Afterward, Issho went to freshen himself up, though he intentionally skipped bathing for now.
He planned to first complete his daily quest since it required physical exertion, and he would naturally end up drenched in sweat afterward anyway.
So he decided that only after completing today’s quest would he properly bathe.
Meanwhile, Alex and Martha remained busy preparing for the restaurant.
In another hour or so, customers would begin arriving, and the morning rush would start.
After freshening up, Issho returned to the courtyard.
He carefully placed his wooden stick to the side before immediately lowering himself into the horse stance meditation posture.
His legs spread apart while his knees bent deeply.
His back remained straight, and his breathing gradually steadied.
The moment he entered the stance, pressure immediately began building throughout his body.
Alex, who passed by carrying baskets of vegetables, glanced toward Issho with surprise.
Even Martha occasionally looked over while working.
Neither of them truly understood what kind of strange posture Issho was practicing.
But one thing was obvious.
Whatever this exercise was, it placed tremendous strain upon the body.
Sweat slowly began appearing on Issho’s forehead as his muscles trembled under the pressure.
Yet his expression remained calm and focused.
Clearly, he was training himself.
Because of that, neither Alex nor Martha disturbed him.
Issho continued practicing the horse stance in cycles.
Whenever his legs became too exhausted to continue, he would slowly stand up and stretch his sore muscles while controlling his breathing.
Then, after resting briefly, he would once again lower himself back into the horse stance.
Again and again.
Time quietly passed like that.
The courtyard gradually became livelier as the morning advanced, yet Issho remained immersed in his training.
Finally, around the same time as yesterday—roughly one hour and thirty-five minutes later, which was five minutes faster than before—the daily quest was completed.
At that exact moment, the familiar system notification echoed inside his mind.
[Blood +1]
[Mana +0.1]
[Observation Haki +10 m]
The corners of Issho’s lips slightly rose upward after hearing the notification.
His efforts were clearly producing results.
As soon as the system’s notification appeared, the same warm current that Issho had felt yesterday suddenly flowed throughout his entire body once more.
The warmth spread rapidly through his muscles, bones, and veins like a soothing tide.
The soreness in his legs disappeared almost instantly, and the exhaustion weighing down his body vanished completely, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Issho slowly exhaled.
Even after experiencing it once already, the effect still felt incredible to him.
Finally, he walked toward the side where he had placed his wooden stick earlier.
At that moment, Alex was standing a short distance away, busy butchering chickens and processing meat for the restaurant.
Beside him, Donny was helping organize the cleaned meat into baskets.
Both father and son had spent nearly the last two hours occasionally glancing toward Issho.
They had silently watched his persistence.
From start to finish, Issho had continuously repeated that strange horse stance exercise without complaint, despite how exhausting it clearly looked.
Sweat had soaked through his clothes multiple times, and yet he had continued calmly training again and again.
Even Alex, who was used to hardworking people, found Issho’s persistence somewhat surprising.
Just then, Donny looked toward Issho, who had finally reached for his wooden stick.
But the next moment—
Shing!
A sharp metallic sound suddenly rang through the courtyard.
Donny’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth falling open.
“Father… look,” he quickly whispered while poking Alex beside him.
Alex frowned in confusion before turning his head toward Issho.
And immediately afterward, his expression froze similarly to Donny’s.
Because what both of them had believed until now to simply be a wooden walking stick…
…was actually a sword.
Issho had just unsheathed the blade hidden inside the wooden cane with both hands in one smooth motion.
The hidden blade reflected a faint cold gleam under the morning sunlight.
At that instant, Alex finally understood where Issho’s weapon had been all this time.
Earlier, he had been puzzled about how exactly Issho had managed to hunt that wild boar without carrying any visible sword or weapon.
Now the answer became obvious.
The sword had been hidden in plain sight the entire time.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere around Issho subtly changed.
His posture became calm and solemn the moment the blade entered his hand.
Invisible to both Alex and Donny, an illusionary figure had already appeared before Issho.
Fujitora.
Only Issho could sense his presence through Observation Haki.
The image stood quietly before him while holding a blade in hand, carrying an overwhelming aura of steadiness and power.
(A/N: Image in the comments.)
Issho tightened his grip on the sword.
And then suddenly—
He moved.
His blade slashed forward directly toward Fujitora’s illusionary figure.
Clang!
Fujitora calmly blocked the attack with his own sword.
Although no actual sound could be heard by Alex or Donny, Issho could clearly feel the impact through his Observation Haki as the two blades collided.
Issho immediately launched another attack.
Then another.
Again and again.
But throughout the exchange, Issho was not recklessly attacking.
Instead, he was deliberately studying Fujitora’s movements carefully.
The way he stepped.
The way he shifted his weight.
The angle of his strikes.
The timing of his defenses.
Everything.
Issho did not want to continue using the Demon Slaying Sword Technique taught within the Pendragon family.
First of all, he no longer wanted any connection whatsoever with the Pendragon family.
Secondly…
Fujitora’s style suited him far better.
Because Fujitora himself was blind.
Many times, Fujitora fought while holding his blade in a reverse grip, relying more upon instinct, perception, and precise control rather than ordinary eyesight.
For Issho, who had permanently lost his vision, such a fighting style was naturally far more compatible.
And yesterday, when Issho had fought against Fujitora—even though the battle had only lasted around ten to fifteen minutes—he had already clearly realized the advantages of Fujitora’s fighting style.
Especially while attacking and defending.
Although using a sword with a normal grip was naturally better for delivering straightforward powerful strikes, Issho understood that his own situation was different from ordinary swordsmen.
He was blind.
He relied entirely upon Observation Haki to perceive everything around him.
Because of that, Fujitora’s reverse grip style suited him exceptionally well.
With a reverse grip, Issho could unsheathe his sword much faster in close combat situations.
Defensive reactions also became quicker and smoother, especially against attacks coming from multiple directions.
At close range, the sword could move more flexibly and unpredictably.
And whenever he needed stronger or longer-range attacks, he could simply switch back into a normal sword grip instantly.
Not to mention…
Issho had watched One Piece in his previous life.
He clearly remembered how Fujitora combined gravity manipulation with his swordsmanship so naturally.
During those moments, the reverse grip often became extremely useful for controlling movement and transitions between attacks.