Chapter 40

The day after Zoro's birthday, Zoro and Toji went to the training ground together for the first time in a while.

As usual, Zoro held two wooden swords and had the Wado Ichimonji strapped to his waist, though he seemed to have no intention of drawing it. Toji, as always, faced Zoro barehanded, holding the wooden swords.

However, the outcome was not as usual.

'He's aiming for the left.'

Toji stepped to the right in advance, dodging the attack. Zoro's wooden sword whooshed through the air where Toji had been just a moment before. Zoro immediately followed up with another attack, but again, Toji accurately predicted the direction of the swing and twisted his body in the opposite direction.

Right, down, right, up, left. Then up again.

Toji managed to dodge all of Zoro's attacks, moving at a speed similar to Zoro's. It was a strange feeling, even for Toji himself.

'What is this?'

It wasn't judgment based on enhanced senses like before. It just felt, and just knew. A bizarre power that seemed to predict where the opponent would go next. If anything, it was most similar to intuition.

But that wasn't all. Even though they were wooden swords, being swung by Zoro who could infuse them with Armament Haki meant that getting hit could feel as if the hit area was about to burst open, even for Toji.

'But today, it doesn't feel like it's going to burst.'

At most, it felt like getting a bruise? Anyway, it was a bit less painful.

'Finally.'

Zoro, who had been closely observing Toji's movements throughout the spar, had his eyes shine brightly. It was the moment the past year's efforts finally showed results.

'Then, it's time to start hitting harder.'

Caught up in the sudden, mysterious power he had acquired, Toji paused in the middle of the spar to contemplate. It was just a few seconds, but for Zoro, that was enough time.

Suddenly feeling another strange intuition, Toji urgently said to Zoro.

"Don't do it."

He wasn't sure exactly what Zoro was about to do. But it seemed like it shouldn't be allowed to happen.

Of course, Zoro wasn't exactly the son who listened well to his father, so he ignored Toji's words and drew the Wado Ichimonji from its sheath, holding it in his mouth.

Click.

Toji grimaced suddenly. He had clearly told him not to do it because he could lose a tooth! And the kid still had baby teeth!

He quickly approached Zoro.

"You, I told you not to do that—"

Swoosh!

Suddenly, Zoro swiftly swung his sword towards Toji's upper body. Toji had to stop speaking and dodge immediately.

Whoosh!

The ground where the sword passed was gouged out by the sword strike. The Haki enveloping the three swords was much more formidable than before.

To Toji's astonishment, Zoro, with the sword in his mouth, said,

"Sorry, father. I have my reasons to use Three Sword Style."

He felt like he was going to die of itching.

And for good reason, Zoro had not handled a real sword for too long. He hadn't fought with all his might in too long, and it had been too long since he had the opportunity to showcase his unique skills. There were those he faced on his fourth birthday, but they were too weak and died quickly.

Of course, Toji was a sufficiently strong opponent, but the lack of hostility shown by Zoro and his apparent concern for potentially injuring Toji made the fight lackluster. If Toji really went all out, Zoro would be the one to get hurt, so he couldn't complain. For Zoro, a swordsman who pursues strength and enjoys fighting more than anything, a fight where he couldn't give his all was truly a torment.

'But now, the situation has changed.'

Zoro had acquired three swords.

Now that Three Sword Style was possible, even if completely defending against Toji's attacks was difficult, he could somewhat counter them. Especially since Toji was on the verge of awakening his Haki, Zoro wanted to take this opportunity to fight with all his might and potentially help awaken Toji's Haki.

...Simply put, it was a dissatisfaction with his desire for combat.

The corners of Zoro's mouth lifted. His heart throbbed with anticipation.

"Hold on. Or fight back."

"Wait a second...."

Boom!

As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro rushed forward eagerly. Surprised, Toji quickly dodged, creating a considerable distance between them.

Boom!

Zoro leaped high into the air, striking the void with his wooden sword. As Toji's eyes widened, Zoro, holding a wooden sword in each hand and flipping them behind his back, shouted,

"Tiger Hunt!"

Before he could even think, Toji's body sprang backwards. Zoro's wooden sword struck down, and the ground shattered in a pattern resembling tiger stripes, sending debris flying in all directions.

'He didn't hit.'

The problem is still speed. Zoro clicked his tongue, getting up from the cratered ground.

"How did you just—"

"I hit the air with the sword, and used the impact to jump."

"...That's possible?"

It was a method beyond Toji's imagination. Seeing Toji's dumbfounded expression, Zoro shrugged.

"There are also ways to do it just with physical abilities."

Like Geppo. Zoro muttered words that made no sense to Toji and smirked.

"I'll teach you later. I can't do it myself though."

Zoro had only seen others perform those techniques but hadn't managed to replicate them himself. Well, he roughly knew the principle anyway.

"But for now, focus on me."

If you're not careful, even if you're my father, you could get hurt.

Zoro charged again. Toji was more worried about Zoro's teeth than about Haki or anything else.

