章節 426: Cute Little Students

Cherry packed away quite the haul of goodies, most of which was meant for Merry and Usopp.

Most of the perishable goods like Mrs. Meredith's apple pies wouldn't usually last the weeks it would take to reach Wano, but it was simple enough for Cherry to keep organic material fresh.

She said her goodbyes to Kaya, Merry Sr. and the townspeople, did a quick perimeter check of the island for Big Mom pirates, then snuck back into Kaya's mansion to borrow her den den mushi.

There was only one last place to go. Zoro's homeland, Shimotsuki village.

This one actually gave her a bit of trouble in searching for it. She found herself going to den den mushi at her own home on Boulder Island multiple times because that was what she subconsciously associated with the words 'sword dojo'. Ultimately she was able to find the right place. She was quite certain when she found a den den mushi whose dream self was a replica of Zoro, except it was wielding all three swords in its mouth instead of just the one.

"Now that's just silly," Cherry commented.

"Iwushousiwi!" the snail attempted to exclaim something that might have been "I will show you silly!" before charging her.

Cherry gave the den den mushi a fishman karate chop on the head, then returned to the real world.

Shimotsuki village was a place with an overabundance of peace and quiet. Even the dojo, which was easy enough to find, seemed rather serene despite a few dozen students practicing in the courtyard.

It was hard to believe that a wild man like Zoro was trained here.

A bespeckled man in simple robes watched over the students. Someone less perceptive than Cherry might think he was just slacking off, but she could tell he was paying close attention to them; and to her as well, she noted.

Cherry brazenly walked right up to him without any regard for etiquette, but the man did not show any sign that he was upset or offended by this.

"Pleasant weather today, isn't it?" Shimotsuki Koushiro asked softly.

"Mm, perfect weather if you ask me," Cherry said. "For a duel, that is."

"Hmmm?" Koushiro hummed without concern.

"I, Harpin D. Cherry, chief disciple of the Harpin dojo, challenge the master of the Shimotsuki dojo to a duel!" Cherry's voice was not loud, but it echoed across the courtyard like a gong. "Only a dojo filled with fools who disgrace the way of the sword could produce a swordsman who holds a sword between his teeth like a beast!"

The students had all frozen in their positions, jaws dropped as their eyes flitted between Cherry and their master.

"I see," Koushiro said in his same lazy tone of voice, though there was an edge hidden beneath it. "I suppose that you have left me no choice…"

His students held their breath. They had never seen their master in this light before.

"I admit defeat," Koushiro took a sip of tea.

All the students promptly flopped to the ground as the tension left their bodies. Soon after, they were up on their feet, shouting at their master and demanding that he fight for the honor of the dojo. Koushiro only laughed.

"As expected, Zoro had a good teacher. Too bad that he's the sort to learn things the hard way," Cherry nodded in appreciation.

"That's true. Perhaps he would have learned more from someone like your grandmother than he did from me," Koushiro said.

"Have you met her before?" Cherry asked.

"Every five years or so, the martial arts dojos around the Four Blues meet up together. I don't normally go, but I went to the one nine years ago since they held it in East Blue that time and not too far from here. I had the good fortune to meet your grandmother there, and she talked my ear off about you," Koushiro explained.

"Did she say anything nice?" Cherry asked.

"She had nothing but complaints, I'm afraid," Koushiro gave her a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, that sounds like Grandma," Cherry nodded.

The first shocked, then angry students were now very confused. This lady just showed up out of nowhere, insulted their master and their dojo, and now they were just chatting it up like old friends.

Cherry glanced at the students with some amusement glinting in her eyes. "It looks like your students are disappointed that they didn't get the chance to watch you fight."

Koushiro looked over and his students scrambled to look like they hadn't been eavesdropping, which only made them more suspicious because they were all pretending to be doing anything except training like they were supposed to be doing.

"I don't know about that. They all seem to be busy slacking off," Koushiro said with a good natured smile.

The students, realizing their mistake, scrambled to take up their wooden blades and start swinging in a basic form.

"Perhaps a little sparring match would serve to motivate them?" Cherry said.

