OPTC Chapter 278: The Girl Who Wanted to Die with Her Entire Village
"There's no such thing," Zhang Da Ye replied bluntly to Kuina's question.
"The only things that determine a person's potential are talent and effort—maybe a bit of luck too. Gender might give a tiny advantage or disadvantage, but it's never decisive."
"Really?" Kuina asked, hopeful. Although she'd made a promise with Zoro yesterday, her father's words still weighed heavily on her.
Until now, Koushirou had always been considered the most knowledgeable person in the village. His words carried authority. But now, standing before her were people from the Grand Line itself—true authorities—giving Kuina new hope.
Koushirou's expression grew complicated. He hadn't realized how deeply his daughter cared about this. If her goal was to become the world's greatest swordsman, her path would be harsh indeed.
Zhang Da Ye, unaware of Koushirou's thoughts as a father, continued, "Of course. For example, the strongest person in our group is Artoria. Among pirates, there are great ones like Charlotte Linlin and Boa Hancock. In the navy, there are distinguished female officers like Vice Admiral Tsuru and Vice Admiral Gion. They're all powerful women."
"That's awesome!" Zoro's spirits lifted after his earlier defeat. "Kuina, next time I beat you, don't even try to use that excuse!"
Kuina couldn't help but laugh. "Big words for someone who's lost to me two thousand and one times already. I'm not about to go easy on you."
"Hmph! I've already figured out how to beat you!" Zoro declared proudly. "If two swords aren't enough, then I'll use three! From now on, I'll train in Three-Sword Style!"
"Three-Sword Style, huh? Sounds impressive," Kuina teased. "Wasn't it you who once tried to use nine bamboo swords during your first challenge at the dojo? What was that—Nine-Sword Style Ultimate Technique?"
Zoro's face turned red. Back then, he hadn't known any better and just assumed more swords meant stronger attacks. He'd tried holding three in each hand and three in his mouth, only to realize he couldn't even speak clearly with all those swords in his mouth.
Unable to defend himself, Zoro just stiffened his neck and muttered, "Whatever. I'll still become the greatest swordsman in the world!"
"Good ambition!" Zhang Da Ye nodded approvingly. "In that case, I have something you'll probably like. Let me show you."
He pulled a small box from his inventory and opened it. Inside lay three gleaming swords—Shusui, Muku, and Sakura Ten.
Zoro's eyes widened. "These are…"
Kuina didn't know much about swords, but she could tell these were extraordinary—no worse than her own Wado Ichimonji.
Koushirou, however, stared at Shusui, utterly speechless.
"This," Zhang Da Ye explained, "is Shusui, the black blade once wielded by the legendary samurai Ryuma who slew a dragon. The other two—Muku and Sakura Ten—belonged to the great pirate Golden Lion Shiki."
"Incredible!" Even the other disciples who had been quietly wondering where Zhang Da Ye had pulled out the box from now stared wide-eyed at the three famous blades.
As they whispered among themselves, some began to guess, "He took out three swords just after Zoro said he'd learn Three-Sword Style… Could it be…"
Zoro felt his heart race. Was this his way of acknowledging my dream?
Zhang Da Ye picked up Shusui and drew it with a sharp clang, revealing its black blade and red-edged serrations for everyone to see.
Then, just as smoothly, he sheathed it again, closed the box, and stored it back into his inventory.
The dojo disciples, including Zoro, nearly fell over in disbelief. In unison, they shouted, "You… you put them away!?"
"What?" Zhang Da Ye looked puzzled. "What's the problem with that?"
A flustered disciple blurted out, "No, it's just—you took them out right after Zoro talked about his dream! Weren't you going to give them to him?"
"Of course not," Zhang Da Ye replied naturally. "I said I'd let him take a look."
"So you really just meant 'look'!?" they all cried out.
