Bab 516: 516. Oden's Test
Oden can tell that Zoro is not lying, but he is still being careful. So he contacts Buggy to get the information about Straw Hat Pirates, especially about Zoro's swords. Buggy can guess what happened and he can tell Oden the story right away, but he's still asking Dela to collect the information Oden needs.
"How is it, my friend?"
<Hmm, it's said that one of his swords was destroyed in Enies Lobby. There isn't any clear information on what they were doing on Thriller Bark, but the kid indeed had a new sword after leaving Thriller Bark, so he must've gotten that sword there. It actually makes sense, Oden. Moria was fighting Kaido before I came and almost got his entire crew wiped out. He might've stole it before fighting Kaido. I can also verify it if you want. The kids in my Fleet had destroyed Moria's crew and Thriller Bark is in our possession now. We never really bothered with it and only kept it, so Ryoma's corpse should still be there if everything is true.>
"Please do. He is a very important person for Wano."
<Alright, we'll search thoroughly. But at least I can confirm that the kid doesn't lie.>
"I understand. Thank you, Buggyjiro."
"H-How is it, father?"
"He doesn't lie. It seems to be Gecko Moria's doing 20 years ago when his crew fought Beasts Pirates. I'm very sorry for my previous behavior and thank you very much, young man. You are a great benefactor to our Wano Country."
Oden bows his head to Zoro, surprising everyone there. But then the samurais follow suit and all bow to Zoro to express their gratitude.
"Wait a minute! You have been saying anything you want since the beginning. But now you surely know that I got Shusui fairly, right? Do you want to take my sword from me just because you say so? No matter what happened, I am Shusui's owner now."
"You are right, young man. We can't just take it from you. So how about a trade? Let's trade Shusui with one of my swords."
Oden puts both of his swords in front of him, surprising his subordinates. These 2 swords are also some of the best swords in the world that won't lose to Shusui.
"These 2 swords and Shusui are Meito and have the same grade. They are included in 21 Great Grade Blades, so I believe this is an equal trade."
"Hmm, well, if I can get a good sword to replace it, then it's fine I guess."
"Great, now pick the one you like."
Zoro walks forward and takes the one on the left, the sword with a purple scabbard.
"Enma, huh? Then from now on, Enma will be your sword."
Ace immediately tries to use this chance. "Hey, old man Oden. Shouldn't you train us now that we've returned a very precious treasure to your country? No need for tests, right?"
"This and that are different matters. Also, I've compensated for taking Shusui by giving Enma. Though Shusui is a national treasure, I personally think Enma is better for combat. You'll understand once you use it later."
Oden grins widely as if he's expecting a good show for when Zoro uses Enma.
"What's the test?"
"The test is easy and simple. All of you just need to fight the 10 Red Scabbards. But as 2 of them are absent, you just need to fight 8."
The 10 Red Scabbards are now composed of Kinemon, Denjiro, Kikunojo, Raizo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, Ashura Doji, Shinobu, and Izo. Shinobu replaced Kanjuro, while Izo is a new addition after Whitebeard Pirates were disbanded.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi aren't on Wano at the moment as they are ruling Zou. They only come to Wano every once in a while and when Oden summons them. So the pirates will fight 8 out of the 10 Red Scabbards.
"Hmm, just sending 8 doesn't look good. Then, let's include Momonosuke and Hiyori to replace Inuarashi & Nekomamushi. Also, young pirate swordsman, you should use Shusui for this because you haven't adapted to Enma yet. It's better to use the swords that you are used to."
They go to the field for the match between samurais and pirates. The match starts quickly and it is quite one-sided. Of course, the ones dominating the match are the samurais, or to be precise the 8 Red Scabbards.
Momo & Hiyori are struggling to face the pirates, unlike the Red Scabbards. Both of them are not as experienced as the Red Scabbards in battle, especially in battle against pirates who have unique fighting styles. Pirates also don't follow things such as samurai's honor codes when fighting because the most important thing for them is winning.
But the Red Scabbards are used to fighting pirates because they often fought pirates to defend their borders. So they are very careful of unexpected things when fighting pirates. Also, the Red Scabbards have very good teamwork that makes them even stronger.
