One Piece: I Became a Legend by Seeing Proficiency

"Kuina! Have you ever heard the saying, 'After three days apart, you should look at someone with fresh eyes'?"

Kuina froze. She had never heard the saying, but her father clearly meant that Dongze had grown stronger—perhaps even strong enough to match Zoro.

But how was that possible?

Zoro had kept challenging her these past few days, and his strength seemed to change almost daily. If she had not been training hard in secret, she might already have lost to him.

Even she had struggled to keep up. She could not believe Dongze had quietly surpassed Zoro.

Seeing his daughter's expression, Koshiro's gaze grew distant. "A swordsman must not let appearances blind him. Only then can he see the road beneath his feet and earn the right to pursue the title of World's Strongest!"

"Kuina, you and Zoro aren't the only ones who've improved. Dongze has been advancing at a speed neither of you can understand!"

Kuina was baffled. "But with his talent..."

Koshiro sighed inwardly. If not for Kuina, he would never have discovered Dongze's talent either. A pearl could lie buried in dust; they had simply failed to recognize it. How could he blame his daughter for failing to see it now?

Let me see what you're made of. Can you truly pursue the title of World's Greatest Swordsman?

At that thought, Koshiro's eyes brightened. He had witnessed Dongze's incomprehensible leap himself, yet it still amazed him.

At Isshin Dojo, Dongze looked at Zoro, who held only one sword, and shook his head slightly. Zoro clearly did not take him seriously.

Perhaps Zoro was already thinking about challenging Kuina again after beating him. Dongze was certain this match would stay with him for the rest of his life.

So Dongze said nothing in response to Zoro's contempt.

"Begin!"

At the shout, Zoro sank into a crouch, then charged like a raging boar. He raised his bamboo sword and brought it down hard at Dongze.

He might have been young, but he was strong. By now, he could match an ordinary adult.

The bamboo sword whistled through the air. Dongze's eyes lit up. With Mantra, he caught its path in a split second.

He bent his knees, lowering his center of gravity, then thrust out his bamboo sword.

The thrust was measured and unhurried, a stroke of brilliance that flashed out of nowhere.

A fight could be decided in an instant. By the time the onlookers reacted, they were staring at a sight they could hardly believe.

The swords had met, but not blade against blade. A sword tip had struck a blade.

Dongze's bamboo sword tip rested steadily against the shaft of Zoro's sword.

It was like the time Zoro would challenge Hawkeye at the Baratie, only to be taught a lesson with Hawkeye's tiny cross-shaped knife.

Now the same thing had happened between Dongze and Zoro.

"Impossible!"

The spectators could not believe it, and neither could Zoro.

Dongze had stopped such a fierce blow that way. It could mean only one thing.

Dongze was far stronger than he was.

This could hardly be called a match anymore. It was more like a lesson. But how could proud Zoro accept that?

After all, he had beaten Dongze before.

Zoro was not one to give up easily, though. He had challenged Kuina more than a thousand times.

He backed away, then charged again, bringing his bamboo sword down on Dongze with even more force than before.

Unfortunately for him, Dongze had been transformed. No disciple at Isshin Dojo could defeat him now.

What happened next left the spectators dumbstruck. Every time Zoro struck, Dongze's sword tip met the shaft of his bamboo sword.

The bamboo swords clacked together again and again. Every attack ended the same way: Dongze calmly blocked it with his sword tip.

The longer they watched, the wider the spectators' eyes grew. Their legs began to tremble, and their hearts thumped wildly.

"What the hell? This is unreal!"

"Hey, what's going on?"

"You're the one who said it was unreal. How would I know?"

"When did Dongze get this strong?"

"Holy shit!"

The Match Ends, and Koshiro Is Stunned

The fierce clashes in the ring made everyone draw sharp breaths. Kuina's eyes went round, and she turned to her father in disbelief.

"Father! What's going on?"

Koshiro seemed not to hear her. In a low voice, he said to Zoro, "Zoro, how can you go into a sword fight hoping to get lucky?"

Zoro slowly came to his senses. As if he had understood something, he turned without a word and took two more swords from the rack. He settled into the opening stance of Three-Sword Style, his gaze sharpening as a fierce air swept over him.

"Hyaa!"

With a roar, Zoro blurred into a dark streak and charged at Dongze again.

The bamboo swords in his hands whistled as he hammered them toward Dongze. His assault was so wild it looked less like a sword match than a contest with clubs.

