Practicing Swordsmanship, Until Death Ends by the Sword!

The escort ship was not slow, but it was ultimately a small sailing vessel, ill-suited for crossing the vast sea. Fortunately, Tinos was not too far away. Otherwise, this little ship would never have reached Tinos.

There was roughly a day left before they reached their destination. Aeneas did not waste that time and immediately began following Obi-Wan around, clamoring to learn swordsmanship.

"You must be a Swordmaster, right? Can you teach me swordsmanship? I want to learn too!" Aeneas kept pestering Obi-Wan, even trying to touch the long blade at Obi-Wan's waist.

But Obi-Wan noticed and hid his sword away. Seeing how enthusiastic Aeneas was, he could not bring himself to dampen his spirits.

"Why does Lord Aeneas want to learn swordsmanship?" Unable to do anything about Aeneas, Obi-Wan could only ask this.

"Uh..." Aeneas was startled by the sudden question. He simply thought Hawkeye Mihawk and three-sword-style Zoro from the original story looked incredibly cool. He wanted to become as cool as them too. Besides, wasn't the title "World's Greatest Great Swordmaster" tempting?

In his previous life, Aeneas had just been an ordinary person. He had never practiced martial arts or cultivated immortality, and had not even touched a juggler's flexible sword. He had no understanding of swordsmanship whatsoever.

"Because swordsmanship is a man's romance, haha—"

Aeneas scratched his head and gave a casual answer.

Yet Obi-Wan smiled when he heard Aeneas's reply.

"Swordsmanship is not some flashy trick. If you want to learn it, I can teach you. But you cannot train for three days and rest for two. Once you set foot upon the path of the sword, you must walk it for your entire life, until death ends by the sword!"

Until death ended by the sword!

Aeneas suddenly felt a powerful pressure. It came not only from Obi-Wan's gaze; the blade at his waist also trembled faintly, answering its master's vow.

Only then did Aeneas understand why Kuina had cried more than once because she was a girl.

So faith was something so lofty!

Aeneas examined his heart. He wanted to ask himself whether he was truly ready. From the moment he picked up a blade, he would be embarking on a road of no return!

All along, Aeneas had believed that any weapon—blades, spears, staves, and clubs—was merely a weapon, a means of attack. Even when he saw the characters from the original story through a screen, he had never felt much resonance.

But this time was different. Aeneas was facing Obi-Wan directly, facing the scrutiny of a Swordmaster. Did he truly want to choose the path of the sword?

"Yes!" Aeneas finally spoke.

Obi-Wan smiled in relief, glad that Aeneas had not retreated before his imposing aura.

"Good. I will teach you the knowledge related to swordsmanship when the time is right, but I hope Lord Aeneas will keep asking himself one question during training..." Obi-Wan left him in suspense.

"What is it?" Aeneas tilted his head, unable to tell what Obi-Wan was plotting.

"Why, exactly, do you draw your blade?"

Aeneas fell into thought. He could not answer that question yet.

Obi-Wan had not expected Aeneas to answer it now. He merely wanted to tell him this.

"Then when do we start training?"

Aeneas was already impatient. Sailing at sea was truly boring. The ocean was nothing but endless water as far as the eye could see. If not for the Log Pose pointing out the correct direction and location, Aeneas truly felt as though he would sail to the end of the world and remain trapped at sea forever.

And this was only the ordinary North Blue. What would it be like once they entered the Grand Line?

After all, the Grand Line's climate was difficult even for the most knowledgeable navigators to predict and identify—though Nami, who was very likely Uranus, did not count for now.

"You are still young, and your body is still developing. But this is also the easiest period for building a foundation, so take this!"

Obi-Wan took a wooden sword from that compartment.

Aeneas leaned over and peeked inside. It was filled with all kinds of tightly sealed crates, and he had no idea what they contained. Obi-Wan had clearly remained silent about them all along, and Aeneas did not intend to ask.

Everyone had secrets. As long as Obi-Wan still regarded him as his Young Master, he would not doubt him.

Besides, Aeneas had already lost the ability to resist. If Obi-Wan truly wanted to harm him, he would have succeeded long ago.

As for whether Obi-Wan coveted the One-Punch Man power Aeneas had revealed earlier?

That was possible.

But Aeneas could not be sure yet. He would leave everything to time!

Aeneas clumsily accepted the wooden sword. It was a full meter long, nearly as tall as he was. Fortunately, it was not very heavy, though its length made it look rather unwieldy.

"There isn't a more suitable one, so use this for now. It may even train your balance while holding a sword better." Obi-Wan looked at the somewhat comical Aeneas. "The basics are very demanding, so listen carefully to my explanation."

Aeneas immediately sat upright, looking every bit like an obedient student.

Obi-Wan was in a good mood as he looked at the gentle, adorable Aeneas.

"The basics of swordsmanship are the techniques of wielding a sword. But every technique is merely a series of smooth and rapid movements. Therefore, the most basic things are each individual movement after they have been broken down!"

Obi-Wan explained it to Aeneas.

"Generally speaking, sword swings can be divided into chopping, slashing, thrusting, tapping, pressing, drawing, lifting, hooking, snapping, stirring, wiping, sweeping, blocking, and so on." As Obi-Wan listed this string of movements, he happened to see Aeneas's astonished expression.

"Does it seem like too much, too complicated?" Obi-Wan asked with a smile.

Aeneas hurriedly nodded. Yes, he had always thought that it would be enough to practice quick-draw techniques, or repeatedly practice slashing as he remembered it.

"Afraid?" Obi-Wan looked at Aeneas and deliberately provoked him. "If you think it is too hard, you can give up now. Practicing martial arts or eating a Devil Fruit would both be decent choices."

"Absolutely not!" When Aeneas heard Obi-Wan mention Devil Fruits, he had no desire to become a landlubber. He had still not even looked at the Devil Fruit the system had given him at the beginning, nor had he asked the system what type it was.

But martial arts were the foundation of every strong person. Even if he trained in the path of the sword, he could not neglect martial arts.

"Very good. That is a fine look in your eyes!" Obi-Wan continued, "These are the various subdivided categories, meant to help you create your own swordsmanship later. For now, all you need to do is swing your sword correctly. You only need to practice three movements: chopping, slashing, and thrusting. Even blocking for defense does not need special practice yet. It is still too early for that!"

"Understood!"

After saying that, Aeneas immediately stood up and started swinging his sword.

Bonk! Obi-Wan directly tapped Aeneas on the forehead. "Lord Aeneas, I understand that you are eager to learn swordsmanship, but please watch my demonstration of the proper movements first before you begin!"

"Oh, okay!" Aeneas replied foolishly. "I almost forgot. Show me!"

"This is chopping... this is slashing, and this is thrusting... You must swing each of these at least ten thousand times every day, until you are completely exhausted!" Obi-Wan demonstrated. Every swing of his sword seemed perfectly natural, his aura restrained. Though his movements appeared plain, they contained boundless power.

And so, Aeneas began his tedious training life. After exhausting himself, he would eat a huge meal, then use the Essence Breathing Technique to recover. The next day, he would be full of vigor again!