Capítulo 6: I got fucking scammed!
By this time, Sou had been training for at least 9 months. At this point in time, his Status was rather filled up.
[Gol D. Sou]
[Age: 8]
[Unique Skills: Ten Image Defense (D)]
[Extra Skills: Complete Mind's Eye (C)]
[Personal Skills: Observation Haki (C), Armament's Haki (D), Conqueror's Haki (D)]
[Inherited Skills (Sasaki Kojiro): Vitrification (D), Presence Concealment (D), Knowledge of the Sowa (D)]
As he sat on the bed he was recovering on, staring at his status, Sou began to think. 'From what I've seen, I'm still rather far from accomplishing my mission. Presence Concealment and Complete Mind's eye so far are the only ones that fulfill any sort of criteria of the mission. Since it started out as D, the same rank as Sasaki's original skill, it's at 100% proficiency. And since Complete Mind's Eye is an evolved form of Mind's Eye (Fake), I have already surpassed 100% proficiency. However, I would need to get at least a C rank in Vitrification and Knowledge of the Sowa if I wanted to fulfill the 50% proficiency requirement, as Sasaki's original skill was rank B. '
Pausing for a moment, he continued thinking. 'On top of that, I would probably require rank B in Observation, Armament, and Conqueror's Haki. If D is initial understanding, C is beginner understanding, then B is the intermediate understanding that is required. A would already be Advanced versions, and EX would be the absolute pinnacle of Haki. And to add to that, I still haven't even gotten the initial form of Tsubame Gaeshi, meaning my proficiency is less than 0%. How am I going to learn it, much less get to 25% proficiency?'
At this thought, Sasaki entered this room. "Oh, Sasaki. I was wondering, how do I get started on Tsubame Gaeshi? Even after all this training, I haven't even been able to learn an ounce of it," he asked.
"Ah. Well, do you want the short or long answer?" Sasaki replied.
"I'll take the short answer then."
"Well, the short answer is that you can't."
"The fuck? I know for sure I have the ability to. What's the long answer?"
"The long answer is that due to the unique properties of Tsubame Gaeshi, you can't necessarily 'get started' with it. It's either that you fully obtain the skill, or you don't. The essence of Tsubame Gaeshi is three, overlapping, unblockable slashes happening simultaneously. There is no in-between. If you were only able to perform two of the slashes, or you were if these slashes were to happen within a second of each other, it would no longer be the same Tsubame Gaeshi, but a completely different move."
At this information, Sou thought in silence for a while, his usual grin no longer present on his face. 'Hold on, doesn't that mean I got fucking scammed? The system explicitly said that I need to gain 25% proficiency in his ultimate technique, Tsubame Gaeshi. But since there is no such thing, doesn't that mean the system is forcing me to fully learn Tsubame Gaeshi? That means I won't be able to accomplish this mission for a while.'
Frowning, Sou followed up with a question. "Then, how the hell do I learn Tsubame Gaeshi?"
"Well, there's a safe and dangerous way. The safe way is to seclude yourself for many years, constantly training your swordsmanship."
"And the dangerous way?"
"Just like with learning everything else, life or death situations are by far the fastest way to learn Tsubame Gaeshi."
Sou sighed. 'Why am I not surprised? As always, it always boils down to battle. Not that I'm opposed to it, anyways. This will be like killing a flock of birds with one stone. I can better adapt to my techniques, obtain Tsubame Gaeshi, and advance in all the other techniques I have at the same time. Plus, I get to go adventure and have fun.'
Standing up, Sou gave a grin. "You already know what I decided on doing, right Sasaki?"
Sasaki returned his grin with one of his own. "Of course."
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Sou stood in front of Rayleigh, with a carefree grin on his face. "Oi, dad. I and Sasaki are going on an adventure to get myself some battle experience. You're okay with that, right?"
Rayleigh gave a light laugh, contrasting with his rather melancholy expression. "Hah. I wouldn't be able to stop you without physically restraining you, anyways, you crazy kid. Promise me, though, that you won't go to the New World yet. While I'm sure you can handle a lot of the New World Pirates, it's better for you to stay in Paradise for now. After all, if you were to encounter any of the Yonko, even a random above-average crewmember could probably defeat you."
Sou laughed too. "I promise. Don't worry too much about me, dad."
However, following Sou's response, Rayleigh's expression dropped, and he spoke with a more serious tone. "However, before you go, I have something to tell you. I was planning to tell this to you by the time you were at least thirteen, but I would never have expected you to surpass the strength of an average New World Pirate at the age of eight. To be blunt, you are not my biological son."
However, Rayleigh did not get the reaction he expected. Rather than shock, he just got a light laugh from Sou. "I already knew that. After all, even though our shades of blonde are similar, they both have a distinct coloring. And my eyes and grin are nothing like yours. And judging from rumors and pictures, it's likely that they come from the Pirate King... Gol D. Roger, right?"
Rayleigh just looked at him with a dumbfounded look on his face, confirming the truth of his words. Of course, Sou already knew for sure of his father's identity due to being conscious as a baby. Sou continued talking. "Anyways, don't worry about anyone else finding this out. The only reason I was able to figure this out was due to the pictures you have of your crew, as well as being in close vicinity with you for a long time."
Sou began to turn away, heading for the port, before ending with one last thing. Sporting a grin, he told Rayleigh, "Oh yeah. And one last thing. Gol D. Roger maybe my father, but you're my dad."
He didn't even have to turn around to know Rayleigh's reaction. As he walked away, he heard a choked sentence. "You... you crazy kid."
'Hah. That old man is definitely crying right now.' Giving one last laugh, Sou walked away, ready to start a new adventure.
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A/N: Sorry that I didn't have a chapter yesterday. Anyways, halfway through writing this chapter, I was looking back to see what age Sou was. And I instantly stopped and went like, "Oh shit, he's eight?" I originally planned for him to be older when he first set out, but oh well. I hope this doesn't kill your suspension of disbelief, as I didn't really want to retcon it or put a shitty excuse for him suddenly turning older with no improvements. In my opinion, as a reader, having the author retcon or change things randomly really hurts a story, unless there was an incredibly major flaw that desperately needed to be changed. Personally not very happy with this chapter as a whole, but I already delayed the release by one day, so I'm just publishing it. As always, put suggestions, comments, questions, and concerns.
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