The heat was relentless.
I stood in the middle of the Alabasta desert, sweat clinging to my skin, sword in hand, staring at a distant rock.
It was my sworn enemy. My nemesis. The unbreakable force standing between me and progress.
It was also just a rock.
Gritting my teeth, I raised my blade. "Alright, this time for sure."
Taking a deep breath, I focused. My Observation Haki flared, sharpening my senses. I could feel my sword as if it were an extension of myself. I felt some energy gathering on my blade, but it wasn't Haki. Then, with all my strength—
I swung my sword.
Nothing.
The rock sat there, as smug as a fucking rock could be.
My eye twitched.
"Again."
I swung.
Nothing.
I swung again.
Nothing.
For days, I repeated this process. Waking up, practicing, failing, gritting my teeth, and repeating the cycle. Anna and Robin had stopped commenting after the first hundred failures, probably realizing that any word spoken about my progress (or lack thereof) would result in me ranting about the unfairness of the world.
It wasn't fair.
I could see the future, split iron like butter, wield an overpowered Devil Fruit, and yet…
I still couldn't send a single damn flying slash.
"Why?! Why does this make no sense?! How the hell does Zoro manage this despite being so weak?!"
I stabbed my sword into the ground and sat down, burying my face in my hands.
This wasn't supposed to be hard. This was supposed to be easy. I had already broken through the Breath of All Things, which was an advanced, mystical level of swordsmanship. But I couldn't do the basic-ass move that every swordsman worth their salt could pull off?!
No. This was bullshit.
I needed a break.
"…I'm going to Alubarna."
Robin, who had been reading under the shade, finally looked up. "Done with training already?"
"Temporarily," I corrected, brushing the dust off myself. "I need a change of scenery. Maybe some food, some drinks… something to get my mind off this flying slash nonsense."
Anna perked up. "Oh! That means we're done camping in this desert, right?"
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Don't get your hopes up."
She sighed. "Of course."
With that, I turned toward Alubarna, setting off with the determination of a man who needed civilization before he lost his mind.
And in a few short days, we reached the capital of Alabasta.
"Haahh, finally back to living like humans. Master, think about training locations better next time," Anna grumbled.
I ignored her, already deep in thought.
I had learned about an old swordsman in Alabasta—one who could send flying slashes. He used to be the kingdom's guardian but had long since retired.
That meant he had knowledge I needed.
"I heard there's an old swordsman in Alabasta who can send flying slashes," I said. "He used to be the kingdom's guardian, but he retired some time back. Let's go. We're catching him."
"Huh? Why catch an old swordsman, Master?" Anna asked.
"Of course, for research purposes. I'm gonna make him send several flying slashes while he's inside my ROOM. That way, I can properly study what exactly these flying slashes are—and finally learn it."
Learning about this old guardian of Alabasta was an accident. The guy was old—maybe even dead by the time Crocodile started his plans. And even if he had known, there wasn't much he could have done, considering he was only a swordsman.
I doubted he even had powerful Haki. Or any Haki at all.
As for kidnapping him…
Come on. This was Alabasta. No one here knew Observation Haki.
I would just take him from his home, and no one would find shit about it.
"ROOM! Scan."
I expanded my ROOM, covering all of Alubarna and scanning for the strongest presence.
Found him.
The old guy had no idea what was coming.
A second later, I teleported into his room.
He didn't even have a sword on him.
I smiled. "Hello there, old guy!"
"HUH?! Who are you??" the old man shouted.
THUD!
Should've just greeted me back properly, old man. I might have asked nicely.
…Nah, just kidding.
Now, where was his sword?
I glanced around and spotted it—a fine blade. Not a famous named sword, but still good enough to reach that level.
I grabbed the old man, teleported out, and in an instant—
We were back outside Alubarna.
Now to pick up Robin and Anna. Then, I'd start learning flying slashes.
"Ughhh… where am I?" the old man groaned, lifting himself from the hot desert ground, one hand clutching the back of his head.
"Finally up, swordsman? Took you long enough," I said, smirking, trying to rile him up.
The old man clutched his sword, which I had placed beside him, and stood up.
"Who are you? Why abduct me? As a retired old man, I don't think I'm of any value to you, right?" he asked, already gripping the hilt of his sword.
"ROOM! Observatory."
A move I developed specifically to maximize my ROOM's observational power.
The old man saw me act—and reacted instantly. He drew his sword and swung.
A flying slash tore through the air toward me.
I covered my hand with Armament Haki and slapped the slash aside.
CRACK! It shattered like glass.
The old man was shocked, but quickly regained his stance.
"That wasn't enough. Send a few more flying slashes. I'm close to figuring it out—I might just let you live if I succeed," I said excitedly.
The old man didn't understand what I meant, but he complied. He unleashed a series of flying slashes—one after another—while I studied them with my full concentration.
He didn't even try engaging me in close combat.
He knew.
His only way out was my mercy.
Which was correct.
After just ten slashes—
"YES! THIS IS IT!" I shouted.
I drew my sword—focused—and swung.
A massive flying slash erupted from my blade. Ten times larger than the old swordsman's. Stronger. Faster.
And I didn't even use Haki.
I grinned. "Finally, Flying slashes: completed."
Now, it was time for the next step.
Next, I would go to Drum Island.
I would create a secret base there.
And also Establish a medical industry, all based on Drum kingdom's advanced medical knowledge.
Then I'd train some more, and once I was slightly stronger than I was now—
I would go to Water 7.
and get A bigger ship, one capable of sailing the second part of the grand Line,
The New World.