Chapter 10 — Sword Leap: Flame
Haki was the kind of power that strong individuals could grasp extremely quickly.
Uchiha Madara used his Sharingan to memorize the notes, and after a single night of experimentation, he had already gained a preliminary mastery over both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Observation Haki, in particular, required almost no effort.
After testing it a few times using clone techniques, he had already learned the basics. As a shinobi, Madara's sensory abilities were already exceptional, and years of accumulated combat experience made Observation Haki practically effortless for him to grasp.
The real trouble, however, lay with Armament Haki.
Ninjas were famously high in offense but fragile in defense. Coating one's will onto a specific part of the body to enhance both attack and defense… Madara found himself instinctively focusing on maximizing offensive power, while neglecting defense.
After all, in the Naruto world, even something like an explosive tag could kill a jōnin. Everyone was essentially built for pure damage output. Someone like the Raikage—who could tank hits head-on—was a rare anomaly.
Most people dodged if they could, substituted if they couldn't, summoned something to take the hit if substitution failed, or even used clones as shields.
So why would Armament Haki require you to stand there and tank attacks head-on?
After pondering this for quite some time, Madara ultimately decided to treat Armament Haki as a no-hand-sign version of a hardening technique.
In his eyes, using Armament Haki purely as an offensive method was far too limited.
During his battle against Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku, he had already noticed this. While its offensive and defensive capabilities were excellent, it lacked long-range and control methods almost entirely.
To put it bluntly, with just Fire Style: Great Fireball and substitution techniques, he could play around with Garp for an entire day.
If it weren't for that brat, he wouldn't even bother studying Armament Haki in depth. His own combat system was already highly refined—there was no need for major adjustments.
With that thought, Madara shook his head, dispelling the grogginess from a sleepless night, and walked toward the deck.
Previously, he had always stayed cooped up in his room just to avoid that little brat. But now—
No more hiding.
I, Uchiha Madara, have mastered two types of Haki!
Gion might be young, but having grown up under Tsuru's guidance, she had developed no bad habits. On the contrary, she was extremely diligent, training early on the deck every single day.
"Brat, your power is too scattered. A slash like that doesn't count as iaijutsu—it's nothing more than a forceful chop."
Madara mocked Gion, who was currently holding an iaijutsu stance and gathering strength.
Gion stuck out her tongue and made a face at him.
"Master's just a clueless idiot who doesn't know anything. Stop interrupting my training!"
Madara was momentarily speechless.
He couldn't exactly say, I'm not clueless anymore.
So he just stood there, frozen.
…This damn brat really doesn't give me any face at all. Was my sleepless night for nothing?
His expression darkened slightly, and he turned to leave—only to feel a sudden gust of pressure from behind.
"An opening! Master! Die!!!"
Madara's expression remained unchanged, though inwardly he felt a bit relieved.
With a casual motion, he grabbed the blade and lifted Gion—who had once again clung to the sword hilt—bringing her in front of him.
"I told you. That's not iaijutsu."
He stabbed the blade into the cabin door behind him, hanging Gion there, then picked up a mop, cut it cleanly using Wind Release, and created four wooden clones, positioning them in formation.
"I'm not particularly skilled in swordsmanship… but my clan happens to have some techniques."
"Uchiha Style — Sword Leap: Flame."
Combining it with his powerful Body Flicker Technique, Madara split into four in an instant, flashing past the four wooden clones.
After he came to a stop, the afterimages left behind by his movement slowly merged back into his body.
Though he had used nothing more than a mop handle—
Each of the four wooden clones had a precise cut across the throat, perfectly severing the airway.
In the next moment, golden flames erupted violently from the wounds, reducing them to ashes.
Madara tossed the mop aside, walked over to Gion, took her down, set her on the ground, and left.
Gion stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the discarded mop handle.
At this moment, Sengoku and Garp—who had been secretly watching—stepped out.
Sengoku patted Gion on the head.
"That's an excellent sword technique. It pairs perfectly with Soru. Very suitable for you."
Gion still couldn't understand how Madara had done it.
"But… that was just a wooden stick."
Garp said casually,
"But it was a stick used by Madara. He might not be a great swordsman, but he is definitely a wielder sharp enough to make anything a blade. In his hands, anything becomes extraordinarily sharp."
Gion was still a bit confused, but Sengoku's next sentence immediately erased that confusion.
"Little Gion, the mop Madara broke will be deducted from your allowance. One hundred thousand Berries."
Gion instantly exploded.
Wasn't this just bullying an honest person?!
Her monthly allowance was only 150,000 Berries!!!
"ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND?! It's just a mop! And Master was the one who broke it!!!"
Sengoku pushed up his glasses, a glint of wisdom flashing in his eyes.
"A teacher for a day is a father for life. A father's debts are repaid by the child."
After saying that, he dragged the laughing Garp away to go fishing, leaving Gion standing there, completely shattered.
After a long while, Gion silently picked up the mop handle Madara had left behind.
At the exact moment she picked it up, four wooden clones appeared before her—
But this time, each one had Sengoku's face.
In an instant, Gion's small universe erupted.
You filthy old man—die!!!
She tried to imitate Madara's stance.
After preparing herself, she attempted to use Soru to create four afterimages.
Deep breath. Step. Soru!
Thud—
The little Gion, who couldn't even walk properly yet tried to fly, tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face.
Looking at the mop handle that had snapped from the fall, a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes.
But strangely—
That seemingly ordinary mop handle slowly reconnected itself right before her eyes.
Gion took a deep breath and picked it up again.
The weather today was perfect.
The sunlight was warm, the sea breeze refreshing.
The only downside was—
The warship was anything but quiet.
Thud—thud—thud—
Madara, sitting cross-legged on his bed, smiled contentedly as he listened to the constant sounds of falling.
Zephyr, who was busy writing training plans, smiled with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Sengoku and Garp stood on the deck with fishing rods, failing to catch anything—but grinning in a rather mischievous way.
Garp slung an arm around Sengoku's shoulders.
"I bet it'll take little Gion at least five days to learn that move. One month's worth of senbei."
"I bet she won't learn it at all. We'll be back at Marineford in five days. That technique looks simple, but using a stick, combining it with Soru, and executing four slashes simultaneously—there's no way she can master that in just five days."
As they spoke, words suddenly appeared on the fishing rod in front of them:
'Three days.'
Garp burst into laughter.
"Madara really has confidence in Gion. But I'll gladly take those senbei."
No further words appeared—but just those two words, three days, were enough to show how much Madara valued Gion.
Body Flicker combined with iaijutsu—
If mastered, it could pave the way for most swordsmen to reach the level of a swordmaster.
Even Sengoku couldn't help but admire Madara's confidence.
That single strike—there was no way even a Marine Headquarters rear admiral could master it in five days.
Let alone Gion, a girl barely in her early teens.
They wanted her to succeed—but reason told them it was impossible.
Not only was the technique itself incredibly difficult, but even factors like age, physical strength, and skill mastery were barriers she couldn't easily overcome.
Thud—
Speed. Power. Angle. Footwork. Force. Timing.
A sword technique casually performed by the "Asura of the Ninja World" was, for Gion, as unattainable as the heavens.
All she could do—
Was fail, again and again, and keep getting back up.
In the shadows, Uchiha Madara watched silently, his gaze flickering between light and darkness, as if something was troubling him.