The One-Slash Superman of the One Piece World

After Garp's warship docked at the G-10 branch in the Kingdom of Neil, it didn't set sail again for a while.

The trail of the Roger Pirates had gone cold once more, and Garp still had no concrete leads on their whereabouts. So for the time being, Garp, Kuzan, Yorichi Tsugikuni, and the others remained stationed at G-10.

During this brief stopover, Garp certainly didn't idle around. Instead, he led his men in a sweeping purge of pirate activity across the Kingdom of Neil.

With the death of the kingdom's king and the loss of his sons during Newk's invasion, the throne passed to the king's daughter, Nicola McCartney.

She was the same young woman who had escaped through a secret passage and eventually sought Kuzan's help. Having endured such devastating upheaval, the newly crowned queen completely reversed her father's policies, throwing the kingdom's full support behind the Marines and the World Government.

The Kingdom of Neil had always dabbled in both legal and illegal dealings. But once the new monarch's allegiance became clear, hidden pirate strongholds all over the kingdom began to surface. Ports previously designated for pirate use were also targeted by Marine crackdowns.

With Garp personally overseeing operations, the pirates in the Kingdom of Neil stood no chance. And with the assistance of Rear Admiral Roca's Devil Fruit powers, there was nowhere left for the pirates to hide.

In just a single week, the Kingdom of Neil was completely purged of pirate activity.

So many pirates were captured that the local branch's prison couldn't possibly hold them all. Kuzan proposed that Garp execute the entire lot and bury them quietly. But Garp firmly refused.

In the end, it was Rear Admiral Roca who contacted Marine Headquarters and arranged for a fleet to escort the prisoners to Impel Down.

Neither Yorichi nor Kuzan truly understood why the Marines went to such lengths to lock these people up when it would be far simpler to execute them on the spot and bury the bodies.

Faced with their questions, Garp offered no explanation.

Unable to get an answer, Yorichi didn't dwell on it. During his time at the Marine branch, he became more reclusive, devoting most of his days to training his Haki.

Kuzan, on the other hand, seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. But whether he asked Garp or Rear Admiral Roca, neither gave him any real answers, leaving Kuzan stewing in frustration.

Truly the temperament of a passionate young man.

"Smack!!"

Somewhere on an open training ground at G-10, Yorichi Tsugikuni was sparring with Kuzan, bamboo sword in hand. Yorichi's shinai clashed against Kuzan's ice staff, sending a fierce shockwave bursting outward in every direction.

Yorichi's follow-up was lightning fast. Tilting his bamboo sword, he deflected Kuzan's strength, slipped past him in a sudden burst of speed, and thrust the shinai directly into Kuzan's midsection, sending him flying.

Since leaving Marine Headquarters, Yorichi had been growing at an astonishing pace, improving visibly with each passing day.

Though his Observation Haki was still in its early stages, it blended seamlessly with his innate "Transparent World" perception, allowing Yorichi to read his opponent's attacks and their force with uncanny ease.

He had also fully integrated the Six Powers into his combat style. Even without using sword techniques, Yorichi's strength was formidable.

Although his Armament Haki remained relatively underdeveloped, he could already channel it into his strikes. And unlike some people, Yorichi was smart enough not to waste Haki unnecessarily.

After all, Haki was finite. Against someone like Kuzan, who was a notorious "cheater," Yorichi only used Armament Haki when he was certain his attack would connect.

By this point, if Kuzan didn't use his Logia powers and relied purely on physical combat, he simply couldn't keep up with Yorichi anymore.

"Boom!!"

Kuzan slammed into the ground. As expected of this sly fellow, he immediately activated his Logia ability. Upon impact, his body transformed into ice, negating the follow-up shock entirely.

Moments later, the shattered ice pieces flowed back together, reforming Kuzan's body. Clutching his ice staff and rubbing his stomach, he looked at Yorichi with a mixture of amazement and exasperation.

"Your rate of improvement is downright terrifying!"

"Not long ago, you couldn't even follow my movements. Now you can catch my openings and counterattack like it's nothing."

"Seriously, kid how the hell are you growing so fast?"

Yorichi merely gave a light laugh in response to Kuzan's marveling.

He wasn't particularly satisfied with his growth. Compared to Monkey D. Luffy the ultimate protagonist of this world his progress felt agonizingly slow.

After all, Luffy went from getting one-shotted by Kaido to one-shotting Kaido himself in the span of a single day.

