Albert looked at Rika speechlessly, feeling that his personality had been seriously insulted.
With a whoosh, he stood up and said, "Am I the kind of person who would use Observation Haki to peek? Do you think I've always gone to the pond myself to spy?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Albert felt the environment around him suddenly freeze.
"Oh, is that so?" At that moment, Rika's body looked like red hot pepper, and a voice that seemed to come from demon of hell emerged, "Albert, oh Albert! Clench your teeth!"
Albert: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
"Sister Rika, what are you planning to do with that stick? Don't come over, don't—ah!"
Bang, bang, ding, clang ~
Half an hour later, Rika walked out of the house, while Albert lay on the floor inside, in a ragged state. His clothes were tattered, his hair was a mess, his head was swollen with several large bumps, his face was bruised and swollen, and he looked completely lifeless.
The facts tell us that when faced with suspicion, one should not rush to explain. It is essential to think things through before speaking; otherwise, you won't even know what has happened.
An hour later, after being ravaged and tormented by Rika, Albert sat up, sighed, and changed into fresh clothes.
"Alas, what a lesson! Today, I finally awakened Observation Haki. Why did I get carried away and seek that beating? But thinking about Sister Rika's embrace—heh, it's all worth it!"
...
Although Albert received loving care from Sister Rika, he was still very happy because today, his Observation Haki had finally awakened. Initially, he could only detect a range of ten meters around him, but that didn't matter. This was just the initial awakening, and the range of detection could increase with further cultivation of Observation Haki.
Now that he had awakened Observation Haki, his next step in his growth plan should also begin.
At the same time, Albert's swordsmanship had reached a level where he understood the breathing of all things, so the next step should be the practice of sword aura.
Speaking of sword aura, it is generated through the swing of the sword, creating air pressure that forms air waves, thereby producing sword aura.
To generate aura from the air, it is not enough to have strength; it also requires unparalleled concentration when drawing the sword. Only with this concentration, combining speed and strength into one fluid motion, and ensuring that the sword has no deviation during the slashing process, can sword aura be formed. This is also why Albert first practiced Observation Haki.
First, Observation Haki allows one to perceive more clearly whether the sword is focused during a slash.
Second, Observation Haki can also be awakened in that way.
For these two reasons, Albert decided to practice Observation Haki first. This is not to say that one cannot practice sword aura without Observation Haki, but having it makes practicing sword aura much more efficient.
Albert weighed the sword that Sister Rika had given him yesterday in his hand, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Then let's start practicing sword aura."
Every day, he would swing the sword a thousand times, each time with speed and precision, and then exercise his arm strength, like Zoro lifting dumbbells, while correcting any deviations that appeared during slashing.
Half a month later, Albert felt that he was almost ready, and on this day, he decided to perform his first sword aura slash.
Albert came to the seaside and stood quietly by the water. He didn't know how long it had been—maybe an hour, maybe a minute. Suddenly, he swung the iron sword in his hand, and a blue, crescent-shaped sword aura shot out instantly.
Albert looked at his sword aura, which was visible to the naked eye but on the verge of collapsing, and sighed inwardly: "Sure enough, sword aura is not easy to practice."
The power of sword aura is related to the distance of the slash, the solidity of the aura, and its magnitude. A weak sword aura can only cut through a house, while a strong sword aura, like Mihawk's, can split mountains and shatter stones with a single strike.
However, these are not the most important aspects. Although Albert can now unleash sword aura when focused, in battle, will the enemy give you the chance to focus on slashing sword aura?
So now, Albert not only has to improve the power of his sword aura but also practice being able to unleash it at any time during battle.
A swordsman is a weapon of killing; swords are ever-changing, and swordsmanship is numerous yet simple. But why does my sword feel like something is still missing after practicing for so long?
Albert lowered his head and looked at the sword in his hand, suddenly noticing the arc of the sword tip.
"Hmm? Wait, what kind of sword am I using?" Albert carefully examined the sword in his hand and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha... I'm really a fool! This is not a sword; this is clearly a short sword! No wonder it always feels wrong while swinging it." After realizing what he had been practicing, Albert abandoned his previous understanding of swordsmanship and began to seriously consider the art of the short sword.
The short sword is the easiest to practice but also the most challenging to master. It is the overlord among weapons, emphasizing invincibility and boldness; while the sword is the gentleman among weapons, skilled in strategy, making swordsmanship ever-changing.
Thus, practicing the short sword differs from practicing the long sword. The short sword should exude a domineering aura, with every move embodying the momentum of splitting Mount Hua, in order to fully demonstrate its true meaning.
