Author's Note:
Starting from this chapter, we're entering a new arc. That said, we're still in the middle of 3D2Y. A fair number of original characters, well, actually quite a lot of original characters are planned to appear, so I need to make sure things don't get confusing... (nervous). Anyway, here we go.
---
"Kurozumi Two-Sword Style... 'Biting Serpent: Swamp Chain'!!"
"Three-Sword Style... 'Purgatory Onigiri'!!"
Training in progress.
Suzu's slashing attacks came from every direction, released in a constricting, serpentine motion designed to close in from all sides. Zoro's blades cut through them head-on, shattering the assault as he tried to reach Suzu beyond, but she slipped a blade into the gap a breath faster, blocking him. The impact that still got through was neutralized as she turned her body to mud and let it pass harmlessly.
From there, she scattered mud in every direction to block his field of vision, but Zoro swept both swords wide and cleared everything away in an instant, restoring full visibility.
Even so, Suzu had used that single moment out of Zoro's sight to recover her stance, and now she came at him from the side with a two-sword strike.
"Whoa... that's dangerous."
"Ye say that after blocking it so easily."
From there, a ferocious rush of blows erupted between them.
Suzu bounded about like a rabbit, her swords lashing out in every conceivable direction, while Zoro stood his ground in stark contrast, meeting each strike with minimal movement and rock-solid composure. At a glance, it might have looked like Suzu was pressing the attack through sheer momentum, but in truth, she couldn't break through Zoro's impregnable defense.
No matter how many times she cut, she couldn't advance. Meanwhile, Zoro steadily, inexorably pushed forward.
"Same as always... when it comes to raw power, I haven't the faintest hope of winning...!"
"Heh, can't afford to lose to a pipsqueak like you! If you're running out of moves, come at me with your Powers or whatever else you've got. Nothing underhanded about it."
"I know that well enough, but... against a Haki User of higher caliber, carelessly increasing my surface area would be counterproductive... Ah, it really is fundamental strength that needs the most training!"
They'd clash dozens, maybe scores of times, then break apart to create distance, close in, and attack again. Over and over. As expected, Zoro was overwhelmingly superior as a swordsman. On top of that, his prowess as a Haki User was also far greater. Against Zoro's blade, Suzu's Powers couldn't fully deflect the strikes, and damage was getting through. Her fighting style reflected that understanding.
Meanwhile, elsewhere... Saga and Leona were fighting, but in stark contrast to Suzu's match, theirs had devolved into a complete brawl.
"Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da---!!"
"Whoa, watch it... Honestly, what a wild horse...!"
"I'm not a horse! I'm a cat! No wait, a lion!"
"That's not really what I meant."
Offering a mild retort, Saga used his Haki-clad sword to parry Leona's barrage of punches, looking for an opening to cut in, but with a sharp metallic clang, his blade bounced off Leona's skin.
The two were roughly equal in Armament Haki skill. But thanks to her Nemean Lion ability, Leona received an absurd boost to her defensive power and endurance, so even attacks infused with Haki didn't translate into damage easily.
On top of that, Leona had mastered Rokushiki as one of her combat skills. Needless to say, those techniques were even better suited to hand-to-hand brawling. With Iron Body layered on top of the Nemean Lion's defense, attacks became that much harder to land.
And ever since she'd learned Haki herself, things had gotten even more ridiculous. She could catch blades and blunt weapons alike on her bare skin like it was nothing. If the force behind an attack was half-hearted, she'd actually return the damage to the attacker and destroy their weapon. Attacking her without Haki was more dangerous for the attacker.
Leona's fighting style was dead simple. Use her toughness as a weapon to parry, block, endure, or dodge attacks. Close the distance. Punch. That was it. She herself admitted, 'I'm bad at thinking about complicated or detailed stuff,' so she'd trained to perfect that one approach alone, and the result was... what stood before us now.
Power and toughness both went to Leona. Speed was even. Technique went to Saga.
Saga, for his part, used Haki skillfully to parry Leona's attacks accurately, but since he couldn't land any effective blows, the fight had become something of a stalemate.
...But it wasn't as if he had no options whatsoever.
"...There!"
"Whoa!?"
Right after deflecting one of Leona's wide swings, a strike swung down from directly overhead connected with the crown of her head with a solid thwack. She staggered, just for an instant. Direct attacks were completely useless against her, but he could shake her brain. He was going for a concussion.
