Words Like Blades, Heart Like Iron

Fujitora walked the streets of Ulabia City in frustration. He had never imagined that he would lose to a child not yet fifteen.

But after letting out a sigh, he admitted the fact in his heart.

A gambler had to accept defeat when he lost. That was Fujitora's principle.

"Hey, Uncle Issho, I'm hungry."

Long Yi, following behind Fujitora, tugged at the purple kimono he wore and pointed toward a restaurant by the roadside. After all that running around, his stomach had long begun protesting.

"Why are you telling me that, you overly familiar little brat?"

Fujitora lightly covered his forehead, his face full of helplessness.

Yet despite what he said, his body followed Long Yi's gesture as he strode toward the restaurant.

Long Yi grinned and hurried forward a few steps, catching up to Fujitora in front of him.

Inside Mishi Mishi Restaurant.

"So then, brat, who exactly are you?"

As he drank sake from a small saucer, Fujitora spoke to Long Yi in a low voice. His brows were slightly furrowed as he tried to probe Long Yi's background.

To his shame, although Long Yi had spent most of the day with him, he still knew nothing about the boy.

"Mm, my name is Long Yi. Government Navy, Third-Class Seaman..."

Following his principle of taking big bites of meat, Long Yi had stuffed his mouth full of food as soon as the dishes arrived. As a result, his answer to Fujitora's question came out rather indistinctly.

Although Long Yi's behavior left Fujitora speechless, he still sharply picked out the information he wanted from Long Yi's words.

"You? Government Navy?"

Fujitora stroked the stiff black beard on his chin, silently doubtful. The Navy he knew was not made up of little brats like Long Yi.

"Ah, that was delicious. Uncle Issho, I really am in the Navy, but my situation is a little special. I'm not currently on the Navy roster."

Rubbing his gradually rounding belly, Long Yi was finally eighty percent full.

Perhaps because he had recently been carrying the Infantry Greatsword for weight training, combined with the fact that he was still growing, his appetite had become larger and larger. He was starting to show signs of inheriting the Karp family's appetite.

"Why do you know about me? And since you know my strength, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Though Long Yi had answered his question, Fujitora's doubts had not diminished in the slightest. A thick mist seemed to shroud this young man.

Hearing Fujitora's question, Long Yi merely chuckled without answering.

Naturally, he could not say that he knew everything about this good-natured old man from a manga. To be honest, if Fujitora had not been gentle and upright by nature, Long Yi would never have dared act so presumptuously before a monster whose strength was beyond measure.

"Kill me? Uncle Issho, you definitely wouldn't. After all, I'm still a child~"

Now full and satisfied, Long Yi was in the mood to banter with Fujitora to the end. He made full use of his current age advantage, putting on an innocent, harmless expression as he looked at Fujitora across from him, his gaze sincere and pure.

But he had forgotten that although Fujitora could sense other people's emotions and movements, he could not see their facial expressions. So all of Long Yi's effort was doomed to go unrewarded.

"Heh, spare me that! Other than you, I've never seen any brat kill so cleanly and decisively."

Fujitora sneered, completely unmoved. The scene of Long Yi killing Gels in the casino had left a deep impression on him.

"Tch. That was a pirate, not a person."

Realizing his expression had gone to waste, Long Yi made an annoyed sound before casually saying something terrifying.

"Hey, brat! Do you know what you're saying?"

Long Yi's undisguised contempt for pirates, along with the indifference toward life in his voice, made Fujitora frown deeply.

He had previously held a favorable impression of Long Yi, but now his opinion had changed.

Other than ambitious schemers and madmen, no one liked an executioner.

The moment Fujitora's expression changed, Long Yi knew what this good-natured old man was thinking.

From the fact that he would later kneel on behalf of the Navy to apologize and let the Straw Hat Pirates leave Dressrosa, this uncle's moral compass was exceptionally upright. Such disregard for life would naturally disgust him.

But Long Yi did not care what Fujitora thought. Though he looked like a child on the outside, he was an adult within. He had his own standards of right and wrong.

"Uncle Issho, do you know that the pirate I killed, 'Arsonist' Gels, once raided five coastal villages? In the end, every one of those villages was reduced to ruins. Not a single person survived."

Long Yi spoke calmly, his expression unchanged.

Fujitora fell silent across from him.

"Come to think of it, I'm also a survivor of a village slaughtered by pirates. I know what real pain is. In my heart, those pirates who take other people's lives can no longer be considered human. Killing them doesn't place any burden on my conscience."

Long Yi spread his hands and spoke his true thoughts to Fujitora.

The original owner of this body's hatred for pirates, mixed with the influence of the power of Ashura, had forged Long Yi's current personality.

When it came to pirates who treated human lives like grass and committed every imaginable evil, his tolerance was zero.

"I am a Navy soldier who bears the name of justice. If I show mercy to pirates, who will be responsible for those innocent civilians?"

Long Yi stared into Fujitora's clouded eyes, his gaze blazing. He knew that if it was Fujitora, he would understand him.

