Whoosh!
Hiroto's eyes snapped open atop the ram's head and wild wind howled around him.
He gripped Shigure's hilt, held still, then, seconds later, struck.
A crimson slash burst from the blade.
Swoosh!
The arc, dozens of meters long, bisected the beast and sliced the sea beyond.
Hiroto stood, sword lowered, eyes alight.
Flying Slash—achieved!
Blood rained as the severed beast sank with a dying wail.
'As expected.' Nami stared, awestruck.
Even after seeing him cleave a warship, watching this titan fall so cleanly shook her again.
Luckily, such a man was her Captain.
The thought flushed her cheeks and quickened her breath.
As she pictured that same slash on Arlong, her pulse raced.
"Still needs a moment to charge."
Hiroto sheathed Shigure and glanced at his panel.
[Entry: Flying Slash]
[Quality: Blue]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Expends stamina to fire a condensed slash, power scales with total attributes and cost.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Ever seen a slash that flies?]
A blue entry, earned through his own growth—a milestone.
Of course, his mastery was only at the lower end. Like Zoro in Skypiea, he still needed a short charge.
The wave's power, though, paired well with [Budget Shinso] and [Son of Wind]. After that strike, he sensed untapped potential. He filed it away for study.
Another entry appeared.
[Entry: Swordmaster]
[Quality: Blue]
[Type: Special]
[Effect: Heightened perception of blades.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: Live by the sword, die by the sword!]
'Only after learning Flying Slash did [True Swordsman] become [Swordmaster].' He mused, pleased by the buff.
He rested a hand on Shigure and a new intuition surfaced—the blade lacked spirit, no inner soul yet.
He understood the perception boost.
'Interesting.'
He set it aside and headed for the port.
Inside the harbor, Carina tallied supplies for the next voyage, while Nami gazed skyward.
Hiroto had said they would sail straight for Cocoyasi Village.
Her heart pounded.
As the ship docked, Zoro appeared with a bottle and Koushirou followed.
The two had toured the island and talked.
"Yo, Captain, learned it today?"
Zoro teased, offering the bottle—his habitual greeting.
Koushirou claimed it eased some inner unease, Zoro denied yet knew it was true.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Hiroto quipped.
Zoro froze mid-pour, eyes wide.
No way.
Koushirou adjusted his glasses, stunned.
He had seen prodigies—himself among them—yet even geniuses need process.
He didn't know Hiroto wasn't a prodigy but a thorough cheater.
Effort King and Genius Trader for the win.
"Watch."
Under their gaze Hiroto drank, drew Shigure, charged, and slashed skyward. A red arc flew ten-odd meters before fading.
Zoro knew Hiroto could turn wind into blades but no wind stirred, this was different.
He had done it!
"Crude, but unmistakably Flying Slash." Koushirou murmured, hiding his turmoil.
Once a rival of Mihawk himself, he knew that even the World's Strongest Swordsman hadn't advanced this fast.
Great swordsmen grow step by step but before him stood a prodigy beyond prodigies.
Koushirou's mind supplied the word—monster.
The words once used by mediocre fools to describe him were now pinned on Hiroto by Koushirou himself.
Such potential was truly admirable.
The thought had only just surfaced before Koushirou crushed it.
Their branch had already left Wano Country and built its own life and dreams. No matter how much bitterness lingered, the past should stay buried.
Thinking this, Koushirou looked at Zoro.
After the answer came, Zoro stood stunned for a moment.
Then he exclaimed in admiration, "A monster-level talent. Still..."
Flames of fighting spirit lit in his eyes. "I'll keep chasing you. Don't slack off so much that I actually catch up."
"Save that for when you're asleep."
Hiroto's gaze turned odd as he thought of the Genius Trader's effect and the terrifying gains stacked with Effort King.
Put simply, the harder Zoro trained, the bigger Hiroto's payoff. After all, Hiroto's share wasn't fifty percent, it was fifty percent times two hundred.
Zoro grinned.
As expected of his captain.
Hiroto turned to Koushirou and asked, "At this stage, what's the next level—Great Swordsman above Swordmaster?"
Koushirou explained, "Great Swordsman isn't a level. It's an honor for famous, world-class swordsmen. But that's not to say there's no difference at all."
"A so-called Great Swordsman has, more or less, touched the level of cutting diamond."
"Diamond?" Hiroto remembered Zoro once mentioning that after steel came diamond.
"Having learned the Breath of All Things, you can cut anything, but can you cut everything?" Koushirou countered.
Hiroto shook his head. "No. Cutting steel is already my limit."
"Where do you think the gap lies?" Koushirou asked patiently.
"Difference in material, and..."
Hiroto frowned, struggling to voice what he felt.
"And insufficiency. You can sense breath and the rhythm of life, yet can't cut with yourself as the blade."
Koushirou finished, then continued, "Haki is the union of spirit and flesh, awakening humanity's latent power. That means spirit is itself a strength, equal to the body."
"A swordsman's Breath of All Things is the use of spiritual power, including Flying Slash."
Hiroto seemed to grasp it and said, "So the flaw is my belief and will aren't refined enough?"
"Exactly."
Koushirou looked at this superb sapling with pure appreciation.
Compared with the somewhat rigid Zoro, Hiroto was flexible and inventive.
Unaware of the comparison, Zoro simply listened and absorbed what he needed.
Hiroto immediately bowed. "Thank you for the lesson, Koushirou-sensei."
Koushirou was no kin, and what Zoro had owed was already repaid with lessons in Haki and Flying Slash. They were even ahead.
Hiroto knew Koushirou cherished talent and held nothing back.
"As long as you gain from it."
Koushirou blinked in surprise at being called sensei but didn't correct him. He only liked Hiroto the more for it.
(End of Chapter)
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