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71.42% One Piece: The Elemental Swordsman / Chapter 24: Chapter 24 - Back to the Elite Camp

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 - Back to the Elite Camp

Today, a few days after Zephyr and Terumi left Hell Island, their ship has now returned to Marineford.

Their return was greeted by the respectful salutes of many surrounding Marines, Zephyr has a great reputation as he trained many of the current elites.

Before long, the pair made their way back to the elite camp compound. Entering in, they were greeted by Shuzo and the rest of the trainees doing their morning training.

"Instructor Zephyr, sir! I have kept watch on all of the trainees during your departure as you've ordered."

Shuzo maintained a reverent tone towards Zephyr. As a former student, he held a lot of respect for his former teacher.

Zephyr nodded and relieved Shuzo of his duty.

"Good work, I'm always able to count on you, Shuzo. You may go now."

"Yes, sir!"

Zephyr then walked Terumi over to the rest of the trainees. As Terumi approached, the other trainees eyed him curiously.

Terumi met their gazes one by one. With each passing look, each one of them raised a different expression. Drake had a competitive look in his eyes, Smoker bore a lazy expression as per usual. Gion nodded approvingly, while Ain and Binz looked impressed. Finally, Hina had a look of surprise on her face.

Then, their eyes turned to the curious creature napping around Terumi's neck. Terumi's three female classmates tried to hide stars in their eyes that shone upon seeing it, but Terumi could tell from their gaze.

Smirking internally, Terumi decided to do a small prank on his classmates in order to fully announce his return.

Boom.

The air shook slightly as Terumi released a small amount of focused Haoshoku Haki over his classmates.

Their expressions immediately turned grim as they felt the sudden pressure bear down upon them, sweat starting to form on their forehead.

"Hey! Stop that, you little brat."

Zephyr smacked Terumi over the top of his head, stopping his prank.

As soon as Terumi released the pressure, his classmates then eyed him carefully. This time, with a look of clear surprise on their face. Terumi enjoyed their dumbfounded stares as he smiled wryly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Little rascal. Just came back and already causing trouble? Everyone, take off your weights and hand em over. It seems your little brother wants more training."

Zephyr sighed with a tired expression as he took the training weights from each one of the recruits and handed it to Terumi.

"Now get down and give me one hundred."

"Yes sir!"

Terumi replied confidently, without any look of remorse on his face. He then woke Amaterasu up from her nap, put her on the ground, and promptly put on all six weighted shirts. Although the weight of six hundred tons weighed heavily on his body, he started to do his push-ups, using Haki to support himself.

"Heh, cheeky brat."

Zephyr shook his head, but with a grin on his face. He then turned back to face the other recruits, who still had dumbfounded looks on their face.

"As you can see, your youngest classmate here has grown much during the past month. But don't let this surprise you, I expect the same of all of you at any given time! What you just felt was Haoshoku Haki, the King's Haki. Not many people have it, but if you plan to patrol the new world one day, it's something you'll have to learn how to deal with."

The recruits nodded, listening carefully to their instructor's words, before gazing back upon Terumi as he shakingly, but firmly completed his set of one hundred push-ups.

Gion smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

"It seems my little brother has grown much during the past month. Your big sister is very pleased."

Hina nodded in agreeance.

"Hina is surprised. Just what did Terumi-kun do to get so strong?"

Ain and Binz also nodded, wondering the same. Drake and Smoker didn't say anything, but they continued to pay attention to the conversation closely.

As Terumi got up and took off his weighted shirts, he replied to them, looking straight at Gion and Hina.

"Just some training. If you know what I mean."

Terumi cheekily said.

Gion and Hina looked at each other and Gion chuckled.

"Terumi-chan, it's not good to tease your older sisters like that you know?"

Terumi laughed upon hearing that, remembering the many times he wondered how they were 'training' in the forest, coming back on the brink of death each day. Now he understood, so he couldn't help but tease them.

"I luckily managed to unlock my Haki, that's all."

Terumi said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, but his classmates knew how big of a deal it was. Zephyr always spends time with each one of them, telling them about the dangers of the grand line, and especially that of the new world. Knowing how to use Haki and not knowing can be the difference between life and death.

