"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight."
Sweat trickled down Zaraki's jawline.
It dripped onto the scorching wood grain of the deck and instantly evaporated into a wisp of white steam.
"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine."
The wooden sword in his hand had become an extension of his arm.
Every muscle fiber screamed. His joints ached and grated.
Zaraki's mind, however, remained a complete blank.
This mind-numbingly tedious task reminded him of Kenpachi Zaraki's long period of lurking before his battles in the Rukongai.
That monster was not born knowing how to use a sword.
He simply desired to strike his target more than anyone else, so he eliminated all superfluous movements.
"Ten thousand."
The final swing descended.
There was no sword aura, no sound of tearing through the air.
The slash was silent.
The wooden sword soundlessly cut through the airflow, hovering half an inch from the deck.
[Basic Sword Swing Training Complete (10,000/10,000)]
[Zaraki Kenpachi Template Proficiency slightly increased: 7.8% -> 7.82%]
[Evaluation: The body has memorized this feeling. Only when every swing is pure can the slaughter be efficient enough.]
"Hah..."
Zaraki exhaled a long breath.
He casually brushed his sweat-soaked hair back.
The sticky feeling all over his body made him want to jump into the sea for a bath or chug a large barrel of iced rum.
Even with a System, the soreness from lactic acid buildup was no lie.
"Hey."
A dry voice came from behind him.
Zaraki turned to see Zoro leaning against a mop in the shadows.
Zoro was currently staring intently at the wooden sword in Zaraki's hand.
His expression was complex, as if looking at an incomprehensible monster.
At first, when Zaraki began practicing his swings like a novice, Zoro's eyes were filled with disdain.
In his view, those messy, straight-down chops were a waste of time. It wasn't sword practice at all, it just a randomly swinging a tree branch.
But as the count reached two thousand, five thousand, eight thousand...
The disdain in Zoro's eyes gradually vanished, replaced by alarm.
From the five-thousandth swing onward, the angle, force, and the sound of the man's every swing cutting through the wind were all completely identical.
He was like a machine!
Every swing was executed with incomparable precision, showing no hesitation and fatigue.
"You..." Zoro's throat bobbed, and he finally asked the question. "Are you really a novice swordsman?"
Such frightening concentration did not seem like that of a novice who had just picked up a sword.
It looked like a madman who had been swinging one his entire life!
"Who knows."
Zaraki casually tossed the wooden sword to Zoro, not caring if the other man could catch it with one hand.
"Maybe I was a sword in my past life."
He stretched his stiff neck. The joints let out a series of crisp cracks.
The sky had completely darkened.
The sea breeze swept away the day's heat, bringing a hint of coolness.
The ship's lamps were not lit yet.
Only the moonlight spilled onto the undulating sea, plating the waves with a silver edge.
At a time like this, dinner should have been waiting for him.
Zaraki frowned and looked around.
The deck was empty, save for him and Zoro.
Carina, who should have been busy in the kitchen, was gone. As for Nami, there was not even a shadow of her to be seen.
"Where is everyone?" Zaraki asked.
"Don't know." Zoro caught the wooden sword, turning his head away awkwardly. "The purple-haired one went to the crow's nest to find the orange-haired one earlier, and they have not come down since."
Hasty footsteps sounded from the stairwell leading to the cabins.
Carina rushed onto the deck, her expression panicked.
She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zaraki, but immediately grew tense again.
"M-Marine-san!" Carina panted, her eyes darting around. "Nami... Nami is gone."
"Gone?" Zaraki raised an eyebrow. "Out on the open sea, where could she go? Jump overboard to feed the fish?"
"N-No! She is not in the crow's nest, and she is not on deck. I have looked everywhere..." Carina's voice trailed off.
She knew how flimsy the excuse sounded.
On a ship this small, a living person could not just vanish into thin air.
Unless she was hiding somewhere no one was willing, or dared, to go.
Zaraki's gaze swept past Carina and landed on the far end of the cabin hallway—the captain's quarters, his current room.
Inside were the large iron chest full of Beli that Zoro had carried over from the pirate ship, as well as the cursed sword, Murasame.
"Heh."
Zaraki chuckled and started walking toward the cabins. "It seems our dear cat is having a professional relapse."
A mouse will always follow the scent of cheese to dig a hole, even if a cat might be living inside.
...
The captain's quarters were pitch-black.
Nami crouched in a corner.
Her hands tightly gripped a thin iron wire as she sweated profusely, trying to pick the padlock on the iron chest.
"Hurry... hurry..."
She chanted silently in her heart, her fingers trembling slightly from nervousness.
That man, Zaraki, was as terrifying as a monster.
But greed was her instinct, and more so, the driving force for her survival.
As long as she got this money... as long as she got this money and the map key she had hidden, she would have a chance to escape that devil's control!
Click.
With a soft sound, the lock opened.
Nami's eyes lit up. Just as she was about to lift the lid, the door behind her pushed open.
Creeak—
The old door hinges let out a piercing screech.
A tall shadow, elongated by the light from the corridor, fell directly over her and the iron chest.
Nami froze completely, not even mustering the courage to turn her head.
"Good evening, little Cat Burglar."
Zaraki leaned against the doorframe.
An apple had appeared in his hand at some point, which he was now munching on calmly.
