My First Clash with Kizaru / The Difference Between a Swordsman and a Great Swordsman

Armament Haki was like tempering steel. The more he used it, the more refined it became, and the more refined it became, the easier it was to control.

Eventually, advancement came naturally.

But most people struggled just to awaken Armament Haki. Even if they wanted to use it endlessly, they didn't have enough of it!

That was why the Swordmaster Realm and becoming a Great Swordsman stumped so many Swordsmen.

The gap between those two levels was, for most people, like the gap between heaven and earth.

It wasn't a level they could reach through hard work or sheer desperation.

Some simply lacked the innate potential.

Kuina, of course, had more than enough.

She had fought Zoro ten thousand times and won. Even if her talent wasn't the very best, she was certainly among the standouts.

She had also trained with Kuta since childhood, had all that experience from Great Swordsmen to draw on, and worked hard herself. It was hard to imagine her failing to become a Great Swordsman.

Zoro, too, had trained with him for so long that he would quickly become a Swordmaster once he awakened Observation Haki.

As for Armament Haki, Kuta suspected Zoro would awaken it well before King Luffy set out to sea two years from now.

He wondered whether King Luffy's personal charm would still be enough to get Zoro aboard when he met a man who was already formidable even among Swordmasters.

Kizaru: Their First Clash

Just as Kuta finished telling Kuina about his battle with Golden Lion and what he had gained from it, loud cries of surprise rose from the deck below.

"Whoa!"

"No way!"

"They're really Devil Fruits!"

The Ahua Trio stared at the box in Indigo's hands, their eyes shining with excitement.

The box was open. Inside lay two strange-looking fruits, one black and one white, both covered in spiral patterns.

So these were the treasures of the Sea, Devil Fruits?

They looked delicious.

The three stared greedily into the box and swallowed in unison.

The fruits seemed almost magical, giving off an irresistible allure. They looked like the most delicious food in the world, something the three wanted to devour at once.

But they didn't reach for them. With tremendous effort, they tore their eyes away and looked up at Kuta as he came down from the bow.

Just a few days ago, Kuta had been telling them about Devil Fruits. None of them had expected him to bring back two so soon.

Kuta walked past them without mocking how they looked.

Even he felt a trace of temptation, let alone the Ahua Trio.

To ordinary people, Devil Fruits offered something close to a devil's temptation.

Greed, longing, the urge to claim one immediately—all of it was only human.

Most Devil Fruits were eaten as soon as they were found. Only a tiny fraction remained untouched.

Those that did were usually found by someone who had already eaten a Devil Fruit, or by someone who was no ordinary person.

Ordinary people simply couldn't resist the temptation.

That held true even when they had no idea what a Devil Fruit was.

It was precisely why so few Devil Fruits circulated in the world.

For most people, Pirates, and other powers in this world, getting one required both luck and deep pockets.

But to the Celestial Dragons, perched high above everyone else, they were just ordinary playthings.

They would even feed Devil Fruits to slaves for amusement.

So Devil Fruits were precious, but mostly to ordinary people.

To the powerful, only fruits as exceedingly rare as Logias and Mythical Zoans seemed truly valuable.

An ordinary Zoan

or Paramecia was just another fruit to them.

Golden Lion had kept these two fruits only because they were worthless to him.

He couldn't even sell them for enough to buy a decent weapon.

Seeing Kuta approach, Indigo stepped forward with a squeak of his shoes and held out the box.

He gave Kuta a curious smile. "Kale! Kale! Captain, you have three friends here, but only two fruits. How will you divide them?"

Kuta took the black Devil Fruit from the box and casually tossed it to A-Luo.

As A-Luo fumbled to catch it, Kuta explained,

"That's the Ant Devil Fruit. We won't know exactly what it can do until you eat it."

He paused, glanced at Ahua and A-Tao, then said with a smile, "I gave it to A-Luo because I think it suits his personality best."

"My personality?"

A-Luo looked puzzled.

"Yeah. Your personality."

Kuta looked at A-Luo with a hint of admiration.

A-Luo was the sort of person who carried out any task he was given to the letter.

He could spend twenty-four hours at a stretch in the lookout.

Enduring solitude in a cramped space for so long was an impressive quality in itself.

A-Luo was also the only one of the three who had spent time out in the world. He understood what a team needed most.

That was why he practiced shooting.

Their ship already had plenty of swordsmen. For people like them, who had yet to become Swordmasters, guns were the deadliest weapons available.

