Location: Shimotsuki Village, East Blue Year: 1520 (One Week Later)
Shimotsuki Village was the antithesis of the chaotic seas. It was a place of stillness, bamboo forests, and the rhythmic clack-clack-clack of wooden swords echoing through the valley.
Hiroki walked up the stone path leading to the village's heart. His uniform—a dark blue kimono tucked into hakama pants—was clean, washed in a stream miles back. Umitsubame hung at his hip, its presence heavy and reassuring.
He wasn't here for a bounty. He was here for answers.
He stopped before a modest wooden gate. The sign read: Isshin Dojo.
Inhale. Exhale.
[Mental Conditioning: Calm]
He pushed the gate open.
The courtyard was filled with children swinging shinai. They were shouting with spirit, their forms sloppy but enthusiastic. Watching them with a gentle smile was a man in a long robe, bespectacled and unassuming.
Koushirou.
Hiroki stepped onto the engawa (wooden veranda). He removed his sandals and bowed deeply.
"Excuse me," Hiroki said, his voice cutting through the children's shouts without being loud.
Koushirou turned, his smile unwavering. "Welcome. Are you a traveler? The inn is down the hill."
"I seek instruction," Hiroki replied, straightening up. "I can cut flesh. I can cut wood. I can almost cut the wind. But I cannot cut steel."
The yard went quiet. The children stared.
Koushirou adjusted his glasses. "Steel is hard," he said simply. "Why do you wish to cut it?"
"Because there are monsters in this sea with skin like iron," Hiroki said, thinking of the Fishmen. "And if I cannot cut them, people die."
Koushirou studied him. For a moment, the gentle teacher vanished, replaced by a master swordsman who saw through the skin.
"Come inside," Koushirou said.
The dojo floor was polished wood, smelling of wax and sweat. Koushirou sat seiza, and Hiroki sat opposite him.
"Show me your sword," Koushirou requested.
Hiroki handed over Umitsubame. Koushirou drew it a few inches, inspecting the hamon.
"A fine blade," Koushirou noted. "It thirsts a little too much, but it is loyal. You have treated it well." He slid the sword back and returned it. "To cut steel is not about strength. It is about listening."
"Listening?"
"A sword that cuts everything is a blunt weapon," Koushirou said enigmatically. "A true swordsman can cut nothing, and yet cut steel. It is the breath of all things."
Hiroki frowned. Breath of All Things. In the anime, it sounded mystical. Here, trying to grasp it, it sounded impossible.
"Can you teach me?"
"I can show you the door," Koushirou said. "You must walk through it."
Suddenly, the side door slid open with a violent BANG.
A young man stomped in. He was shirtless, drenched in sweat, with green hair cropped short and three earrings dangling from his left ear. He dragged a massive stone wheel behind him tied to a rope—something that must have weighed half a ton.
Roronoa Zoro.
He was seventeen, same as Hiroki (give or take a year), but his aura was different. It was a furnace.
"Sensei," Zoro grunted, ignoring Hiroki. "I broke another bokken. I need a new one."
Hiroki's interface flared to life.
[Tactical Insight: Active][WARNING: High Threat Detected]
Target: Roronoa Zoro
Strength:45.0 / 100 (Monstrous)
Endurance:52.0 / 100
Spirit:Boundless
Swordsmanship:38.0 / 100
Hiroki swallowed. His own strength was 14.5. Zoro was nearly three times stronger physically. If they fought pure muscle against muscle, Hiroki would be paste.
Koushirou sighed. "Zoro, this is a guest. Hiroki-kun."
Zoro glanced at Hiroki. His eyes were sharp, predatory. He looked at the Umitsubame.
"You a swordsman?" Zoro asked.
"I am," Hiroki said, standing up.
"Fight me."
It wasn't a question.
"Zoro..." Koushirou warned.
"Just one round," Zoro said, dropping the stone wheel. The floor shook. "I'm bored of lifting rocks. He looks like he knows which end of the sword to hold."
Hiroki looked at Koushirou. The master gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod.
Hiroki stepped onto the floor. "One round. Wooden swords."
Zoro scoffed, grabbing a fresh bokken from the rack. "Fine. Don't cry when it breaks."
They faced each other.
[Combat Mode Initiated][Opponent Difficulty: Extreme]
Hiroki fell into a classic Chūdan-no-kamae (middle stance). His breathing slowed. He needed every ounce of his Acceleration Boost and Observation Haki just to survive this.
Zoro didn't take a stance. He held the bokken casually in one hand, slouched. Santoryu wasn't an option with one sword, but his presence filled the room.
"Ready?" Zoro grinned.
BOOM.
Zoro launched. No technique, just pure, explosive acceleration.
Hiroki's eyes widened. Fast!
[Reflex Check: Barely Pass]
Hiroki didn't try to block. He deflected. He angled his bokken to slide Zoro's strike to the side.
CRACK.
The impact vibrated through Hiroki's bones. Even deflected, the force was like getting hit by a truck. He slid back three meters, his feet burning against the wood.
"Oh?" Zoro looked surprised. "You didn't break."
"I'm not a rock," Hiroki gritted out.
He couldn't stay on the defensive.
Acceleration Boost: Burst.
Hiroki stepped in. Kendo: Kote!
He aimed for Zoro's wrist. A precise, lightning-fast snap.
Zoro didn't dodge. He just rotated his wrist, catching Hiroki's bokken with his own guard, then twisted his hips. A roundhouse kick.
Hiroki saw it coming—Observation 0.6%—but seeing it and dodging it were different things.
He raised his left arm to guard.
THUD.
Hiroki was launched. He flew across the dojo, slamming into the wall.
[Health: 85%][Left Arm: Bruised]
He slid down the wall, gasping. One kick. Just one kick.
Zoro lowered his bokken. "You're fast. You've got good eyes. But your swings have no weight."
Hiroki stood up, wincing. "I'm working on it."
Zoro snorted, turning away. "You're too stiff. You think too much. A sword isn't a math problem." He picked up his stone wheel. "Get stronger. Then maybe we can use real steel."
He walked out as abruptly as he entered.
Koushirou looked at Hiroki, who was massaging his arm.
"He is... intense," Koushirou apologized. "But he is right. You calculate the cut before you make it. You fear the error."
Hiroki looked at the door where the Green Demon had vanished.
"He's a monster," Hiroki said.
"He is a man who has made a promise to the heavens," Koushirou corrected. "And you, Hiroki-kun? What is your promise?"
Hiroki thought about the status window. The numbers. The growth. Why was he doing this? Survival?
"To live," Hiroki said. "And to protect the quiet moments."
Koushirou smiled. "Then stay. The dojo has room. You will not learn to cut steel today. But perhaps you will learn to hear the breath of the leaves."
[Training Arc Initiated: Shimotsuki Village][Status Window Update]
Endurance: 12.5 → 13.0 / 100 (Impact Conditioning)
Insight Gained: The Gap in Power. (Motivation +20%)
Hiroki bowed. "Thank you, Sensei."
He had found his teacher. And he had found his rival—even if the rival didn't know his name yet.
[Chapter 6 End]