After all, the man before him was the closest thing to justice in Long Yi's heart.

"Since you are in the Navy, then you should know that the Navy also has scum like the kind you described."

Fujitora had already begun to waver. He admitted that he agreed with what Long Yi had said. But he still wanted to hear what this boy who called himself a Navy soldier thought of the vermin within his own ranks.

"They bear the name of justice while deceiving the world for personal fame. Their crimes should be punished even more severely! But for now, I don't hold that position, so I won't concern myself with its duties. You know, I'm still too young."

Long Yi chuckled. Though that was what he said aloud, he secretly made up his mind. If he gained enough authority in the future, he would certainly clean up those scum hiding behind the name of justice.

"But in the end, you have no right to judge the sins of others."

Perhaps Long Yi's reasoning could not convince Fujitora. His voice was low, and he still refused to let Long Yi off.

"The devil judges the wicked deeds of sinners, while I am only responsible for sending them to hell."

Long Yi had no desire to debate too deeply with Fujitora over this topic. Who should judge evil? That was a question with no answer at all.

"The strong prey on the weak. Sooner or later, you will encounter an opponent you cannot deal with."

Fujitora's eyes were clouded, and his words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

"Then I'll keep growing stronger until I have no opponents left."

Long Yi refused to yield in the slightest. He had beliefs he had to uphold.

The two held their standoff for around ten seconds before Fujitora finally let out a faint sigh.

"Not a bad answer... Perhaps you are right."

He drained the wine in his cup and said nothing more.

The atmosphere between them sank into silence.

"I actually came to the North Blue this time to take revenge on pirates. I never expected to run into you too, Uncle Issho. Come to think of it, we really are fated."

In the end, Long Yi spoke first and broke the silence. A radiant smile appeared on his face, and anyone could see that he was genuinely happy.

"Heh, what a strange little brat."

Fujitora smiled in relief and no longer dwelled on what had just happened.

Though his eyes were blind, his senses were incomparably sharp. Long Yi's emotions could not escape his Observation Haki, and he instinctively sensed that Long Yi harbored no malice.

"Uncle Issho, you'll learn about me in the future. But for now, you need to teach me how to train Observation Haki."

Long Yi looked at Fujitora across from him, stars practically shining in his eyes.

Besides his domineering Meteor Summoning, Fujitora was most skilled in using Observation Haki.

This uncle's training in Observation Haki had reached an unfathomable realm. He could even perceive the movement of clouds high above and locate meteors in space.

"Very well. I will teach you how to train Observation Haki, but whether you can truly master it or not, I cannot say."

The awakening of Haki required prolonged training. Even Fujitora could not guarantee that Long Yi would master such a powerful force.

"Don't worry. I'm already prepared."

Long Yi slapped his chest, his answer firm and resolute.

Observation Haki was one of the powers he absolutely had to master. He eagerly anticipated what kind of sparks would fly when Observation Haki combined with Ashura's "Mind's Eye" skill.

Three days later, in the woods outside Ulabia City.

This small forest became the site where Fujitora taught Long Yi to awaken his Haki. His method was simple, even somewhat similar to Karp's.

That was, beat him up!

"Too weak, Long Yi! Is this all the resolve you have?"

Sensing Long Yi sprawled on the ground, Fujitora shouted loudly. The awakening of Haki required extensive training to begin with. These were necessary trials.

After all, no one could become a god in a single step.

"Damn it, again!"

Long Yi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and shakily climbed to his feet.

At that moment, he was deeply grateful for the powerful physique his usual weight training had given him. Otherwise, after three consecutive days of brutal beatings, he might not have been able to endure it.

"Very good. Feel the flow of the air with your heart. I'm coming."

Long Yi's unyielding spirit made a faint smile flash across Fujitora's face. In this boy, he saw a shadow of his younger self.

With a strip of cloth tied over his eyes, Long Yi carefully held his sword and stood on guard. In a daze, he thought of Ashura, the swordsman who had willingly given up his sight in order to sense the vibrations of all things.

"Let the body be the eyes, let the heart be the eyes; all things become the eyes."

Gradually calming his mind, Long Yi began breathing rhythmically, his ears twitching slightly.

"What an incredible brat. In only three days, he has already touched the threshold of Observation Haki."

Naturally, the changes in Long Yi did not escape Fujitora's senses. Though he silently praised him, the movements of his hands did not pause in the slightest.

"I can see it!"

Though his eyes were covered by cloth, Long Yi faintly caught an image coming from behind him.

It was only the slightest bit, but it was an incomparably crucial step.

He stomped hard, and in his urgency, Long Yi used Soru. His figure flashed, and for the first time, he dodged Fujitora's attack.

Boom!

But before Long Yi could celebrate, a loud crash rang out. He let out a muffled groan, and tears of pain welled uncontrollably in his eyes.

Though Long Yi had evaded Fujitora's attack, he had failed to sense his surroundings and crashed into a large tree.

"Brat, you still have much to train."

Fujitora rested his cane sword on his shoulder, a faint smile flashing across his rugged face.