Having figured this out, Albert casually swung his sword, and a crescent-shaped sword aura shot toward the sea, stirring up a wave.
Looking at the sword aura, which was several levels more powerful than before, Albert burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! I've been learning for half a day, and it turns out that what I've been learning is a short sword. Really..."
Albert frowned and pondered for a moment but couldn't think of how to express it.
...
With the excitement of mastering sword aura, Albert happily returned home. As he approached the wall of the hot spring pool at home, his thoughts clear, he abandoned the idea of seeking far and wide and jumped directly into the courtyard. He reached out, stripped off his clothes, and jumped into the hot spring pool.
...
In the evening, Rika returned from the shop. She had been busy all day and was already a little tired; in fact, she hadn't relaxed for a long time. Since adopting Albert as her younger brother, she had worried about his affairs every day. She originally wanted him to help out at the shop, but he claimed the food was unpalatable and that there weren't many customers anyway, so helping out was just standing around; it was better for him to practice swordsmanship.
Rika couldn't bear it at the time. "Although there aren't many customers every day, there are still quite a few, okay?" She was the best chef in the village.
Since Rika boasted about her cooking skills, Albert walked into the kitchen with disdain and proceeded to prepare a table full of dishes.
Rika stared blankly at the spread, inhaling the tempting aroma as she ate, and then she was defeated.
In the following days, Albert demonstrated to Rika what it meant to fry, stir-fry, cook, and deep-fry, as well as the intricacies of vinegar, slipping, boiling, and stewing—essentially, what it meant to master Chinese cuisine.
Rika's pride as a chef was shattered by Albert.
It was truly shocking. It was like a renowned agriculture professor trying to guide a farmer in advanced agricultural techniques, only for the farmer to swing a sickle and suddenly grow a plant. That kind of shock, that sudden realization, completely overwhelmed her.
However, this was not the end. With an extremely dazzling aura, Albert asked her like a devil if she wanted to learn, which made Rika surrender to him in humiliation.
After learning Albert's cooking skills, Rika indeed saw a surge in the shop's business, with customers streaming in. Yet, she felt both pain and happiness.
There was no way around it; it was truly humiliating.
Now, the business in the shop was thriving. Although Rika felt a little tired, her mood was genuinely good. She no longer struggled with Albert's cooking skills. No matter how high his culinary talents were, he was still her younger brother.
Humming a little tune, Rika entered the bathroom. She took off her clothes in the room, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and made her way to the hot spring pool.
At that moment, Albert had already been soaking in the hot spring and was drowsy. Because it was dark and there was water mist, Rika didn't see him. She thought Albert hadn't returned; after all, he had jumped in directly from outside and hadn't put his clothes in the bathroom at all.
Splash!
A splash of water rang out, startling the drowsy Albert awake.
Albert opened his eyes and looked around. "Eh, isn't that Sister Rika?" Then he felt a surge of blood rush to his head. Rika's fair, smooth skin and her full breasts quickly entered his field of vision.
'Ah, so beautiful, so big, so round, so perky! Tsk tsk, I thought Sister Rika only had a D cup, but I didn't expect it to be an E. Sister Rika is really hiding something; this is such a generous benefit. Eh? Wait, why is my Sister Rika here?'
At that moment, Albert felt like he was finished. If Sister Rika found out about this, he was definitely done for!
'What to do, what to do? If I show myself now and apologize to Sister Rika, would she forgive me? She wouldn't kill me; she'd be showing mercy, right?'
Thinking this, Albert wanted to quickly escape this extremely dangerous situation, but he forgot that there is a law in this world called Murphy's Law: the more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen.
Albert cautiously tried to walk out of the hot spring, but in his nervousness, he stepped on the hilt of his own sword and fell backward onto the ground.
Bang... A loud noise immediately attracted Rika's attention.
"Albert? What are you doing here?"
Albert quickly got up and said at lightning speed, "Sister Rika, listen to me! I came in before you."
Rika wouldn't listen to Albert. When she heard him say he came in before her, her first impression was that he was intentionally peeping.
Immediately, Rika stood up abruptly, not caring that Albert would see everything, and the enraged Rika rushed toward him...
"Sister Rika, wait! Listen to my explanation! Ah... ouch, ouch, ouch... Sister Rika, you have a great figure! My bones are about to break..."
In the last moment of Albert's consciousness, as he looked at Sister Rika, naked and on top of him, he thought to himself: "Though it's worth it, it still hurts a bit."
TL/N : Throw some powerstones and Add it to the library!!!