One Piece Swordsman's Heart - Chapter 6

After bidding farewell to Red, Vir looked at the money in the box and smiled.

He first went to a clothing store and bought several sets of durable clothes and underwear. Then he bought some toiletries and, after some thought, purchased a full set of weights ranging from five to fifty kilograms, instructing the shopkeeper to deliver them to the Sword Intent Hall.

Checking his new, exquisite black pocket watch, he saw it was almost six in the evening. What should he do next? He decided to go eat.

He found a nice restaurant and ordered the house specialty seafood noodles and a dish of meat with a long bone that looked very appetizing.

Soon, the noodles and meat arrived. After a couple of bites, Vir’s culinary experience was refreshed. The seafood had a unique, fresh taste, and the meat was succulent and juicy. It would have been perfect with some wine.

Unfortunately, when he ordered wine earlier, the waiter refused to serve it because Vir was underage—what a disappointment.

After dinner, he returned to the dojo and casually chose an empty room, which was fully furnished and even had a private bathroom.

Vir went to bed early, looking forward to the next day’s start.

The following day, Vir woke up at five in the morning. As he stepped outside, he saw Adonis talking to a middle-aged man with blue hair tied in a small ponytail. The man was slightly over 1.6 meters tall and quite thin.

Vir approached and greeted, “Good morning, Master.”

“Good morning. This is your senior brother, Rom Roy. From now on, he will guide you through the basics of swordsmanship,” Adonis introduced.

“Haha, junior brother, we will be partners from now on. Take good care of me,” Roy said warmly to Vir.

“Partners? Oh, I see. Then please guide me well, Senior Brother,” Vir responded, initially confused but then realizing Roy must be the other partner, the one doing most of the work for the least money.

“Since you’re awake, let me explain your training schedule. In the morning, we do basic training. We eat and rest at noon, and in the afternoon, we focus on physical training. When we have a business, you’ll train on your own. Otherwise, I’ll guide you all day. In the evening, Master will personally instruct you,” Roy explained, maintaining a friendly demeanor.

After hearing the hints from his master yesterday, Roy was excited. He expected to earn a five-figure monthly income, making him very happy.

Looking at Roy, Vir noticed that his smile gave off a weirdly sleazy vibe, making him wonder if this person was really a swordsman.

Adonis seemed to read Vir’s thoughts and said, “Your brother Roy has the most solid basics among my disciples. Learn well from him.”

With that, Adonis turned and walked towards the dining hall, presumably for breakfast.

After a quick breakfast with Roy, they headed to the back hills.

Roy held a wooden sword and a wooden mask in the back hills. The mask covered everything but the eyes, with holes for breathing around the mouth and nose. Vir had no idea what it was for.

Roy handed the mask to Vir and told him to put it on.

Confused, Vir asked, “Senior Brother, what’s this for?”

“This is to train your basic combat instincts. Untrained people instinctively close their eyes when struck in the head with a sword or fist. In battle, closing your eyes is as good as a death sentence. So, you need to overcome this instinct and gradually adapt. Initially, you’ll wear the mask. Eventually, you’ll take hits directly. The goal is to not close your eyes, even if you’re dying from fear,” Roy explained, then swung the wooden sword at Vir’s head.

As expected, Vir, having never been in combat, instinctively closed his eyes and got hit on the head.

Recovering from the blow, Vir found it hard to believe. Despite trying to control himself, he had still closed his eyes. Shouting for another round, he continued to endure the hits, training himself to overcome his instincts.

The morning flew by, and despite the mask, Vir was left dizzy from Roy’s relentless hits.

Although he managed not to close his eyes, he couldn’t completely suppress his instincts and would still squint whenever the wooden sword came down.

Roy, panting from swinging the wooden sword all morning, looked at the time and said, “Junior Brother Vir, it’s noon. Time to eat.”

As they headed to the dojo’s dining hall, Vir called out, “Senior Brother Roy, you’ve worked hard this morning. Let’s reward ourselves with a meal at a restaurant in town. My treat.”

“That’s not necessary. It’s your first day. You don’t need to treat,” Roy replied, scratching his head and trying to decline.

“Come on, no need to be polite with me. We’re partners, after all,” Vir insisted, taking off his mask and dragging Roy towards town.

Though still a bit embarrassed, Roy couldn’t resist Vir’s enthusiasm and followed along.

Roy initially thought his junior brother would act superior since he provided the valuable information. But it turned out this junior was quite decent, knew how to be courteous, and trained with great perseverance, never complaining even after getting hit all morning.

They found a nice restaurant and ordered several good dishes, eating ravenously after a morning of exertion. Their eating manners were anything but graceful.

After lunch and a bit of rest, they returned to the back hills. This time, Roy didn’t have Vir wear the mask. Instead, he had him run laps around the large clearing.

When Vir asked how many laps he had to run, Roy smiled and said there was no limit—just run as many as possible. When he couldn’t run anymore, there would be a surprise.

Confused, Vir started running.

Vir was exhausted by one lap, two laps—by the third lap. Just as he was about to stop, he saw Roy running towards him with ill intent.

Before he could react, a sharp pain hit his back, causing him to stumble forward.

Turning around, he saw Roy holding a wooden sword, ready to strike again.

This time, Vir understood. The “surprise” was to push him further by chasing him with the sword. Being chased would definitely tap into his potential.

Without daring to waste another word, Vir started running again. Surprisingly, his legs, which had felt like lead moments ago, picked up speed.

In the open field, a comical scene unfolded. A short middle-aged man wielding a wooden sword was ‘chasing’ a young boy. The boy occasionally cursed back at the man, sometimes flipping him off with one finger or both. The scene was both funny and bizarre.

After several hours of running and stopping, Vir felt like he was about to die. He lost count of how many laps he had run, and the guy behind him was still chasing. Was he part dog?

Where was the basic training? Where was the harmonious coexistence? Where were the partners? Agreeing to train with him was definitely a mistake!

This was Vir’s last thought before passing out. As he began to fall forward, he felt a hand grab his shoulder, heard a faint voice, and then was carried in an unknown direction.

This guy isn’t too bad, Vir thought before completely losing consciousness.

Roy looked at the unconscious junior brother on his shoulder and smiled.

When Master first mentioned this new junior brother who would bring them significant business, Roy had thought he was just a lucky kid who stumbled upon some secret information.

But after meeting him, Roy felt different. This kid acted more like an adult, understanding pleasantries and making connections.

During the afternoon training, as the kid ran for his life, Roy realized he was a smart, short-tempered, and sharp-tongued junior brother.

“Well, not bad at all. Let’s train him for a while and see if he qualifies to join us. I now understand why Master picked me for this. He’s got a plan,” Roy thought as he walked back towards the dojo.

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