Immediately after being hired, Zoro asked Saul if he planned to teach him blacksmithing. To his immense surprise, the blacksmith had refused once again. The reason still puzzled the boy as he recalled what the older man had told him then.
"Again?" Zoro asked the blacksmith, his mouth agape. He was sure the blacksmith would teach him if he got a job. So he stopped asking to be taught and instead just asked for work.
"I said... that I'm not going to teach you," Saul replied firmly in his voice.
"So WHAT'S THE POINT OF WORKING HERE?!" Zoro yelled at the man, his teeth sharper than a shark's.
The man laughed at the anger he could see in the green man's eyes: "I never said... that I wouldn't let you see."
"HOW THE HELL IS THAT DIFFERENT?!" the swordsman shouted in disbelief, frustration etched on his face. First, the man had made him wait a week, and now he was being so confusing. Zoro hated confusion.
"STOP SHOUTING, YOU BRAT!" yelled the man, getting tired of Zoro's loud voice.
The boy had the decency to at least look like he'd been scolded.
"I'm not going to teach you, because of those eyes..." the man began, looking at Zoro, "Those aren't the eyes of a blacksmith. I would know." He pointed at the swordsman's eyes, "Those... are the eyes of a demon."
Zoro looked at him as if he were crazy and decided to let him continue explaining. Perhaps everything would start to make sense if he let him talk longer.
"I've met several demons in my life. And none of them were blacksmiths," Saul said, as if that answered all of Zoro's questions. "Although Garp was more of a monster than a demon. His son, however..." the blacksmith whispered.
"Garp?" Zoro thought. He'd never heard that name before. "So you won't teach me... because you think I have demon eyes?" A bead of sweat broke out as he looked at the older man. He decided to ask him about Garp later. He definitely wouldn't forget.
"You don't understand, kid. I'm helping you. You weren't made to counterfeit or steal. Those eyes tell me... You were made to use it," Saul said wisely. "I've seen eyes like those before, and I have a feeling."
Zoro paused. He liked the sound of that. Besides, he'd never really wanted to forge weapons; he just wanted to know how it was done. Being taught would have been ideal, but the chance to watch would have to suffice. "Fine, old man. Whatever. As long as I learn what I came here to learn," he nodded.
And Zoro had learned. He learned the forging process, specifically sword forging. Without formal instruction, he could have tried, but the idea of crafting a proper katana didn't exactly thrill him. However, he understood the process and all that it entailed, and, as he predicted, it allowed him to wield his sword more effectively. Yet, it came in a rather unexpected way.
Saul loved forging weapons, but he always resisted letting Zoro too close to the forge. The first time he did, watching him work, it was clear that he forged not only with his hammer, but also with his heart. The metal took the exact shape he wanted, almost as if he could force each blow to do precisely what he needed for his creation. He had the confidence and skill to know that every strike would hit its mark. Zoro saw Saul forge many weapons during his time with the blacksmith, but he never allowed him to see the finished blades. It was almost as if he were hiding a secret from him. A secret that the man felt he wasn't ready to learn yet.
The swordsman finally understood the fruit of his labor after Saul deemed him worthy to witness the creation of a sword and, subsequently, to examine it: a katana.
The weapon the man created had a personality of its own. Zoro described it like this.
It wasn't exactly a personality. It was more like a fleeting breeze, a faint whisper in the air. He barely felt it, yet it still sent shivers down his spine. He had the feeling that the reason he felt something from the blade at that moment was that he now knew and understood the katana by observing how it was made, the knowledge he had gained from watching Saul in the workshop. It was also when the blacksmith told Zoro that his sword had a name. At that moment, when "Wado Ichimonji" left his lips, he almost felt as if the katana had begun to buzz, the same whispering sensation of Saul's blade tracing his skin.
He had spent weeks trying to decipher the meaning of it all, and one night, while sharpening his newly christened Wado Ichimonji, he understood. A whisper of air brushed against his skin. The weapons he would use would be his and his alone. They would help him achieve his goals, and if they refused, he would show them why they should. He already felt it with Wado Ichimonji. They would act as one. The sword would do EXACTLY what he wished. It would cut what it needed to cut, and vice versa. It was dedicated to Zoro, and Zoro, in turn, was dedicated to his sword. Strange as it sounded...
There was still much to learn on the island. Zoro knew it. He didn't know if Saul would be the one to guide him there or if he would find the knowledge on his own, but Zoro was excited. He was already stronger than before. How much stronger could he become before he left? And how strong was his friend already?... He got excited just thinking about it.