A-Luo also craved strength more than the other two. Otherwise, he would never have given up getting married to sail with Kuta.

In fact, Kuta had noticed A-Luo's hidden ambition as soon as he came aboard.

Perhaps the past two years out in the world had knocked him around enough to bring it out.

Kuta smiled at A-Luo. "People don't just choose Devil Fruits. Devil Fruits choose people too."

"Someone well suited to a Devil Fruit usually has an easier time developing its powers to a high level."

He glanced at the Ant Devil Fruit in A-Luo's hand and went on. "And that fruit suits you. You put the team first, work hard without complaint, do your duty, and face danger without fear."

"Others may think this fruit is weak, but I believe it could be powerful if you develop it far enough."

Kuta gave A-Luo an encouraging look.

He trusted A-Luo, and he trusted his own instincts. He doubted the Ant Devil Fruit could be as weak as the books claimed.

After all, no insect was more numerous in nature than ants.

Seeing Kuta's encouragement, A-Luo gave it no more thought. If Kuta had given him the fruit, he would take it.

He raised the Ant Devil Fruit, opened his mouth wide, and took a huge bite.

"Urgh!"

The moment he did, it stopped seeming like delicious food. It tasted like a sea fish left to rot for weeks, moldy and reeking.

The sickening flavor surged through his mouth. If he hadn't clamped his lips shut at once, he would have spat it out the instant he bit into it.

Fighting back his nausea, A-Luo swallowed the mouthful, determination flashing in his eyes.

He looked at what remained in his hand. Without stopping, he wolfed down the entire fruit in a few more bites.

As soon as he finished, his stomach churned violently, and a hideous taste kept rising in his throat.

He covered his mouth, his face flushing red. He was afraid he would vomit up the fruit he had just eaten.

"Gagh!"

He held on for a while, but finally couldn't bear it. He dropped to the deck and began dry-heaving.

Ahua and A-Tao watched A-Luo retch until tears and snot streamed down his face, then swallowed with difficulty.

They turned toward the remaining white Devil Fruit in Indigo's box.

A flicker of dread crossed their faces.

Was the thing really that awful?

How bad did it have to taste to make A-Luo retch like that?

Kuta and Indigo burst out laughing.

Kuina braced both hands against Kuta's back and bent over, laughing so hard she honked like a goose.

Devil Fruits were notorious for tasting terrible.

Some said they tasted worse than shit. Kuta had no idea what expert had sampled both and reached that conclusion, but he had nothing but respect for them.

He knew they tasted bad. He just hadn't expected them to taste that bad.

Judging by A-Luo's reaction, he probably never wanted to see another Devil Fruit for the rest of his life.

The Difference Between a Swordmaster and a Great Swordsman

"Hm?"

Just then, a squad of Marines pushed open the tavern door and walked in.

At their head was a bearded man who looked much like the old man, though this one was powerfully built.

He hurried to the counter and looked at the old man anxiously.

"Father, are you all right?"

He was the winemaking son the old man had mentioned, and the commander of the Marine Branch in this Town: Colonel Bearded Man.

When Bearded Man received word that Kuta's crew had landed on Prothius Island, he hadn't been especially worried.

According to intelligence from Marine Headquarters, these Pirates weren't the sort to cause trouble at will.

Besides, he wasn't strong enough to arrest Pirates with bounties that high.

All the branch Marines could do was keep watch on Kuta's crew and avoid clashing with them as much as possible.

Arresting them was a job for the Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters.

But the moment he heard Kuta had gone to his family's tavern, he could no longer sit still.

He hastily gathered his Marines and rushed over.

Kuta's crew might not seem inclined to harm Civilians, but Pirates were still Pirates. If they went berserk and hurt his father, it would be too late for regrets.

From the moment the Marines entered,

the old man's easy composure gave way to unease.

He didn't look at Bearded Man. His eyes remained fixed on Kuta.

As soon as Bearded Man walked in, Kuta had more or less figured out what was going on with the old man.

Amused, he watched the scene and asked the old man, "Am I really that frightening?"

The Marines who had followed Bearded Man in stared nervously at Kuta and Kuina.

None of them spoke, leaving the whole tavern tense and stifling.

After watching Kuta for a while, the old man gradually relaxed. At his age, he trusted his judgment of people.

"It's not you that's frightening. It's your Wanted Poster!"