With another surge of experience flooding his body, Gawain's swordsmanship finally reached Level 10.
A torrent of insights into the way of the sword poured into his mind. Like a sponge, he absorbed every fragment of knowledge provided by the system.
Now seeing things from a renewed perspective, Gawain could better comprehend the full extent of his abilities.
The sword techniques that had once been simplified through system harmonization were now refined even further—elevated to an entirely new peak.
A few minutes later...
Gawain slowly opened his eyes. Placing a hand on the Seikō Masamune at his waist, he felt the subtle hum of the blade. A faint smile curved his lips.
"Now that I've reached Level 10, my understanding of swordsmanship has deepened once more. My sword speed and grasp of its essence have both improved significantly."
"Quantitatively, it's not vastly different—maybe a 30% increase overall—but that's not what matters most…"
He turned his attention to the system panel floating before him.
Just as upgrading his physique to Level 10 had unlocked two new branch abilities, reaching Level 10 in swordsmanship granted him access to two new techniques as well:
Iai Slash and Extreme Weapon.
Gawain glanced at the first one and immediately grasped its meaning.
Roughly speaking, Iai referred to the art of drawing the sword and striking in a single, fluid motion.
Ever since acquiring Death Walk, Gawain's combat style had revolved around blinding speed—closing in and eliminating his enemies in the blink of an eye. Iai fit that approach perfectly.
In battle, especially when armor and defense could be bypassed, the speed of the first strike was everything.
Gawain understood this well. However, he also recognized the limitations of relying solely on speed—against top-tier opponents, speed alone wouldn't suffice.
In the East Blue, there were hardly any who could survive Gawain's lightning-fast assaults. But on the Grand Line? There, formidable enemies were the norm.
Sure, he could raise his Armament Haki and stack physical stats, but even then, breaking through defenses would take time.
"Still, Iai Slash is just like Flying Slash—it improves with practice."
"Even if I fall behind in training, I could let Zoro spend time on Iai Slash and still reap the benefits."
His eyes then shifted to the second new ability: Extreme Weapon.
To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what it did. It vaguely reminded him of an ability from an old game he'd played.
"Extreme Weapon... Breaking Extreme Weapon Blade? In the game, it boosted attack and crit rate. So mine should function similarly, right?"
Without further hesitation, Gawain made his choice.
"I'll go with Extreme Weapon."
A moment later, a new entry appeared beneath the Swordsmanship section on his system panel:
Swordsmanship – LV 10: 653/12000 (Super Speed, Extreme Weapon)
Oddly, Gawain didn't feel any changes in his body. He frowned.
"What's going on?"
Puzzled, he looked down at the Seikō Masamune in his hand—and froze.
The blade now shimmered with a faint, glowing light. Even in the dim room, it gleamed with a clarity that pierced the shadows. A chilling aura radiated from it, one that touched the soul.
Gawain felt it instinctively.
The blade, wrapped in that ethereal glow, now seemed capable of cutting through anything.
"Does this... directly boost the power of my slashes?!"
To test it, he picked up an ordinary sword and gently slashed at it using the Seikō Masamune, now enhanced by Extreme Weapon.
Swish!
The glowing blade sliced through the ordinary weapon like a hot knife through butter, splitting it cleanly in two without resistance.
"It really does increase cutting power!"
Gawain blinked, stunned—then grinned in elation. He flung open the window and vanished into the night.
A few minutes later…
Above the mountainous terrain behind Para Island, streaks of flying slashes erupted into the air, slicing across the distant sea and vanishing beyond the horizon.
Explosions echoed through the sky as several mountain peaks were cleaved in half, the resulting scars stretching hundreds of meters.
Meanwhile, in the East Blue...
Near the waters of Raven Harbor, the sea grew restless. Wind howled, waves rose, and a lone pirate ship braved the stormy current.
"Labute, how much longer?!"
A tall, thin pirate—his feline features clear in the dim light—sat on the deck, frowning as he scanned the choppy sea.
The one called Labute, short and plump like a well-fed cat, studied the nautical chart, then pulled a pointer from his pocket. After inspecting it carefully, he answered:
"Less than ten nautical miles. We'll reach Raven Harbor before the storm hits."
"If everything goes smoothly, we'll get the Devil Fruit the captain's after tonight."
His eyes briefly flicked to a wound on the tall pirate's arm. His expression grew solemn.
"That smoke guy actually managed to injure you, Lachet."
"Even in the East Blue... are there people with Logia powers?"
Lachet's face darkened, his voice tinged with frustration.
"His Devil Fruit was secondary. The real problem was his weapon—it was laced with seastone. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have lost."
Labute nodded slowly.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with our mission. According to Lord Hanafuda's intel, Raven Harbor has strong ties to another pirate crew."
"Who?" Lachet asked.
Labute replied:
"The Gawain Pirates. Their captain, Knight Gawain, has a bounty of 85 million—currently the highest in the East Blue."
"They've risen fast in recent months. Based on their trajectory, they're likely planning to head for the Grand Line."
Lachet sneered, lips curling in disdain.
"From the weakest sea? They've never experienced real combat like the kind on the Grand Line. High bounties don't mean anything."
"We've taken down pirates with bounties over 100 million before—together."
"And now that we've gained new power, we're stronger than ever."
He arched his back. Within seconds, his body transformed—muscles rippling, skin patterned with dark spots. He now resembled a large, upright feline—something between a panther and a leopard.
Gleaming claws extended from his fingertips as he stared at them, eyes brimming with obsession.
"This is the truth of the sea. Power is everything."
Labute chuckled softly at his companion's display of power.
"True enough. But we still need to complete Lord Hanafuda's mission—"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, cutting Labute's sentence short.
Lachet jerked his head back. Smoke curled from his lips—and between his sharp teeth, a black bullet gleamed, clamped tightly in his jaws.
Pfft!
He spat the bullet out, eyes narrowing as he scanned the sea. But all he saw was endless water.
Confused and furious, Lachet roared:
"Who's there?!"
The crew immediately went on high alert, diving for cover.
A lookout in the pirate nest spun around, scanning the horizon.
"Lord Lachet! No suspicious ships in sight! Even the nearest island is ten kilometers away!"
"What, are you saying someone's shooting at us from underwater?!"