The 800 Year Secret behind Nusjuro’s Black Blade, Kitetsu!

In chapter 1117, Zoro clashes with Nosjuro in mid air, but when he does, he realizes that this legendary opponent also has a legendary blade – the ORIGINAL Kotetsu. This sword is so infamous that the entire line of swordsmiths and every weapon they made going forward was considered to be cursed.

All the way back in logue town we learned about this story – a series of blades with so much blood stained into them that they were thought to be evil and even dangerous to those who wield them; these are the Sandai Kitetsu, the Nidai Kitetsu, and the Shodai Kitetsu.

While these swords all share the Kitetsu name, they were not created by the same person. Rather they were each created over several hundreds of years by the same family of swordsmiths.

But just what was it that really led to these swords gaining such notoriety for being cursed? I mean hundreds of blades have been used in killing sprees, what makes these so different? Well, it is no coincidence that the one who used the original Kitetsu was none other than Nosjuro; a man who quite literally looks like the horseman of death as he roams across the battlefield and leaves destruction in his wake.

Generations later, an ancestor of Kozuki Sukiyaki named Kotetsu would craft their family’s second great blade, the Nidai Kitetsu. This would be created in the image of its predecessor, however, it never quite rose to the same level of fame despite also being a phenomenal blade.

This is largely due to this weapon being kept within Wano and never really coming into the public eye. Because Wano was an isolationist nation, even if this weapon was used by the ‘mihawk’ of its era, no one would have known – and as a result, while the Shodai became a supreme grade sword, the Nidai only reached the status of Great Grade.

Following these is Zoro’s Sandai Kitetsu which was crafted by Oden’s father, Kozuki Sukiyaki. This was immediately marked as a Grade Sword, however, because it was considered cursed no one wanted to wield it; and without being used it could never absorb Haki, gain experience, or even fame.

However, there are two ways to look at the Kitetsu swords. The first is that the Shodai had been created during the void century using techniques and materials that are no longer available, and as such the Nidai and Sandai are merely imitations.

The second, is that the generations of studying swordsmithing actually made the Nidai BETTER than the Shodai, and the Sandai even greater than that. But, because these blades were considered to be cursed and were used less in comparison, they never got the notoriety they deserved.

To support this second idea, we can look at blades like Enma and Yoru. These are effectively useless swords. For example, Enma will drain the energy out of its user and could even kill them, while Yoru is just way too big and clunky to be practical for most swordsmen. HOWEVER, because they are wielded by true masters, these weapons can transcend their own limitations. Mihawk isn’t the best in the world because he wields Yoru; Yoru is the best in the world because it is wielded by Mihawk.

In the same way ANY sword can become a black blade, so too can any sword become a Supreme Grade weapon if it is wielded for enough time by a skilled swordsman, who constantly feeds it their Haki. This is how the Sword grows and eventually becomes a seasoned blade.

We can even see this in Zoro’s own swords. He received Shusui from Ryuma which was a black blade when he got it; but Shusui wasn’t crafted as a black blade. Rather, it had been elevated through battle and by having Haki infused into it over years of battles.

Now, that isn’t to say the actual craft of the weapon is meaningless in any way; Even in Luffy’s hands the Nidai Kitetsu was strong enough to break through other blades. It has the highest starting quality and potential, but, through enough experience in the hands of a master, any blade could become its equal.

Now, when you put all of these factors together, one thing is made crystal clear. The Shodai Kitetsu is currently the strongest blade in all of one piece as it has been fed Conqueror’s Haki from a Gorosei Member for multiple centuries. Luckily, zoro doesn’t just use one blade, and 3 against 1 could lead to the greatest upset in One Piece history.