Chapter 2: Broken Blade Pirate
"Hah!"
A loud shout echoed through the forest. In the next moment, flocks of birds burst into the air in panic.
Right after that, thick dust billowed up from within the woods, and dozens of dead trees collapsed with a thunderous crash inside the haze.
A month had passed. Shanks looked at the katana in his hand, filled with emotion. Over this month, his swordsmanship had improved at a terrifying pace. No wonder someone with this kind of talent could become one of the Four Emperors—he had earned it with real strength.
For an entire month, Shanks could feel himself improving every day, advancing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Wind Pressure!"
A flash of blade light cut through, and all the dust around him was cleared away.
"Swordsmanship in this world is insane. With technique alone, you can reach this level. You can cut the air with a blade and even control wind pressure."
With only a few slashes, he cleared the surrounding dust, once again marveling at the power system of this world. It wasn't that he was strong—this world's system was strong enough to make it possible.
From a distance, it was easy to see a massive wind pressure forming within a hundred meters of Shanks. A huge pillar of wind blew straight down, sweeping every trace of dust away.
In just one month, Shanks had grasped several sword techniques.
"But this still isn't enough. To reach Mihawk's level—cutting an iceberg in a single slash—this won't do. At the very least, I have to learn Armament Haki."
"Armament Haki is very different from Iron Body. Both are related to life force, but if you want to extend that coating beyond the body, relying only on life force probably isn't enough."
As he spoke, Shanks directly stirred that energy within his body.
Over the past month, he had learned to draw out that invisible power.
In the next instant, a layer of unseen energy coated his katana, and even the flow of air around him was affected by it.
"Slash!"
Shanks swung his blade. A terrifying arc of light cleaved through the air, and the surrounding atmosphere seemed to tear apart. In the next second, strange cracks appeared in the torn air, like shattered glass.
The cracks appeared fast, and vanished just as fast.
But the lake surface in the distance, cut cleanly by that slash, did not immediately restore. The split water proved how terrifying Shanks's swordsmanship was, but… it still wasn't enough.
Looking at the katana, which seemed unchanged, Shanks wasn't anxious.
"At this pace, I don't know when I'll truly learn Armament Haki. Fighting would raise my strength the fastest, but for me, that's too dangerous."
Shanks had no intention of following the protagonist's path. Without Armament Haki, if he happened to run into a Logia user, he would have only one option—run.
"Logia users are a real headache."
With no better ideas, Shanks could only keep practicing.
Now he could continually use his spirit and will to compress that power, making the energy in his body truly coat the weapon.
Until the weapon turned black, Shanks would not go out to sea and start anything.
Being able to coat with Armament Haki was the bare minimum before going out.
On the other side, at the coastline on the edge of the forest, a small boat was moored by the shore, and a heavy stench of blood drifted through the air.
Then a man dragged his exhausted body out of the boat.
His body was wrapped in bandages, and blood had soaked his upper half. In his hand was a broken blade, almost nothing left but the hilt. Even so, in his grip, it was still a deadly weapon.
After the Third Shinobi World War, the shinobi world had once again entered peace—at least on the surface.
But in reality, not long after the war ended, Konoha's Fourth Hokage died in battle inside the village, Sunagakure fell into chaos, and Kirigakure sank into the turmoil of the Bloody Mist era.
As for Iwagakure and Kumogakure, they were busy dealing with the aftermath left behind by the Third Shinobi World War. Beneath this so-called peace, the entire shinobi world was still seething with undercurrents.
Peace had never truly existed.
At least, to Zabuza, it never had.
"Hahahaha… I'm still alive. If you want to kill me, Momochi Zabuza, it won't be that easy."
Lying on the beach, Zabuza stared up at the sky and laughed wildly.
"Mizukage, I'll make you pay."
Zabuza looked at the broken Executioner's Blade in his hand, a bitter smile flickering in his eyes.
He would make the Mizukage pay, no matter what. But not now—not when he lacked the strength.
Because Kirigakure wasn't only the Mizukage. There were plenty of shinobi, and besides that, the power of the tailed beasts wasn't something a single elite jonin could oppose.
"Strange… the wind is blowing toward the shore?"
Zabuza took off his forehead protector. His injuries were in terrible condition, and as a veteran shinobi, he wouldn't expose his identity at a time like this.
Seeing the clouds in the sky several kilometers away falling downward, Zabuza felt curious.
"Could it be caused by some powerful summon?"
Unease rose in his heart.
If it really was some kind of summon, then for him, it could be a chance. If he could form a contract and make it his summoning beast, it would be a huge boost.
But right now, he might not be able to face something that powerful.
After thinking it over, Zabuza decided to head into the forest. Staying by the shore was too dangerous.
Before long, after dealing with the boat, Zabuza walked toward the woods.
Along the way, he noticed something off. There were very few animals in the forest. From Zabuza's experience, that meant some powerful creature lived here, forcing everything else away.
But as he continued forward, his shock only grew.
The ground was covered in countless gouges, and trees had been cut down everywhere.
The terrifying scene said everything about how frightening the beast living here must be. Judging from the destruction alone, it was second only to the tailed beasts Zabuza had seen.
Yet as Zabuza kept moving, he found no trace of any beast at all. Instead, a small cabin by a lake came into view not far ahead.
Outside the cabin, a "samurai" dressed like an ordinary civilian stood with his eyes closed, gripping a katana tightly.
A terrifying chakra was being condensed onto that man's blade, and it sent a chill down Zabuza's spine.
No beast. No powerful summon.
The strongest thing here was the man in front of him.
"Red hair?"
Zabuza noticed the "samurai's" red hair.
"As long as he isn't an enemy, that's good."
Not knowing the other man's identity, Zabuza let out a breath of relief.