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Obviously. Those swords are priceless. If anyone dares offer less than ten million for Golden Lion's blades, I'll smash their skull in. And Shusui—there are only two black blades known in the entire world. The other one's with Dracule Mihawk, the world's strongest swordsman. You think I'd just hand it over?"
"They're… that valuable?" The disciples no longer dared to ask for the swords. Just seeing one of the world's two black blades was already a lifetime honor. Even if they didn't quite understand what a black blade was, this story alone would be worth bragging about for years.
"If you want a famous sword," Zhang Da Ye told them, "then train hard, grow stronger, make money, and either buy one or take it from a pirate. There are countless fine blades in the hands of villains."
He ruffled Zoro's hair—it was coarse and scratchy, not as pleasant as Perona's or Wendy's, and definitely not as soft as Tom's.
"I understand," Zoro said earnestly. "I'll earn my own sword one day!" Truthfully, he didn't even realize what he'd just missed out on. What he really wanted to know was something else.
Kuina asked for him, "You mentioned the world's greatest swordsman. Have you met him?"
"Yeah," Zhang Da Ye said, glancing at Tom. "Mihawk even gave Tom that big black hat he sometimes wears. I didn't check for dandruff though."
Kuina leaned forward eagerly. "Then how strong is he?"
"Eh, just decent," Zhang Da Ye shrugged. "He can fight Tom for a few dozen rounds without losing."
Tom puffed up proudly at that. He thought his master was exaggerating a bit—Mihawk was pretty strong, after all.
Kuina and Zoro stared in disbelief. The other disciples burst into laughter, especially when Tom put on his duelist outfit and drew a rapier.
No one stopped to question where he'd even gotten the outfit.
One of the disciples laughed so hard he could barely speak. "Hahaha—come on, Mr. Zhang! You can't be serious! That's just a cat! What's next, the world's greatest swordsman is a mouse?"
If the mouse that could fight Tom for dozens of rounds ever showed up, I'd say the world really was ending. I'll be sure to pass that comment on to Mihawk someday. No one's going to believe it anyway.
Zhang Da Ye sighed. "Fine. Artoria once sparred with Mihawk, but the fight got interrupted before they could finish."
That sounded a lot more believable. Everyone turned to look at Artoria—she certainly seemed more reliable than a cat… probably.
Wait—where did she get those snacks from? Why was she eating so fast? Did her ahoge just twitch on its own? She just noticed everyone staring, but calmly popped the last bite into her mouth and even licked her fingers.
Could this girl really fight Mihawk to a draw?
Artoria tilted her head slightly. "Something wrong?"
Kuina hesitated, then bowed deeply. "Miss Artoria, please teach me!"
…
Kuina drew her Wado Ichimonji. Artoria stood opposite her, holding Excalibur.
No one questioned how she'd conjured the sword out of nowhere—after all, Zhang Da Ye had pulled a box from thin air, and Tom had somehow produced a full duelist's outfit. Pulling things from nowhere must just be normal for them.
Kuina attacked with all her might, but Artoria merely parried each strike with the tip of her sword, commenting as she moved.
"Your form is decent, but too rigid. You need more speed and strength—and you lack real combat experience."
Having once trained both Zhang Da Ye and Rui Meng Meng from scratch, Artoria was used to teaching beginners and easily spotted Kuina's flaws.
The dojo disciples watched in awe. Tom, bored, tapped one of them on the sleeve and gestured for a sparring match.
The disciple politely turned to Zhang Da Ye. "Mr. Zhang, your cat…"
"Oh, don't worry about him," Zhang Da Ye said. "If you don't mind, spar with him a bit. It's fine even if you accidentally hurt him."
"Alright, then." The disciple drew his sword.
A few seconds later, Tom was already challenging his next opponent.
Kuina unleashed every technique she knew, but Artoria effortlessly deflected each one, her blade never faltering. Kuina felt as though she were fighting the sword itself—no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't even graze her.
