Today's voyage went smoothly, without a hint of bad weather.
By the time the sky brightened, Nami and Vivi were chatting by the railing on the second deck.
Vivi pointed toward Sandy, who was sleeping not far away, and asked, "What's he doing?"
Nami shrugged. "Who knows? As long as he's not causing trouble, let's just ignore him."
Vivi tilted her head, concerned. "Sandy's sleeping out there like that. Should we get him a blanket?"
Nami sighed. "Don't bother. That guy's as tough as a monster. Oh, right—come to my room. I want to show you my new outfit."
Although she said it as a question, Nami had already pulled Vivi inside.
On deck, Usopp and the others finished their morning tasks, doing their best to suppress their laughter as they began fishing.
Who knows how long passed before Sandy finally woke up.
"Ah, another day of waking up handsome," he muttered to himself. But then—something felt off.
The atmosphere was strange.
Those few guys sitting there fishing were way too quiet. Unnaturally quiet.
Sandy decided not to care and was about to head to the kitchen for food when Zoro came out of the training room.
As soon as Zoro saw Sandy, he burst out laughing. "Pfft… hahaha!"
Sandy blinked. "What's so funny?"
Before Zoro could answer, Sanji rushed over, clapping a hand over his mouth. "Nothing! You're awake, huh? You must be hungry. There's food in the kitchen!"
Sandy frowned but didn't push. "Weird…" He walked into the kitchen but could still hear muffled laughter outside. Something was definitely off.
He came back out. "Alright, what's so funny?"
Everyone spoke at once.
"No, nothing."
"We were just telling jokes."
"Yeah, the one Usopp told was hilarious!"
Looking at their weirdly stiff faces, Sandy was speechless. Were they seriously this stunned by his good looks?
He decided to ask Nami and Vivi instead.
But the moment they saw him, they both doubled over laughing.
"Hahaha! Sandy, what is that?!"
"Hahaha, I can't take it anymore!"
Sandy was completely lost. He grabbed a mirror from Nami's room—and froze.
…Six whiskers?!
Who the hell drew on him like a giant calico cat?!
The whiskers looked realistic! The detail was insane—like something from an art exhibition!
"Damn it!!"
His furious roar shook the Going Merry. "Who did this?!"
A few minutes later, on deck.
"Speak! Who drew it?" Sandy demanded.
"Not us!" everyone said at once.
Sandy narrowed his eyes. "Luffy—it must've been you. Those whiskers are clearly your handiwork."
Luffy waved his arms. "Nonsense! I only drew the corner of the—" He froze, eyes wide, then clapped a hand over his mouth.
Sandy grinned darkly.
"So, it was you." Then he turned to Sanji. "You're the mastermind, right?"
Sanji acted dumb. "What idea?"
Sandy smirked. "I had some beautiful lady photos I planned to show you later… but I guess you don't need them anymore."
Sanji immediately pointed at Usopp. "It was Usopp's idea! He drew most of it!"
Usopp's jaw dropped. "You traitors!!"
Sandy's voice thundered, "Zoro! Bring me my forty-meter-long greatsword!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled. "A forty-meter sword?! Sugoi! Zoro, quick, let me see it!"
Usopp paled. "You idiot! He's getting it to kill us!"
"Nani?! Nooo!" Luffy yelped.
Zoro blinked, utterly confused. "Forty-meter sword? I'd definitely know if I had one of those."
Sandy sighed. "It's the kitchen knife next to you!"
Luffy frowned. "What? That's it? I thought it was a real forty-meter sword. Lame!"
Usopp groaned. "Luffy, could you not make it worse?!"
Of course, Sandy was only threatening them—he wouldn't actually hurt them.
After all the chaos, Sandy remembered something—the reward he got back at Whiskey Peak: The Essence of the Nine Swords of Dugu.
The Nine Swords of Dugu emphasized skill and counter-thinking. It was a unique path of swordsmanship, but it wasn't quite his path.
Because in this world, if your strength wasn't enough, no matter how refined your technique, you'd just get blown away—or your sword would break.
True mastery lay in returning to the most basic movements.
Of course, these "basics" were nothing like a beginner's—they required observing countless techniques, gaining combat experience, building muscle memory, and eventually achieving simplicity through mastery.
That was Sandy's current understanding of swordsmanship.
He hadn't yet reached the level of "simplicity of the great Dao," but it was enough to beat Zoro.
So, he began practicing basic sword swings on deck—again and again.
He quickly noticed that his strikes often veered slightly off course. It was a matter of precision—of pure proficiency.
Zoro, who'd been watching quietly, finally asked, "You're practicing swordsmanship?"
Sandy nodded. "Yeah."
Zoro frowned. "Can such simple strikes really improve swordsmanship?"
Sandy smiled. "Everyone understands swordsmanship differently. Think about your fight with Hawkeye.
No matter how flashy your moves were, he beat you with just simple strikes. Why do you think that is?"
Zoro thought for a moment. "Why?"
"Power, speed, eyesight, control—everything," Sandy replied. "Figure it out yourself. But for now, you should focus on learning how to cut iron."
Zoro nodded seriously and returned to training.
Why was Sandy practicing swordsmanship anyway?
Because the Space Devil Fruit was highly compatible with swordsmanship—and honestly, Sandy's "High Wind" sword was just too damn cool.
The Space Devil Fruit differed from Law's Surgery Devil Fruit. Both created a space field, but the stamina consumption for Law's fruit was far higher.
Their paths were different, too—Space focused on unpredictable attacks and evasion, while Surgery focused on medical manipulation. They weren't meant to be compared.
(Some readers think the Space Devil Fruit is inferior to the Surgery Devil Fruit. The author clarifies—it's not!)
Thinking of this, Sandy opened his system panel.
[pheromone system]
Host: Sandy
Physique: Tier 7 (Top Tier 10)
Observation Haki: Tier 2
Armament Haki: Tier 2
Conqueror's Haki: Tier 3 (Can freely control deterrence targets; enhanced effect depending on host's spirit.)
Weapon: High Wind (Indestructible)
Normal Form: Comparable to a Supreme Grade Sword, depends on host's strength.
Summoned Form: Comparable to a Divine Weapon; extremely lethal and destructive—use with caution.
Skills:
Establish Space Field
Spatial Swap
Space Barrier
One-Sword Style
Space Slash (Advanced Space Devil Fruit technique, stamina-based)
Nine Swords of Dugu (Reference)
System Store: Open
Pheromone Coins: 2150
"Tier 3 Conqueror's Haki," Sandy murmured. "Does that mean a qualitative change? If it levels up again, could I imbue it into my sword?"
If so… that'd be Roger's technique—Divine departure!
Sandy chuckled. "Nah, Divine departure must require insane mastery. Just having Conqueror's Haki isn't enough."
He sighed. "Guess I'd better stick to the basics first. Still…"
A smirk crept across his face.
"I should already count as a Great Swordsman, shouldn't I?"