A Boy's Promise

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by!

"Old man! Can't you teach me something else? I'm sick of hearing all that history!"

After spending over a year with Woli, Swain had truly learned what a real scholar was!

That was right! Woli had once discussed history with the scholars of Ohara.

"Brat, this is what you need to learn!"

"History has been smeared by the Celestial Dragons. What I'm teaching you is meant to be passed down! Idiot!"

"But, old man, there's still plenty of time to study. Can't you teach me something else?"

"Then what do you want to learn?"

Woli patiently asked Swain. He could tell that Swain probably could not take in any more right now.

"I want to learn the Six Powers!"

That was right, the Six Powers. They were combat techniques that Marine Soldiers had to learn.

Back when little Koby joined the Marines, Card had taught him these techniques as well.

"I don't know them!"

"You're lying, old man! I saw you use them when you were hunting last time."

"Even so, there's no way I'm teaching you. Stop dreaming."

"Why?"

"You're still too young. Your body can't handle training in those!"

"But didn't you say..."

Swain began swaying his head from side to side as he argued with Woli.

"Don't the strong have to endure trials from a young age to become stronger?"

"And I can already control my ability a little."

As he spoke, he held out his palm. A water column the size of fiberglass formed above it.

"Go!"

With a shout from Swain, the water column shot toward the roof, blasting a huge hole through the house!

"See? Old man, I'm pretty strong, right?"

Swain looked smugly at Woli, waiting for him to praise him.

Instead, Woli stared at the huge hole in the roof with dark lines across his face.

"You little brat! You definitely don't want to study!"

As he spoke, he swung his huge palm and slapped Swain right on the butt.

But Swain had anticipated it and turned elemental in advance, treating it as nothing more than Woli washing his hands.

Then Swain pulled away from Woli and floated in midair.

"Wahahaha! Can't hit me, can you?"

Swain had discovered this when he accidentally fell while picking coconuts and found himself floating in the air.

It thrilled him immensely. Like the superheroes he had dreamed of as a child, he could fly freely through the sky. Though... he was a little slow.

He later discovered that the condition for triggering flight was simply being near the sea. In other words, once he reached the center of the island, he could no longer fly.

Investigating that result had even gotten him injured. He had lain on a hard wooden board for a full half month.

"Old man, I was wrong!"

When Swain saw Woli smiling at him, he understood that he had gotten a little too full of himself.

Sure enough!

The next moment, Woli appeared behind Swain, grabbed him, and made him stick his butt out.

Then came wave after wave of miserable screams, mournful and unending.

This time, even turning elemental was useless for Swain, because Woli had coated his hand in Armament Haki.

"You'd better behave yourself, brat."

After Woli had vented his anger, he started preparing Swain's dinner for the day.

Though Swain had looked like he was at death's door just moments ago, he turned around and happily sat down with Woli, devouring meat in huge bites.

"Kid, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

This was a question adults asked children from a young age in the world of One Piece. Just like how Garp had asked Luffy as a child whether he wanted to become a Marine.

Swain thought seriously for a while before saying, "I want to join the Revolutionary Army!"

This was also something Woli had taught Swain during lessons, explaining the current balance of power in the world.

The Revolutionary Army, as its name suggested, was about revolution!

And who were they revolting against? Naturally, the Celestial Dragons! They wanted to drag them down from their pedestals!

"Ahahahaha!" Woli could not help laughing when he saw the serious expression on Swain's little face.

"I want to beat down those who bully ordinary people, until no one ever has to suffer under them again!"

"It's good that you think that way!" Woli praised him as well.

"But you must also think about yourself. Once you join the Revolutionary Army, you'll bear that label for the rest of your life!"

"Then what do you think I should become, old man? A Marine?"

"Of course not!"

At the mention of the Marines, Woli's expression darkened. He clearly held deep prejudices against them.

"The Marines are nothing but tools used to protect those nobles!"

"Even if they have done much to preserve the world, if the Celestial Dragons had not driven people into desperation, how could so many leave their families and become pirates?"

By the end, Woli's voice was filled with anger.

Sensing Woli's emotional turmoil, Swain fell silent and put away his usual laughter.

"Don't mind me. I just despise the Marines. That only represents my personal opinion—I don't deny that they have preserved peace."

Hearing this, Swain realized that Woli's true hatred was directed at the Celestial Dragons. He had wanted to ask why Woli hated them so much and what had happened to him.

But the words reached his lips and he did not dare say them, worried that it might be Woli's old wound.

"Then I'll become a pirate—a free pirate! A pirate people admire, just like Roger!"

Swain shouted.

"Hahaha! But Roger didn't exactly have a good reputation."

Woli was swept up by little Swain's high spirits.

Of course Swain knew Roger did not have a good reputation! But that was only the World Government and the Marines smearing his name.

The ordinary people who had truly received Roger's kindness were actually very grateful to him.

Like Fish-Man Island back then!

"Then it's a promise. Once you turn eighteen, you'll set sail!"

"Become a pirate people admire... just like Roger!"

They laughed together. Looking at Swain, Woli remembered seeing that bold pirate as a child, when his father had taken him to meet him.

They were alike, that was all!

Another year passed, and Swain was already three years old.

Thus, Woli no longer opposed Swain learning the Six Powers and began seriously teaching him how to improve his strength.

"Focus! Your hands and feet must move as one."

Swain let out a breath of stale air.

"Rankyaku!" A crescent-shaped wave slash burst forth.

The large tree ahead crashed to the ground.

"Not bad!"

"You've already grasped the fundamentals of two of the Six Powers. Your talent is quite good."

Woli praised Swain.

The compliments made his cheeks flush red.

"Don't get cocky. You're still far from meeting my standards!"

"Old man, what exactly are your standards? I remember you mentioning them many times, but you never said what the measure was!"

"My standards? Very simple!"

"As long as you can protect yourself when you set sail, that'll do!"

Woli added, "However, the Six Powers can serve as part of your daily physical training, but you must never rely on them too much."

While learning the Six Powers, Swain had also discovered a problem: these techniques were extremely selective toward their users!

Why was that? Take Lucci, the future head of CP0, for example. He was the kind of person chosen by the Six Powers, and he could often use them more powerfully than others.

For ordinary people, the Six Powers had a limit.

For someone like Lucci, that limit was much higher.

The fact that he could endure one or two exchanges against Luffy in Gear Fifth proved that point.

He continued listening to Woli's teachings. "The ultimate techniques of true powerhouses are all created by themselves!"