Zephyr then nodded in approval. Focusing Haki into his right arm, it turned a deep black hue, covering his entire arm.

"Learning to use Haki is something I hope all of you will be able to do before you leave here. As I've taught you before, this is Armament Haki. Eventually, you'll learn how to harden it just like this, but knowing how to use basic Armament Haki is important as well, and let me show you why. Smoker, Terumi, you're up!"

Smoker unfolded his arms and took a step forward, Terumi as well. The recruits knew what Zephyr's command meant, it was time for a spar.

The rest of the recruits took several steps back, making space for their classmates' spar. A look of curiosity and anticipation filled their eyes.

Smoker cracked his knuckles with a smirk on his face. Until now, no one but Drake has been able to give him much of a challenge, given the fact that both of them are usually just tied since they can't deal meaningful damage to each other.

Terumi also smiled, smirking internally. Their first spar before he went on the Island training was frankly unsatisfying. His attacks could not hit Smoker, and with Smoker's long-range, he was able to easily corner Terumi. But now, two months later, he was ready to show his skills.

Terumi then looked at Amaterasu, telling her with his eyes to go over to the other recruits.

Amaterasu mewed in understanding and walked over to Terumi's classmates. Gion, Ain, and Hina tried their best to not pay attention to the small creature, but as soon as Amaterasu made its way next to them, they couldn't help but look.

Amaterasu curled itself into a ball once it reached next to the spot next to Hina, going back to sleep. Hina bent down and patted the small creature. Amaterasu opened an eye upon feeling the touch but then went back to sleep in peace. Hina then smiled and picked up the fox into her arms, with Gion and Ain surrounding her, admiring the strange fox pup.

Binz gave the group a curious look, while Drake kept his focus on Smoker and Terumi standing on the field in front of him.

Terumi noticed the commotion happening by the sidelines, a smile grew on his face seeing the cuter side to his female classmates, but then swiftly shifted his focus back to Smoker.

Terumi unsheathed Asahi and gripped it tightly in his hand.

"Please go easy on me, Smoker-san."

Smoker scoffed and then got into a battle stance, turning his right fist into smoke.

Seeing the two participants ready, Zephyr then raised his hand.

"Begin!"

As soon as the battle began, Terumi swiftly sent a large ten-meter high flying slash directly at Smoker. Smoker smirked, not sensing any danger from the attack, he let it pass through him. However, as soon as it did, Terumi's figure disappeared from Smoker's sight.

Using the flying slash as a cover, Terumi leaped right over Smoker, positioning himself just above him.

'I don't want to hurt him too badly, but a nice bonk should do.'

Just as Smoker noticed Terumi's shadow hovering over him, it was already too late.

Hisss

Terumi reversed Asahi in his hand so that the blunted side is faced outward.

'Breath of Water, Second Form.'

"Mizu Guruma! (Water Wheel)"

Terumi shrouded his blade in a light coating of Haki, and then spun in the air vertically in a flowing motion, smacking Smoker right in the back of his head with the back of his sword.

"Agh!"

Smoker fell forward in pain, clutching the back of his head. Terumi gracefully landed on the ground behind him and turned back, ready to go again.

At that moment, Zephyr raised his hand again.

"That's it! Stop."

"What? No, I'm still able to fight!"

Smoker said in anger, reeling from the pain in the back of his head. To this, Zephyr simply shook his head.

"If Terumi used the sharp side of his blade, you'd be headless right now. The spar is over."

At that moment, Smoker just realized that Terumi was actually able to hit him. The unfamiliar feeling of pain that clouded his thoughts was now replaced with a sense of nervousness.

Smoker turned to look at Terumi and sighed.

"Fine. I admit defeat."

Seeing Smoker down, Gion cheered.

"Now you know how it feels, Smoker-chan."

Hina nodded as well, still holding Amaterasu in her hands and feeling happy that her friend Smoker finally tasted his first defeat to someone else other than his Instructors. Over the time they've spent at the camp, Hina would often time have to bail him out of his troubles each time he was late.

"It's good if you learn to not be so lazy anymore after this, Smoker-kun. Hina thinks you are too overconfident."

Upon hearing the comments from the peanut gallery, Smoker simply scoffed and ignored them, lighting up a cigar and putting it in his mouth.

