"Out on the seas, geniuses are everywhere. Powerful swordsmen are countless. I've heard of a few who were completely unremarkable in their youth, but bloomed late. Once they awakened, they advanced at terrifying speed, their strength skyrocketing overnight."
"Those cases were so rare that people treated them like rumors. But I never thought… I'd witness the birth of one with my own eyes."
"Ryukawa… he must've awakened."
"At fourteen or fifteen years old, suddenly opening up like this… it's not late at all."
Koushirou let out a long breath.
Even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn't have imagined—
That the ordinary, forgettable "senior brother" of Isshin Dojo, Ryukawa, would one day become one of those legendary, rumor-level late-blooming prodigies.
In Koushirou's mind—
The one with the greatest potential in Isshin Dojo's future had always been Zoro.
Why not Kuina?
Because deep down, he still believed—
A woman, as a swordsman, would always be at a disadvantage compared to a man.
That natural difference would only grow more obvious with age.
On top of that, aside from Kuina, Zoro was already the strongest among the other disciples, with the most frightening potential.
So Koushirou had judged—
That Zoro would, without a doubt, grow into an incredible Great Swordsman one day.
But what he hadn't expected at all—
Was that the senior brother he had written off as "average at best"…
Would suddenly awaken right under his nose, and have his swordsmanship explode upward.
Right here, before his own eyes—
He had truly seen what it meant to grow in swordsmanship as easily as drinking water.
That short span of time, less than half an hour—
Was enough for Koushirou to be 100% certain.
Ryukawa's growth in swordsmanship during that timeframe had exceeded the result of years of hard work for most people.
Half an hour of improvement, surpassing several years of training.
What an absurd concept.
"I didn't expect this…"
"I really misjudged him. Ryukawa, this brat… is a genius. A real genius. His talent might even surpass Zoro's and Kuina's."
Koushirou couldn't help feeling a little emotional.
"The completely ordinary senior brother of Isshin Dojo"?
Just thinking that title felt laughable now.
At this rate—
That label would have to be thrown out very soon.
If someone like Ryukawa could still be called ordinary…
Who in this dojo had the right to be called a genius?
Zoro?
Kuina?
No.
Not even the two of them were qualified anymore.
"Years of obscurity…"
"And then, with one awakening—he startles the world."
Koushirou could already foresee it.
The days ahead for Isshin Dojo were going to be a lot less peaceful.
Zoro and Kuina's rivalry alone was enough to shake the entire dojo.
Now add to that—
A genius who had suddenly awakened.
The long-standing duel between Zoro and Kuina had just gained a third contender.
"Even Zoro, or Kuina… I doubt either of them could ever pull off something as terrifying as what Ryukawa just did."
"In less than half an hour, that kid's swordsmanship has increased by at least a hundredfold—if not more."
"If nothing unexpected happens, right now, even Zoro wouldn't be his match anymore."
"This is what you call a genius."
The way Koushirou looked at Ryukawa was now filled with admiration.
On the other side of the dojo—
Ryukawa, still hammering away at the wooden post with his wooden sword, had no idea that his swordsmanship growth had been seen and judged in full by Koushirou.
He didn't know—
That in Koushirou's heart, he'd already been labeled a once-in-a-generation, late-blooming prodigy.
A genius even above Kuina and Zoro.
[Ding! Total sword swings: 200]
[Reward: Strength +2, Speed +3]
As the system prompt sounded in his mind—
A warm current swept through Ryukawa's body, washing over his organs, meridians, bones—every inch of him.
He felt his limbs lighten. His entire body felt… comfortable.
Stronger again.
The difference was obvious.
"Huff…"
Ryukawa exhaled heavily and withdrew the wooden sword.
Swinging two hundred times in a row really wasn't easy.
A wooden sword might not weigh as much as a real steel blade, but in Isshin Dojo, all the training swords were custom-made to match the weight of real swords as closely as possible.
So two hundred full swings in one go was enough to leave Ryukawa drenched in sweat.
Of course, it was worth it.
Two hundred swings…
Had changed him completely.
Compared to just half an hour ago, Ryukawa now felt like a completely different person.
"My swordsmanship, my strength, my speed… everything's gone up by a lot. And this is just the result of two hundred swings."
"What happens if I reach five hundred swings?"
"What about a thousand?"
Ryukawa's heart burned with anticipation.
He could already imagine it.
As his total swings climbed higher and higher, his strength would reach a terrifying level—one breakthrough after another.
With a thought, he called up his status panel again.
[Host: Ryukawa]
[Strength: 28 (+7)]
[Speed: 27 (+5)]
[Stamina: 30 (+8)]
[Skill: Swordsmanship Lv7 (+4 levels)]
[Total sword swings: 200]
"As expected…"
"My strength really did shoot up."
Ryukawa clenched his fists and could feel the explosive power coiled inside them.
It wasn't just his swordsmanship.
During those swings—
His strength, speed, stamina… all of it had improved.
Which meant—
Ryukawa's growth wasn't limited to sword skills alone.
He was being boosted in all aspects.
"Just how strong am I now…?"
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked around the dojo.
The other boys and girls were all training hard, their wooden swords cutting through the air.
But Ryukawa needed a benchmark.
Without a proper comparison, he couldn't truly gauge how huge his improvement had been in the past half hour.
His gaze moved slowly past the other disciples.
Until—
It stopped on a familiar moss-green head.
The defiant, sharp-eyed boy—
Roronoa Zoro.
A faint, expectant smile tugged at the corner of Ryukawa's mouth.
"All right then…"
"I'll use you as my test."