One Piece: Seeing Proficiency, I Became a Legend

Ultimately, those thirteen flying swords must have represented thirteen different kinds of Sword Intent. Paired with a special method of controlling them, or perhaps a sword formation, they could unleash astonishing power.

By this world's standards for Famous Swords, coating them in Ryuo-level Haki would let them sweep aside nearly every opponent.

Even the world's Strongest Creature, Kaido of the Beasts, had been cut open by Kozuki Oden.

That was arguably the one scar Kaido would never lose.

If he could imbue those thirteen divine blades with his own Sword Intent, things would get interesting. He could finally escape the embarrassment of being limited to three brute-force swings.

Pushing a single Sword Intent to its peak and unleashing it at full force could match an all-out blow from old man Garp—at least, Garp himself had said so. Whether it was true, only he knew, but Dongze would take his word for it! If all thirteen blades flew at once, the spectacle would be beyond imagination.

Just picturing it got Dongze fired up.

But a moment later, he smiled ruefully. He had mastered only two kinds of Sword Intent, so he could forge two flying swords at most.

And Non-Contention Sword Intent was unsuited to killing enemies. Take that away, and he was left with just one.

Erosion Sword Intent was also rather domineering. How could ordinary materials withstand its corrosion? To forge that sword, he needed something that could not be worn down.

But materials like that were rare in this world!

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Dongze's mind. Poneglyphs!

That was right. The stones used for Poneglyphs had exactly that property. He had no idea what they were made of, but in all these years, he had never heard of anyone destroying one.

Without a doubt, that material was the perfect choice for his first flying sword.

But if the material had those properties, obtaining a piece and forging it would be another problem.

One problem after another weighed on Dongze's mind. Naturally optimistic, though, he gradually regained his composure.

Remembering that his Observation Haki possessed the Voice of All Things, he thought, Maybe I can try that method when the time comes!

Half a day passed quickly. Catching the scent of food, Dongze slowly opened his eyes.

"Mr. Dongze! Dinner's ready!"

Robin stepped out of the kitchen and greeted him. She was wearing that cosplay outfit again, its allure and sensuality making Dongze's eyes light up.

He had seen it often enough, though, that his body no longer reacted so fiercely. Sanji had nearly bled to death at the sight of beautiful women when he first returned from Kamabakka Kingdom.

As he saw more of them, his body gradually adjusted, and his nosebleeds stopped.

The same principle applied to Dongze, and he was in much better shape than Sanji.

His earlier reaction had only been a young man's hot blood. Of course, Robin's outfit really was extraordinarily tempting.

"Just call me Dongze from now on! It's been days. Calling me that still makes us sound like strangers!"

At his words, Robin's lips curved into a smile, amusement shining in her eyes. "Got it, little Dongze!"

Relying on Cricket, Training Iron-Sand Palm Through the Night

On the deck, Dongze suddenly opened his eyes.

A strange ship had appeared on the sea not far away.

From a distance, it looked more like a salvage vessel than a pirate ship, though it flew a pirate flag bearing a gorilla's head.

Them? They've already started by now?

Sure enough, it was a salvage ship belonging to Masira's crew—the Saruyama Alliance.

"Dongze, who are they?"

"A salvage crew!"

"Is there treasure under the sea?"

"Mm. There's another legend about Sky Island. If you're interested, I can tell you."

Robin rested her chin on one hand. Dongze was rarely interested in ordinary matters, so his offer caught her attention.

Since meeting him, the only person she had seen sit down and have a proper conversation with him was Garp.

He bantered with her now and then but rarely spoke of strange tales. Most of the time, he was either diving into the sea or staring into space! Robin, unaware of the subtleties of his Meditation, naturally took it for daydreaming.

She had grown increasingly curious about him without knowing where to begin. Now that Dongze was willing to talk, she was delighted.

"I'd love to!"

"To talk about this place, we have to go back eight hundred years, to around the time the World Government was founded!"