Zephyr couldn't help but laugh at Smoker's predicament.

"Gahahaha! Smoker, as I've always told you, just having a Logia doesn't make you invincible. If you want to stay alive on the grand line, you must train! Train and get stronger, that's the only way! Don't rely only on your fruit, nothing is without weakness."

Smoker didn't say anything in response, but he did nod upon hearing Zephyr's words.

"Alright, everyone. New schedule starts today. I'll be sending each one of you an updated training schedule to get you ready for the field training in six months. Now that everyone has agreed to participate, I don't want to hear any complaining, got it!?"

"Yes, sir!"

The recruits all replied in earnest, happy to get in some real experience fighting pirates rather than training all day. Terumi felt happy as well, finally able to give Smoker a good bonk on the head, but most of all, soon he will be learning the Rokushiki martial arts directly from Zephyr.

"Terumi, you're up first. Meet me at field number three."

"Yes, sir."

'Finally, it's time to learn the Rokushiki!"


Chapter 25: Chapter 25 - Rokushiki

A/N: Sorry I've been a little slow lately, work has picked up heavily after the New Year and I needed to do a lot of thinking to write this chapter. It's on the longer side though, so enjoy!

========================

After Terumi followed Zephyr to training field three on the west side of the compound, he arrived in a wide grassy field in the middle of a running track.

Zephyr folded his arms and stopped under a tree, next to a training dummy.

"Okay Terumi, the first Rokushiki I'll be instructing in you is called Soru. It is a high-speed movement technique, useful for dodging attacks or repositioning yourself in order to attack. This is the most basic and easy technique to understand, so we'll start here first, got it?"

Terumi nodded in understanding.

'I've thought about trying to learn this myself, but could never get it quite right. After that, I focused more on my sword skills and breathing techniques since I have a firm grasp of those. Now that I have this opportunity, I have to try to memorize the training method and try to master all six before my field training.'

"Now, before I continue on, I want to give you a brief overview of all six of the techniques are their purposes. Watch carefully."

Zephyr unfolded his arms and then walked over to an empty spot on the field.

Terumi watched carefully, hoping to sear the following demonstration into his mind.

"The first technique, Soru. By kicking off the ground at least ten times instantly, this technique lets you move at extremely high speeds.

Terumi focused all of this energy into his vision, Zephyr's movements were carefully captured in his eyes as if Zephyr was moving in slow motion.

Zephyr lightly bent his knees, and then as soon as Terumi saw the first step, Zephyr disappeared from Terumi's vision.

Surprised, Terumi then focused on his senses and found Zephyr behind him, turning his head at the same time he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Zephyr smiled upon seeing Terumi react to him.

"Good senses, I was planning on giving you a small scare. As you know, any small advantage you can get in battle is crucial. Your opponent suddenly disappearing in front of you would give anyone pause, and that could be the advantage you need to seal the battle. With this technique, you can sneak up on an opponent even in plain sight. The more proficient you become at it, the more times you'll be able to kick off the ground and enhance your speed."

"Understood, sensei."

Zephyr nodded and then moved back to in front of Terumi.

"The second technique is Geppo. By kicking the air with high force, you can generate an air current forcing yourself upwards, allowing you to move freely in the air."

Zephyr then jumped and started kicking the air, an amazing sight as his large body can be seen moving around as if he was flying.

Terumi marveled at the sight.

'Just how many times I could have easily avoided attacks if I could use this. My biggest weakness for sure right now is my maneuverability mid-air.'

Zephyr landed on the ground after a short while and proceeded to his next demonstration.

"The third technique is Shigan, but we'll get to that later. While we're here I'll move on to the fourth technique Tekkai, a defensive maneuver. By finely hardening all of your muscles, connecting all of their energy using your core, you can greatly increase your defense in exchange for mobility. For this demonstration, I want you to try to punch me as hard as you can."

Terumi nodded without hesitation, he knew what this technique was and there was no way he could damage Zephyr's trained body and Tekkai with just a punch, though he did wonder if he could. Terumi moved directly of Zephyr and readied himself.

"Are you ready, sensei?"

"Give me your best shot kid."

Zephyr took a stance and hardened his body, ready for Terumi's attack.