"Not sleeping this late at night? Are you helping me check on the security of my property?"
Behind him, Carina covered her mouth, her face pale.
Zoro's expression was dark, his hand on Wado Ichimonji as if ready to strike at any moment.
"I... I was just..."
Nami spin around abruptly.
She pressed her back against the iron chest and hid her hands behind her to conceal the picked lock.
Her face was ashen, her large eyes welling with tears, presenting a pitiful sight.
"I just went into the wrong room! Really."
"Went into the wrong room and ended up at a keyhole?"
Zaraki walked into the room, ignoring the picked chest.
He went straight to a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.
"Alright, drop the act. Tears are only a weapon in front of the ignorant. To me, they are just a waste of water."
He took a bite of the apple.
The crisp sound was exceptionally jarring in the dead-silent room.
"Compared to this bit of money, I am more curious about something else."
Zaraki swallowed the fruit.
His gaze turned sharp, as if his eyes were knives piercing through the two girls' facades.
"Why is Mad Treasure so dead set on chasing you? Don't tell me it is for money. That guy is greedy, but chasing you for so long over a few million Beli, and risking offending the Marines to do it... the math does not add up."
Carina and Nami's bodies trembled simultaneously.
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Zoro also sensed the change in atmosphere and frowned at the two girls.
"Hey, what kind of trouble did you two get into?"
Nami bit her lip until she tasted blood.
She glanced at Carina, then at the man sitting there, who exuded a suffocating sense of pressure.
Lying to a powerhouse like him would only get her killed faster.
"It's... it's because of this."
Nami took a deep breath and tremblingly pulled a small cloth bundle from her clothes.
As she unwrapped the bundle layer by layer, a strangely shaped bronze key was revealed to everyone.
Its shaft was etched with spiraling grooves, and the head of the key was shaped like a twisted compass rose.
Even in the dim lamplight, it gave off an unusual, age-worn feel.
"This is..." Zoro's eyes narrowed.
"We... we stole this from Treasure's ship," Carina said with her head down, her voice small. "We originally thought it was just some expensive antique, but we never expected..."
"Never expected it to be this much trouble," Zaraki finished for her.
He looked at the key and a flicker of genuine interest finally appeared in his eyes.
No wonder.
With Treasure's personality, if they had stolen ordinary treasure, he would at most throw a tantrum.
But, this is probably a treasure key.... enough to drive him insane.
"This is the key to the map case Treasure kept hidden," Nami added in a low voice. "We heard him say it unlocks the final layer, but we never got the case itself... only this key."
"You intercepted the important half." Zaraki tossed the apple in his hand, his gaze sweeping between the key and the two girls.
"You have guts, daring to touch something that belongs to that mad dog."
"We... we had no choice!" Nami suddenly shouted, losing some of her composure. "If we do not get enough money, the village will..."
She stopped abruptly, as if realizing she had said too much.
"That is a different price, and I'm not interested," Zaraki said, waving his hand to cut her off.
He stood up, walked over to Nami, and reached out—to take the key.
There was no System notification sound as he had imagined.
It seemed that simply holding it did not directly convert into benefits.
Or perhaps, this thing had no direct bonus for his current template.
"Treasure must be going crazy right now."
Zaraki tossed the key lightly in his palm, feeling its solid weight. "With that mad dog's sense of smell, it probably will not be long before he sniffs his way over here. And with the commotion I caused with that slash earlier... this patch of sea is about to get very lively."
"Then... then what do we do?" Carina's face was pale. "Give the key back to him? Or..."
"Give it back?" Zaraki sneered. "Once something is on my ship, there is no spitting it back out."
He turned and looked out the window at the pitch-black sea.
Although he could not see it, he could feel a malevolent presence rapidly approaching in the darkness.
It was Treasure, and perhaps other, more troublesome things.
"Hey." Zoro tightened his grip on his sword's hilt.
A spark of fighting spirit ignited in his eyes, even though his right arm still throbbed with a dull ache.
"That Treasure guy... is he strong?"
"Strong?"
Zaraki turned his head, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful arc.
"He is a Paramecia-type, Jara Jara no Mi user. In a beginner's area like the East Blue, you could say he is a max-level character."
"What about you?" Nami could not help but ask, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Can you beat him?"
Everyone's gaze focused on Zaraki.
The man who had split the sea with a single slash was their only hope now.
Zaraki remained silent for two seconds.
He was calculating rapidly in his mind.
Although his current Zaraki Kenpachi Template was formidable, it was only 7.82% unlocked.
He could naturally crush ordinary pirates, but a character like Treasure wasn't an ant he could squash casually.
That bizarre chain ability, in particular, was a bit tricky for him at his current level.
"Fifty percent."
Zaraki held up five fingers, waving them under the light.
"Fifty percent?" Nami and Carina's voices instantly shot up, filled with panic. "Only half a chance of winning?"
"No."
Zaraki lowered his hand.
A red glint flashed in the depths of his eyes as Zaraki's urge to fight began to surge.
"There is a fifty percent chance that I will get too carried away with the fight and accidentally... dismantle this ship, along with all of you."
---
Again, all the confusion and plot hole has been fixed from the previous chapter, to not make it confusing i suggest reading it from chapter 1 and if there's any mistakes please comment on it!