After breakfast, Will followed Roy to the back mountain and continued yesterday’s training.
To Will’s surprise, merely one night had been enough for him to overcome his instinct to close his eyes.
He was delighted for quite some time, even thinking that he possessed some extraordinary talent.
Roy, however, casually told him that this was completely normal.
It wasn’t a particularly difficult form of training in the first place.
After one night of adaptation, the body would naturally overcome the instinct.
So today, Roy wasn’t carrying a wooden sword.
Instead, he had two bamboo swords.
He handed one to Will and told him to attack with all his strength.
After being beaten by Roy all afternoon yesterday, Will naturally had no intention of holding back.
Gripping the bamboo sword, he wildly hacked at Roy without any technique whatsoever.
Roy effortlessly blocked several strikes before tapping Will squarely on the forehead with his bamboo sword.
BANG!
Will immediately let out a scream and clutched his forehead, his face twisted in pain.
Roy nodded.
“Not bad.
You didn’t close your eyes.
We can move on to the next part of your training.”
Will glared at Roy.
“So that was the whole point of having me attack you?
Couldn’t you have told me beforehand and at least given me some time to prepare myself mentally?”
“Prepare yourself mentally?
Then what would the test be for?”
Roy waved him off.
“Enough talking.
Next, I’ll teach you the proper sword grip, along with the correct techniques for slashing, blocking, thrusting, and various other basic movements.
From now on, you’ll spend most of your mornings practicing these techniques.
If you don’t pass, you’ll continue practicing them in the afternoon.”
With that, Roy began explaining various fundamentals of swordsmanship, including footwork and methods of generating power.
After seeing Roy’s sword grip, Will didn’t immediately imitate him.
Instead, he held up a hand to signal Roy to wait and then quickly ran toward the dojo.
Roy stared blankly at Will as he disappeared into the distance.
He had no idea what the kid was up to.
A short while later, Will came running back.
There was a bamboo sword in each hand.
He grinned teasingly.
“I didn’t realize you wanted to become a dual-sword swordsman.
Dual-wielding is pretty impressive, but each sword naturally has less power behind it than a single sword.
You’d better think it through.”
“Two swords are a man’s romance.”
Roy had no idea what Will meant.
Will simply began practicing the proper sword grip.
After an entire morning of Roy’s explanations, sarcastic remarks, and the occasional bamboo sword correcting Will’s mistakes the hard way, Will had basically mastered several fundamental techniques.
Roy told him that learning the movements themselves wasn’t difficult.
The difficult part was turning them into muscle memory and learning how to adapt them during an actual battle.
The two agreed that they would continue the same training schedule.
At noon, Will once again went to yesterday’s restaurant with Roy.
The food really was excellent.
While ordering, Will noticed that Roy seemed particularly interested in the section of the menu dedicated to alcoholic drinks.
“Want some sake?”
Roy firmly refused.
“No.
We still have training this afternoon.
I can’t drink.”
In the two days Will had known Roy, this was the first time he had seen such a serious expression on his face.
Will was momentarily stunned.
Looks like this guy has a story of his own.
After lunch, they returned to the back mountain.
This time, Roy didn’t make Will run until he collapsed.
Instead, he led him around the area near the dojo.
Only then did Will discover that the area behind the dojo contained all kinds of training equipment.
Roy introduced the purpose of each piece of equipment one by one and then had Will begin exercising.
They started with arm strength.
Every swordsman needed strong arms.
Then came balance, followed by the chest and other muscle groups in succession.
“A swordsman absolutely needs excellent arm strength,” Roy explained while correcting Will’s improper movements.
“But arm strength alone isn’t enough.
You also need balance and overall full-body strength.
A swordsman who only trains his arms won’t get very far.”
Will found today’s training surprisingly easy.
He didn’t experience anything close to yesterday’s complete exhaustion.
It seemed that the Lightning Stimulation Method really was extremely effective at recovering from fatigue.
With that thought in mind, Will trained even harder.
Roy was equally surprised.
This kid was exhausted to the point of collapse yesterday.
