The Pirate Who Could See Proficiency Became a Legend

He challenged Dongze only about once every two weeks.

That gave Dongze time to improve his Sword-Forging skills.

"Got it!"

Kuina seemed to understand that what Dongze was about to do was important, and she answered obediently.

"Dongze!"

"What is it?"

"What you told me before was a lie, wasn't it? You said even a girl could become the strongest!"

"No, I wasn't lying! I'm just an exception. Don't you still beat Moss Head every time? Master told you how talented he is!"

"Who's talking about him?"

Suddenly, Dongze gave a wry smile as a figure lunged straight at him. Who else could it be but Kuina?

"Stop fooling around!"

They were nearly seven meters above the ground. Afraid the girl might get hurt, Dongze didn't dodge, and she landed squarely on him.

By the time he recovered, Kuina was straddling him. The soft warmth against his waist left him momentarily dazed. She really was growing up.

Worse, she rubbed against him twice.

Dongze nearly lost control of himself and hurriedly reached out to stop her.

"Hmph! So what if you're stronger than me now, you rotten Dongze? I still have you pinned down!"

Watching the girl preen like a victorious general, Dongze shook his head and said helplessly, "Yes, yes, yes. Miss Shimotsuki is the strongest!"

"You don't mean it!"

"Liar!"

"Dongze! Are you planning to leave?"

Dongze sighed softly. He hadn't expected a young girl to see through him.

"Yeah! My Swordsmanship has hit a bottleneck. To improve, I need a weapon and real fights."

"There's no room for me to improve at Isshin Dojo anymore."

"I'll work hard too! Just don't die!"

"Silly. I won't. I didn't inherit Master's stubborn streak. All that Bushido Spirit stuff—staying alive comes first!"

"You rotten Dongze! Don't talk about my father like that!"

The days slipped by unnoticed. The clang of the Sword-Forge Workshop grew louder, and for the past few days it had barely stopped.

Looking at the sword in his hands, Koshiro sighed in wonder. "I never imagined such a genius existed. He's reached this level of Sword-Forging in just a few months!"

Sword-Forging was no simple craft. Becoming a master without decades of practice was little more than a fantasy.

But Dongze had an unfair advantage. With his cheat ability, he had raised Sword Forging to its maximum level in an incredibly short time. Much of the shock he had given Koshiro today came down to that ability.

The Sword Is Forged, and Plans to Set Sail

Twenty-one days passed. At noon that day, dark clouds suddenly gathered over Isshin Dojo.

The Sword Classic said: "When a divine weapon is forged, thunder wields the hammer and rain tempers the blade. It absorbs the power of the sun, gathers the essence of the earth, and gains a spirit through its maker's blood."

"Hey, look! What's happening in the sky?"

"Those are storm clouds!"

"What's going on? This isn't the time for a storm!"

"Right! It was sunny a moment ago!"

Crack!

Before the Isshin Dojo students could say much more, lightning struck, reducing the nearby Sword-Forge Workshop to ruins in an instant.

Faced with such a disaster, they could barely think. Screaming, they fled the scene.

At Isshin Dojo, Koshiro gazed at the black clouds in admiration. "A sight like this... That boy must have forged quite a weapon!"

Counting the lightning, a total of twenty-seven bolts struck a long sword shaped like Yuanhong. Dongze had incorporated seven different rare ores into the blade, improving its sharpness, flexibility, malleability, and strength.

He was certain it was no worse than the Yuanhong he knew. At the end, he had bitten his tongue and given the sword a spirit with his blood.

After the final bolt fell, the clouds gradually dispersed. Amid the ruins, a long sword stood embedded in the forge.

The sword was about three feet long and sharpened on both sides. Even from a distance, its edge sent a chill racing up from the soles of one's feet, making one shiver involuntarily. Its blade bore intricate patterns formed by countless rounds of hammering and tempering. Styled after an ancient sword, it looked dignified, solid, and resilient. As Dongze approached, it hummed and trembled faintly, brimming with spirit.

Dongze gripped the hilt and pulled it from the forge. A strange feeling filled him. The sword seemed connected to him, as though it were an extension of his arm. Every movement came naturally, without the slightest resistance.

He ran a finger lightly along the blade, surprise flashing in his eyes. "Now that's an unexpected bonus."

With the sword complete, Dongze finally relaxed. Throughout the forging, he had kept his concentration at its peak. Though his Sword Forging proficiency was maxed out, producing a blade above Skillful Grade Sword quality meant allowing not a single flaw into the process.

Fortunately, he had made no mistakes. When the sword was finished, lightning had descended and purged more impurities from it, raising its quality further. That was the bonus he meant.

Now that it was over, he could no longer fight his exhaustion. He gave Kuina a brief greeting, then lay back and fell asleep.

"Hey, she-Dragon! Where's that thickheaded idiot? Is he all right?"

The disciples near the dojo weren't the only ones who had heard the Thunderclap. Zoro, who had been training in the hills behind it, had heard it too. He knew Dongze had been Sword-Forging these past few days.

