DOES look a lot like Mihawk's sword, Yoru, in design. And Imu even uses a similar technique to Mihawk back in Marineford. So, Oda does seem to be drawing intentional parallels between the two swords, for some reason.
(Chapter 561)
But, I think the key to understanding Imu's attack is actually pretty easy to miss. I didn't think about this until later.
Imu calls the attack "Nemesis".
And when Imu uses this attack, the sword comes out of the pommel of his Naginata. But, we've also seen Imu use ANOTHER type of attack from the pommel of his Naginata before. Last chapter, when he summons a "gun" in order to free Gunko from her ice cube prison.
(Chapter 1180)
So, we've seen two different kinds of weapons come out of the pommel of this Naginata. Assuming that both attacks are both the same "Nemesis" attack, I think that gives us a hint on the true nature of this attack.
"Nemesis" is not a attack that summons a sword. "Nemesis" is a "adaptive" weapon that uses whatever element the target is weak to. As the name implies, "Nemesis" becomes the "natural enemy" of whatever it's targeting.
When Imu needs to melt Ragnir's ice to free Gunko, "Nemesis" becomes a incendiary shot that's hot enough to melt it. When it targeted Loki, it became a sword to stab him. In theory, if Imu's target was particularly weak to lightning, "Nemesis" would fire off a lightning bolt. Or if Imu's target was weak to poison, it would shoot out poison.
I'm curious what will happen if and when Imu targets Luffy with this attack. Because, Luffy is also weak to cutting weapons. So, in theory, we could see this same type of sword attack from Nemesis again. Or it could turn into something even more spiky, like a mace or a flail, in order to cut Luffy more.
We'll have to see if this is how it actually works. We only have two data points to work with, right now. But, for now, this seems to me like the most likely explanation for what's happening.
Okay, so assuming I'm on the right track, that brings up a natural follow up question. "Why is Loki particularly weak to sword attacks?" Why is this particular type of sword Loki's natural "Nemesis"?
...Well, if you know anything about me, you might be able to guess where this is going.
I think the reason is because of Loki's Nidhogg form. Loki's weak to swords, because Loki can turn into a Dragon.
Let's talk a little about the history of the only two Black Blades we currently know about in the story. Yoru and Shusui.
We don't know much about Yoru or it's history yet. But, I will bring up that it's unlikely that Loki has run into Mihawk, himself. Loki was captured by Shanks 6 years ago. Shanks lost his arm 12 years ago while saving Luffy. So, while it's not impossible that Mihawk was visiting his friend Shanks while Loki showed up, this wouldn't be a time when Mihawk was constantly challenging Shanks to duels, either. So, it's unlikely that Loki's "Nemesis" looks like Yoru, because Mihawk is the one who actually defeated him, and not Shanks. It's a thought that crossed my mind, but the timeline doesn't really work out for that.
Shusui, on the other hand, we know a little more about. If only because we've seen a little more of what Ryuma was up to. Slaying Dragons.
(Monsters from the collection Wanted)
The two things that Ryuma is best known for is slaying Dragons, and forging a Black Blade. Could these two things be related?
Is it possible that Shusui turned black, due to slaying Dragons and being exposed to Dragon blood? Or maybe Dragon "haki" or Dragon "inner fire" (or even their "Mother Flame"). The sword being exposed to something about Dragons that turned the blade black as a result. It'd be kind of like with the Marvel super-hero Iron Fist, who got his powers by plunging his fists into the heart of a Dragon. A similar idea, at least.
Which could mean...at some point, Yoru was used to slay a Dragon. And if Yoru really is the "World's Strongest Black Blade" (Chapter 51), that may imply that Yoru has been used to kill the most number of Dragons out of any sword to ever exist.
Imu's "Nemesis" attack on Loki may look a like like Yoru, because Yoru is actually some sort of legendary Dragon-killing blade. And Loki...is technically a Dragon, thanks to the Nidhogg Fruit.
