Chapter 7: The Test and an Unmatched Sword Technique

"Yoriichi, the entrance requirements for the Navy Academy are extremely strict."

"Only those with a Doriki level of at least 80 are eligible to study there."

"Do you know what a Doriki level of 80 means? An ordinary adult male who has undergone some training typically has a Doriki of only 10!"

"For a regular person, a Doriki of 80 is practically superhuman!"

At this point, a proud grin spread across Zephyr's face. He let out a booming laugh.

Despite being a former Admiral who had weathered countless storms, whenever Zephyr talked about his students or the academy, he suddenly resembled an excited child bragging about his report card, brimming with pride and enthusiasm.

"Come on, come on, let me show you around!"

As he spoke, Zephyr led Yoriichi to the edge of the training grounds. Gazing into the distance, he began giving Yoriichi a tour.

"Look over there, that's the shooting range. Every single person who graduates from the Navy Academy is a sharpshooter!"

"See that field? It's for hand-to-hand combat training. Every graduate from the Navy Academy becomes a master of martial arts!"

"And that building there is the dojo. We have dedicated instructors for swordsmanship. Every graduate from the Navy Academy"

Before Zephyr could finish, Yoriichi interjected, "They all become master swordsmen?"

Zephyr, who had been energetically introducing the Navy Academy, froze mid-sentence. After a brief pause, he scratched his chin and replied a little awkwardly:

"Well, not quite. It's not like they all become master swordsmen."

A second later, Zephyr laughed heartily and continued:

"But every single one of them leaves with a solid foundation for becoming one!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Hearing this, Yoriichi shot Zephyr a sidelong glance. This was the first time he realized that Zephyr was the type who liked to exaggerate. If he hadn't retained some faint memories of the power rankings in the One Piece world, he might actually have been fooled by Zephyr's big promises.

Master swordsmen?

There were only a handful of true master swordsmen in the entire world!

From what Yoriichi knew, it seemed that the Marines didn't actually have anyone who could truly be called a master swordsman.

Still, Yoriichi didn't find Zephyr's bragging annoying at all. This middle-aged man, who radiated such loyalty to the Navy and spoke with such pride, was painting a picture of the future for a boy dreaming of joining the Marines. It filled Yoriichi with a sense of peace he'd never known.

In the world of Demon Slayer, he'd never once felt anything like this.

Even after being interrupted, Zephyr continued showing Yoriichi around the academy. His animated explanations left Yoriichi momentarily captivated.

After a while, as Zephyr's speech finally slowed, Yoriichi pointed toward the dojo Zephyr had mentioned earlier and asked:

"Master Zephyr, can we go check out that dojo?"

Zephyr looked down at the boy beside him, noticing the long sword Yoriichi carried in his hand. He gave a hearty nod and smiled:

"Of course! Let's go!"

"And while we're there, you can test your Doriki level."

"I'm curious to see just what kind of kid managed to get brought back to Marineford personally by Garp."

With that, the two of them walked across the training field toward the distant dojo. The sight of the pair a towering adult and a slender boy caught the attention of many cadets already engaged in training.

"Hey! Who's that kid walking with Master Zephyr? I've never seen him before!"

"Is he a relative? Or maybe a new recruit?"

"You idiot, Master Zephyr doesn't have any relatives left. And besides, it's past enrollment season! Look how young that kid is!"

Ignoring the whispers around them, Zephyr led Yoriichi straight to the front of the dojo.

From a distance, the dojo hadn't looked particularly large, but as they got closer, Yoriichi realized he'd been mistaken.

The building before him spanned several thousand square meters. After removing their shoes and stepping inside, Yoriichi looked around and saw rows upon rows of long racks lining the walls, each stacked with bamboo swords probably over a thousand of them.

The dojo was built in a modified Japanese architectural style, with evenly spaced supporting pillars dividing the vast open space into smaller training areas of roughly several dozen square meters each.

This dojo could easily accommodate three hundred people training at the same time.

Yoriichi couldn't remember the last time he'd stepped into a place like this. Ever since leaving the Tsugikuni household and becoming a demon slayer, he'd never set foot in a dojo again.

Standing there in the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar space, Yoriichi found himself slightly dazed.

Zephyr assumed Yoriichi was simply overwhelmed by seeing such a large dojo for the first time. With a touch of pride, he grabbed a bamboo sword from a rack near the entrance, stepped into the center of the dojo, and suddenly called out:

"Yoriichi, want to spar a little?"

"I heard from Garp that you're pretty handy with a sword!"

"My own swordsmanship is nothing special, but it's decent enough. So what do you say? Want to have a go?"

Zephyr's words snapped Yoriichi out of his thoughts. Seeing that Zephyr seemed genuinely interested, Yoriichi was more than willing to spar.

To be honest, he'd only been in this world for a short while and still didn't have a clear sense of his own strength.

Back on that island, he'd effortlessly slain a giant beast, but Yoriichi knew full well that killing a beast wasn't a reliable measure of one's power.

He vaguely remembered that when Luffy had just set out to sea, he'd casually defeated a Sea King.

The second time he'd fought in this world was against Garp and Garp had knocked him out with a single punch.

The third time was when he'd attacked that pirate ship. According to Garp's evaluation, his strength was supposedly comparable to that of a Marine field officer. But such an assessment was hardly a precise measure of power.

Officer ranks were broad. A strong colonel and a weak major could be worlds apart in strength. Even among colonels themselves, there could be enormous differences.

Believe it or not, both Smoker and Morgan held the rank of colonel.

Yes, that Morgan the "Axe-Hand Morgan" who once claimed he'd chopped down the hero Garp with a single axe blow.

Besides, in that previous pirate-clearing battle, Yoriichi hadn't even used his full strength.

"If I spar with Master Zephyr, I'll finally have a clearer idea of where my strength stands in this world."

"Surely he won't knock me out with a single punch like Vice Admiral Garp did, right?"

Thinking this, Yoriichi leaned his sword against the wall, casually picked up a bamboo sword, and stepped in front of Zephyr. Without wasting words, he raised the sword in both hands and declared:

"Master, I'm going all out. Please be careful."

Hearing Yoriichi's warning, Zephyr chuckled, gripping his own bamboo sword as he said:

"Come at me!"

As soon as the words left Zephyr's mouth, Yoriichi adjusted his breathing, and his entire demeanor transformed.

If a moment ago Yoriichi had been as calm as a still lake, now he was a raging ocean. The aura radiating from him was utterly unlike that of any ordinary boy.

From Yoriichi's perspective, looking at Zephyr through the lens of his Transparent World, Zephyr's entire body was full of openings.

"Hm?!"

Zephyr's eyes narrowed as he felt Yoriichi's sudden shift in presence. The bamboo sword that had been pointed lazily toward the floor was instantly raised to chest height.

In the next instant, Yoriichi vanished from sight.

A strange, shimmering haze began rising within the dojo. In the span of just two breaths, the mist spread to fill the entire hall.

"What is this?!"

"Is this the power of a Devil Fruit?!"

"Garp never told me this kid could do something like this!"

"No… wait. This doesn't feel like Devil Fruit power at all."

"It's purely sword technique?"

Zephyr spread his Observation Haki, his brow furrowing as he muttered to himself.

A heartbeat later, Yoriichi's figure suddenly emerged from the swirling haze, appearing at Zephyr's right side. With a swift motion, he swung the bamboo sword horizontally toward Zephyr's abdomen.

"Breath of Mist – Flowing Slash!"