How is he already full of energy today?
He really does have talent.
Roy continued increasing the training volume.
When Will went running, Roy even added weighted training equipment to his legs—five kilograms on each leg.
Under the high-intensity training, Will could feel his body becoming stronger.
This wasn’t an illusion.
The Lightning Stimulation Method didn’t provide particularly powerful benefits during normal activity, but while training, it significantly enhanced the effectiveness of his workouts.
Will vaguely estimated that his training efficiency was roughly three times better than yesterday’s.
What did that mean?
As long as he didn’t slack off, his training results could be more than three times those of an ordinary person.
At that thought, Will smiled.
He could finally see a genuine path forward.
No matter how confident he had been before, there had always been moments when he felt uncertain deep down.
Now, he could finally see hope.
Just as Will was getting completely absorbed in his training, he heard Roy calling him over for dinner.
Will was stunned.
That was fast.
He took out his black pocket watch and checked the time.
Sure enough, it was already past six.
After dinner, Will remembered that he still had to learn swordsmanship from Niss that evening.
He went to the central room of the dojo and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
As expected, Niss was inside.
Will had no idea what the man normally did in this room.
After entering, Will thought for a moment before sitting cross-legged on the cushion in front of Niss.
“Master, what are you going to teach me?
Are you going to teach me some advanced sword techniques?”
Will asked tentatively.
Niss glanced at him.
“If I taught you advanced techniques, would you even understand them?
It would be better for you to learn some fundamentals of swordsmanship first.
We’ll worry about techniques later.”
As he spoke, Niss picked up the sword behind him and placed it in front of Will.
“Draw it.”
Will stared at the weapon.
It was a sword by the standards of the One Piece world, though on Earth he would have called it a Japanese sword.
The weapon looked strangely familiar.
The scabbard and hilt were black, with a row of purple patterns resembling flowers running along them.
Will drew the sword.
The blade was completely black as well, with a row of red, fang-like markings along the upper edge of the blade.
“What does this sword remind you of?”
Niss’s question interrupted Will’s thoughts.
Without thinking, Will answered,
“I feel like I’ve seen this sword somewhere before.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Will regretted them.
“Oh?”
Niss’s eyes lit up.
“Where have you seen it?
Tell me.”
He even stood up in excitement.
Will hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
But after thinking about it, he could only tell the truth.
“Uh…
I forgot.”
Will’s expression became awkward.
Niss, who was normally extremely serious and at most offered people a polite smile, suddenly had the corners of his eyes and mouth twitching violently.
His expression looked as though someone had forced him to eat two kilograms of excrement.
“Forget it.”
Niss sighed.
“Try your best to remember.
Is it possible that when you were young, you saw information about this sword’s whereabouts among the intelligence your mother was selling?
Or perhaps some other clue?”
“If you remember anything, come and tell me immediately.
This is very important to me.
And I certainly won’t treat you unfairly.”
There was obvious disappointment and melancholy in Niss’s expression.
“Forget it.
Let’s not talk about this for now.
Perhaps I’ve been too obsessed with it.
Some things should have been let go a long time ago.”
Niss composed himself and continued,
“Let’s talk about swordsmanship instead.”
“Do you know about the different stages of a swordsman?”
Will shook his head.
He had never heard of them.
He was also extremely curious.
Stages of swordsmanship?
He had watched One Piece countless times, but he’d never heard of such a classification.
“A swordsman can roughly be divided into six stages,” Niss explained.
“Even swordsmen at the same stage can have different levels of strength.
Each stage can be further divided into three levels: Initial, Proficient, and Peak.”
“I’ll explain the six stages to you first.”
“The first stage is Initiation.
“This is the stage where an ordinary person begins their journey and becomes a swordsman.
Simply picking up a sword doesn’t make someone a swordsman.”
“You are currently in the Initial level of the Initiation stage.”
“The second stage is Cutting Steel. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“A swordsman at this stage can cut through steel even with an ordinary sword.
You learn to sense the rhythm and ‘breathing’ of an object, then cut through it.”
