My Sword Needs No Distance

Borsalino wandered in with a teacup, shaking his head. "We haven't seen each other for a while, and you've gone and bullied a thirteen-year-old?"

"Little Ron, you've been slacking off~"

"Uncle, you're awfully serious today."

"I'm just a Vice Admiral passing through. I can't tell you what to do~"

"Borsalino, you really need to do something about this kid!"

Garp slapped his thigh and boomed, "Take him to the training ground and beat him up!"

"Nobody's doing anything of the sort!" Sengoku shouted, slamming the table.

Sakazuki tapped the paper on the table, his face cold. "Write the report first."

The smile vanished from Ron's face.

That night, at Sakazuki's house.

Father and son sat across the table from each other. One worked through military documents; the other chewed on his pen, unable to squeeze out a single line for ages.

"Pops."

"Speak."

"'Upon arriving at the scene, I engaged in a friendly exchange with Rob Lucci.' Can I write that?"

"No."

"Then how about 'conducted necessary communication'?"

"You punched him into a wall."

"The wall was poorly made."

Sakazuki looked up at him.

Ron obediently lowered his head and changed the sentence: a physical altercation occurred.

"That should do it, right...?"

Early the next morning, at the training ground.

Ron was surprised to see Borsalino already waiting by the railing.

His Marine coat was draped over the railing, his training clothes hung loose, and he was even holding a cup of hot tea.

"Well, this is rare. You can actually get up early?"

"Young people say such hurtful things. I've always been hardworking."

"Would you dare say that to anyone else?"

"Nope~"

Ron laughed. "So, what did you want?"

Borsalino set down his teacup, and a ball of golden light slowly gathered in his palm.

"I hear you worked your fruit's power into your swordsmanship and came up with something called a 'Dimensional Slash.'"

"Want to see it?"

"I'd rather see how your swordsmanship has evolved over the past few years~"

Ron gripped Zhenyuan's hilt.

Five years ago, when he was only ten, he had dared to chase Borsalino around for half an afternoon, swinging a practice sword taller than himself. In the end, he hadn't even touched the hem of Borsalino's clothes.

"Can't you do anything but run?" Little Ron had stamped his feet in frustration.

Borsalino had smiled and tapped him on the forehead.

"Wrong. It's not that I'm fast. Your sword keeps chasing me."

"What's the difference?"

"Of course there's a difference. Don't fixate on where your opponent is now. Watch where he'll go next."

"A good sword doesn't need to chase anyone. It waits there for him."

Ron had remembered those words for five whole years.

Clang!

Zhenyuan slid from its sheath, its pitch-black blade coated in Armament Haki.

A golden sword of light also formed in Borsalino's hand.

The next instant.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—!

Their blades collided again and again.

Ron's Zhenyuan was astonishingly heavy. As he bore down with a horizontal slash, the force of the wind carved a shallow mark into the ground.

But Borsalino always managed to slip half an inch out of the blade's path in advance, then follow through with a thrust at Ron's ribs.

Ron brought his sword back and blocked it.

"Five years, and you're still doing the same thing."

"You said that five years ago!"

"Can't I say it again?"

Before he finished speaking, the light sword suddenly changed direction and darted at Ron's wrist.

Ron turned his hand over and pressed the flat of his heavy sword across the attack, forcing it back.

"You've improved quite a bit."

"You're asking for a beating when you compliment people like that!"

The Marines training nearby had already gathered in a circle around them.

The blades clashed without pause, and more than a dozen sword marks appeared on the ground.

After more than twenty exchanges, neither had gained an advantage.

Borsalino suddenly smiled. "Shall we go a little faster, then?"

"Bring it."

Whoosh!

The golden light vanished in an instant.

The next moment, the light sword was already slashing at Ron from behind and to the side!

Clang!

Zhenyuan rose across his body to block it.

Borsalino turned into golden light again, doubled back through the air, then skimmed along the ground.

Ron didn't turn to follow him. His Observation Haki had already locked onto where Borsalino would land.

Click.

A door opened in the air, and Ron stepped through it.

