Chapter 1

The autumn wind swept through the fallen leaves, casting an air of quiet loneliness over the land. Near the Isshin Dojo in Shimotsuki Village, a small, unassuming boy lay beneath a tree, basking idly in the afternoon sun. His eyes, however, carried a deep frustration—one that words could not express.

His name was Dongze, and as fate would have it, he had been granted a rare opportunity.

When he arrived in this world—the world of pirates—he had imagined a life of grand adventures. With the knowledge of the future at his fingertips, he thought he could carve his legend into history, rising to challenge the likes of Whitebeard and Blackbeard, shaking the very foundations of the seas.

But, cruel reality had struck him down. Talent, it seemed, was an undeniable force in this world.

For two long years, he had trained tirelessly at the Isshin Dojo, pushing himself beyond exhaustion. He bore heavy loads, swung his sword until his arms screamed in protest, and endured countless hardships. Yet, despite his efforts, he couldn't even defeat Kuina, the dojo's sword prodigy—let alone Zoro, the green-haired newcomer who had recently joined.

It was a bitter pill to swallow. Could it be that he truly lacked the talent for swordsmanship?

Two days prior, he had suffered another crushing defeat against Kuina in a dojo match. The sting of her blade was nothing compared to the weight of his own self-doubt. Feeling suffocated, he had slipped away from the dojo to clear his mind, seeking solace beneath the tree.

"If this keeps up… forget about facing Whitebeard—I won't even be able to handle Buggy the Clown!"

"…Heh."

High above him, a small purple-furred squirrel perched on a branch, mischief glinting in its sharp eyes. With a flick of its tiny hands, it hurled a half-eaten pine nut straight at Dongze's forehead.

The boy, lost in thought, failed to react in time.

Thud!

The pine nut struck him square between the brows.

For a brief moment, everything around him blurred, and in the depths of his consciousness, a faint "Ding!" echoed.

Dongze blinked in confusion.

"What… was that?"

Snapping out of his daze, he leaped to his feet, his eyes scanning the branches above.

The squirrel, however, was utterly fearless. It let out two sharp squeaks before vanishing into the dense foliage, leaving Dongze glaring at the retreating figure. With a sigh, he turned his gaze downward, spotting the fallen pine nut beside him.

A wry smile crossed his face.

"Damn it… at least it wasn't a pine nut thrown by Monk Xu Zhu. If it were, I might've had to prepare for my funeral."

Before he could dwell on it further, his misfortune struck again.

This time, a large fruit, ripe and heavy, detached from the branch above and crashed down onto his head.

Thwack!

A sharp pain shot through his skull, and his vision swirled.

"Urgh… not again…"

Before he could curse his luck, something new appeared before his eyes.

[Iron Head Skill: Proficiency 20/1000]

Dongze froze.

He rubbed his eyes, convinced that he was seeing things. Yet, when he focused again, the mysterious system-like text remained.

A sudden thought struck him, sending a jolt of excitement through his body. He turned his gaze to the large tree beside him, hesitated for only a second, then clenched his teeth and slammed his forehead straight into the trunk.

BAM!

A fresh wave of dizziness overcame him, but the pain was worth it. He had to test his theory.

As his vision steadied, he checked the strange floating text once more.

[Iron Head Skill: Proficiency 21/1000]

Dongze's lips curled into a grin, his eyes alight with an undeniable excitement.

"Is this… my golden finger?"

"If this really lets me see my training progress, then I'm not completely hopeless! But… I need to figure out the finer details."

Determined, he continued experimenting.

Through trial and error, he discovered two major functions of this newfound ability:

1. It allowed him to visualize his training progress, breaking his growth into measurable units—an invaluable advantage in mastering combat.

2. It unlocked hidden potential in unexplored fields—though at a great cost. Pain, it seemed, was the price of progress.

And it was all thanks to that damn squirrel.

Earlier that day, the same purple-furred trickster had dragged him into trouble. It had recklessly provoked a band of mountain monkeys, leading to a hailstorm of thrown rocks. In a desperate escape, Dongze had awakened his Observation Haki (Kenbunshoku Haki), allowing him to dodge just in time.

Now, he understood the pattern—

Power came at a price.

