Evening.
When Raine and Anton returned to the Marine camp, they found someone waiting for them.
"Major Raine?" A young woman wearing glasses and carrying a sword waited at the Marine Base entrance for their return.
"Yes! I am Mogordo-Ryan, and you are?" Looking at the somewhat dazed, glasses-wearing young woman, Raine already knew who she was: Tashigi, a girl who strongly resembled Zoro's friend Kuina.
Nearsighted, often losing her glasses, she was Smoker's direct subordinate.
"Mr. Raine, I've heard that you are also a powerful swordsman. I'd like to have a match with you."
Tashigi had already learned of Raine's achievements in Loguetown during the day, knowing him to be a powerful swordsman. Coupled with Raine's continuous elimination of pirates in the afternoon, in Tashigi's heart, Raine was a strong and righteous Marine swordsman.
Driven by her pursuit of powerful swordsmanship, Tashigi unhesitatingly challenged Raine.
Raine knew this young woman simply wanted to spar with him, with no other intentions, so he agreed to the match.
They agreed to spar the next morning at the Marine training ground.
"Raine, I can't believe you agreed to spar with that girl just now." Anton, standing beside him, teased Raine after Tashigi left.
He knew his friend's personality; in his free time, he was always lazy and indifferent to everything.
"Haha!" Raine rubbed his head, saying nothing.
Could he tell Anton that he was a bit excited to meet these original characters, which was why he agreed?
However, this was also within Raine's expectations; as his strength continuously grew, he would meet more and more original characters in the future.
The next day.
Morning, Marine training ground.
Hearing that Tashigi was going to spar with Major Raine, who had eliminated the Lone Wolf Pirates in Loguetown earlier, the training Marines all curiously gathered to watch. Smoker also watched from upstairs.
Both stood opposite each other, swords in hand. Raine drew his standard Marine-issue sword, and Tashigi drew Shigure.
"Ah! Mr. Raine, don't you have a famous sword?" Tashigi said in surprise when she saw Raine draw his standard Marine-issue sword.
Raine was also helpless; there were only so many famous swords on the sea, and he had never found a suitable one. Although he could forge one himself, he preferred to acquire one ready-made.
A sword, after being nurtured by a Sword Master with Haki for a long time, would become a [Black Blade], just as the Black Blade Shusui was a sword nurtured by Ryuma. If one continuously nurtured their sword with Haki, it could also evolve into a famous sword, but that would take a very long time.
Raine preferred to directly obtain a ready-made famous sword, as that could directly enhance the power of his slashes.
Anyway, he was heading to the Headquarters this time, and perhaps he could find a famous sword there, which would further increase his strength.
Raine directly covered his standard-issue sword with Haki, and a black blade immediately formed.
"This is?" Tashigi asked, looking at the black blade in Raine's hand with some confusion.
Upstairs, Smoker, who was smoking a cigar, also paused.
"Haki! Does he have such powerful Haki? It seems his strength was underestimated. I must report this again."
Smoker began to observe seriously when he saw Raine possessed such strong Haki.
"Tashigi, this is a black blade formed by Haki, possessing toughness no less than a famous sword. Don't worry, my sword won't be broken during the match." Raine explained the change in his sword to Tashigi.
Tashigi had been to the Headquarters with Smoker and knew about Haki, but she had never understood it in this way.
"Alright, Mr. Raine, let's begin!" After learning that a black blade formed by Haki possessed toughness no less than a famous sword, Tashigi directly launched an attack on Raine.
The two began to clash their swords, constantly emitting the sound of blades striking. Since it was a guided spar, Raine did not use his full strength, only continuously swinging the standard-issue sword, which had become a black blade, at Tashigi with his inherent power.
After some time, Tashigi continuously swung the Shigure in her hand, but it was always blocked by Raine's sword. Her sword could not penetrate the defense Raine created with his sword.
After a period of sparring, Tashigi knew she was not Raine's opponent, but out of her obsession with swordsmanship, she made a request to Raine.
"Mr. Raine, please use your full strength and let me witness your swordsmanship!"
Tashigi, obsessed with swordsmanship, was also a swordsman herself. To witness a higher peak and to improve her own strength, she made this decision.
Raine agreed to her request. The two once again created distance, and Raine immediately assumed a drawing-sword stance.
"Ittoryu, Sky Slash."
A silver-white arc-shaped slash instantly appeared in the training ground, as if compressing the surrounding space. This slash raised a huge cloud of dust and flew towards Tashigi.
"What kind of power is this!" Under this slash, Tashigi felt like she was suffocating. Invisible pressures continuously pressed down on her, causing her to involuntarily bend over.
"Is this Mr. Raine's full strength! So powerful."
As the slash continuously approached Tashigi, she became increasingly aware of that immense pressure.
Finally, the slash passed through Tashigi's figure, brushing past her sword and soaring into the sky.
"Boom!"
A huge sound echoed in the sky, and all the residents of Loguetown heard this loud bang.
In the sky, the silver-white slash exploded, completely dispersing the clouds covering Loguetown. In the morning, the strong sunlight arrived, and instantly, Loguetown's fresh morning air became somewhat hot and dry.
"Heavens!"
Seeing the effect caused by Raine's full-power slash, all the Marines in the training ground were stunned.
"A Sword Master! I didn't expect Mr. Raine to be a Sword Master." Tashigi said excitedly.
At this moment, a smoky figure slowly appeared beside Tashigi. Smoker, who had been watching from upstairs, used his Devil Fruit ability to come down to her side, ready to block that powerful slash for her.
Seeing that Raine's slash only passed by Tashigi and then flew into the sky, he stopped himself.
"Tashigi, train hard." The smoky Smoker, having dispelled his Devil Fruit ability, came behind Tashigi and said to her.
"Ah! Captain Smoker, you're here." Tashigi only then noticed Smoker standing beside her.
"Continue to intensify your training! I believe that one day, you will also reach this level," Smoker said to Tashigi, encouragingly, as he put another thick cigar into his mouth.
"Yes! Captain Smoker, I will work hard." Hearing Smoker's encouragement, Tashigi's face immediately flushed, and she promised him that she would continue to work hard.