c3: Swordsman?
Doriki value is a manifestation of a person's overall combat capacity, and it is generally evaluated in two primary dimensions.
First, physical attributes such as strength, speed, stamina, and raw fighting ability.
Second, proficiency with weaponry ranging from cold weapons like swords, spears, staves, and polearms, to hot weapons such as firearms and even energy-based tools in rare cases.
The cumulative balance of these traits is measured and quantified into a single combat metric Doriki, or Dao Strength.
"Ed—Doriki: 197. Unqualified."
The Revolutionary Army officer in the black cloak declared the result without emotion.
The young man named Ed clenched his fists, frustration written all over his face. Just three points short!
The announcement stirred a small wave of murmurs from the crowd.
"197? He was only three points away!"
"What a pity…"
"Still, he'll definitely pass next time. He's close."
Kerla stood nearby, her demeanor soft as she gently encouraged Ed as he stepped away in defeat.
Rhodes didn't hear what she said, but watching Ed's dejected figure sparked something inside him, his fighting spirit reignited.
"So the pass line is 200?" Rhodes murmured, frowning faintly.
Despite the physical improvements gained through relentless sword training, particularly in arm strength and control, Rhodes was well aware that his base physique still lagged behind many of his peers.
Time moved on.
Candidate after candidate stepped up, and the results were disheartening for most. A majority of the teenagers and girls scored below 200 and left the stage with bowed heads.
Only a small handful surpassed the threshold. Fewer still broke past 300, and those who did only about four or five barely scraped into the low 300s.
Naturally, they tried to play it cool, but they couldn't hide their pride. They squinted and nodded like veteran warriors, basking in the envy of those around them strutting like roosters who'd just won a cockfight.
Then, a ripple of shock cut through the field.
"Rez Doriki: 387. Excellent!"
387?!
That was nearly the threshold for a superhuman in the One Piece world on par with agents of CP9 before they mastered Rokushiki!
Heads turned instantly.
All eyes fell on Rez a towering youth with a granite expression. He stood at 2.2 meters tall, his frame sculpted with slabs of muscle, each movement radiating primal aggression. His entire presence was like that of a wild beast prowling the jungle.
And despite the astonishment in the crowd, Rez didn't react. He remained impassive, as though the result was beneath his expectations.
"He's strong, no doubt but man, what a pain."
Someone muttered on the side, half in awe and half annoyed.
Most candidates were hovering around similar scores, give or take a few dozen points. But Rez's Doriki was nearly double the passing mark a monstrous leap that stole every ounce of attention.
Girls were practically sparkling at the sight of him, which only deepened the resentment among the other boys.
Rhodes' expression twitched but quickly settled. People like Rez? They were side characters who'd flash for a moment and vanish two arcs later.
One by one, more candidates took their test. A few showed promise, but the earlier shock from Rez had drained the crowd's interest. Even those who passed did so without fanfare.
Eventually, it was Rhodes' turn.
Interest rekindled.
"Wait Dr. Rhodes is testing too?"
"He's kind of skinny… can he even pass?"
"Don't be so quick to judge. I've seen him train with a sword he's got form."
The murmurs were many. Thanks to his reputation as a medic in Baldigo, Rhodes had earned some attention. People craned their necks to watch.
Rhodes stepped calmly into the square.
The Revolutionary Army examiner glanced at him and instructed, "Full-force punch. Strike the target cleanly."
"Alright," Rhodes replied with a composed nod and inhaled deeply.
Only by formally entering the Revolutionary Army could he access what he needed most structured training, advanced physical techniques, and the path to Haki.
That's how he'd grow stronger.
Standing before the hardened punch target, Rhodes grounded his feet, rotated his hips, and drove a powerful force from the base of his spine through his waist and shoulders.
His right arm thrust forward not like a boxer, but like a swordsman.
His punch carried the form of a precise tsuki thrust, similar to the straight, focused motion he'd honed in swordsmanship.
A flash of afterimage appeared at the tip of his fist, and with a heavy bang, his knuckles slammed into the target cleanly.
As the vibration rippled out, Rhodes felt something spark in his body.
"That felt… clean. My strength came out perfectly," he thought, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes.
He didn't know much about boxing, and his regular punches weren't explosive. So he'd adapted a precise sword-thrust motion with his fist, delivering maximum output in one go.
"Explosive force registered pass," the examiner said with raised eyebrows.
This Revolutionary Army officer was no rookie. He had seen countless strikes, and Rhodes' punch was clearly unrefined in form, but fully loaded with effort and technique.