To unlock new abilities, he needed to endure intense suffering.

But there was still one mystery: his proficiency progress wasn't always consistent. Why did some attempts increase proficiency while others did not?

His gaze wandered, landing on a massive green boulder nearby. A reckless idea took root in his mind.

"This should do it—"

Before he could follow through, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"Dongze!"

A flash of orange blurred into view, and in the next instant—

BAM!

A powerful kick sent Dongze flying several feet away.

Kuina, the dojo's prodigy, had arrived. She stood near the boulder, her sword at her hip, her sharp eyes filled with fury.

Looking at the crater left in the ground from the impact, a shiver ran down her spine. Had she been even a second late, Dongze's head might've been smashed like a watermelon.

"You idiot!" she snapped, her voice trembling. "Do you think your head is harder than solid Seastone?!"

Dongze groaned, still sprawled awkwardly on the ground.

"Damn it… Kuina!"

"You tyrant!"

"Female Tyrannosaurus!"

…

"What did you just say?"

Hearing those obviously sarcastic words, Kuina clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking audibly. Her sharp eyes locked onto Dongze as she stepped forward, her displeasure evident in every movement.

Dongze winced, turning his head with some difficulty. As he looked at the fierce yet undeniably cute swordswoman, his expression stiffened. He quickly calculated the overwhelming gap in strength between them and made a strategic decision—one that might just save him from further pain.

With the utmost seriousness, he declared, "Kuina, don't get me wrong!"

"I was praising your strength!"

Kuina hesitated for a fraction of a second. Dongze's words struck an unexpected chord within her.

She was the only daughter of Koshiro, the master of Isshin Dojo. Ever since she could hold a sword, she had trained tirelessly under her father's teachings. Yet, despite her undeniable talent, Koshiro always looked at her with the same disheartening disappointment.

Why? Because she was a girl.

In this world, women rarely became swordsmen, and those who did were even rarer among the strongest. No matter how many times she bested the boys at the dojo—including Dongze and that stubborn green-haired idiot, Zoro—her father's words still haunted her.

"A girl can never be the world's strongest swordsman."

She refused to accept it.

She would prove him wrong. She would reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship, no matter what it took. Yet deep down, no matter how much she denied it, a part of her still hated the fact that she was born a girl.

Now, hearing Dongze acknowledge her strength, even if it was in his usual sarcastic manner, made something inside her stir.

However, Kuina wasn't stupid.

She could tell something was off in Dongze's tone. But considering she had just sent him flying over ten meters with a single kick, she decided to let it slide—for now.

"Oi! Didn't you just get your ass handed to you by that moss-headed idiot?" she teased, crossing her arms. "And now you're out here looking for another beating?"

Dongze groaned, struggling to sit up, but his battered body refused to cooperate.

Seeing his repeated failures, a faint blush flickered across Kuina's face. She knew she had kicked him a little too hard just now.

"…Tch."

"Hey! Are you okay?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent.

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Dongze's lips.

"If I suddenly kicked you full force like that, would you be okay?"

Kuina clicked her tongue, placing her hands on her hips.

"How dare you!" she shot back, feigning indignation.

Dongze sighed helplessly. As expected, their brains weren't even on the same wavelength.

"Just help me up. I can't move properly."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

As she pulled him to his feet, she added, "But with your small body, don't bother competing with that mosshead in the future. That idiot's like a bull. I already have trouble dealing with him, so you? You're just asking for trouble."

She wasn't wrong.

Zoro had been pushing himself beyond human limits ever since he arrived at the dojo. Day after day, his training grew more insane. He was no longer just wielding one sword—he had added a second, and now, he was even training to fight with three at once.

His movements had grown sharper, his attacks relentless, and his endurance nearly inhuman. Even Kuina, with her superior skill and technique, found herself avoiding direct clashes with him, relying instead on her refined precision to counter his brute force.

It was clear—Zoro was evolving at a terrifying pace..

And despite everything, she knew where this path would lead.

Two prodigies of the Isshin Dojo, constantly pushing each other to their limits. One would fall.

And the other…

Would carry the fallen's will to become the strongest.

Where that road would lead… no one could say.