Oden and Toki are watching the battle seriously from the side. They aren't just assessing the pirates' abilities, but also their children. Both Momonosuke and Hiyori are strong among their peers here, but they lack battle experience against outsiders, so this is a very good chance to teach them.
Momonosuke is struggling fighting Usopp because he isn't used to fighting a ranged fighter and Usopp has many tricks. Hiyori has it harder as her opponent is Robin who keeps outsmarting her in every move.
Meanwhile, Luffy is fighting Kinemon, Zoro is fighting Denjiro, Leo is fighting Ashura, Sanji is fighting Kikunojo, Law is fighting Kawamatsu, Ace is fighting Izo, Chopper & Nami are fighting Shinobu, while Raizo is moving around to fight the other members.
Raizo faces the most opponents, but he doesn't show any sign of being at a disadvantage thanks to his ninja skills. Franky who is determined to defeat him can't even catch Raizo who is very slippery like an eel. Raizo skillfully uses his ninjutsu to trick & defeat the weaker members alone.
As a ninja, Raizo's fighting style is obviously very different from the samurais. He won't engage his enemies in direct confrontation and rather uses tricks. Despite his appearance, Raizo is the best ninja in Wano, and he is more used to fighting many people alone as he often needs to infiltrate enemy bases alone and fight many people.
As for the samurais, they have fought many enemies multiple times. But these pirates aren't opponents they can take lightly and they need to fight these pirates one-on-one. It's also mainly because Oden orders them to assess these main fighters of the pirate alliance.
"What do you think of them, dear?"
"Hmm, I could see they are truly battle-hardened people. They aren't afraid of taking risks when fighting and their desire to win is very strong. Their skills are also great even for New World standards. But this is not enough to get them to the top. Ace must've realized this, that's why he took them here for training. He wants us to teach them Ryuo."
"Ah, that surely is a very important ability to have if they want to compete with the top people. But what do you think of their potential?"
"Potential, huh? I will exclude Ace because Whitey-chan must've taught him. As for the others, the ones with the highest potential are the Straw Hat boy, the green-haired swordsman, the curly eyebrow, and the black-haired swordsman also seem good. But that blue-haired kid, I can't really see through him."
"He looks quite familiar even though I'm sure I never saw him before."
"If my guess is right, then he should be that ridiculous man's son. Buggyjiro said his son and daughter are joining a peculiar pirate crew. There are similarities in their swordsmanship too."
"Ah, now that you mention it, they certainly look similar. Except that he doesn't have that red round nose and evil face. He also looks more handsome than his father even though there are similarities in their looks. How strange."
"Toki, you, sigh, never say that in front of Buggyjiro. He might chop you into pieces and no one can stop him."
The battle suddenly ends when Toki and Oden are still talking. The young pirates give good fights, but it's still Oden's men's victory. Only Momonosuke and Hiyori are defeated, but then the other samurais defeat Usopp & Robin who fought those 2.
Izo almost lost to Ace, but he turned the situation around after using a sword along with a pistol. Ace never saw this fighting style of Izo and he wasn't ready for it. So he couldn't see through Izo's attacks and eventually lost.
The others also gave the samurais some hard battles, but they still couldn't win. All Red Scabbards can use Ryuo a.k.a advanced haki although theirs are not as strong as Oden because they don't have Conqueror Haki. But even advanced armament haki is already very strong and destructive.
"Hahaha! You really aren't their match yet, youngsters. And there are only 8 of them. It would end much faster if all 10 of them were here."
"Damn, it seems we don't pass the test, right, old man Oden?"
"Nonono, you pass. I never said you need to defeat them. What I wanted was just to see your abilities and characters through the battles to see if you are qualified to be taught by me. No matter how strong you are and even if you managed to defeat my men, I will never accept you if your characters aren't to my liking."
"So you will train us?"
"That's right. We will start your training 2 days later. For now, you need to rest and get used to this place more while we make preparations. I hope you are also prepared to face my training because I won't hold back."
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Status Power Mingguan
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