One Piece: I Can Simplify Skills - Chapter 55

?Ding, task change: Fight Garp, hold out for five minutes or gain Garp’s approval. System reward: +5 Energy Points, +1 Sword Skill Level, +1 Physical Skill Level!?

Zephyr gave Rokujin a sympathetic look and said, “It’s up to you!”

“Rokujin! Get out here! You came back and didn’t even inform me first?” Garp called out angrily. He had only found out about Rokujin’s return from his adjutant.

“Uh… Grandpa, I didn’t want to disturb you,” Rokujin explained. But Garp wasn’t one to listen to excuses and urged, “Stop stalling. Come out here, let’s have a match to see how strong you’ve become!”

“Alright…” Rokujin reluctantly stepped forward, grinning, “Grandpa, take it easy on me. I’m not that strong yet!”

“Quit your yapping!” With that, Garp’s fist was already covered in Armament Haki. In an instant, his figure vanished, leaving an afterimage behind!

“Rokushiki: Soru!” Suddenly sensing a chill, Rokujin quickly used Soru to retreat. But Garp had already appeared in front of him, throwing an iron fist at him.

“Damn!” Rokujin’s expression changed, and he crossed his sword in front of his chest.

“Bang!” Garp’s punch, powerful as a meteor cannonball, sent Rokujin flying. He crashed heavily into the high wall of the training ground!

“Boom!” Stones scattered, and dust filled the air! Moments later, a human-shaped hole appeared in the wall, matching Rokujin’s outline. Rokujin slowly got up from the rubble, blood trickling from his mouth. “Grandpa, was it necessary to use so much force in a spar?”

“Get back here!” Garp ordered sternly, ignoring his question.

“Grandpa, since you’re going all out, I’ll have to show some real skills too!” Rokujin declared, suddenly releasing a powerful sword aura that seemed to pierce the sky. His eyes gleamed like sword blades! The display of A-level sword intent made all the trainees feel the terrifying pressure.

“So strong! That wasn’t Rokujin’s full strength earlier!”
“In less than two years, he’s reached such a level?”
“Amazing!”
“…”

Garp’s eyes were full of approval, though his words remained harsh. “Rokujin, showing off in front of me now, huh?”

“Grandpa, I’m not showing off, you’re the one who wanted to spar!” Rokujin wiped the blood from his mouth, raised his right hand, and swung his black-bladed sword, drawing a circle. As he swung, countless sword energies began to form around him, gradually coalescing into red arcs. These arcs, small but numerous, resembled petals.

Countless petals floated around Rokujin’s sword, multiplying in number—10, 20, 40, 80, 160… When they neared thousands, Rokujin stopped his motion and slashed towards Garp, “One-Sword Style: Celestial Flower Scatter!”

The beautiful petals became deadly sword energy, shooting towards Garp like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

“Fist Bone Meteor Punch!” Smiling and fearless, Garp tore off his cape and charged forward, fists swinging.

“Boom! Boom! Boom…” Garp threw hundreds of punches in an incredibly short time, creating an illusion of countless fists. He intercepted nearly all of Rokujin’s sword energy. However, a few arcs still grazed Garp, one of them leaving a bleeding cut on his cheek, as if from a razor blade. Meanwhile, the ground behind Garp was destroyed by Rokujin’s sword energy and reduced to ruins.

After a moment, Garp nodded approvingly. “You’ve definitely gotten stronger!”

“You flatter me, Grandpa!” Rokujin shook his head, smiling. “I’m still far from reaching even a tenth of your strength!”

“Forget it, I’m too lazy to keep fighting. I’m going to sleep!” Garp turned and left, a meaningful smile on his face. He hadn’t expected Rokujin to become so powerful in just two years. In a few more years, he would become even stronger, putting Garp’s mind at ease.

“Goodbye, Grandpa!” Rokujin waved. He was relieved that Garp had given up, as holding out for five minutes would have left him battered and bruised.

?Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the task. System reward: +5 Energy Points, +1 Sword Skill Level, +1 Physical Skill Level!?

Suddenly, Zephyr spoke up. “Rokujin, you damaged the training ground’s walls. Fix them and then return to training!”

“Yes, Teacher!” Rokujin replied. This was clearly a chance to rest. Garp’s punch had not been light, and repairing the wall was a welcome reprieve. Additionally, Rokujin refrained from using his Devil Fruit ability during the fight for his own reasons.

That evening, Rokujin learned the requirements for graduating from the advanced training camp from Zephyr. He needed to kill a pirate. The target: Demon Dias, with a bounty of 60 million Berries. Along with this, two new tasks were triggered.

?Ding, congratulations to the host for triggering the task: Kill Dias. System reward: +5 Energy Points!?
?Ding, congratulations to the host for triggering the task: Save the trainees on Zephyr’s internship ship. System reward: +20 Energy Points, Supreme Grade Sword +1!?

Zephyr had been attacked by Edward Weevil, the self-proclaimed “Whitebeard Jr.” He looked a bit foolish, possibly an actual fool, mainly taking orders from his mother. Given that Edward Weevil could severely injure Zephyr’s right arm, his strength was undoubtedly formidable, likely at least S-level. Currently, Rokujin is at the A-level, so dealing with him would be challenging.

In the following days, Rokujin continued his training at the camp and occasionally visited the Sabaody Archipelago. His main purpose was to gather information on Demon Dias from Aunt Shakuyaku. The sooner he could kill Dias, the sooner he could graduate. However, Aunt Shakuyaku demanded a hefty sum for her information—one million Berries, which was practically daylight robbery! In the end, Rokujin decided to give up and rely on the information provided by the Marines, even though it might not be as comprehensive.

From the Marine intelligence, Rokujin learned that Dias was a subordinate of the Warlord of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo. Dias frequently engaged in slave trading, which led to his bounty by the Marines. Being a subordinate of Doflamingo meant that few Marines dared to provoke him. Why was this target assigned to Rokujin? It seemed like a deliberate move to pit him against Doflamingo. Perhaps the higher-ups found Doflamingo too arrogant and wanted Rokujin to challenge him.

A few days later, Rokujin received Marine intelligence indicating that Dias would soon arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago to trade enslaved people.

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