"The form is unconventional but impressive. Just be careful not to overextend. Losing balance during a critical strike will do more harm than good."
The officer gave him a brief nod of approval.
"Understood."
Rhodes returned the nod calmly.
Still… that was only one part of the test.
He had managed to bluff through explosive power with clever use of sword thrust mechanics but speed, endurance, and general stamina couldn't be faked.
And just as expected, he fell short in those categories.
His sprint test was sluggish, his reaction timing below average, and his muscle resilience paled in comparison to the higher-tier candidates.
One by one, he failed the remaining assessments.
The audience's attention quickly drifted elsewhere.
With Rez's monster score still fresh in their minds, Rhodes' name lost traction. Eyes turned away. Whispers faded.
Still, the examiner patted his shoulder with a hint of kindness and continued to speak with him encouragingly.
And Rhodes? He accepted the result with unshaken calm.
He wasn't finished yet.
"It doesn't matter physical growth comes with time. You're still young. Eat well, train hard. Give it three to five years and you'll definitely meet the standard."
The soothing reassurance left Rhodes slightly speechless. He hadn't expected the examiner to assume he'd fall short of the requirement for Doriki the standard metric of physical strength first referenced in Enies Lobby by CP9.
After all, he had only arrived in this world three months ago. How could he catch up with others who had been training their bodies since early childhood?
He was working hard but so were they.
"I can pass the test," Rhodes said firmly, cutting off the examiner's lingering commentary. His confidence came not from brute force but from weapon mastery.
The recorder, unaware of the source of this assurance, looked at Rhodes' calm expression, hesitated for a moment, then simply sighed and said nothing.
He really didn't want to discourage the youth too much.
With Rhodes' underwhelming performance in pure physical stats strength, endurance, reaction speed unless his skill with a weapon was extraordinary, there was simply no way he could hit the 200-point benchmark required to qualify for Revolutionary Army reserves.
Now came the second half of the evaluation: weapon mastery.
In the context of Doriki scoring, this didn't mean competence in all types of weapons such a thing would be unreasonable even for seasoned marines. It meant demonstrating mastery over a personal weapon of choice.
Rhodes, of course, selected a sword.
Not a dull practice blade, but a real one cold, gleaming, forged with quality steel. The sun glinted off the edge, casting a silver flash across the testing field.
As soon as Rhodes took hold of the hilt, his aura changed.
Usually composed, courteous a kindhearted doctor in Baldigo.
Now, his gaze sharpened. His features set in a cold calm. His entire bearing shifted like an unsheathed blade glinting with quiet threat. Even the recorder felt it.
"This aura… reminds me of a true swordsman," the man muttered, unsettled. "But he's so young. Could just be my imagination."
Whoosh!
In an instant, Rhodes surged forward his feet kicked off the ground, posture low and focused. In that fleeting moment, his mind aligned completely with the blade in his hands.
His breath slowed.
His center stabilized.
Then—slash.
He cut.
There was no wasted movement, no dramatic flare. Just one clean, casual stroke like wiping dust from a shelf.
Schlunk!
Air split with a slicing hiss.
To the recorder's utter shock, the sword cleaved straight through the test material a thick slab of black stone known for its durability, used in building fortress outposts in the New World. The blade didn't stop there it continued through the wooden support structure beneath, shearing it in half.
Crack!
The wooden rack groaned, splintered, and collapsed under the sudden lack of support. The halved black stone tumbled and crashed to the ground with a deep boom.
"This…!"
The recorder stared, eyes wide and jaw slack, disbelief plain on his face.
That test stone wasn't ordinary though not quite as tough as Seastone (Kairoseki), it was still highly resistant and chosen specifically to gauge bladed power output from elite recruits.
And Rhodes had cut clean through it with a single blow something even most veteran Revolutionary soldiers couldn't do casually.
"That was a Tōryū no Ippatsu… A true swordsman's cut!"
The term referred to the type of precision slash used by masters of swordsmanship in the One Piece world like Roronoa Zoro's Shishi Sonson or the precise strikes seen from Mihawk and other renowned kenshi.
The examiner's eyes, once indifferent, now regarded Rhodes with awe.
Even Kerla who had been quietly observing from a distance showed a change in expression. She had known Rhodes was skilled with the sword, but not to this degree.
"This guy… he's only sixteen…" she muttered, lips twitching with surprise.
A sixteen-year-old swordsman already capable of executing clean-cut strikes like that wasn't just rare.
It was unheard of.
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