Yoru

Known to be the strongest Sword in the world, the Kokutō Yoru is one of the 12 Saijō Ō Wazamono Grade Swords, under the ownership of Juracule Mihawk. It 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.

Abilities
"Without subtlety, a sword is but an iron bar." Mixed with Mihawk's abilities, Kokutō Yoru has tremendous power, as it was seen destroying Don Krieg's flagship with a single strike. While Kokutō 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.

Attack List
Although Mihawk does not name his attacks, in the most recent One Piece video games, there are several specific attacks he has used during the series that are named there. The next is a list of the attacks Mihawk uses with his Kokutou Yoru:


 * Kokutou Issen (黒刀一閃 (こくとういっせん), Black Blade Single Flash): One of Mihawk's strongest attacks. It's a blade swing where Mihawk using his skill to compress the air from his sword moves is able to cut everything in his path, making a powerful longe-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.
 * Sekai Ichi no Zangeki (世界一の斬撃 (せかいいちのざんげき), The Strongest Slash of the World): This one seems to be Mihawk strongest attack at the moment, as he used it on the strongest man of the world. Mihawk using his Black Blade launches a massive air compressed wave to the opponent that can cut almost every material. However, diamond, for example, was one the materials this attack wasn't able to affect. It was first seen used against Whitebeard but was blocked by Jozu's diamond body.
 * Kokutou Arahoshi (黒刀荒星 (こくとうあらほし), Black Blade Heavy Star): Mihawk jumps and standing in the guard of his Black Blade, decends in order to stab his opponent. It was first seen used against Luffy.
 * Kokutou Kogetsu (黒刀弧月 (こくとうこげつ), Black Blade Arc Moon): Mihawk attacks with his Black Blade at great speed. This technique seems to be more powerful than a normal slash of the Black Blade as it emits some kind of cutting air (but not enough to cover great distances). This was first seen against Luffy.
 * Chi wo Hau Zangeki (地を這う斬撃 (ちをはうざんげき), Earth-Crawling Slash): Mihawk makes a downward swing with his Black Blade 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 the damage, breaking his steel body in just seconds.
 * He has also a never named attack where he slices the opponent with a spiral-like stream (very similar to Zoro's Sanjuuroku Pound Hou) of compressed air with great speed (to even strike a Luffy in Gear Second mode while he's moving).

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. 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. Also in the anime, 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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