Yoru

Known to be the strongest sword in the world, the Kokuto Yoru is one of the twelve Saijo O Wazamono, under the ownership of Dracule Mihawk.

Appearance
The Kokuto Yoru is an ornately decorated and very long blade with a total length of at least 7 feet, as it is seen to be at least a full head taller than Mihawk himself (who is 6'6", or 198 centimeters) when it is placed on his back. On the hilt of this blade is a crossguard, though the bars between the blade and the hilt are much longer than average. The blade itself is pitch-black with a very strong sheen, and its shape is similar to the German "Großes Messer", a single-edged long sword with a slight curve at the end of the blade. Overall, the Kokuto Yoru looks like a large black cross.

Abilities
"Without subtlety, a sword is but an iron bar." Mixed with Mihawk's abilities, Yoru has tremendous power, as it was seen destroying Don Krieg's flagship with a single strike. While Yoru is the sharpest blade in the world, it is also gentle. This was as demonstrated when Mihawk deflected the course of bullets that were aimed at him with only a slight touch of the sword. He can also launch a massive slashing attack of compressed air or energy that can reach at an extremely long distance, sending spiraling waves at the opponent at pinpoint accuracy, and capable of slicing a mountain of ice from afar. Although Mihawk is the owner of the best sword of the world and his swordsmanship is known to be the strongest of the world, it is still unknown whether or not he is able to cut through diamond, at least, with the techniques he has shown at the moment.

Attack List
Although Mihawk does not name any of his attacks in the mainstream of the series, there are several specific attacks he has used during the series that are named in various video games. Below is a description of the variety of attacks shown.


 * Mihawk swings his blade to launch a wave of compressed air from his sword, which is able to cut everything in his path, making a powerful long-range slice. A vertical version of this attack was first seen to cut in half Don Krieg's ship and a horizontal version was then seen in attempt to attack Luffy, but missed, slicing a massive mass of ice instead. This is called Kokuto Issen (黒刀一閃（こくとういっせん）) in Gigant Battle.


 * Sekai Ichi no Zangeki (世界一の斬撃): Most likely Mihawk's most powerful attack, possessing incredible range and power. Using his Kokuto Yoru, Mihawk launches a massive air compressed wave (even longer than the Moby Dick) towards his opponent, capable of cutting through massive amounts of ice, and supposedly much more. "Diamond Jozu" of Whitebeard's crew was able to stop it, although it's unknown if it was because Mihawk lacks the ability to cut through diamond, because Mihawk did not expect Jozu blocking the attack or because the use of Haki from part of Jozu. It was "named" by one of the war participants when he described the attack, when used as a long-range opener against Whitebeard but was blocked by Jozu's diamond body; in the anime, it was able to force Jozu back a distance. It was first used, unnamed, to slash the Dreadnaught Sabre in half.


 * Mihawk jumps, standing on his sword, and descends to impale his opponent. It was first seen being used against Luffy. This is called Kokuto Arahoshi (黒刀荒星（こくとうあらほし）) in Gigant Battle.


 * Mihawk awaits his opponent's next attack holding his Black Blade with two hands over his back. Once the enemy attacks, Mihawk counterattacks quickly with a powerful downward slash. It was first seen tried to use against Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka, but he realizes that if he attacks Mihawk, his arms would be cut off; thus directing his attack to the ground, making Mihawk unable to counterattack. This is called Kokuto Saku (黒刀朔（こくとうさく）) in Gigant Battle.


 * Mihawk attacks with his Yoru at great speed. This technique seems to be more powerful than a normal slash of the sword as it emits some kind of cutting air (but not enough to cover great distances). This was first seen against Luffy. This is called Kokuto Kogetsu (黒刀弧月（こくとうこげつ）) in Unlimited Adventure, Unlimited Cruise, and Gigant Battle.


 * Mihawk makes a downward swing to launch a projectile of slicing wind that travels at great speed through the ground. This attack is able to cut through steel with ease and rapidity. It was first seen used against Luffy but was blocked by Mr. 1, who receives all of the damage instead, breaking his steel body in just seconds. This is called Chi wo Hau Zangeki (地を這う斬撃（ちをはうざんげき）) in Gigant Battle.


 * Mihawk slices the opponent with a spiral-like stream (very similar to Zoro's Sanjuroku Pound Ho) of compressed air with great speed. This alongside with Mihawk's outstanding eyesight make one of the most speedy and accurate attacks shown in the whole series (to even strike a Luffy in Gear Second mode while he's moving in the middle of the war of Marineford).

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime and video games, the sword's blade is quite thick while in the manga, it is very thin. This may have been changed as of Episode 489 where the sword appears very thin like its manga counterpart. Also, the beads on the sword's hilt were initially red in the manga, while in the anime they are blue and green in color; in the manga the color was later changed to green. The background of the golden part of the sword is also green in color in the manga. A difference noticeable in the anime is that the blade of the sword emits purple (changed to green during the Marineford Arc) streaks when swung.

Trivia

 * For the 4Kids dub the sword's cross-shaped guard was shortened because it looked too much like a crucifix.

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