Now, you might think this would contradict what we've been told about Black Blades before. That they're purely a result of infusing Haki into the sword over the course of many battles.
(Chapter 937)
...But, this idea may not contradict that as much as you think.
Many people can seem to infuse their Haki into objects to make them stronger. But, we've never see it stay inside the object for very long. It almost always dissipates, after a while. So, maybe it's not JUST Haki that's necessary to keep the Haki inside a object? Maybe you need to add another "chemical" to the process in order to stabilize the Haki? Maybe something like Dragon blood?
In real life, in order to make a katana harder, sharper, and more durable you use Clay Tempering on the blade. You basically coat a sword in clay and then heat it up in order to improve it's quality. In this idea, the Dragon Blood would be acting like the Clay.
https://www.dremsword.com/blog/detail/katana-making-process-clay-temper
So, in order to make a Black Blade, it's possible that you DO need to infuse a sword with your Haki. But, then you also need to cut a Dragon, in order to use the Dragon Blood to permanently seal the Haki inside of the blade.
A problem with this is that...Dragons are kind of thought to be a myth in the present day of the One Piece World. Dragons are NOT common. So, how would Mihawk even FIND a Dragon to slay? Well...maybe Mihawk's one of the reasons that Dragons are so rare? I don't really know. Maybe Mihawk battled the "last" of the Dragons still living on the surface world? But, there's a lot we don't know about Mihawk's past. So, I wouldn't be surprised if we learned something along these lines whenever we eventually get Mihawk's flashback. It's a bit of a leap in logic, but maybe not a unreasonable one, for this particular story.
As for why Mihawk never explained this to Zoro? Why leave out such a important step? Well...Mihawk's never been the most talkative guy in the first place. He's a pretty private and reserved guy, all things considered. Or it's also possible that Mihawk actually has regrets about slaying such a rare creature, and he's trying to prevent any more of them from getting hunted down. Or...maybe even Mihawk himself doesn't fully understand what it is that he did to forge Yoru? Maybe after such a tough fight against a legendary Dragon, Mihawk just found that his blade was now staying black...and he just assumed it was because he put a lot of effort into coating his blades with his Haki during the fight? Forging a Black Blade is a pretty rare process. So, it's not likely that there was anyone to explain it to Mihawk. Mihawk may have just made the wrong assumption about how he managed to do it.
Now, Zoro HAS actually cut a Dragon before, back on Punk Hazard. But, that was before he was able to coat his swords with Haki. So, he kind of missed his chance to forge his own Black Blade back with Dragon Number 13. Of course this was also a Clone-Dragon, so who knows if it'd work the same way as a "real" Dragon.
(Chapter 656)
Which would mean...if Zoro's ever going to forge his own Black Blade, he's going to need to find himself another Dragon to complete the process. Now that he knows a little about how to coat his blades with Haki, he needs a Dragon to seal that Haki into the blades fully.
...I keep telling you...the Dragons ARE coming! And they WILL be amazing!
So, long story short, if and when we ever learn Mihawk's backstory, it's possible that we'll learn that he actually has a history of slaying Dragons. Just like Ryuma, and even Zoro. Cutting a Dragon for it's Blood or Haki or Fire might be the key to forging a Black Blade.
Which may explain why Imu's "Nemesis" took a form resembling Yoru. Yoru might be the strongest Dragon-slaying blade.
...Now, whether or not slaying Dragons in the first place is actually a good thing is still up for debate. Because Dragons...might not be the real "Monsters" of this story. In fact, that was the whole lesson of the Monsters short story, back in the day. Greedy Humans were the REAL "Monsters". Dragons might be another exploited race, in the grand scheme of things. But, we'll see about that in time, probably.
(Chapter 1181)
There's some debate about whether or not this is actually another example of a Black Blade. Personally, I'm leaning towards "not". It seems to be more of a "energy construct" made of Imu's Black Flames, rather than a "normal" sword made of metal. I don't think this qualifies, technically. But, we'll have to see how or if Imu uses it again, in the future. I could be wrong about that.