"There's a legend here on Jaya Island. A magnificent city called Shandora once stood here, piled high with gold, silver, and jewels. Even its houses and roof tiles were built of gold. It was paradise in people's eyes, known as the City of Gold and coveted across the world!"

"Among those treasures was a magnificent bell, a true marvel. It rang every day, its clear, lilting sound carrying far across the sea to guide travelers!"

"A Poneglyph lies beneath that bell. That's what we're after. The local people, the Shandia, kept an ancient promise to guard it. Then, over four hundred years ago, an adventurer named Noland arrived while seeking shelter from a storm!"

"He saved the Shandia from Tree Fever and became friends with their strongest warrior at the time, Kalgara. Later, through a series of misunderstandings..."

"Then one day, the world changed. The bustling city of Shandora vanished overnight."

"It was as if someone had gouged it out of the island. Some believe Shandora sank beneath the sea, since people sometimes find pieces of glittering gold in the nearby waters!"

"..."

As Dongze's story unfolded, Robin grew absorbed. When he finished, she sighed. "If Noland had explained the situation to Kalgara back then, things might have ended differently."

Dongze sighed softly. "The Shandia saw those trees as something sacred. Their importance to them went without saying. Some isolated peoples know nothing of outside laws or science. Would they have believed an outsider like Noland if he told them the trees were poisonous?"

"Telling them might have made things worse. If the Shandia had been on their guard, perhaps even more people would have died!"

"That's human nature for you..."

Even Dongze was filled with emotion by the end. The human heart truly was hard to fathom.

Just then, a grappling hook flew toward their ship. A gorilla-like man scrambled across the rope on all fours.

Dongze made no move to stop him. He would still need the man's boss, Mont Blanc Cricket, for what came next.

The moment Masira landed, he barked arrogantly, "Kid, hand over the treasure on your ship!!"

That was as far as he got. After Dongze made a forceful argument, Masira's legs shook like noodles. With Dongze beside him, he did not dare make another sound.

"Take us to Mont Blanc Cricket!"

As expected, they soon reached an agreement. Cricket had wanted to visit Sky Island himself but lacked the means. Now that someone was willing to lead the way, he welcomed it wholeheartedly.

After asking when the next Knock Up Stream would appear, Dongze and Robin went into the town on Jaya Island. Dongze said nothing on the way, looking preoccupied enough to leave Robin puzzled.

"What's wrong, Dongze?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

They did not stay in town long this time. They bought a few necessities and returned.

After speaking with Cricket, Dongze had suddenly realized something. By now, Enel, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit User, should have arrived on Sky Island, defeated Gan Fall, and installed himself as its so-called god.

Luffy might have made the fight look easy in the original story, but he had the protection of being the protagonist. Rubber did not conduct electricity; their powers countered each other. Whatever the explanation, it was rather absurd.

Dongze had neither Oda's convenient protection nor the Gum-Gum Fruit. If he faced Enel without taking proper precautions, reading the Poneglyph would be out of the question. He might not even manage to find it.

So before ascending to Sky Island, he intended to max out Iron-Sand Palm. He guessed it would work much like Iron Head Skill.

Practice alone should let him max it out quickly. Once he raised his Armament Haki to the next level, the trip to Sky Island would be much safer.

After all, he had only one life. Once it was over, it was over.

"Let's give it a try!"

Dongze plunged his hands into a huge iron pot filled with iron sand. The embers beneath it had not completely died. Ignoring the scorching sand, he drove one palm after another through it without even using Armament Haki. (This is not how traditional Iron-Sand Palm is practiced. Do not imitate it!)

Throughout the process, he kept his eyes fixed on the panel. Water-Walking had activated in much the same way during his race with Garp, so this felt somewhat familiar.

But perhaps because he had already activated Armament Haki, his physique had long since surpassed the beginner stage. Iron-Sand Palm stubbornly refused to activate.

Nearly an hour passed. After thrusting his hands into the sand countless times, Dongze began to wonder whether he could still unlock this basic skill at all.