If Doflamingo, rotting in Impel Down after being defeated by Luffy, ever got a chance to read the newspaper and saw how the kid he'd once toyed with inside the Birdcage went on to help topple an alliance of Yonko in just a few months… the poor guy would probably drop his jaw in utter disbelief.

Who could have imagined that the world's so-called "strongest creature," Kaido, would go from a terror to a humble sensei figure? Before the war in Wano, no one in the world would have predicted such a turn of events.

Similarly, not long ago, Kuzan had been able to overpower Yorichi with physical combat alone. Yet now, after just one week, Yorichi completely dominated him.

To Yorichi, this was perfectly normal.

The truth was, Kuzan's physical combat skills were mediocre at best. Though he was an elite Marine and had mastered the Six Powers, Kuzan's martial arts were, at most, on par with someone like Rob Lucci from CP9.

Throughout his career, Kuzan had relied almost exclusively on his Devil Fruit abilities. Armament Haki? Martial arts? Swordsmanship? What were those? Could any of them possibly be as handy as Ice Time?

Of course, he was only sparring right now. In a real fight, he'd have slapped Yorichi into submission with an Ice Time attack ages ago.

Yorichi readily admitted that if Kuzan unleashed his full Logia abilities, he'd be able to "one-shot" him. At his current level, Yorichi's Haki simply wasn't powerful enough to negate Kuzan's Devil Fruit effects entirely.

Still, Yorichi held some strong opinions on Kuzan's fighting style.

He firmly believed Kuzan should avoid relying on physical combat in real battles. Otherwise, he'd risk getting himself killed.

Yorichi's swordsmanship was top tier. His techniques flowed smoothly like water, and after thoroughly mastering Shave, he could now match Kuzan's speed.

Given Yorichi's martial arts experience, if Kuzan couldn't suppress him with sheer speed, there was no way Kuzan could win.

Perhaps Yorichi's "Doriki" value hadn't skyrocketed, but he knew his overall combat strength had already risen to a whole new level.

"Kuzan, it's not that I'm growing so fast. It's just that your martial arts are lousy."

"I think you'd be better off not relying so much on your Devil Fruit."

"Your Fruit mastery is already top-notch. But if you improve your physical skills, you'll become even stronger."

After sending Kuzan flying again, Yorichi showed no sign of wanting to end their sparring session. He gripped his bamboo sword tightly, watching Kuzan intently.

"I'm working on it, aren't I?"

"To be honest, losing in physical combat to a kid your age… it's kind of embarrassing for me."

Kuzan gave a wry grin as he charged forward once more, gripping his ice staff in both hands.

"Tap!" Yorichi angled his sword and deflected Kuzan's strike, then lunged forward, swinging the bamboo sword in a sharp horizontal arc that slammed once again into Kuzan's midsection. In an instant, Kuzan went flying for a second time.

But this time, before he could even hit the ground, Kuzan's body dissolved into a cloud of glittering ice dust. The shards scattered and swiftly gathered on the ground, re-forming into his solid body.

He lifted his shirt, frowning as he discovered a bright red mark blooming across his abdomen.

Even though he'd tried using Tekkai to brace himself, it still hurt like hell.

"Come on, Kuzan, let's keep going!"

Yorichi's eyes sparkled as he grinned, clearly eager to continue. To him, Kuzan's martial arts were perfect for using as a practice dummy a convenient target for testing out new techniques.

Kuzan gave a resigned nod and charged at Yorichi once again, swinging his ice staff in a brutal overhead arc aimed directly at Yorichi's head.

Yorichi calmly tracked the attack's trajectory. He had completely predicted Kuzan's movements. He raised his bamboo sword and blocked the blow, preparing to slam a kick into Kuzan's midsection.

But suddenly, he felt a biting cold creeping into his hands.

He glanced up and realized that his arms had already been frozen by Kuzan's Devil Fruit powers. An instant later, icy cold surged up from beneath his feet.

Looking down, Yorichi found that his legs were now fused to the ground by a thick layer of ice.

"…"

"Hey, Kuzan! We're supposed to be practicing martial arts! You said you wouldn't use your Devil Fruit powers. You little punk that's cheating!"

"Ambushing an old… no, ambushing a kid like me?!"

Having frozen Yorichi in place, Kuzan promptly collapsed backward, arms spread wide, laughing.

"Let's take a break. Just for a little bit."

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