Chapter 24

November passed, and December came.

Well, to say it "came" might be a bit misleading. It's already mid-December.

Zoro finally flipped over the calendar that was still on November. Behind the November page, the December calendar was revealed.

'So, it's winter now.'

It had gotten a bit colder, but honestly, he couldn't really feel it. The Tokyo where Zoro lived didn't get very cold in winter, and it hardly ever snowed.

'Winter Island was covered in snow.'

And it was incredibly cold there.

"What are you doing, son?"

Toji, who had walked out of his room yawning, asked Zoro. Zoro just shrugged.

"Nothing much."

Just thinking it doesn't snow much here in winter. Zoro muttered.

"Snow doesn't really fall in Tokyo. If you want to see snow, you have to go to a different region."

"Is that so...?"

It was different from his past life, where the climate was generally similar across the same island. Of course, in his past life, there were places like Punk Hazard, where one half was blazing hot and the other was freezing cold, but that was because of the battle between Akainu and Aokiji.

"Achoo!"

At the sound from behind them, Zoro and Toji immediately turned around. Megumi was sitting on the floor, sniffling.

Is he cold? Zoro pulled out a yellow blanket with dinosaurs on it and draped it over Megumi.

Thwack, Megumi threw the blanket towards Toji's face. Toji caught the blanket before it hit him and naturally covered Megumi with it again, saying,

"Come to think of it, isn't your brother's birthday around this time?"

"December 22nd. Try to remember."

Zoro chided him. In five days, it would be Megumi's first birthday.

What was my first birthday like? Zoro tried to recall. He had slept for about half of the day, and for the other half, he watched Chie and Toji moving back and forth in front of him. There was a lot of food, but not much that Zoro could eat.

The most fun part was definitely when Chie put a headband with teddy bear ears on Toji's head.

'Maybe I should put that on Toji again this time.'

It seemed like it would be fun. Zoro smirked, a mysterious chill causing Toji to rub his goosebump-covered forearms.

"Let's go buy a present for Megumi."

"...Sure, after we do that."

Today, after all.

Toji and Zoro's gazes clashed in the air.

Today was the one day a week when Toji received Haki training from Zoro.

...

After Zoro showed his Haki to Toji, Toji began receiving Haki training from Zoro once a week.

There were a few reasons for doing it only once a week.

First, Zoro showed signs of exhaustion after concentrating on using Haki for several days in a row.

No matter how skilled in Haki he was or how fast he was growing, Zoro was still a child. Just concentrating could make his head hot, and he would get tired easily. One day was fine, but using Haki for several days in a row would wear him out, even if he pretended otherwise. He needed time for his mental fatigue to recover.

Second, they couldn't leave Megumi alone for too long. Of course, they wouldn't leave Megumi alone at home when they went out for training. After much persuasion, they managed to hire a decent nanny. Still, Zoro was extremely reluctant to leave Megumi at home.

Third, ironically, was because of something the new nanny said to Toji.

"The eldest son is still a child. Please treat him as such."

This nanny, unlike the previous ones, was a middle-aged woman who showed equal concern for both Megumi and Zoro.

She was afraid of Toji, but when it came to matters concerning Zoro or Megumi, she would forget her fear and confront him.

Especially memorable was what she said when Toji returned home carrying a sleepy Zoro who had fallen asleep during their training.

"The eldest son is at an age where it's natural for him to run around excitedly and then suddenly fall asleep. I don't know what you're teaching him when you take him out, but it's too early. A child needs to be allowed to be a child."

Unable to say that it was Zoro who was doing the teaching, Toji just listened silently.

'A child, huh...'

"Today, we're going to focus on training Observation Haki."

Toji looked at Zoro standing in front of him, his face the epitome of seriousness.

...So, they're telling me to treat such a child as a child.

"Observation Haki, huh..."

Toji's voice trailed off. He still hadn't gotten the hang of Haki.

"I can't use it yet."

Zoro snorted.

"What are you talking about after only a month of training? Of course, you can't."

Considering that Toji only received direct training from Zoro once a week, it was natural that Toji hadn't yet mastered Haki.

"Haki is hard to learn."

Zoro himself needed two years of training to freely wield Haki. Those two years involved almost daily duels with Mihawk, catching groups of monkeys that attacked him with swords, and doing strength training. So, it was only natural that Toji couldn't use Haki yet.

"It's hard enough to realize that you possess Haki, and even if you do, some people die without ever being able to draw it out."

Of course, Zoro had no intention of letting Toji end up like that.

"Sit down."

"…?"

As Toji sat down, Zoro unwrapped the bandana he was wearing around his arm and tied it over Toji's eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Your senses are too good."

"How so?"

"Because your senses and physical abilities are so sharp, you unconsciously try to rely on them instead of Haki."

Toji's senses weren't just limited to sight; his touch, smell, hearing, taste... essentially, all his senses were exceptionally keen. Additionally, his physical abilities were well-balanced and superior, so instead of trying to use Observation Haki when an attack came, he would just dodge it using his physical abilities and senses.

That's not a bad thing. Trying not to use his excellent physical abilities and senses at all would be more of a loss. However, the problem was trying to rely solely on them. That's why Zoro intended to somewhat disrupt Toji's senses.

If he relied only on his physical abilities and senses, and someday faced an opponent with superior physical abilities, or received an attack that couldn't be predicted with Toji's senses and physique...

"You'd be taken down in an instant."

"Who would."

"You would."

After padding Toji's body, inserting earplugs into his ears, and meticulously applying Vaseline under his nose, Zoro picked up a stick lying nearby.

With a swift motion, Zoro's hand and the stick turned pitch black with Armament Haki.

"I'll aim for your upper body, so try to dodge while sitting."

"Wait—"

Whoosh!

Feeling the wind brush past his nose, Toji reflexively tilted his neck back. The stick sliced through the air where his head had been. Moreover, the power behind it...

"Did you coat it with Haki?"

"Yeah. I thought you wouldn't feel threatened by a mere stick."

Toji recalled the last week when Zoro had emitted Armament Haki outward. He muttered, remembering the sight of a sandbag, more than a meter away, bursting open from the impact of the Haki, its contents scattering in all directions.

"Feels like I could die if I get hit."

"I don't have that level of power yet."

It would hurt, though. Zoro swung the stick through the air.

"You knew it was coming because of the wind, right? Focus on sensing me and the stick, not just the wind."

Whoosh!

As the stick once again narrowly missed his shoulder, Toji thought if he didn't learn Observation Haki today, his head might actually crack open.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

[Author's Thoughts]

You did it (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