The students did their best not to react, but their eyes were shining in anticipation. It was rare to see their master spar with someone, and none had ever seen one that wasn't at least partly choreographed for educational purposes. Certainly they had never seen him get serious.

"That wouldn't be a very long match," Koushiro spoke with a joking provocation in his tone. "I probably wouldn't be able to make a single move against you."

"Yes you would, master!" "You're the best swordsman in the world!" "Kick her ass!" His students seemed much more sure of his victory than he did.

Cherry didn't get the sense that he was being humble, though. Either he was a very good liar, or he genuinely believed that Cherry would trounce him.

Still, she wanted to see what he could do, so she said, "I'll take a handicap, then, let you show off to your cute little students a bit before I trash you. I'll even keep my feet well away from your crotch, out of respect."

"Hmmm, that is a tempting offer…" Koushiro said, stroking his chin with a teasing smile as he watched his 'cute little students' jump around in their excitement. "I wonder if it will truly motivate them though?"

"Of course it will!" "Show us what the pinnacle of swordsmanship looks like!" "Don't hold back!"

"Very well, but if I don't see some results from your training, then we won't be doing any demonstrations like this for the foreseeable future." Koushiro stood up as his students cheered.

Both he and Cherry held their hands out and the students quickly bestowed a wooden blade in each hand. Soon they stood across from each other in the courtyard, with the students forming a semicircle around them from a distance and still hooting and hollering and jeering at Cherry.

Cherry marveled at the man. Nothing about him or the way he moved betrayed the fact that he was a warrior, let alone a swordsman. It was as if it were the very first time he'd ever held a blade.

This did not mean he was a fraud, however. Rather it meant the exact opposite, that this man had mastered his art to such a depth that he could recognize and suppress all of his habitual movements. It made him hard to read or predict.

"On my signal!" a burly looking student with bushy brows declared. Seeing both his master and Cherry nod, he shouted "Begin!"

評論 5條評論

投票

章節 427: A Passionate Swordsman

Koushiro moved immediately and decisively. His students cheered loudly, suggesting that their master was not usually so bold.

Cherry could easily outpace the man, rush up into his face and attack without giving him a chance to react. However, she understood that his students would not only learn little to nothing from that, but may even be discouraged from the path of the sword.

So instead, Cherry waited right where she stood, taking a defensive posture with her wooden blade.

Given how slow Koushiro was from her perspective, she took a moment to admire the practice sword in her hands. It had all the pieces that you could expect to see in a real sword, and they were weighted in a way that simulated the balance of a genuine blade as well. It was honestly very well made.

Sadly, she didn't have any more time for idle thoughts as Koushiro suddenly sped up in an attempt to take advantage of her distraction. Unfortunately for him, he was still too slow.

*whack whack whack whack whack*

Cherry stayed on the defensive, feeling out his style as she deflected his attacks. It was very aggressive, all but abandoning his own defense in favor of overwhelming offense. It was familiar, actually…

"Wait a minute, this is Zoro's style! Less refined, but definitely his!" Cherry pushed his sword aside with a bit more force and pointed at him.

"Hahaha, it didn't take you long to notice," Koushiro stepped back and laughed. "I thought it would take a while, since I'm only using one sword."

Cherry wondered if it was just a little joke, or if he was testing her. In any case, since he hadn't rushed in again, she did so instead.

She was moving faster than the speed that she showed before, but Koushiro had already started moving the very instant after she had.

Cherry thrust her practice blade towards his chest. With a single fluid movement, Koushiro guided her sword to the side and thrust his own sword at her chest in turn.

Cherry used Kami-e to dodge and slip around behind him, bringing her weapon up to smack in across the back of the head. Koushiro simply tilted his head forward and allowed her attack to pass him by.

His counter attack came swiftly, spinning in a low leg sweep which Cherry hopped over at the last second.

Koushiro's eyes flashed dangerously. His wrist twisted and he brought his arm up in a vicious slash. If Cherry had been anyone else, she would have been helplessly trapped in midair. As she wasn't anyone else, she simply hopped again and did a front flip over his head.

The students were no longer cheering, but unknowingly holding their breaths.