Terumi pumped his arm with increased blood flow, causing his arm muscles to bulge, he then sent a straight punch straight at Zephyr's stomach.

Ding.

Like hitting a solid steel plate, Terumi's punch bounced off of Zephyr's abs following a high-pitched pinging sound.

Zephyr smirked, seeing the dissatisfied look on Terumi's face. He then laughed and took a step to the side.

"Haha, don't be too down, kid. It's not the worst form I've seen, but you can do better. You're a swordsman, use your strengths. Your arm is the blade, and your shoulder is the grip. Just do a forward stab."

Terumi nodded slowly and thought about what Zephyr said.

'My arm is the blade, and my shoulder the grip. Of course, no-sword style. If I want to cut, I will cut. If I don't have a sword, then I am the sword. Then, for a forward punch, the seventh form should do.'

Enlightened, Terumi then focused his mind and took relaxed his body before taking up an attack stance.

Hisss

'Breath of Water, Seventh Form, Kai'

"Shizuku Hamon Ken! (Drop Ripple Punch)"

Terumi arched his arm backward and punched forward with swift speed and accuracy, creating several water ripples in the water.

Zephyr carefully examined the attack, squinting his eyes.

"Hmm, a forward punch that spreads its force over a wide area at the point of impact. A very useful technique you got there, kid."

Terumi smiled, happy his new move worked.

"It was thanks to you, Zephyr-sensei. Now I should be able to defend myself even if I don't use a sword."

Terumi then straightened his arm and raised it, his hand straight with his arm. Using a knifehand strike, he swung down.

Zephyr's eyes widened as he witnessed what happened next, generated from Terumi's swing, was a small flying slashing that flew for several meters, leaving a small cut in the ground.

"Heh, I guess it won't be very hard for me to explain Rankyaku to you."

Terumi then looked back to Zephyr with an inquisitive expression.

"That was Rankyaku?"

Zephyr nodded his head slightly.

"Indeed, it needs work but you have the principles down."

Zephyr then jumped high in the air. Arching his leg back, he kicked forward in a flowing motion, rotating his body in mid-air. From that motion, came a large flying slashing, making a large and deep cut in the ground.

"The key to this technique is precision, as a swordsman who can perform flying slashes, you have the basics down. The rest is just about training. Training so you can utilize more of your power in the precise move."

"I see..."

As a swordsman, Terumi did notice that his attack was slightly off from his regular flying slashes from his sword. Without the added range of his sword, he found it difficult to fully perform the move using only his body.

While Terumi was in his thoughts, Zephyr moved over to the tree he was stopped by earlier.

"Come, for the next demonstration, I'm going to show it to you using this dummy."

Zephyr then beckoned Terumi over to the tree. There, Zephyr stood in front of the previous training dummy.

"Rankyaku was the fifth technique, and as I mentioned earlier, the third technique is Shigan. By focusing all of your upper body into a single point on your finger, you can deliver a devasting stab to your target. Watch closely."

Zephyr raised his finger and then stabbed it forward at high speed, cleanly piercing the dummy, leaving behind a small hole on its steel exterior.

Terumi captured the motion in his eyes.

'It doesn't seem that special. Although, I guess all of the techniques in principle are pretty basic, as they are meant to be the foundation for the user to develop on top of.'

Seeing that Terumi had no questions, Zephyr moved on to his final demonstration.

"We already talked about Rankyaku, so we'll on to the last technique, Kami-e. There's not much to explain about this technique, like the other five, it's simple in concept but hard in execution. Kami-e is a technique that involves extreme flexibility in order to dodge incoming attacks no matter what position you are in and where you're attacked from."

Zephyr then started moving his body, and like as if all of the bones in his body disappeared, he started bending in strange and various ways, swaying with the wind.

Terumi stared in amazement, wondering how Zephyr's movements were possible.

Zephyr then cooled down after the exercise and sat down next to the tree.

"Whew, been a while since I had to show all six at once. Come sit kid."

Terumi nodded and went to sit in a seiza in front of Zephyr.

"As you may have noticed, all six moves are simple in nature but complex in execution. These six moves have been refined and passed down for ages among the Marines."

Terumi nodded, confirming his past knowledge.

