Swordmaking Mastery Maxed Out; Time to Forge a Sword

None of them thought much of Dongze's maturity. The seas were full of war, and children grew up fast. That was all the more true of a genius like him.

"I see."

Considering that the boy possessed Conqueror's Haki, he was unlikely to join the Marines. How could someone with the makings of a king willingly serve beneath another?

"What a shame! I thought I might have found a right-hand man."

Dragon sounded disappointed. Dongze's Conqueror's Haki was already this powerful when it had only just awakened, and it was an essential power for anyone seeking to stand at the pinnacle of the world.

Possessing Conqueror's Haki did not guarantee someone would become the strongest, but the strongest were certain to possess it.

Dongze had extraordinary potential, but as he himself had said, he was not yet strong enough to bear everything that came with it. It was too soon to expose him to the World Government.

"Kid, the Revolutionary Army's doors will always be open to you!"

Ivanov and Tyrant Kuma were startled by Dragon's words. Dongze was exceptionally gifted, but was that enough for the leader of an entire faction to make such an offer?

Dragon said no more. A boy with such spirit at that age would surely stand at the very pinnacle of the world one day.

Koshiro, who knew the true extent of Dongze's talent, gave Dragon an intrigued look, though it quickly faded. Perhaps the leader of the Revolutionary Army had recognized just how terrifying his disciple's talent was.

Koshiro knew how little time the boy had taken to reach this level of strength. Calling him a monster among monsters would be no exaggeration.

Give him another two years, and he might set sail with the strength of a Great Swordsman. The mere thought sent a chill through Koshiro.

The three visitors felt some affection for this outstanding young talent. Dongze was unlikely to join the World Government, after all. Whichever side he chose instead, they stood to gain a great deal.

Dongze realized that too. He had not intended to make contact with the Revolutionary Army so early, but this unexpected encounter had put him squarely under their noses. Fate had a strange sense of humor.

Dongze's gaze swept over the three members of the Revolutionary Army, and an idea glinted in his eyes.

"Gentlemen, I have a trade to propose. Would you be interested?"

All three raised their eyebrows. They had not expected Dongze to try to strike a deal with them.

As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon had a breadth of vision and generosity of spirit that few possessed. "Haha! Let's hear it, kid!"

"I once read three sayings in a book. I think they could be useful to the Revolutionary Army."

"And what do you want in return?"

"Ore for forging a sword. I want to make one of my own, a sword no worse than my master's Wado Ichimonji!"

That was his plan: use the Revolutionary Army's help to gather sword-forging materials. He had considered hunting pirates for their bounties to fund the work, but that would take much longer.

"Well..."

Dragon looked at Ivanov, who immediately understood what he meant. Dragon would never normally concern himself with such a small matter.

"Dragon, don't we have plenty of that stuff in the warehouse?"

Kuma chimed in, "We do. And we don't have a swordsmith, either."

Having seen Dongze's remarkable talent, Kuma wanted Dragon to understand that they could use materials they had no use for to befriend a powerful future ally. It was something the Revolutionary Army often did.

"I can tell you the first one. If you aren't satisfied, forget I said anything."

"You sound confident, kid. But let's be clear: those pirate stories you've read won't be worth much to us!"

Dragon's words gave Dongze pause. For a moment, his confidence wavered. This world really was different from the one he knew, though its institutions and culture lagged behind by nearly a century.

Still, he had already committed himself. Even if the sayings proved useless to them, he believed the principles behind them would give these men something to consider.

"The first: a ruler is a boat, and the people are the water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it!"

The three had not expected much, but those few words struck like a bomb dropped into the sea. The waves they raised left them stunned.

Revolution was their life's work, and the saying resonated with them at once.

"Excellent!"

"Brilliant!"

"Concise, clear, and profound!"

Dongze slowly breathed a sigh of relief at their approval. The wisdom of his ancestors had not let him down.

"Hey, kid! What are the other two?"

That came from Tyrant Kuma, much to Dongze's surprise. He had not expected the towering man to be impatient about this.

"Don't worry, kid. We can spare an hour."

"The second: build high walls, stockpile grain, and take your time declaring yourself king!"

The others did not immediately grasp the strategic vision in those words, but Dragon's eyes flashed.

Barely containing his excitement, Dragon asked, "And the third?"

"When the enemy advances, we retreat. When the enemy retreats, we advance. When the enemy camps, we harass. When the enemy tires, we strike!"

The third saying hit Dragon like a bolt of lightning. A thrill rushed from the soles of his feet to his head, leaving his whole body tingling.

After a long moment, he clapped his hands and burst into laughter that went on and on.

"Every word is a gem, worth its weight in gold! These three sayings alone made this trip worthwhile. Kid, your insight is extraordinary. You could be the guiding mind of the Revolutionary Army!"

Dragon looked at Dongze differently now. Those three sayings were like a lamp illuminating the road ahead for the Revolutionary Army.

Dongze clasped his hands. The path of revolution was not easy, and he spoke from the heart. "The night may be cold, but dawn awaits those who press on."

Dragon was in excellent spirits. He laughed.

"Thank you, kid!"

