133 Flower swordmanship

At this moment in Hakumai, Nicholas watched as June held a booklet printed with Wano Country characters and translated the Wano Country text on it. In a nearby small box, there were several similar booklets.

These texts were actually quite valuable, considering there were only a few booklets and each one cost Nicholas a box of gold pieces. But Nicholas didn't consider them unworthy because most of the content in these booklets contained the closely guarded secrets of various swordsmanship and martial arts schools in Wano Country.

If these swordsmanship schools found out, they would likely organize forces to retaliate against Nicholas. After all, these teachings were the foundation of their existence. The reason they could dominate over the common people in Wano Country was because of the powerful techniques they possessed.

For ordinary citizens in Wano, aspiring to become a warrior was one of the main paths to elevate their status. Another way was to pledge allegiance to a daimyo or general, becoming their personal warrior. As for peasants, they had no chance to become warriors; the cost of learning swordsmanship and the expenses of a warrior's equipment were beyond their means.

As for how Nicholas acquired these materials, it was simple. He bought them from the Flower Capital's military government. As the head of the most profitable organization in Wano, the military government had accumulated the secret teachings of various martial arts schools and even the secret techniques of the families loyal to the Kozuki Clan.

Now that the military government had been infiltrated by Kaido and the kurozumi clan, they needed ample funds for their plans. So when Simon approached them in disguise, the two sides quickly reached a cooperation agreement.

The night when the covert team sent by Kaido was scared away by Brook in the alley of the tavern, they were there to eliminate Simon and his group. Facing Simon's extravagant spending, they wanted to eliminate him to prevent potential future problems.

...

"I never expected these samurai to be so imaginative. Single-sword style, two-sword style, three-sword style, four-sword style, and even eight-sword style."

Katie looked at the translated booklets in amazement. For her, her main focus was swordsmanship, and she never imagined that the samurai of Wano would be so diverse in their styles.

Single-sword style was the most common on the sea, as it was easy for beginners to grasp. Two-sword style required more skill but was not uncommon. Three-sword style was rarer since humans only had two arms; it was said that one might not encounter a practitioner even among a hundred swordsmen.

As for the eight-sword style, it seemed that only the Octopus Fishmen of the Fish-Man race could achieve it. However, according to the eight-sword style school in Wano, it could be accomplished using special tools, grasping weapons with various joints of the body, mouth, and hands.

Moreover, when mastered, the moves could be as graceful as a dance, stunning opponents.

However, Vista just muttered, "All this fancy stuff."

"Regarding swordsmanship, just observe and learn. The top swordsmen on the sea have all developed their own styles. Merely learning from others will never lead you to the pinnacle of swordsmanship," Nicholas said as he tossed a booklet called "Flower Swordsmanship" onto the table.

"Understood, Captain," Katie replied, looking at Nicholas.

When Nicholas turned to Brook, the skeleton was quietly staring at his own hands, seemingly contemplating life.

"Brook?"

"Oh."

Brook slowly raised his head to meet Nicholas's somewhat puzzled gaze and said seriously, "Captain, I specialize in the Swift Sword Style. These things won't affect me. Besides, didn't you already point out my swordsmanship? It's the Wraith Sword Style!"

"Oh, are you...?"

"Hehehe, I'm just pondering. It seems I can't practice this so-called Ryuo. After all, I'm just a skeleton now."

Brook laughed.

"Uh..."

Nicholas couldn't help but glance at Brook's well-polished bones, shining like jade. He fell silent.

Haki was indeed a significant weakness for Brook. Haki was a manifestation of physical strength, akin to Observation Haki for the mind and Conqueror's Haki for the soul. Without a physical body, Brook couldn't use Haki, let alone the advanced form like Ryuo.

"Vista, you should grasp the techniques of Flower sword style and Ryuo as soon as possible. If you have any questions, you can come to me."

[AN-Now is it official? If You guys were wondering if vista was my OC.]

"Captain, should I change to sword?" Vista inquired

"Though your body size is good for heavy weapons, but I think swords are more compatible with you. While learning Ryuo you might get to understand your own sword style, take inspiration from the flower swordsmanship book I gave you.

Nicholas looked at Vista and said.

"Captain, have you already mastered it!?"

Simon looked at Nicholas incredulously.

Nicholas extended his arm and clenched his fist, enveloping his entire arm with Ryuo Haki.

"Wow!!!"

Seeing this scene, Simon was utterly incredulous.

After dissipating the Ryuo Haki on his arm, Nicholas said, "Actually, it's not as complicated as you think. It's like wrapping your body with Armament Haki, just release it. As long as your Armament Haki reaches a certain level, mastery is only a matter of time. In fact, you can think of Ryuo as an armor layer outside the body."

"Is that so? Captain?"

As Vista spoke, Ryuo Haki also enveloped his fist, but unlike Nicholas, his Ryuo was still unstable.

"That's right. But you need to stabilize it, just like proficiently wrapping Armament Haki during battles."

Nicholas wasn't surprised by Vista's quick comprehension. After all, Vista's proficiency in Armament Haki was second only to himself on the ship.

"Wow!!!" Brook, Katie, and Simon were all dumbfounded as they looked at Vista, who was smiling foolishly.

They never expected this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes to be this talented.

Just then, the window of the bar was pushed open, and a majestic falcon flew in, flapping its wings. However, its two wise eyes reduced its majesty quite a bit.

"Cough, June. Can't you change its appearance? Maybe give it some medicine?"

Watching the silly bird constantly bumping its head against June's feet and cooing, Nicholas couldn't help but speak.

June smiled and rubbed the head of the "Walking Chicken," saying, "There's nothing I can do. Last time, it drank a potion that could unleash its potential. Once the effect wore off, it returned to its original state. By the way, this little one said, there are pirates appearing in Ida Port in Kuri. It seems their ship has run aground there."

"Captain, should we go check it out?"

Simon eagerly asked, showing that during their time in Hakumai, his body was getting rusty from lack of action.

"You all stay here and watch over the ship. I'll go take a look."

With that, Nicholas walked out, stepping on his wooden clogs.