The Thunderclap had clearly struck toward the Sword-Forge Workshop, which was now a ruin. Dongze was nowhere to be seen. Worried and unable to do anything else, Zoro came to ask Kuina what had happened.

"Moss Head! Looking for another beating?"

"Damn it! I'm going to beat you today!"

The two were just as they had always been, ready to clash at the slightest provocation.

"Good! I've been itching for a fight!"

"Huh? What's this?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow at the long sword beside the table.

"That rotten Dongze made it!"

Another voice cut into their conversation. Koshiro had arrived without either of them noticing.

"What a fine sword. Tempered by lightning... It may well surpass the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords!"

"But he was reckless. Sharpening both edges means it can wound its wielder as easily as an enemy. What a waste of such a fine blade."

"Both edges?"

"The blades we normally use are sharpened on one side to strike the enemy. The other side protects the wielder. With both edges sharpened, this can only serve to kill. It can no longer be called a proper Famous Sword."

Kuina and Zoro didn't entirely understand Koshiro's explanation, but it sounded convincing. They nodded one after the other.

Unfortunately, Dongze was already asleep. Otherwise, he would have sighed and told them that what he had forged was a sword, not a saber. A sword was the nobleman of weapons; a saber was their bold heart. They were fundamentally different things.

Come to think of it, it was funny. In this world, people held sabers while claiming to practice Swordsmanship.

He had wondered before whether even this world's strongest master swordsman had reached the realm of intent.

In other worlds, Gao Jianli's Shuihan from The Legend of Qin could freeze a thousand miles with a single strike.

Dongze suspected that this world's Swordsmanship had taken a wrong turn, pursuing nothing but destructive power.

And in the end, that was all it amounted to.

As a traveler from another world, his awareness and thinking were not limited to this one. Naturally, he would not choose that sort of saber as his weapon.

The next day arrived, and Dongze slowly woke. His stomach was painfully empty. He had been unable to step away during the final days of forging for fear of making a mistake. Now that he had recovered his senses, hunger hit him all at once.

The sun was already high, though, and there was probably no food left at the dojo. With no other choice, he tidied himself up and went to a restaurant in Shimotsuki Village.

Luckily, his trip to the bandits' hideout had earned him a fair amount of money—several million Beli, by his count. Otherwise, this meal would have been a problem.

He rapidly cleared the dishes on his table as conversations buzzed around him. Here, the reality of the pirate world struck him more vividly than ever.

"Did you hear? Someone killed those bandits a while back!"

"Impossible! There were a thousand of them!"

"Nonsense! My uncle happened to pass by the day before yesterday and found them all dead. I heard there were only a little over a hundred!"

"Ha! Only a hundred? I could've killed them all myself!"

"Wuso, all you do is brag! You? Last time you went there, you nearly pissed yourself!"

"Bullshit! I was hot! It was just sweat!"

"I heard they were all beheaded. Maybe whoever did it was a vicious monster too!"

"Bullshit! Good riddance. If I were strong enough, I'd have cut those scum to pieces myself!"

"Hey, didn't your wife come back? Why are you still on about it?"

"Screw you! Were you a bandit yourself? Why would you say that?"

"Idiot! If someone like me could be a bandit, would any of you have feared them? You'd have beaten them to death long ago!"

"I heard something these past few days. A group of Fish-Men came to the East Blue a year ago! They're a rare species from the Grand Line. But people say they're vicious—extorting protection money like common thugs!"

"That's nothing. A while back, that Devil Child, Nico Robin, brought ruin to another ship! Its captain had a bounty of fifteen million Beli!"

"Nonsense! A distant relative of mine was on that pirate ship. He said their captain's bounty was thirty million Beli!"

"Hey, Keda! Didn't you say you were an orphan? Where did this relative come from?"

"Hahaha..."

Before long, Dongze had devoured his meal and finally filled his stomach.

The owner rubbed his hands gleefully at the staggering number of plates on the table. "That'll be twelve thousand Beli!"

"Damn! That kid can eat!"

"Shows what you know! He's an apprentice at Isshin Dojo. A green-haired kid came here before and ate fifty thousand Beli's worth of food!"

"And Master Koshiro had to come pay for it!"

"Holy shit! Is he even human? Maybe he's..."

"Quit talking nonsense. He eats a lot because he uses a lot of strength. That kid's stronger than some adults now!"

"Hey, kid! Do you know that green-haired boy?"

One of the customers called out when Dongze stood to leave.

At the doorway, Dongze waved. "Sure. His name's Zoro. He's one of the strongest at our dojo!"

"See? I told you!"

Outside, Dongze narrowed his eyes and began working out where they were in the timeline.

Nico Robin hasn't gone to Crocodile yet. Arlong has already reached the East Blue. The wheels of fate are turning. It's about time I left.

The Final Bout Before Departure! Koshiro's True Strength!

"You've made up your mind?"

"Time flies. How can I waste it here?"

"Before I leave, I'd like to ask you for some guidance, Master."

"Are you certain?"

"Please teach me, Master."

"Dongze, you know the gap between us. You haven't reached that level yet, and I don't want this fight to leave you with an obsession. It could affect your future."

"..."