But it was still useless. Dongze's bamboo sword moved as though guided by the hand of God, striking the point where Zoro's swords crossed. This time, he stopped two swords at once.

Crack!

Zoro stared at Dongze's bamboo sword in disbelief. From the corner of his eye, he saw how it had pinned his attack at its weakest point, like a nail driven home.

He could not advance another step, no matter how he tried.

"Impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

Unable to bear it, Zoro flew into a rage. He swung the two bamboo swords so fast they became blurs.

Yet Dongze answered every strike with casual precision, placing his sword exactly where two—or all three—of Zoro's swords met.

Each time, he broke up Zoro's attack before it could reach him.

The spectators stared, stunned.

"Hey! I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Looks like you haven't woken up yet. Take this!"

"Aaah!"

"Nita, I'm going to kill you! Where the hell do you think you're kicking?"

"Wasn't that kid always at the bottom of the class?"

"The bottom? As if you could beat him."

"Uh..."

"Think he's possessed?"

"Could be!"

Kuina's heart began pounding. She fixed her wide eyes on the two figures in the ring and stood motionless.

They were the same two people she saw every day.

So what was going on?

Dongze, whom Zoro used to beat with ease, had overturned everything they thought they knew with a single bamboo sword.

Koshiro, however, knew why it was happening.

"Father!"

"What's going on?"

After a while, Kuina could no longer hold back her question.

Koshiro kept his eyes on the two fighters. After a moment's silence, he said softly, "It seems I was right. This is the difference in their levels of mastery."

Kuina blinked. "Levels of mastery?"

It was no wonder she was confused. She had never heard her father speak of such a thing.

Before now, Koshiro had only told them how swordsmen were ranked: someone who could cut through steel was called a Swordmaster. He had said little else.

How was she supposed to understand him now?

Watching Zoro continue his relentless attacks, Koshiro said slowly, "Swordsmen have ranks, and so does swordsmanship. Its levels are generally called Initiate, Proficient, Expert, Peak, and Return to the Unadorned."

"When it comes to basic swordsmanship, Dongze is far beyond everyone here. This match is like when you first taught Zoro a lesson. Dongze's mastery has reached an almost unbelievable level, so he can see the flaw in every move Zoro makes and stop each attack with ease!"

But there was something Koshiro did not say. Watching Dongze land yet another perfectly placed strike, he slowly clenched the hand at his side.

Impossible!

Observation Haki!

That technique is known only in the latter half of the Grand Line. How could anyone use it here in the East Blue, the weakest of the four seas?

Who is he?

Kuina looked at the two fighters and said in disbelief, "Him?"

Koshiro heard the doubt in her voice. "If you were in Zoro's place, you wouldn't fare much better," he said with a sigh.

"Impossible! How can the gap be this huge?"

"I don't believe it!"

"Dongze, you bastard!"

"Are you looking down on me?"

"Why won't you attack?"

After striking again and again without success, Zoro grew furious at Dongze for doing nothing but defend.

Dongze had lost to him so easily not long ago. Zoro had never felt the humiliation of being overtaken like this.

Seeing the resolve in Zoro's eyes, Dongze replied calmly, "If that's what you want, so be it."

His gaze changed. He drew back slightly, then pushed hard off the ground and shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

The bamboo sword in his hand seemed to come alive. Every move targeted an opening, and Zoro's three swords might as well not have been there.

Suddenly, Dongze became a blur. Before anyone could follow him, he vanished from sight.

"Holy shit! He disappeared!"

"What the hell?!"

"Where did Dongze go?"

Zoro was just as bewildered. His eyes darted around, searching for any trace of Dongze.

By now, he could feel how much Dongze had changed. His exquisite basic swordsmanship and razor-sharp gaze made Zoro's prized Three-Sword Style look like a joke.

As Zoro searched in vain, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Moss Head, behind you!"

It was Kuina, but her warning came too late. Zoro had only just turned when a powerful upward slash came at him.

His vision blurred. His hands suddenly felt light, and pain shot through his jaw. All three bamboo swords flew from his grasp.

Zoro looked at his trembling hands, his pupils shaking. The strength he had always been proud of had been useless against Dongze. Now he could not even hold on to his swords; Dongze had knocked them away with ease.

He stared at Dongze, breathing hard, disbelief in his eyes. He had lost—and there had never been any doubt about the outcome.

After a long silence, Zoro said with unwavering resolve, "Dongze, I'll be back!"