Sword Forging Reaches Its Peak

"Mmm..."

Some time had passed since Dongze had withdrawn his Conqueror's Haki. The Revolutionary Army members were soldiers, after all, and some had begun to regain consciousness.

Dragon turned to Ivanov, Tyrant Kuma, and Koshiro. "We've gained a great deal from today's visit, but it's time for us to leave."

Koshiro sighed softly. "Take care."

"Lovestruck boy and girl, remember to keep our business secret! Otherwise, it could bring you trouble!"

Ivanov turned back and gave Dongze and Kuina a flirtatious wink.

Both of them jumped.

Dongze scratched his head in apparent confusion. "Who are you? Have we met?"

His exaggerated delivery made Ivanov freeze. Then Dragon's hearty laughter rang out.

"Little Ivan, time to go!"

With the Revolutionary Army's departure, the commotion came to nothing. Here in the East Blue, ordinary people had no chance of knowing what Conqueror's Haki was.

Aboard the Revolutionary Army's ship, Dragon stared at the calm, windless sea ahead, unable to quiet his thoughts.

"This era is about to run wild!"

Time passed, and Dongze returned to his usual routine—or almost. His monotonous days now included hammering metal.

Dragon and the others kept their promise. Less than a week later, a merchant ship delivered the sword-forging ore.

"They were surprisingly generous."

Using the sword-forging manual Kozaburo had left behind, Dongze successfully unlocked the Sword Forging skill.

Its proficiency was unexpectedly high from the moment it appeared.

Sword Forging: 1500/10000;

That number surprised him. He had assumed Sword Forging would be a first-tier skill.

By now, he had nearly figured out how his Golden Finger worked.

First-tier skills were the simplest. Their proficiency capped at 1,000, and practice alone could raise them to the maximum.

Above them were skills like Swordsmanship, with a proficiency cap of 10,000. Practice alone could not improve those skills; they required actual combat.

And after a certain point, progress slowed.

To improve quickly, he needed to fight evenly matched opponents—or ones stronger than himself.

He had not unlocked any higher-tier skills yet, so he did not know how to raise their proficiency quickly.

He had thought Sword Forging was first-tier and would be easy to max out. Only after unlocking it did he discover that it was a second-tier skill.

So, to raise his proficiency as fast as possible, he had turned himself into a hammering machine—and a sword-forging machine at that.

Sigh.

It had been rough.

Koshiro had even opened a weapon shop beside the Dojo to sell all kinds of blades.

Their quality was excellent, too.

Dongze set down the long sword in his hand. It was the best blade he had forged so far. If not for the limitations of its materials, it might even have reached the standard of a Skillful Grade Sword.

He looked at the proficiency displayed on the panel: Sword Forging 10000/10000.

Dongze breathed a sigh of relief. After nearly half a month of work, he had finally maxed out his Sword Forging proficiency.

Now he could begin making his own weapon.

"Hey, Dongze! Where's today's sword? Is it even better than yesterday's?"

Kuina came in dressed lightly. Summer had arrived, and the Sword-Forge Workshop was sweltering. Even Dongze wore nothing but shorts, his upper body bare.

"Over there."

Dongze pointed to the long sword leaning against the wall.

He had used no rare ores in the swords he had forged so far, only iron. He had hammered out the impurities, then worked the metal into blades.

That made them quick to forge. With his physique now approaching a monster's, an ordinary long sword no longer took him much time.

But a weapon above the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords in quality would take many times longer.

He had learned that when his Sword Forging proficiency reached its maximum.

So he had a rough idea of what lay ahead. Forging his personal weapon would likely take far more than a day or two.

Dongze glanced at Kuina, who was still examining the sword, and left her to it. He leaped into a large tree and sat among its branches, looking out over the vast sea as he wondered what kind of sword he should forge. One weapon after another flashed through his mind.

There were, for instance, the ten famous swords of his homeland.

Xuanyuan, the sword of the enlightened ruler;

Zhanlu, the sword of benevolence;

Chixiao, the sword of emperors;

Tai'a, the sword of might;

Seven-Star Longyuan, the sword of integrity and honor;

Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, the swords of devoted love;

Yuchang, the sword of fearless courage;

Chunjun, the sword of peerless nobility;

Chengying, the sword of exquisite elegance;

And then there were the legendary swords of the ancient schools of thought.

The Daoists' Qiuli and Xueji, the Mohists' Momei, Yuanhong and Shark Tooth of the Vertical and Horizontal school, and several ominous swords: Zhanpo, Miehun, Zhengang, Black and White Xu Jian, and more.

Every one of them was a remarkable weapon.

Unfortunately, he did not know how any of them had been forged. He remembered only their descriptions. Actually recreating them would be a fool's dream.

Before long, Kuina climbed up too and sat a short distance from Dongze. Together, they enjoyed the peaceful moment.

"Kuina, I'm going to forge my own weapon next. It'll take a month, maybe longer. Could you ask Master for some time off for me?"

Lately, Zoro and Kuina had sought him out for sparring less and less. The gap between them had grown too wide. Their matches no longer helped them improve together; they were simply one-sided beatings.

They were both stubborn, but neither enjoyed that.