But what would have been a guaranteed knockout for any normal person, or rather, since it was a sword, it would have cut them, Leona's toughness extended to her cervical vertebrae and everything else. She'd only gotten slightly dizzy, and a moment later she'd already recovered her stance and was ready to go again. Saga had apparently anticipated even that, staying on guard without letting his own stance slip.
"Good grief... you get tougher every time we fight. Guess I'll have to start thinking up new tricks again soon."
"I mean, I don't pass out, but my brain still goes all woozy from stuff like that, you know... Ugh, I wish I could train my brain like muscles. Then my headbutts would be way stronger too."
"As a human being, I'm not sure that's something you should wish for..."
Exchanging dialogue with several questionable points between them, the two began clashing again.
'Mm-hmm, everyone's gotten so strong.'
One year had already passed since the Summit War. That was how long Zoro and Saga, along with Leona and the others, had been training here on Merveille, and the growth was visible in every one of them.
Zoro, Saga, Suzu, Leona... and Alice who wasn't here, along with Beauty and Blume too. Every single one of them had learned to use Haki, and they'd been gaining combat Experience using it. Though there were differences in Mastery, even at their current level, they'd probably reached a point where they could hold their own reasonably well in the New World.
...Well, none of them were the type to be satisfied with 'reasonably well.' So, just as originally planned, they'd continue spending the remaining year in dedicated training.
That said, unlike Zoro and Saga who were immersed in training full-time, Leona and the others had gradually started taking on work as members of the Golden Lion Pirates, which meant slightly less time devoted to training. But in exchange, they were gaining real combat experience, so the shortfall was being compensated for. No real problems to speak of.
As I watched while thinking all this over, both matches seemed to be approaching their conclusions...
"Three-Sword Style... 'Ultimate Tiger Hunt'!!"
"Kurozumi Two-Sword Style... 'Raging Serpent: Emerald Admiral'!!"
"One Sword Style... 'One Flash: Army Breaker'!!"
"'Lion: Iron Body Cannonball'!!"
Zoro's, Suzu's, Saga's, Leona's... each of their all-out attacks collided, and the resulting shockwave was like a pileup of ten-ton trucks.
The birds in the surrounding forest shrieked in alarm and fled en masse. Sorry about that. My kids startled you.
***
"Aaagh---!! I couldn't win again--!"
"Hold still, Leona, I cannot tend to your wounds. I understand how ye feel, so be still."
This round of sparring went to Zoro and Saga.
Suzu had ridden a current generated by her Mud-Mud Fruit Powers and brought both swords crashing down with that momentum behind them, but even so, Zoro had overpowered her with sheer force and Haki. He'd blown her away, guard and all, sending her crashing into the ground dozens of meters away to end the match.
Leona had applied Iron Body over her whole body, cloaked herself in Haki, and turned herself into a massive cannonball to charge in. Saga had swung his sword into her side like a battering blow and sent her flying. But even Saga hadn't had much room to spare, judging by how he'd been shaking out his hands afterward. Probably from the numbness.
"Honestly... growth spurts are terrifying. Let my guard down and they'll overtake me."
"Isn't that great? Keeps us motivated in training."
The two victors watched as Suzu tended to Leona's injuries, hydrating and wiping away sweat. They also checked their own swords, confirming no chips in the blades, proof that they were using Haki properly, and looked satisfied.
For a swordsman, a sword or katana is simultaneously a weapon and a partner you entrust your life to. In the Original Work, I'm pretty sure Mihawk said something like 'Consider even a single chip in your blade a disgrace'... or maybe he didn't. But the sentiment rings true, so I'd told them something along those lines during training. Good to see they were following through.
My daughters and Zoro's group alike, the growth rate was truly incredible... I couldn't afford to rest on my laurels either. I think it took me a fair amount of time to reach their level of strength. Years, even. Was this what talent looked like? I couldn't help but wonder.
That was when it happened.
Brr-brr-brr-brr... brr-brr-brr-brr...
The sound of a Den Den Mushi ringing from inside my coat. Wondering what it could be, I pulled it out... and the caller was... Alice?
If I remembered correctly, she'd gone today on Golden Lion Pirates business to one of the Territory Islands. There'd been a pirate poking around that island recently, so she was investigating and, if necessary, dealing with the problem.