Dozens of meters away, Borsalino had just appeared when the space beside him opened.

Zhenyuan swept horizontally!

Clang!!

The light sword blocked the heavy blade, but the impact drove Borsalino half a step back.

"Oh my, that strength of yours is a little unfair~"

"You've got the Glint-Glint Fruit, and you've got the nerve to say that to me?"

The Marines watching struggled to hold back their laughter, their shoulders shaking.

"But light is very fast, you know." Borsalino tilted his head.

"Your door has to open first, doesn't it?"

As his words fell, the golden light abruptly sped up.

Click! Click! Click!

The Air Door opened and closed so quickly that only an afterimage remained.

Ron darted between several landing points, his black heavy sword and the golden light sword scattering showers of sparks as they clashed.

The new recruits stared dumbfounded.

"Who's even attacking who?!"

"Shut up! I couldn't see either!"

Borsalino suddenly stopped directly in front of Ron, smiling. "Looks like you still can't catch me~"

Ron smiled instead.

"Why would I catch you?"

"Hm?"

"You have speed."

He slowly raised Zhenyuan. "My sword doesn't need distance."

Borsalino's smile faltered slightly.

Ron swung his sword horizontally.

There was no towering sword energy, nor any thunderous noise.

But Borsalino's Observation Haki suddenly screamed a frantic warning!

He instinctively turned into his element and shifted to the side.

Click.

An extremely thin, pitch-black crack appeared out of nowhere where he had been standing, extending backward.

Dozens of meters away, a massive training boulder suddenly split down the middle, its upper half slowly sliding off.

Rumble!!

The entire training ground fell silent.

Borsalino re-formed on the other side and glanced at the severed boulder.

"Oh my..."

"Your sword never passed through the space in between, did it?"

Ron grinned. "You figured it out."

"How scary~"

"Can you slash straight into someone's body, then?"

Ron shook his head. "Not if their Haki is stronger than mine, especially monsters like you."

"That's only natural. Otherwise, you could just open a door inside my head, and that wouldn't be any fun at all~"

Borsalino raised his sword again.

"Once more."

Ron swung his sword to meet him.

This time, Borsalino sensed the disturbance in space a moment earlier and immediately turned into his element to dodge.

But just as he chose where to land, a second black line opened up there.

He changed direction again, only for a third to appear across his path.

The golden light doubled back several times before it evaded all the cracks.

Borsalino landed and rubbed his chin.

"I see."

"Dodging the first slash isn't enough. You've already figured out where I'll run next?"

Ron smiled.

"What else?"

"You're getting harder and harder to deal with~"

Borsalino dispersed his light sword and spread his hands. "That's enough. I'm done fighting."

"Scared?"

"Sure am~ If we keep going, we'll tear the whole training ground apart, and we'll have to pay for it."

Ron glanced at the severed boulder. "Put it on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's tab."

"You go tell him."

"Never mind, then."

After the spectators dispersed, Borsalino suddenly called out to him.

"Do you remember what I told you back then?"

Ron looked at Zhenyuan and nodded.

"I remember."

"You really did take it to heart." Borsalino looked at the broken rock. "You just took the idea a little too far."

"How are you planning to train from now on?"

"I'll train my swordsmanship and my Haki, and of course I'll train my fruit powers too." Ron slung Zhenyuan back over his shoulder.

"The sword is mine, and the fruit is mine too. Why shouldn't I use them?"

Borsalino smiled.

"You can only make one slash at a time right now?"

Ron gave him a sideways glance. "Who said that?"

With that, he turned and walked away.

Borsalino picked up his teacup again and glanced at the boulder he had cut apart in the distance.

"Looks like I'll have to bring a few more cups of tea from now on~"

At the training ground's exit, a tall, purple-haired figure blocked Ron's way.

Zephyr stood with his arms crossed, clearly having watched for quite a while.

"Teacher."

Zephyr glanced at the broken rock in the distance.

"Starting tomorrow, no using your fruit powers in training."

Ron froze. "Why?"

"I want to see how much you can still do without that door."

The corners of Ron's mouth slowly rose.

"Then you might be disappointed."