Learning Swordsmanship

Today, the sun shone brightly beneath clear skies, and the weather was exceptionally pleasant. Every crew member aboard the ship went about their business in an orderly manner.

As one of the crew, Shirakawa was bare-chested, holding a blade and seriously swinging it again and again. It all began two days earlier.

"First Mate, I want to learn swordsmanship." Two nights ago, after dinner, Shirakawa had drunk a little and, looking slightly tipsy, walked over to Rayleigh and said this to him.

"Oh? Why do you want to learn swordsmanship?" Rayleigh asked in surprise. After spending so much time together, he had come to understand that Shirakawa was someone easily satisfied. Though he could persevere during training, whenever there was a chance to rest, he would never keep training. Unlike Shanks.

Shanks was the sort who, once he got serious, would definitely see things through to the end. Unless he trained until he could no longer move, he would never let it go. Of course, the number of times Shanks got serious was pitifully few.

Over these three months of training, Shirakawa had never made any requests of Rayleigh, so Rayleigh wanted to know the reason behind this first request.

"Because I want to become a Great Swordsman."

In Shirakawa's memories, his deepest impressions of Great Swordsmen were splitting ships with a single slash, splitting Iceberg with a single slash, and shattering meteors with a single slash. All of those single slashes came from one person: Hawk Eyes.

"Oh? Do you want to become the world's greatest Great Swordsman?"

"I don't want that."

"Why not? Almost every swordsman's goal is that throne of being the strongest in the world. Why don't you want it?"

"Then, First Mate, when you first practiced swordsmanship, was it because you wanted to become the world's greatest Great Swordsman?"

"I wasn't. Back then, I only wanted to survive."

A gleam flashed across Rayleigh's glasses as he spoke somewhat wistfully.

He, too, was someone who longed for freedom. Otherwise, when Roger had dragged him aboard back then, he would not have agreed so readily.

But at the time, neither he nor Roger had been particularly strong. They had received no real training, and their current strength had been honed bit by bit through life-and-death battles.

Most of his swordsmanship had also been developed through his own research. It could be said that before setting out to sea, he had never even dared dream of becoming as powerful as he was now.

Before he knew it, he had become a Great Swordsman. Yet he had no interest in being the strongest in the world. His only goal now was to push Roger onto that throne.

"Then there you have it. I also want to live better. Besides, being number one in the world sounds exhausting. You'd have to face challenges from swordsmen all over the world every day. Wouldn't it be better to spend that time getting some proper rest?"

"Hahaha, kid, this is the first time I've felt that you suit my tastes so well."

Rayleigh laughed heartily, patted Shirakawa on the shoulder, and filled his cup with wine.

"But, kid, my swordsmanship is all meant for killing. Do you still want to learn it?"

"If swordsmanship isn't used to kill, can it be used to save people instead? Besides, whether a sword kills or not isn't decided by the sword, but by its wielder. If I want it to kill, it kills. If I don't want it to kill, then it cannot kill."

"Hahaha, well said. Then starting tomorrow, you'll learn swordsmanship from me."

"Thank you, First Mate."

And so, for the past two days, Shirakawa had been practicing swordsmanship aboard the ship. It was dull, tedious, and extremely physically demanding. He practiced every movement thousands of times each day.

"Hehehe, Shanks, look at Shirakawa. Doesn't he look like he just crawled out of the sea? He's soaked all over."

Buggy, who was sitting nearby watching the show, spoke to Shanks.

These two could be called the ship's troublemakers. Wherever something happened, they were never far away.

Unfortunately for him, Shirakawa happened to hear those words loud and clear.

"Buggy, what did you just say?"

"I said Shirakawa looks like he just came out of the sea." Buggy apparently still had not realized who was speaking.

"Is that so? Then I'll let you experience that feeling too."

Buggy suddenly felt himself being lifted up. Only then did he see clearly who was holding him—it was Shirakawa.

"Hey, Shirakawa, what are you doing? Put me down right now!"

Watching Buggy flail his limbs wildly, Shirakawa's heart did not stir in the slightest, while Shanks secretly laughed from the side.

"Buggy, you can't even beat Shirakawa anymore, so why do you keep provoking him?"

Seeing Buggy's ridiculous appearance, one of the crew members mocked him.

"None of your business!" Buggy shouted at him.

"Haha, fine, fine. I won't interfere, I won't."

The man waved his hand, looking as though it had nothing to do with him, but his eyes kept glancing over, betraying his lie.

Shirakawa walked to the side of the ship and held Buggy out over the water.

"What are you doing, Shirakawa? Let me go!"

"Fine, I'll let you go now." With that, Shirakawa released his hand.

With a whoosh, Buggy dropped straight into the sea.

"Hahahaha!" A burst of laughter erupted across the ship. During a dull voyage at sea like this, it was not a bad form of entertainment.

"Hahaha, Buggy, now you really look like someone who just came out of the sea."

"You bastards, pull me up already!"

Buggy shouted furiously from the surface of the sea.

"You still dare insult us? Fine, then stay in the sea by yourself for a while. Maybe when we're in a better mood, we'll pull you up."

Although he had no idea who had pulled him up in the end, Buggy had indeed made it aboard, water still dripping from his body.

"Captain, I can see the next island."

"Really? That's great." The navigator's words instantly lifted everyone's spirits.

For the past three months, they had either been on the ship or staying on deserted islands. Some of them had practically been bored to death.

"Finally, we'll get to see other people."

At that moment, all the crewmates were lost in their own fantasies, wondering what they should do once they went ashore.

"Everyone, get ready to disembark. But you still remember our ship's code, right?"

"Of course, Captain."

The Roger Pirates' code was that you paid for anything you bought. No matter what they did, they could not force anyone to buy or sell anything; they had to pay, and they could not use force. Even if both sides agreed willingly, they still had to pay.

It could be said that the Roger Pirates lacked everything except money.

"Are you really a pirate crew?"

The first time he heard that rule, Shirakawa had asked Shanks in great confusion. The Straw Hats being called pirates had already been strange enough in the original story; he had not expected Roger to be no better.

Was this some kind of inheritance among Pirate Kings?

"Hahaha, don't sweat the small stuff."

Everyone on the ship seemed accustomed to such rules. The only question was what they would become after Roger was no longer there to restrain them.