"These six techniques, they are meant to train the body, right Zephyr-sensei?"

Zephyr smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Correct, good eye. The reason why these six techniques are basic is that they serve as the foundation of your body. The simplicity of the techniques is meant to encourage you to expand them as you develop your own style. Each technique focuses on one key element in order for you to have a wide repertoire of abilities to handle any given situation. From there, you choose where you want to go."

Terumi nodded once more, and Zephyr continued.

"Soru is meant to train your lower body, kicking off the ground multiple times in an instant requires immense leg strength and control. Geppo trains your core. In the mid-air, you don't have the stability of the ground to allow you to generate force with, so you must use your own core muscles as the stabilizing element, and from there comes the strength required to do a kick strong enough to step on the air itself."

"I see...and if my guess is right, Shigan, the third technique, is meant to train the upper body, is that right?"

Zephyr nodded with a smile.

"Correct again. You might be the fastest one so far to pick up on these principles. The first three techniques are meant to train the body, and the next three are meant to train your ability to utilize your body."

"Tekkai's focus is on strength, mastering it means mastering the use of every strand of muscle in your body."

As Zephyr spoke, he perform Tekkai once more even while sitting, allowing Terumi to see the extent of his control.

"Rankyaku is about precision as you know, the more precise your sword swings, the cleaner and stronger your flying slash will be. In order to achieve the same effect without the added benefit of the leverage of a sword, you must master the coordination of your entire body, pulling force from the top of your head all the way down to the tip of your toe, and perform one fluid motion without any error or sway."

"I see, that's why my version was so weak. I was using drawing mostly only from my core and arm because I wasn't used to the difference without my sword. When I mastered the flying slash, I was able to put my whole body into it like my regular strikes."

"Yes, you are without a doubt a great swordsman, your previous teachers did well in imparting you the proper forms. But that does not mean there isn't room for improvement. Even as much as you've trained, it's hard to put one hundred percent of your body into every attack, but that is what's required if you want to master Rankyaku."

Terumi smiled and nodded in agreement. He then thought back to all of his training with Koushirou, his mom, and Kozaburo.

'Thank you guys, truly.'

"Now, the last technique, and arguably the hardest one, is Kami-e. There is no trick to it. It is pure flexibility and control. I have already adjusted your training regimen for you to get started on working towards it. Once you master it, your body will bend to your will, as you maneuver your own bones to move how you want them to move."

Terumi smiled wryly. Flexibility exercise has always been the toughest one for him, but since his mother was the one previously in charge of it, he didn't dare complain.

"That concludes my lecture on the overview of the Rokushiki techniques. In your journey to master them, you not only add much-needed versatility to your combat, but you will also greatly improve your physique. Your training starts tonight with Shuzo, he will teach you in Soru, Geppo, Shigan, and Tekkai every evening while I train your other classmates. You already understand Rankyaku so you can do that on your own. Lastly, for Kami-e, I will personally supervise it every afternoon."

"Yes, sir."

Terumi didn't dare disagree and simply nodded.

'So it's Shuzo after all. I guess I can't complain, he displayed a high level of mastery over the Rokushiki in the anime.'

Seeing that Terumi didn't have any outward complaints, Zephyr then stood up and took out a couple of stacks of paper from his chest pocket.

"Okay, that's all for today. Here's your training schedule. This training ground is free for you to use at any time. You can find the weights in that shed over there."

Zephyr then pointed at a small shed at the edge of the training ground.

"Let me know if you have any questions."

"Got it, Sensei."

Terumi accepted the stacks of paper and started reading it as Zephyr walked away. A nervous sweat drop began to form on his forehead as he read its contents.

'Oh you've got to be kidding me. Just what did I get myself into?'

"One thousand back squats. One thousand front squats. Five hundred power cleans. Five hundred deadlifts. Split squats, forward lunges, and the list just goes on. All with two hundred tons or more of weighted clothing and custom weights, no Haki allowed?"

Then Terumi read the title of the page.

"And that's just warm-up training for Soru?"

Deciding not to read the stack of other papers in his hand, Terumi sighed and resigned himself to his training.

"No use backing out now, I asked for this, so let's do it!"

Terumi made his way towards the shed at the edge of the field, ready to start feeling the burn.


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