One Piece: Heaven-Defying Talent

Vista, standing nearby, frowned as he watched. "Ace, if the captain goes through with this, he's going to offend one of these master blacksmiths. Losing either one would be a huge loss. We should stop him. These two forging masters are irreplaceable. It might be better if the captain forges the blade himself or just waits until he can find another piece of material."

Vista understood the importance of both Hitetsu and Shimotsuki, even if he was competing with them for materials. But if Chiba handed the material to only one of them, it could drive the other away.

Ace nodded but stayed calm, trusting Chiba. "Don't worry. Chiba understands this better than anyone. I trust he knows what he's doing."

The rest of the crew shared similar concerns. Koby especially looked anxious, not wanting Shimotsuki to leave. He had come to see him as a grandfather figure and couldn't bear the thought of him departing.

All eyes turned to Chiba, hoping he would find a way to settle the matter without any fallout.

Holding the stone, Chiba looked at the two masters and said, "Are you sure? Either we forge this together as a supreme sword, or only one of you forges it."

The two replied in unison, "Forge alone!"

Hitetsu urged, "Captain Chiba, hurry up and break that stone. Let's end this already."

Shimotsuki scoffed, "How can a good sword be forged without patience? Don't drag your feet, Chiba—break it already."

The crew looked at each other, bemused by the masters' impatience.

Chiba sighed, "Alright, I'll break the stone then. But are you really sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Hitetsu growled, "No more stalling. Get on with it!"

Chiba gathered his strength, summoning his energy as the wind howled around him, the stone poised to shatter. Everyone held their breath, waiting in silence.

Suddenly, Chiba paused, looking at the two masters. "Are you *sure* you don't want to reconsider?"

Hitetsu's eye twitched, and he yelled, "Just break it already! Enough with the suspense."

Shimotsuki echoed, "Quit stalling! Just do it."

"Alright," Chiba replied. This time he gathered even more energy, making everyone lean in, focusing intently on his hand.

But then, once again, he relaxed his grip, sighing, "Maybe you should think about it one more time."

Everyone groaned in exasperation. Hitetsu's face reddened in frustration. "What's with all the games, Chiba?! Break it already!"

Shimotsuki snapped, "What's your problem, boy? Are you just messing with us?"

"Of course not," Chiba said innocently. "I'm just making sure you understand the rarity of this material. It's truly one of a kind—likely the best we'll see in a hundred years."

Hearing this, both Hitetsu and Shimotsuki grew more tense, knowing the stakes were high. Fearing one of them might lose out, they shouted together, "Break it now, or we'll do it ourselves!"

Hitetsu even reached forward to grab the stone, but Chiba dodged, laughing, "Alright, alright—I'll do it."

"In the future, we may never come across materials of this quality again. Whoever doesn't get to work with this material now might never have the chance to forge a supreme sword in their lifetime."

"If Senior Shimotsuki gets this material to forge the supreme sword, he'll be the one remembered as the greatest craftsman of this era. Senior Hitetsu, no matter his skill, will be forever overshadowed."

"Enough with the talking, boy. Just get on with it and crush the stone!"

"It's about to be decided, right now. If Senior Tenguyama Hitetsu gets the material, then he'll go down in history as the era's true master craftsman. Shimotsuki would forever live in his shadow, his skills seen as inferior in comparison."

"When people talk about Senior Tenguyama, they'd say Shimotsuki Kozaburo couldn't even compete. And if the material went to Shimotsuki, people would see Hitetsu as nothing more than his rival's lesser."

"There's only this one piece of material, no other. If I can't have it, there's no way I'd want my rival to have it, to be remembered as the master craftsman."

"Whoever ends up without this material might as well be trampled underfoot, forever regarded as the one who couldn't measure up. Such a miserable fate, despite having the same talent."