'I need to end this quickly.'

First, I need to make him spit out that sword, then scold him or continue the sparring.

Leaping back to create distance, Toji vomited a curse tool from his stomach. Then, he pulled out the Playful Cloud from the mouth of the curse tool. Among the many weapons, he chose Playful Cloud specifically because other weapons were not suitable for subduing.

"...!"

Toji, who usually wielded Playful Cloud, was surprised by the eerie energy emanating from it.

It's not that he couldn't feel cursed energy at all usually. Toji's superhuman body could sense cursed energy, even though it was something that was never supposed to be accessible to him.

But now was different. It was as if he could feel every movement of the cursed energy, swirling like flames.

'Could this be...'

The Observation Haki?

"Don't let your guard down, father."

Clash!

Playful Cloud swung a moment too late collided head-on with the Wado Ichimonji. Zoro swung his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Wado Ichimonji and Playful Cloud clashed, intertwining cursed energy and Armament Haki.

Toji's expression hardened.

'Playful Cloud is being pushed back.'

At the moment the two weapons collided, it was evident that Playful Cloud's cursed energy scattered in all directions, its power dissipating. It was a slight but clear disadvantage for Playful Cloud. He knew it was a good sword, but he hadn't expected Playful Cloud, a special grade curse tool, to be outmatched in power.

'And Zoro's movements.'

Just adding one more sword to use, and even wielding it in his mouth. Naturally, movements using a sword held in the mouth should be simpler and less effective than those with hands, but that wasn't the case.

As the two swords in his hands moved, the one in his mouth blocked any retreat. Whichever way you go, you get cut.

Crash! Crack!

Instead of devastating his own shoulder, Toji sweated as he saw the wooden sword tear through the floor.

'The power is different.'

Toji thought that distributing the Haki he would normally concentrate into two swords among three would weaken it, but that was not the case at all.

Zoro had never been an easy opponent for even a single moment, but Zoro using three swords presented a different kind of pressure.

Moreover, Toji was not in a particularly calm state at the moment.

'Everything is visible.'

Like sleeping with his eyes open, he could see everything that shouldn't be visible. It wasn't just a matter of eyesight. No matter how good Toji's eyesight was, he couldn't see what was happening behind his head. Now, he could.

The dark cursed energy of Playful Cloud, the cursed energy within the curse storage vessel and the curses stored within it, the movement of Zoro's sword and Haki, even the sound of sweat droplets falling from Toji's body to the floor.

There was so much information that his mind went numb.

"Three Sword Style – Dragon Twister!"

Dangerous. Toji, having preemptively caught on to that information, unconsciously drew Playful Cloud.

Crack!

The clash of Playful Cloud's cursed energy and the Haki-infused sword strike tore both apart.

The sword strike generated from the tip of the sword overwhelmed Toji. Toji raised his right arm in defense.

At that moment, black Haki wrapped around both of Toji's arms.

Seeing this, Zoro hesitated, and Toji did not miss this opportunity.

Swoosh!

Blood flowed from the arm wrapped in Armament Haki. Ignoring it, Toji charged and swung Playful Cloud.

Clash! Clash!

Playful Cloud sent the two wooden swords Zoro was holding flying. As Zoro staggered from the impact, Toji grabbed Zoro by the collar to prevent him from falling. Almost simultaneously, Zoro, who had been holding the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, grabbed it with his hand and swung.

The cool aura of metal brushed against Toji's neck. But Toji wasn't tense. After all, it was the back of the blade. And for Zoro, there was no longer any hostility. It wasn't something he saw. He just knew.

Zoro, seeing Toji's pitch-black hand holding his collar, grinned. Then, he sheathed the Wado Ichimonji that had been pointed at Toji's neck with the flat side.

"Congratulations, father. You've obtained Haki."

It was the simultaneous awakening of Observation and Armament Haki.

Toji slowly blinked his green eyes. Then, startled, he withdrew the Armament Haki from his hand and carefully set Zoro down on the ground.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't control it. Are you hurt, did you get...?"

"Seemed a bit dazed yet sensitive. Were you in a heightened state?"

It was a common occurrence when first awakening Observation Haki. Becoming overly immersed in the situation or the opponent, overwhelmed by emotions. In Toji's case, it seemed he was immersed in the situation of the battle.

"It's okay. You just need to learn how to control it."

Given that Toji's senses were already sharp, awakening Observation Haki might have added to his confusion. Considering that, he did relatively well.

'He didn't go berserk and attack me without recognizing me, right?'

After all, he didn't inflict even a scratch. Zoro thought so and brushed it off as no big deal.

Toji mumbled and then sighed deeply. The kid was alarmingly fearless. Even though his father, someone who could crush him, had grabbed his collar, he remained calm.

Toji looked at Zoro's neatly aligned teeth and then said,

"...Hand over the sword. Let's go to the dentist first."

The conversation would continue from there.

...

[Author's thoughts]

:O, absolute cinema... Wuuoaaaaaa!

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