"You want to learn swordsmanship?"
Early in the morning, Golden Lion Shiki was rudely awakened by a knock at the door while lounging amidst a pile of women. Irritated, he threw on some clothes and opened the door. When he saw it was Roldy , he forcibly swallowed the string of curses that had already reached his lips.
Roldy stood there with a katana at his waist. After stating his purpose, Shiki froze for a moment. His expression didn't change—but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to draw the two of them closer? If the kid learned swordsmanship from him, that would make Shiki half his teacher. Given Roldy 's personality, that would count as a significant favor owed.
"Ahem. Of course you can learn swordsmanship! Let's exchange a few moves first. I'll see what kind of foundation you have."
Shiki returned to his room and retrieved his blades. At this time, he was not yet wielding his two Supreme Grade Blades , only a pair of fairly decent swords. As he liked to say, however, the quality of a blade was not what determined a true swordsman's strength. In the hands of a top-tier master, even a rusted sword could be as deadly as a Supreme Grade Blade.
Roldy nodded. The two moved to a secluded area. Shiki crooked a finger, signaling for Roldy to attack first.
Without hesitation, Roldy made his move.
In that instant, he displayed the solid foundation he had built over four years of training. Only a step away from the realm of cutting steel, his draw was astonishingly fast. In barely a breath, he gripped the sword with both hands and brought it down in a fierce overhead slash aimed straight at Shiki's head.
Shiki's eyes lit up, clearly surprised.
It was hard to imagine that someone who had pushed his physical combat to Roldy 's level could still possess such refined sword fundamentals. Compared to his monstrous hand-to-hand combat, Roldy 's swordsmanship might not stand out—but mastering the blade was a long and tedious path. How old was this kid? How much time could he have possibly devoted to it?
His stance was stable. His grip was correct. His angle of attack was sharp.
The foundation was unquestionably solid.
Shiki raised a blade to block—but the sheer force behind the strike pressed his body downward slightly.
"Good momentum! But your swordsmanship is rough!"
With that brief evaluation, Shiki deflected the attack. Though he was a dual-wielding great swordsman, he had drawn only one blade. In truth, a top-tier swordsman like Shiki was equally proficient in one-sword or two-sword styles. Even with a single blade, he completely suppressed Roldy .
No matter how relentless Roldy 's storm-like barrage became, he couldn't truly touch Shiki.
On the contrary, Shiki's counters seemed effortless—yet they left several clean slashes across Roldy 's clothes.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, Roldy still fell far short of Golden Lion.
Yet he had always harbored a dream of becoming a swordsman. After all, what man could resist the thrill of steel in hand?
Their exchange grew more intense.
Roldy 's technique might not be extraordinary—but his strength was monstrous. With that terrifying physical power channeled through his blade, combined with his immense combat experience, he managed—for a time—to trade blows back and forth with Shiki.
Of course, Shiki wasn't fighting at full strength.
At last, Shiki seized upon a wide, overextended swing. As Roldy 's center lay exposed, Shiki's blade flashed forward and stopped at Roldy 's throat.
"Jihahahaha! Interesting! Your technique isn't great, but your fundamentals are solid! You've been training with a sword since you were a kid, haven't you?"
Shiki laughed loudly, asking casually.
"Yeah. When it comes to swordsmanship, I guess my talent really is average. It took me a full four years just to reach this level."
Roldy 's expression was sincere. He genuinely seemed troubled by his "lack" of talent.
Shiki: …
This brat… should I just beat him up?
No, seriously. Beat him up. Smash that infuriating face of his.
What did he mean, "It took me four years to reach this level"?
Golden Lion Shiki had always considered himself one of the most gifted individuals in the world. Yet after first picking up a sword, it had taken him a full nine years to reach the level Roldy currently stood at.
Swordsmanship was a path of relentless hardship. Every step had to be built steadily and solidly. The first several years were devoted entirely to laying the foundation, with painfully slow progress. Only after stepping into the realm of a true swordsman could sudden enlightenment become possible.
"Huh? Mr. Shiki, why aren't you saying anything? Is it really because my talent for swordsmanship is just too poor?"
That was the last straw.
Looking at Roldy 's clear, earnest eyes, Shiki suddenly pounced on him. Clenching his fists, he drew back his arms and began punching Roldy square in the face—one blow after another.
"You damn brat! You definitely learned this infuriating attitude from that bastard Garp, didn't you?! What do you mean your talent is terrible?! Do you have any idea you achieved in four years what took me nearly ten?! You—you—! I swear I'll beat you to death today, you little punk!"
It was a thorough beating—but merely a physical one, devoid of killing intent.
Considering the favor Shiki had already shown him, Roldy didn't fight back. He simply endured it silently, thinking to himself:
So the real clown here… is Shiki.
"Listen carefully, Roldy . Your talent in swordsmanship is the greatest I've seen in my life. From now on, I will teach you everything I know—without reservation."
Shiki stared at him with burning intensity. He had formed the intention of taking him as a disciple.
After all, what powerful figure could remain unmoved when faced with such extraordinary talent?
Moreover, if Roldy acknowledged him as master, their relationship would become even closer. Getting this kid onto his ship in the future would be a simple matter.
But Roldy was no longer the naïve youth he once had been.
He weighed the pros and cons carefully. Becoming Shiki's disciple was undoubtedly the fastest path to dramatically improving his swordsmanship. He had already reached a bottleneck in strength, and the coming events would be exceedingly dangerous. Any opportunity to grow stronger was invaluable.
However…
If that old man found out he had taken a pirate as his master, rationally he might say nothing—but emotionally, it would surely wound him.
"Sorry, Mr. Shiki. I won't take another master."
After a moment's hesitation, Roldy declined.
A flash of deep disappointment crossed Shiki's eyes—but soon after, his gaze toward Roldy grew even more approving.
"Tch. Humans really are strange creatures. I wanted you to agree so badly… but if you had accepted without hesitation, I probably wouldn't be nearly as excited. Roldy , you really are…"
Shiki let out a wry smile.
He had already made considerable concessions and shown unusual tolerance toward Roldy . One more compromise wouldn't hurt.
"How about this—you don't need to become my disciple. But I'll still teach you all of my swordsmanship. I'll give you three years. How much you learn depends on your own ability."
"But it won't be free."
"You'll owe me a great favor. And in the future, you'll serve as my right-hand man—for five years. That's not asking too much."
Shiki had drawn his bottom line.
With Roldy 's assistance, he could accomplish many things with ease. For five years, he would gain a powerful and absolutely trustworthy deputy.
But the most valuable part—
Was that favor.
He had a premonition that its value would multiply dozens—perhaps even hundreds—of times in the years to come.
Such terms were acceptable to Shiki.
After brief consideration, they were acceptable to Roldy as well.
An agreement was reached.
And thus—
A future great swordsman, whose name would one day shake the world, began his true training.
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