Figuring it was probably a report about that, I picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mom? ...Where are you right now?"
"Right now... I was just watching Leona and the others train. Leona and Suzu are here, and also Zoro and Saga."
"...Sorry, could you move somewhere else? This is probably going to be a family-only conversation."
"...? Understood, give me a moment."
Alice apparently didn't want to talk where non-family members were present. The guarded tone in her voice, like something was stuck between her teeth, also caught my attention, so I did as she asked. This sounded like it would be a complicated conversation, so I grabbed the Den Den Mushi and took to the sky, flying off to a place where nobody else was around. That rocky area over there should work.
Landing. And down we go. Setting down the Den Den Mushi...
"Go ahead, Alice. It's just me now."
"Thanks. So, you know how I went to the Territory Island today for that survey, that check-up? Well, um... a situation has come up that's a bit beyond what I can handle."
"...Was it that dangerous a pirate?"
As I'd just mentioned, Alice's mission this time was to investigate the pirate harassing the Territory and eliminate the threat if necessary. If she couldn't handle it, that meant someone extremely formidable... or so I thought.
"Oh, no, the pirate was no problem. Already crushed and done with... but the thing is, I wasn't the one who did it. By the time I got there, the pirates were already wiped out."
"? You mean the subordinate crews on-site handled it on their own? Or did some third party show up, and they destroyed each other in the fighting?"
"Closer to the latter, I guess. But this unknown third party... they're saying they want to meet you and Grandpa. On top of that... I saw something I can barely believe with my own eyes. Sorry, I can't explain it well. I think I'm still kind of in shock myself."
"...What happened, really?"
They wanted to meet me and Papa, so maybe someone looking to join as subordinates? But if that were the case, Alice would have just reported it as such...
Alice had the steadiest nerves of the Three Sisters. For something to rattle her this much, what in the world was this 'third party'?
"Sorry for making this so difficult, but it's definitely not a normal situation. Actually, I'd rather not talk about it over a Den Den Mushi. I know it has anti-eavesdropping features that Dr. Indigo and Grandma built together, but still, I want to be extra careful. I know it's a lot to ask, but... please Mom, come here and see this for yourself! Sorry to keep repeating myself, but this is a problem I can't handle alone!"
"...Understood. Hang tight, I'll be right there."
With that, I hung up the Den Den Mushi.
...For Alice to go that far, it really must be something extraordinary. This was the girl who'd gotten herself arrested and infiltrated Impel Down without batting an eye.
Unless she'd witnessed some kind of 'something' that defied all existing common sense, something utterly incomprehensible, she wouldn't ask me for help because she couldn't handle it on her own. She hadn't seemed panicked, so I didn't think there was any danger, but... it was still concerning.
"Papa's a busy man, so dragging him out on short notice would be tough... Guess I'll have to go alone. I'll call Beauty and Blume to come with me."
And then, several hours later. On that certain island where we'd gone... we would lay eyes on something truly outrageous.
And that encounter would come to involve and connect to a certain major incident, one with the potential to embroil not just the Golden Lion Pirates, but the entire world...
Naturally, at that point, none of us could have known that yet.
***
Click.
"Okay, so... I've called someone I trust, and they'll be coming here. Just sit tight and wait quietly. I'm sure it'll be fine, but... whatever you do, don't try anything funny."
"Yes, I understand. Mo... Alice-san."
"We are most grateful for your consideration. Da... Lady Alice."
"...Hey, look. You two keep starting to call me something else and then stopping. As far as I can remember, this is the first time we've met. Are you hiding something?"
"Yep."
"You just admitted it!?"
"There's no point in lying. But... I can't tell you what we're hiding. Not yet."
"My apologies. I am well aware we are asking something unreasonable, but... if we could wait to discuss that matter until the Pi... pardon me, until the Pirate Literary Master arrives."
"...Geez... you two are definitely suspicious. But after what you showed me earlier, there's no way I can just leave this alone, so fine, I'll let you meet Mom like you want. But let me say it again: if you try to lay a hand on Mom or pull anything funny, I won't forgive you!"
"That won't be a problem. If anything like that happened... we'd be the ones who wouldn't forgive it."
"Indeed... That is precisely why we have come."
"...Hmmmm...?"
To be continued...