"Your stamina also needs work," Artoria added. She remembered how Zhang Da Ye had only reached this level after his endurance had far surpassed normal humans. Kuina still had a long way to go.
"Thank you for your guidance," Kuina panted, exhausted. "Please—defeat me with your full strength!"
Pfft… Girl, are you trying to take the whole village down with you? Zhang Da Ye gave Artoria a look, silently telling her not to overdo it.
Artoria also realized Kuina might be misunderstanding something. "Full strength" wasn't exactly necessary here.
With a swift motion, she unleashed a golden slash that cut past Kuina's head, slicing cleanly through a large tree in the courtyard and flying upward into the sky.
Kuina and Zoro froze as the treetop slid off diagonally, while the golden slash soared higher, parting the clouds.
Zoro whispered, awestruck, "So this is the world's strongest slash… A flying cut that can slice through the sky itself. Can humans really do that?"
Kuina blushed in embarrassment. Asking Artoria to go all-out had been way too bold.
Koushirou frowned worriedly. He trusted his daughter's determination, but was it really good to let the children see swordsmanship on this level so early?
He needn't have worried. Only Kuina and Zoro were still focused on the slash. The rest of the disciples were busy cheering as Tom fought yet another opponent—each one losing their pants in a single strike.
When Zhang Da Ye saw that Artoria hadn't destroyed the dojo, he turned his attention to Tom's match.
Tom lunged forward with lightning speed. Perona, Wendy, and Carla instantly covered their eyes.
In that split second, Tom's opponent's belt snapped, and his pants fell to the floor, revealing his large shorts and hairy legs.
The poor man froze for two seconds, looked down, then shouted, "When did that happen!?"
He dropped his sword, pulled up his pants, and joined the growing group of disciples clutching their trousers.
"Even Musashi lost, huh."
"Yeah, Kojiro, looks like you weren't exaggerating."
"Yup. No one survives a single strike from that cat."
Tom stood proudly, scanning the room like a champion. His gaze landed on Koushirou—the only undefeated one left.
Koushirou quickly raised his hands. "I'm not feeling well today. I'll pass."
No way he was losing his pants in front of his daughter.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Tom clicked his tongue, shaking his head like a lonely master who'd run out of worthy foes.
Kuina and Zoro looked at each other, dumbfounded. Could it be that cat really had fought Mihawk before?
Tom strutted over to Carla, spun his sword, and struck a pose, clearly fishing for praise.
Carla blushed slightly and put her hands on her hips. "You're strong, sure—but that move was indecent! Making people's pants fall off? What if Wendy saw something she shouldn't have?"
Tom grinned, then wilted. It was hard to tell if that showoff moment had succeeded or failed.
Zhang Da Ye patted his head and came to his defense. "Come on, that's not so bad. Your guild has that guy, Gray, right? He takes off his clothes for no reason all the time."
"Uh—that's…" Wendy and Carla both turned red. Gray's reputation had apparently spread across worlds. Embarrassing.
…
That evening, Koushirou warmly invited the Amber Travel Group to stay for dinner. Zhang Da Ye couldn't refuse such hospitality.
The Isshin Dojo was fairly wealthy for this island—as long as they didn't eat like they had on Kizaru's battleship, it would be fine.
Over dinner, Koushirou curiously asked about Shusui's origins.
Zhang Da Ye answered casually, "Shusui? Took it from a grave robber. Ever heard of it?"
Perona puffed her cheeks. Calling Lord Moria a grave robber right in front of her—well, she couldn't exactly deny it either. She sighed. Lately, she'd been realizing more and more how wrong some of their old deeds had been.
"I've only heard that Shusui was once a national treasure of a certain country," Koushirou said. "Didn't expect it to end up out here."
He didn't press further. Born in the East Blue, he felt no special attachment to Wano. And if Zhang Da Ye had taken it from a thief, it wasn't his place to question whether it should be returned.
Zhang Da Ye changed the topic. "By the way, who was your father?"
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