"You have some very strange skills. I've never seen their like before," Koushiro said.

"You're quite the odd one yourself," Cherry said, causing Koushiro to smile.

And she meant it. Koushiro keeping up with an opponent that was stronger and faster than himself was still within the realm of reason, but he was keeping her on the back foot whilst remaining quite calm himself.

Furthermore, Cherry had a sneaky suspicion. "Your haki is quite good."

"I never learned, I'm afraid," Koushiro confirmed Cherry's thoughts. "Now that's a scary smile."

"Oops," Cherry reigned her expression back in.

Koushiro had been predicting her actions without observation haki. That was why he was caught off guard when she used Geppo to hop off of thin air and avoid his finisher; he simply didn't know that was an option.

"Let's pick up the pace!" Cherry vanished with Soru and her blade slid along his own that he raised to block her.

Cherry proceeded to lay into him with a flurry of blows from angles that were impossible to achieve by most, and at a speed far faster than what Koushiro was capable of matching.

Still Koushiro was able to block, dodge, and even parry some of her attacks. Cherry was cackling in delight whilst Koushiro was starting to sweat, though he still wore a smile on his face.

"Last one! Try not to die!" Cherry created just a bit of distance before rocketing right through his guard. A little conquerer's haki slipped out by accident which made a couple of weaker willed students faint.

*CRACK!*

A half snapped wooden sword flew into the air and landed at the students' feet.

"*Hah Hah* I would appreciate if you didn't involve the audience in our bout," Koushiro said, taking deep breaths.

"My bad," Cherry said, eyes glittering as she waved her empty hands in surrender and glanced at the wooden blade leveled at her throat.

Koushiro wasn't strong. He was skilled, to an absurd degree. When he said that he never learned haki, what he meant was that haki would only get in the way of his true passion. He walked the path of the sword for the sake of the art, not for power.

In the Myriad Realms, such a person was destined to reach the highest pinnacle of power simply because cultivation would give them more time to dedicate to their passion. In a mortal world like this one, however, such people would be doomed to die in obscurity; and they probably wouldn't have it any other way.

"Master won!" "Master, you're the best swordsman in the world!" "Give that rude bitch a good whack on the head!"

That last guy was the one to get a whack on the head instead. Koushiro admonished him, "Do not dishonor our dojo."

Koushiro turned back to Cherry. "Would you like some refreshments? I could certainly use some."

Cherry agreed, though she wasn't even a little tired. Not like Koushiro was, that much was certain. The man was drenched in sweat and even now his breathing was labored, albeit controlled.

The students were thrilled, buzzing with excitement as they chittered and chattered about the fight. They had a superficial understanding that the result may have been different if it had been a real fight, but it was Koushiro himself who taught them that a victory was a victory and a loss was a loss, no matter what reasoning or excuses one made after the fact; so they took pride in the win nonetheless.

Koushiro didn't bother to correct them. It was a good demonstration of how skill could bridge the difference with a physically superior opponent. They didn't need to know that Cherry could have ended the fight instantly, and at any point.

"I wonder if my father could match you," Cherry said when they were alone with fruit juice and snacks on the table between them.

"Your father?" Koushiro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hawkeye," Cherry said, nearly causing Koushiro to spit out his juice.

"I don't think so," Koushiro said after carefully swallowing his mouthful of juice.

"Not in a death match, obviously," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I've never gotten to see him pull out all the stops, not really. He's got too much raw power to contest anyone in skill alone, and he's too much of a jerk to hold back against anyone who might actually manage it."

Koushiro looked thoughtful. "He was not always the man he is today. I have personally witnessed one of his duels, when he was still far from becoming the world's strongest swordsman. It was a beautiful and frightening sight, as well as a great inspiration for what one can do with a sword. I am not sure that I from today could beat him from back then."

"Perhaps he just made too strong of an impression on you, so you can't imagine him any other way than as your superior" Cherry said.

"Perhaps," Koushiro smiled. "You would make a good teacher."

"Are you aiming to retire?" Cherry retorted.

Koushiro laughed.

評論 6條評論

投票