But, that doesn't mean it's totally unrelated. Because I'll admit, it DOES look a lot like Mihawk's sword, Yoru, in design. And Imu even uses a similar technique to Mihawk back in Marineford. So, Oda does seem to be drawing intentional parallels between the two swords, for some reason.
(Chapter 561)
But, I think the key to understanding Imu's attack is actually pretty easy to miss. I didn't think about this until later.
Imu calls the attack "Nemesis".
And when Imu uses this attack, the sword comes out of the pommel of his Naginata. But, we've also seen Imu use ANOTHER type of attack from the pommel of his Naginata before. Last chapter, when he summons a "gun" in order to free Gunko from her ice cube prison.
(Chapter 1180)
So, we've seen two different kinds of weapons come out of the pommel of this Naginata. Assuming that both attacks are both the same "Nemesis" attack, I think that gives us a hint on the true nature of this attack.
"Nemesis" is not a attack that summons a sword. "Nemesis" is a "adaptive" weapon that uses whatever element the target is weak to. As the name implies, "Nemesis" becomes the "natural enemy" of whatever it's targeting.
When Imu needs to melt Ragnir's ice to free Gunko, "Nemesis" becomes a incendiary shot that's hot enough to melt it. When it targeted Loki, it became a sword to stab him. In theory, if Imu's target was particularly weak to lightning, "Nemesis" would fire off a lightning bolt. Or if Imu's target was weak to poison, it would shoot out poison.
I'm curious what will happen if and when Imu targets Luffy with this attack. Because, Luffy is also weak to cutting weapons. So, in theory, we could see this same type of sword attack from Nemesis again. Or it could turn into something even more spiky, like a mace or a flail, in order to cut Luffy more.
We'll have to see if this is how it actually works. We only have two data points to work with, right now. But, for now, this seems to me like the most likely explanation for what's happening.
Okay, so assuming I'm on the right track, that brings up a natural follow up question. "Why is Loki particularly weak to sword attacks?" Why is this particular type of sword Loki's natural "Nemesis"?
...Well, if you know anything about me, you might be able to guess where this is going.
I think the reason is because of Loki's Nidhogg form. Loki's weak to swords, because Loki can turn into a Dragon.
Let's talk a little about the history of the only two Black Blades we currently know about in the story. Yoru and Shusui.
We don't know much about Yoru or it's history yet. But, I will bring up that it's unlikely that Loki has run into Mihawk, himself. Loki was captured by Shanks 6 years ago. Shanks lost his arm 12 years ago while saving Luffy. So, while it's not impossible that Mihawk was visiting his friend Shanks while Loki showed up, this wouldn't be a time when Mihawk was constantly challenging Shanks to duels, either. So, it's unlikely that Loki's "Nemesis" looks like Yoru, because Mihawk is the one who actually defeated him, and not Shanks. It's a thought that crossed my mind, but the timeline doesn't really work out for that.
Shusui, on the other hand, we know a little more about. If only because we've seen a little more of what Ryuma was up to. Slaying Dragons.
(Monsters from the collection Wanted)
The two things that Ryuma is best known for is slaying Dragons, and forging a Black Blade. Could these two things be related?
Is it possible that Shusui turned black, due to slaying Dragons and being exposed to Dragon blood? Or maybe Dragon "haki" or Dragon "inner fire" (or even their "Mother Flame"). The sword being exposed to something about Dragons that turned the blade black as a result. It'd be kind of like with the Marvel super-hero Iron Fist, who got his powers by plunging his fists into the heart of a Dragon. A similar idea, at least.
Which could mean...at some point, Yoru was used to slay a Dragon. And if Yoru really is the "World's Strongest Black Blade" (Chapter 51), that may imply that Yoru has been used to kill the most number of Dragons out of any sword to ever exist.
