"A whole month? Get real. You'd be graduating in a month. You think Master-Z would actually let you slack off that long?"
Rosinante shot a look at Borsalino. At that, Borsalino's trademark sleazy smile only deepened.
"Hey~ But I'm injured! Isn't Master gonna let me take a break?"
Despite the complaint, he extended his hand. Rosinante grabbed it and hauled him to his feet with a strong pull. Once standing, Borsalino looked Rosinante up and down, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
"Little bro… what did you just do to shut off my Devil Fruit powers?"
Rosinante thought for a moment, then decided not to hide it.
"I ate the Silence-Silence Fruit. I'm a Silence Human. I developed a technique from it called Silence Extinction. It temporarily disables a Devil Fruit user's abilities."
"You can nullify Devil Fruit powers?! Woah~ That's a seriously terrifying move you've got there."
Borsalino whistled low, clearly impressed. Rosinante smiled but didn't respond. After a beat, Borsalino turned and began walking toward the training fields.
"Hey, Borsalino. Where're you going?"
Rosinante called out after him. Borsalino waved a hand lazily over his shoulder.
"Gotta work on my physical conditioning. Figure I'll brush up on the swordsmanship I learned back in the day. What a pain… why do monsters like you exist in this world, huh? Coming up with such broken abilities… I'm terrified~"
Despite the nonchalant tone, Borsalino had taken this defeat seriously. It made him realize that relying solely on his Devil Fruit was dangerous. If someone else down the line had a similar ability to shut off his powers, he'd be completely exposed. He needed other tools to survive.
"Swordsmanship, huh? Wait up, Borsalino! I'm coming with you!"
Rosinante quickly made up his mind. His Six Powers mastery gave him a solid foundation in martial arts. His Silence-Silence Fruit was mostly support-based. Even Silence Extinction only worked effectively against Devil Fruit users. Against someone purely trained in physical combat, it wasn't a surefire win. He had a new technique idea brewing based on the logic of Silence Extinction, but it was still under development—not yet battle-ready.
So it made sense to pick up a new fighting discipline. Swordsmanship had long been a core combat style in the era of cold weapons. As the saying goes: "An inch longer, an inch stronger." Bare hands weren't always enough. Not everyone was like Garp, able to beat down the world with just his fists.
Even Whitebeard, the world's strongest man, wielded the massive swordspear Murakumogiri alongside the power of the Tremor Tremor Fruit. Look at the Emperors: Kaido had his kanabo, Charlotte Linlin had Napoleon, her talking blade, and Shanks used the saber Gryphon.
As for the Admirals, Akainu once carried a sword in his youth—though later he seemed to rely entirely on his overpowered Devil Fruit. Kuzan crafted his own ice blades. Borsalino wielded the Sword. Practically every Vice Admiral in the Marines had a sword at their hip.
In short, weapons mattered. Fistfighting was cool and all, but nothing beat the feel of slicing through your enemies.
For Rosinante, swordsmanship would become a required subject. He didn't expect to become the next Mihawk, but if it made him stronger, it was worth learning.
So he ran off after Borsalino toward the sword training dojo. Most of the other cadets hadn't even finished cheering for Rosinante's victory before he was already charging off toward his next training session.
They watched his retreating figure with admiration in their eyes. He was a man strong and self-disciplined. The kind of man who didn't waste a single second of his time.
In that moment, the figure of the nine-year-old Rosinante seemed larger than life—towering even over Borsalino beside him.
From that day forward, the Marine Academy's "duo of monsters" became a trio: Akainu, Blue Eagle, and Kizaru.
Swordsmanship—a dominant combat style across the seas, and one of the three core training disciplines in the One Piece world: physical combat, swordsmanship, and Devil Fruit mastery.
As for Haki, that was a universal technique, applicable to all three disciplines. Like chakra in Naruto or spiritual energy in cultivation novels, Haki amplified combat ability across the board. No matter what style you practiced—once you learned Haki, your power would skyrocket.
"Nah nah~ Little bro, why're you tagging along with me? My sword skills are pretty mid. If you learn from me, you'll probably just end up worse off~"
Borsalino sighed, clearly unenthusiastic. His own swordsmanship was something he'd picked up from a world government kendo workshop. Flashy, sure—but not exactly practical. He didn't think Rosinante had anything to gain from it.
"Hey hey~ Old man Borsalino, it's just the two of us in the dojo. If I'm not learning from you, who am I supposed to learn from? Quit whining. However you train, I'll do the same."
Rosinante picked up a standard longsword from the weapons rack and tossed another one to Borsalino.
"All right. Let's begin!"
"Uh… you're really gonna learn from me?"
Borsalino held the sword awkwardly, his face darkening.
Rosinante nodded firmly. "Who else? Let's go!"
"…Fine then. Noble Fencing Style, First Form: Salute!"
Borsalino twirled the blade into an elegant flourish and bowed toward Rosinante. Rosinante's brow twitched.
"What the hell is that?"
"It's fencing etiquette! This is an elegant sword style taught to the World Nobles. When they have nothing better to do, they practice it to stay in shape."
"…Stay in shape?!"
Rosinante's frown deepened into a scowl. He wanted to learn a killing sword style, not some fancy stage performance. If he wanted to wave a sword around for exercise, he might as well head to the park and learn tai chi from old folks.
"Old man, I'm here to learn how to kill with a sword. Not to dance with one! Can you please take this seriously?"
"Woah~ You want to learn how to kill with a sword? But I don't know how to do that~"
Borsalino threw up his hands, utterly unbothered.
Rosinante clenched his jaw. "I swear to—"
"How about I teach you both instead?"
Just as Rosinante was about to lay into Borsalino, a deep and serious voice rang out.
Both men turned toward the sound. There stood Akainu, a longsword strapped to his back, walking toward them.
"Akainu? You—"
Rosinante stared in surprise. Even Borsalino was taken aback.
Then his expression slipped back into that usual sleazy grin.
"Woah~ You're gonna teach us swordsmanship, Akainu~?"
"Shut it, Kizaru. If you're not learning, get lost."
Akainu wasn't known for his patience. His glare could melt steel. But Borsalino narrowed his eyes, dropping the grin for a moment.
"You wanna fight, Sakazuki?"
(End of Chapter)
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