A Five-Year-Old Grand Swordsman? Everyone in Shimotsuki Village Was Stunned

After leaving the chaotic Loguetown, Lei En used his harmless appearance as a five-year-old child to easily sneak aboard a merchant ship bound for a nearby island.

The sailors pitied him and even gave him some dried provisions and fresh water.

Lei En was happy to take it easy. He found an empty corner of the cargo hold, closed his eyes to rest, and began digesting the vast, ocean-like memories of swordsmanship in his mind.

A few days later, the merchant ship docked at the port of a peaceful, tranquil village.

This was Shimotsuki Village, the famous home of swordsmanship in the East Blue.

Lei En jumped off the ship and bid farewell to the kind sailors.

Using the few thousand Beli in starter funds rewarded by the system, he found a small restaurant and ordered a mountain-sized serving of grilled meat, which he wolfed down in no time.

With his stomach full, Lei En clasped his little hands behind his back and wandered through the village like a tiny old man inspecting his territory.

Before long, a series of vigorous shouts caught his attention.

Ahead stood a rather spacious Japanese-style dojo.

On the plaque above its entrance were four bold, sweeping characters—"One-Heart Dojo."

"Oh? I've arrived."

Lei En's lips curled slightly as he strode over on his short little legs.

Inside the dojo, dozens of apprentices ranging from their teens to their twenties were bare-chested, drenched in sweat as they practiced sword swings.

"Hey!"

"Ha!"

Their shouts were perfectly synchronized, and the swishing of bamboo swords through the air carried considerable force.

To an outsider, it was undoubtedly an energetic, inspiring scene of diligent training.

But in Lei En's eyes, having inherited Roger's Peak Swordsmanship, it was practically a large-scale... calisthenics performance.

"Tsk, tsk. Their stances are wrong, their points of exertion are all off, their wrists are too stiff, and their footing is weak and unsteady..."

Lei En crossed his arms and leaned against the dojo's doorframe, shaking his head as he watched and clicking his tongue in disdain.

"Too many openings. Too weak. It's unbearable to watch."

His voice was not loud, but in the relatively quiet dojo, it sounded exceptionally clear.

Swish!

Every apprentice froze at once and turned their heads in unison, glaring viciously at the ignorant little brat standing at the entrance.

"Hey! You little brat, what did you just say?!"

A burly, muscular adult man who looked like the senior disciple of the group approached with a bamboo sword resting on his shoulder, his face full of irritation.

His name was Kawashima. Other than the dojo master, he was the strongest person at One-Heart Dojo and was quite well-known throughout Shimotsuki Village.

"I said you're all too weak. Are your ears not working?"

Lei En dug at his ear, wearing an innocent expression that said, I'm only stating the facts.

That remark only added fuel to the fire and completely ignited Kawashima's rage.

"You brat! Since you're young, I'll give you a chance—kneel and apologize right now. Otherwise, I'll show you what real swordsmanship is today!"

The apprentices behind Kawashima joined in the jeering.

"Exactly! Where did this wild little brat come from, acting up in our One-Heart Dojo?"

"Senior Brother Kawashima, teach him a proper lesson!"

Lei En sighed and spread his hands.

"Fine. Since you insist on humiliating yourselves, I'll reluctantly give you some pointers."

As he spoke, he walked over to the weapon rack, picked up a standard wooden sword almost as long as he was tall, and casually weighed it in his hand.

Seeing this, Kawashima was so furious that he laughed instead.

"Good! Good! Good! I'd like to see how a snot-nosed brat like you plans to give me pointers!"

He took his stance, gripping his bamboo sword tightly with both hands as his gaze instantly sharpened.

The atmosphere in the dojo was on the verge of exploding.

The surrounding apprentices all backed away, leaving plenty of room for the two, their faces full of anticipation.

They could practically see Lei En being sent flying by Senior Brother Kawashima's sword, crying for his mother in misery.

Kawashima took a deep breath and kicked off the ground. He shot toward Lei En like an arrow released from a bow, his bamboo sword whistling through the air as it came chopping down at his head!

"Brat, pay the price for your arrogance!"

Facing that heavy, powerful blow, Lei En's expression remained as calm as ever.

He did not even take a stance. He merely stood there casually.

Just as Kawashima's bamboo sword was about to split his skull, Lei En finally moved.

He did not move quickly. If anything, he seemed almost leisurely.

His right hand gripped the hilt, his left supported the scabbard, and his body sank slightly.

It was an extremely standard opening stance for an iaijutsu slash, yet it carried an unfathomable essence.

The next second, a flash of silver streaked across everyone's vision!

Clang!

The crisp sound of metal leaving its sheath rang out.

It was immediately followed by a much duller bang!

No one saw what had happened.

All they saw was Senior Brother Kawashima, who had been so imposing only a moment ago, now flying backward like a ragged sack.

His body traced an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the wooden floor more than ten meters away. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out instantly.

The steel-reinforced bamboo sword in his hand had snapped in two and rolled limply to one side.

The entire dojo instantly fell into deathly silence.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Every apprentice's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Their mouths hung wide open, their jaws practically hitting the floor, their faces as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"What... what just happened?"

One apprentice swallowed with difficulty, his voice trembling.

"I... I didn't see it clearly..."

Another apprentice rubbed his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.

They had only seen a flash of light, and then the senior brother they had been so proud of went flying.

Th-This was something a five-year-old child could do?!

At that moment, the curtain over the dojo's inner room was lifted.

A bespectacled middle-aged man with a gentle temperament slowly walked out.

He was none other than the dojo master, Shimotsuki Koushirou.

Koushiro pushed up his glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes flickered with unprecedented shock and horror.

He stared fixedly at the small figure still holding the drawing stance, while a storm raged in his heart.

That sword strike had looked simple, but it had actually contained the ultimate principle of swordsmanship—the ability to "cut through all things"!

At such a level, not to mention the East Blue, even across the entire Grand Line, there were only a handful of people who could attain it!

And now, it had appeared in a five-year-old child!

"A monster... no, a genius! A peerless genius of the sword, unmatched throughout history!"

Koushiro's heart pounded wildly. He even had the urge to kneel on the spot and beg to become his disciple.

Just as the entire dojo had fallen into an eerie silence, a clear but indignant child's voice suddenly rang out from behind Koushiro, shattering the stillness.

A little girl with neat short hair and a blue kendo uniform rushed out from the inner room in a huff.

She tightly gripped a bamboo sword, pointed its tip at Lei En from afar, puffed out her cheeks, and shouted loudly.

"Don't you dare act arrogant in my dojo! I'll defeat you!"