Yubashiri

Yubashiri was one of the fifty Ryo Wazamono grade (called Skillful Grade in the Viz edition) swords. Roronoa Zoro obtained this sword for free from Ipponmatsu. The sword was a family heirloom and the best sword in the shop in Loguetown. Ipponmatsu gave it to Zoro after he saw the skill and courage that Zoro showed in testing the curse of Sandai Kitetsu. After its destruction at the hands of Shu, Zoro left its remains to rest on Thriller Bark.

Appearance


Yubashiri was a long katana with a black handle. It had a cross-shaped guard and a black lacquered sheath. The blade itself was normal in appearance and its pattern was midareba or irregular pattern. It was considered to be a very light sword. Though mostly black, the sheath and the handle both had thin yet elaborate gold designs on them.

Abilities
As one of the 50 Ryo Wazamono swords, Yubashiri was a very powerful sword, its greatest attribute being its extremely light weight, with Zoro remarked that it was a "nice katana" after seeing how easy it was to use. Its light weight allowed fast actions and reflexes, while maintaining its sharpness for cutting power. Yubashiri has shown extraordinary strength and sharpness, as Zoro can use it to cut a Sea Train carriage in half alongside Sandai Kitetsu when using Rashomon. Yubashiri also has exceptional durability as it could defend against extremely powerful attacks such as Kaku's Zoan Devil enhanced Rokushiki techniques. It was only destroyed due to rusting power of Shu's Sabi Sabi no Mi.

When used by Zoro, Yubashiri was one of the three swords for his Santoryu style and it was typically used along with Sandai Kitetsu in his Nitoryu techniques. When the sword was destroyed, Zoro replaced it with Shusui.

When Sogeking accidentally locked himself with Zoro's right hand with a seastone handcuff, Zoro had to improvise and combined Yubashiri with Sogeking to create the "Hana Arashi sword" (a pun on Sogeking's long nose), by having Sogeking hold the sword and then using Sogeking as the hilt. Sogeking claimed that it made him dizzy when Zoro executed his attacks. Zoro went back to using the sword normally when the two managed to get the cuffs off.

History
After Zoro proved that his willpower was stronger than the curse upon the Sandai Kitetsu sword, the shop owner in Loguetown retrieved Yubashiri from the attic of the building, and revealed it to Zoro, stating that it was a family heirloom. He bestowed it upon Zoro as a gift along with the Kitetsu, leaving Zoro with three swords once again. He first put it to use in Whisky Peak, against the Baroque Works agents stationed there, and continued to use it regularly afterwards, holding it in his right hand.



After traveling through Whisky Peak, Little Garden, Drum Kingdom, Alabasta, Jaya, Skypiea, Long Ring Long Land, Water 7, and Enies Lobby, the blade was rusted away by Shu in the battle against the Marines' captains and commanders on the Bridge of Hesitation at Enies Lobby. Not aware of Shu's Devil Fruit powers, Zoro slashed at him with Yubashiri. Shu caught the blade with his bare hands and immediately corroded nearly the entire blade into dust, rendering the once reliable sword into an irrecoverable stub. Zoro kept the remains of the blade in its sheath and on his waistband from then on until he found an appropriate resting place for Yubashiri. He deposited it at the burial site of the Rumbar Pirates on Thriller Bark, and replaced it with Shusui, which Ryuma imparted to Zoro after the latter defeated him.

Trivia

 * Yubashiri's simple design, which lacks any traditional Japanese mounting, makes it resemble a Gunto, a type of Japanese sword produced for Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa era.

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