Imu's "Nemesis" attack on Loki may look a like like Yoru, because Yoru is actually some sort of legendary Dragon-killing blade. And Loki...is technically a Dragon, thanks to the Nidhogg Fruit.
Now, you might think this would contradict what we've been told about Black Blades before. That they're purely a result of infusing Haki into the sword over the course of many battles.
(Chapter 937)
...But, this idea may not contradict that as much as you think.
Many people can seem to infuse their Haki into objects to make them stronger. But, we've never see it stay inside the object for very long. It almost always dissipates, after a while. So, maybe it's not JUST Haki that's necessary to keep the Haki inside a object? Maybe you need to add another "chemical" to the process in order to stabilize the Haki? Maybe something like Dragon blood?
In real life, in order to make a katana harder, sharper, and more durable you use Clay Tempering on the blade. You basically coat a sword in clay and then heat it up in order to improve it's quality. In this idea, the Dragon Blood would be acting like the Clay.
https://www.dremsword.com/blog/detail/katana-making-process-clay-temper
So, in order to make a Black Blade, it's possible that you DO need to infuse a sword with your Haki. But, then you also need to cut a Dragon, in order to use the Dragon Blood to permanently seal the Haki inside of the blade.
A problem with this is that...Dragons are kind of thought to be a myth in the present day of the One Piece World. Dragons are NOT common. So, how would Mihawk even FIND a Dragon to slay? Well...maybe Mihawk's one of the reasons that Dragons are so rare? I don't really know. Maybe Mihawk battled the "last" of the Dragons still living on the surface world? But, there's a lot we don't know about Mihawk's past. So, I wouldn't be surprised if we learned something along these lines whenever we eventually get Mihawk's flashback. It's a bit of a leap in logic, but maybe not a unreasonable one, for this particular story.
As for why Mihawk never explained this to Zoro? Why leave out such a important step? Well...Mihawk's never been the most talkative guy in the first place. He's a pretty private and reserved guy, all things considered. Or it's also possible that Mihawk actually has regrets about slaying such a rare creature, and he's trying to prevent any more of them from getting hunted down. Or...maybe even Mihawk himself doesn't fully understand what it is that he did to forge Yoru? Maybe after such a tough fight against a legendary Dragon, Mihawk just found that his blade was now staying black...and he just assumed it was because he put a lot of effort into coating his blades with his Haki during the fight? Forging a Black Blade is a pretty rare process. So, it's not likely that there was anyone to explain it to Mihawk. Mihawk may have just made the wrong assumption about how he managed to do it.
Now, Zoro HAS actually cut a Dragon before, back on Punk Hazard. But, that was before he was able to coat his swords with Haki. So, he kind of missed his chance to forge his own Black Blade back with Dragon Number 13. Of course this was also a Clone-Dragon, so who knows if it'd work the same way as a "real" Dragon.
(Chapter 656)
Which would mean...if Zoro's ever going to forge his own Black Blade, he's going to need to find himself another Dragon to complete the process. Now that he knows a little about how to coat his blades with Haki, he needs a Dragon to seal that Haki into the blades fully.
...I keep telling you...the Dragons ARE coming! And they WILL be amazing!
So, long story short, if and when we ever learn Mihawk's backstory, it's possible that we'll learn that he actually has a history of slaying Dragons. Just like Ryuma, and even Zoro. Cutting a Dragon for it's Blood or Haki or Fire might be the key to forging a Black Blade.
Which may explain why Imu's "Nemesis" took a form resembling Yoru. Yoru might be the strongest Dragon-slaying blade.
...Now, whether or not slaying Dragons in the first place is actually a good thing is still up for debate. Because Dragons...might not be the real "Monsters" of this story. In fact, that was the whole lesson of the Monsters short story, back in the day. Greedy Humans were the REAL "Monsters". Dragons might be another exploited race, in the grand scheme of things. But, we'll see about that in time, probably.
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