Would he really have to go around with a gleaming bald head? The thought made him shudder.

Time ticked by. As the third hour neared its end, the long-awaited panel finally changed.

"Ding!"

"Iron-Sand Palm: 1/1000"

Dongze exhaled at the sight of the newly unlocked skill. Finally.

The pot of iron sand then endured a furious onslaught. Dongze tried everything he could think of, from thrusts and palm strikes to heavy punches.

The sun climbed overhead, then sank toward the horizon. Stars appeared around the bright moon. Dongze seemed possessed as he continued practicing Iron-Sand Palm, driving his hands in and out of the sand eight times a second.

A red glow slowly rose in the east. Before he knew it, the next day had arrived. As the light spread across the horizon, Dongze slowly withdrew his hands from the iron sand.

Looking at his hands, now shiny black, Dongze sighed. "I never expected Iron-Sand Palm to leave them looking like this. Guess it's true that use turns things black!"

"Author: Pah! Who uses them like that? Seven times in one night would make a man a legend, but you kept going all night without closing your eyes! You even punched a huge hole through the pot! What have you done?!"

On the panel, the Iron-Sand Palm entry now read: Iron-Sand Palm: MAX (fusion available!).

After a short rest, Dongze activated Iron-Sand Palm, then Armament Haki, and began the fusion. A cool sensation crept over his hands and gradually spread up his arms.

For a moment, he felt as though he could shatter a mountain. He clenched his fist, and a faint, seven-colored haze slowly appeared around it.

Delight rose in his heart. If he was right, he had reached that realm. What an unexpected surprise! He had thought he would need 750,000 Proficiency to take that step.

He walked over to a huge rock nearby and gave it a light punch.

Boom!

The rock burst apart as though explosives had been buried inside it!

"What? It destroyed the inside directly! I've finally mastered the Seven-Injury Fist!"

Ryuo-level Armament Haki!

At last, he had reached it!

A Bolt of Lightning to the Face, a Boss Fight to Start

Time slipped by as Dongze familiarized himself with his new power. On the third day, the Knock Up Stream finally returned.

An exquisite case now rested on Dongze's back, the fruit of his work over the past few days.

A movable mechanism joined its two halves. Fully opened, it spanned a full 180 degrees and held twelve slots. A small character marked every fifteen degrees, starting with "Zi" and ending with "Hai."

It was the sword case he had forged from memory.

Dongze and Robin stood on the deck, quietly watching the scene before them.

Dark clouds gathered over the vast stretch of sea in the middle of Jaya Island, as though summoned by someone. The air currents grew turbulent.

It was as if an active volcano lay beneath the sea, ready to erupt. Tension seemed to ripple across the water. Cricket's face tightened, and he clenched his large hands.

"Here it comes!"

No sooner had Cricket spoken than a Knock Up Stream erupted from the sea and shot skyward. It looked like a waterfall flowing upward, or a waterspout surging against the heavens. The sight was spectacular.

"Time to go, you two!"

"Safe travels!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"

Dongze nodded lightly to the others, then boarded the ship waiting nearby. It shot skyward along the rising current.

After that wild ride, Robin's face had gone a little pale.

Seven thousand meters in the air was enough to make an ordinary person's legs go weak just thinking about it. No wonder Robin looked like that.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong. The single-masted sailboat passed through a thick layer of cloud and reached the White Sea safely.

They had just stopped the boat and were about to go ashore for a rest when Dongze's expression changed. He pulled Robin into his arms and leaped away with Shave and Geppo.

Safe at a distance, Robin stared at Dongze, pale and shaken. A murderous glint had entered his eyes. That bolt of lightning had been far too powerful to be natural. Someone had sent it deliberately.

There was one man on Sky Island who could command lightning: Enel, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit User. Dongze had pushed himself to the limit on Jaya Island and attained Ryuo-level Armament Haki precisely to deal with him.

He had planned to read the Poneglyph first, forge his sword, and then seek Enel out. Instead, Enel had come for him!