“You cut only what you intend to cut, and you don’t cut what you don’t intend to cut.”
“I am currently at this stage.”
“The third stage is a very special one—Elemental Attacks.
“This is the ability to imbue sword techniques with elemental properties.
I don’t know the exact principles behind it myself.”
“The reason this stage is special is that there are two different ways to reach it.”
“The first applies to ordinary swordsmen.
They must first master Cutting Steel before they can perceive and utilize elemental properties.
Whether it’s their understanding of the sword or their comprehension of swordsmanship, without mastering Cutting Steel, they generally cannot produce elemental attacks.”
“There are a few exceptions, such as members of the Mink Tribe or certain famous blades.”
“The second applies to Devil Fruit users.”
“Because Devil Fruit abilities are so diverse, some Devil Fruit users can produce elemental attacks even while they’re still at the Initiation stage.”
“You know about Devil Fruits, right, Will?”
Will nodded.
“That’s enough about elemental attacks for now.
Let’s move on to the fourth stage.”
“The fourth stage is Cutting Harder-than-Steel Materials.
“This means being able to cut rare materials harder than steel, such as Seastone and diamond.”
“The fifth stage is Cutting the Intangible.
“I don’t know much about this stage myself.
The name basically explains it.
This realm is simply too far beyond me, so I won’t pretend to be an expert.”
“As for the sixth stage…”
Niss paused.
“I’ve never heard of anyone actually reaching it.”
“But if you say it doesn’t exist, it’s still the dream of every swordsman.”
“To reach the point where there is nothing in this world that cannot be cut.”
“Whether anyone has actually reached such a realm, I don’t know.”
“But anyone who does would have stepped into an entirely new level.”
“These are the six stages of swordsmanship.”
Niss summarized them:
“First, Initiation.”
“Second, Cutting Steel.”
“Third, Elemental Attacks.”
“Fourth, Cutting Harder-than-Steel Materials.”
“Fifth, Cutting the Intangible.”
“Sixth, Nothing in the World Cannot Be Cut.”
Niss had apparently been talking for quite a while and seemed to have become thirsty.
He called for an apprentice, who brought them two cups of tea.
Niss took a few sips.
Will accepted his own cup and thanked the apprentice.
He took a sip.
The flavor was surprisingly good.
Then he drained the entire cup.
Niss’s eyes widened.
“You little brat!
This is premium tea that costs ten thousand Beli per Ounce, and you just gulped it down!”
“Next time, I’m giving you water.”
With that, Niss calmly took another sip of his tea.
The incident with the sword had been awkward for Will.
He had claimed that he’d seen the sword somewhere, only to completely fail to remember where.
Yet somehow, after that incident, Will felt considerably closer to Niss.
At least Niss no longer treated him with that polite, superficial courtesy.
Thinking of this, Will asked,
“Master, what exactly does it mean to cut steel?
How do I reach that stage?”
“It’s far too early for you to think about that.”
Niss shook his head.
“Wait until you’ve built a solid foundation before worrying about Cutting Steel.
A towering building begins from the ground up.
If your foundation is poor, it will greatly affect your future development.”
“Besides, mastering Cutting Steel doesn’t necessarily require years of painstaking training.
There are ways to achieve it quickly.”
“We’ll talk about that when you’re older.”
As he finished speaking, Niss gave Will a strange smile.
The moment Will saw that smile, he got the exact same feeling he’d had when Roy had promised him a “surprise” yesterday.
He suddenly felt very uneasy.
“It’s getting late.
Go back and sleep.”
Niss looked at him.
“For the next month or so, don’t come here unless you have questions.
During your free time in the evening, if your body can handle it, continue training.”
“At your current level, no matter how much swordsmanship theory I teach you, it won’t be of much use.
You need to experience the training yourself before my explanations can truly help you.”
“Go.”
Seeing Will’s expression, Niss knew that the boy had probably already sensed something from his words about a “quick method.”
He smiled but said nothing more.
Will said goodnight to Niss and returned to his room to sleep, preparing himself for another day of training tomorrow.