Rabbit Genius

Werther felt like he was about to collapse too; it was simply far too hot here.

Yet the skinny, withered old man before him showed little reaction apart from a slight sheen of sweat on his bare upper body.

Judging from that heat resistance alone, Werther had to admit he was no match for Tie Yi. It seemed there was good reason the other man was called a master blacksmith.

Werther did not stay in the forging room any longer and planned to take a stroll outside. But the moment he stepped out of the forge, Ferdinand stopped him. Ferdinand hesitated for a long time, as if he had something to say to Werther but was too embarrassed to speak.

In the end, Werther grew impatient and said, "If you don't say it now, I'm leaving." Only then did Ferdinand, looking utterly embarrassed, make a request.

It turned out that the girl named Six was also a swordswoman, but without a master to guide her, her swordsmanship had always been mediocre.

For certain reasons, members of the Iron Tribe were not allowed to leave the island before they turned nineteen. There were no highly skilled swordsmanship masters on the island either, so Ferdinand wanted to ask Werther to guide Six in her swordsmanship.

Werther glanced at Ferdinand helplessly.

"So that's all? Was there really any need to stammer like that? Come on, let me see what level your lover is at." With that, he motioned for Ferdinand to lead the way.

Ferdinand froze. He had not expected Werther to agree so readily. Didn't most great swordsmen keep their swordsmanship secrets to themselves? Yet Werther had agreed just like that? Ferdinand could hardly believe it, but he happily led Werther to the Iron Tribe's training ground.

On the way, Ferdinand finally could not contain his curiosity and asked Werther why he had agreed so easily.

"Hm? Is giving someone a few pointers in swordsmanship such a big deal? I'm not taking her as my disciple. I'm only showing her how to practice with a sword. Don't take it to heart. Besides, you helped me greatly this time."

Werther followed Ferdinand to the training ground. It was a vast, empty room, and Six had been waiting there for some time. She seemed somewhat afraid of Werther, but she also dearly wanted to learn swordsmanship from him.

"Let me see your fundamentals first. Just slash at me with your blade. Use your full strength." After speaking, Werther motioned for Six to slash at his chest with the sword in her hand.

Although Six hesitated, she still swung with all her strength, slashing at Werther's chest.

Werther was not foolish enough to take a blade head-on. He directly covered his chest with Armament Haki. He had Six strike him only because he wanted to see what kind of swordswoman she was. What could be clearer than experiencing it firsthand?

With a clang, the longsword struck Werther's chest.

Werther's first thought was that it was a fine blade. This sword was definitely a Skillful Grade Blade. As expected of a family of blacksmiths.

As for Six's swordsmanship, honestly, it was very weak. She was still far from Steel Cutting.

After understanding Six's skill level, Werther did not teach her anything too profound. Instead, he sat down on the floor.

"As for your swordsmanship... considering no one taught you, reaching this level is already quite good. But if you want to become a top-class swordswoman, you still have a long road ahead.

"I won't ask why you want to become a swordswoman. I only want to ask this: can you feel your blade? Feel your blade, and the sensation when it cuts through things."

Six shook her head. Seeing that, Werther sighed. He somewhat regretted agreeing to Ferdinand's request, because there was far too much to teach, and Werther was rather lazy.

But Werther had to fulfill what he promised others. That was his principle. So, there in the training ground, he began teaching Six how to feel her own blade, as well as the path he himself had once walked.

He also specifically told Six not to imitate other people's swordsmanship. That was an extremely foolish thing to do. Learning from others was fine, but imitation was absolutely not.

Seeing Werther genuinely teaching Six swordsmanship so carefully, Ferdinand's expression grew complicated. Ferdinand did not understand swordsmanship, but from Six's focused gaze and the happy expression on her face, he could tell that Werther was teaching her something useful.

Ferdinand sighed and silently sat on the ground, lost in thought.

And so, whenever Werther was bored during the day, he taught Six swordsmanship. At other times, apart from his own training, he simply wandered around the island.

One morning, Werther was eating breakfast aboard the ship, while Rabbit had already hurriedly wolfed down its breakfast and gone to look through its beloved stack of medical books.

After breakfast, Werther did not know what to do. He knew nothing about sword forging, so he only went to watch occasionally. As for Six's swordsmanship, after more than ten days of Werther's instruction, she had already made considerable progress and begun practicing on her own. After all, she had received guidance from a great swordsman; it would have been strange if there were no results.

Werther decided to see how Rabbit's medical studies were progressing, so he went to the bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, Werther was shocked by the sight before him. Yes, truly shocked.

He saw Rabbit using a knife to cut an opening in an octopus. That alone was not strange, but what Rabbit did next astonished Werther.

Rabbit sat on the floor as the fur on its forepaws slowly grew longer. But the fur Rabbit grew with the Fur-Fur Fruit this time was different from before. Previously, it had grown pale yellow fur, but this time it produced extremely fine, nearly transparent strands. There were not just a few; there seemed to be at least several hundred.

The fur slowly approached the octopus's wound, then gradually entered it. Rabbit closed its eyes, its expression extremely solemn.

About ten minutes later, the fur slowly withdrew from the wound. At the same time, the wound miraculously began to heal. In the end, only a thin line remained visible.

After doing all that, Rabbit looked exhausted as well. It sat on the floor, both large ears drooping.

Werther truly had not expected Rabbit to develop such an outrageous ability on its own. This kind of wound-healing capability was practically defying the heavens.

Werther had once only mentioned Donquixote Doflamingo's abilities to Rabbit, including using threads to stitch internal organs. But the ability Rabbit had developed now was simply beyond anything Donquixote Doflamingo could compare to.

"Rabbit, not bad. You actually developed such a practical ability." Smiling, Werther walked over to Rabbit and helped the exhausted creature onto the bed.

This ability must have consumed a great deal of mental and physical strength. Rabbit had not even been able to stand up just now.

Rabbit did not write a note. Instead, it grinned at Werther with its large buck teeth and raised a V sign.

Werther patted Rabbit on the head, signaling it to rest well, then picked up the octopus from the floor and began examining the wound.

The wound had basically healed. This ability likely used exceptionally fine fur to stitch together muscles and nerves. The several hundred strands Werther had seen earlier had been a complete illusion; there had to have been at least several thousand.

That fur was already too fine for the naked eye to see. No wonder Rabbit had been exhausted to the point of nearly collapsing. Controlling so many strands to carry out such precise movements... Rabbit truly was a genius.