Chapter 18 - 18: Soaring Slash

Words : 1316 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Ever since Yoriichi Tsugikuni learned the Navy's "Six Styles" from Kuzan, he had been glued to him all day, pestering for sparring matches. He was determined to condition his body to the techniques through relentless combat. Though the Six Styles consumed immense stamina, Yoriichi found that with short breaks, he could recover enough strength to continue fighting using those techniques for a while longer. As his understanding deepened, he began integrating Rankyaku—the "Tempest Kick"—into his own sword techniques during combat. By midday, he had finally pulled it off—a true Soaring Slash. "Wumm—" A low, slicing wind hummed across the deck. With a swing of his bamboo sword, Yoriichi launched an invisible blade of compressed air straight at Kuzan. It was fast. Silent. Deadly. Luckily, Kuzan had been keeping his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) active throughout their match. The moment Yoriichi's strike left his blade, Kuzan sensed it. But even then, he hadn't expected Yoriichi to attack from so far away—and with such precision. Caught off guard, he didn't have time to dodge. With a resigned sigh, Kuzan activated his Devil Fruit power. His body froze into solid ice. And yet—crack! The flying slash sliced clean through his frozen form. Kuzan was severed at the waist, his upper half crashing heavily onto the deck with a thud. "BOOM!!!" The slash, slightly weakened after passing through Kuzan's icy body, smashed into the warship's railing and tore out a massive section, leaving a gaping hole. "Crack—" Returning to his physical form, Kuzan touched his unharmed abdomen and turned back to glance at the broken railing, a rare expression of surprise on his face. "That was… a Soaring Slash!" "A swordsman's flying strike!" Yoriichi beamed, nodded excitedly, and tightened his grip on the bamboo sword. Without pause, he unleashed two more Soaring Slashes. This time, the arcs were wider, more stable, and his control had clearly improved. If someone had been able to see those energy blades with the naked eye, they would've spotted crescent-shaped air blades, three meters long and half a meter wide, tearing through the air toward Kuzan. "Hey—are you trying to cut me in half?" Kuzan shrugged with a helpless smile, letting the breeze ruffle his coat before vanishing from sight. Prepared this time, Kuzan had no intention of taking the hit. "BOOM!!" "BOOM!!" Two more explosive impacts ripped through the deck. The railings were shredded again, and now even the deck itself bore two deep, savage cuts. "That's some serious power…" "I can finally feel myself growing stronger." "No doubt about it—in this world, my potential will only keep rising!" Yoriichi grinned with satisfaction, raising his bamboo blade again, eager to test this newfound power further. But just as he was about to strike— WHAM!! A massive, sandbag-sized fist came crashing down silently from behind, slamming right onto his head. Yoriichi had no idea someone was behind him. Caught off guard, he yelped and dropped into a crouch, clutching his head in pain. And from behind came a thunderous roar: "You little brat!!" "What the hell do you think my warship is?!" "Is this training, or demolition?! HUH?!" Yoriichi turned to find Vice Admiral Garp, face red with fury. "Uh… sorry…" he muttered, still rubbing his head. He'd gotten a little carried away after breaking through a bottleneck. Looking around at the wrecked deck and busted railing, he felt genuinely guilty. "Vice Admiral Garp… I… I don't have money to pay for it," he added with an awkward laugh and a look of pure remorse. "Tch. Doesn't matter—I'll make Zephyr foot the bill," Garp said casually, pinky digging into his nostril. "Now fix what you broke. Railing, deck, all of it." "No repairs, no dinner!" He had barely finished when he snapped his head toward the entrance of the cabin and caught sight of Kuzan trying to quietly slip away. "Oi! Kuzan! Don't think you're off the hook!" "You helped wreck public property, you'll fix it with Yoriichi. And if it's not fixed by dinner, no food for you either!" Kuzan froze mid-step, then turned with an awkward smile… and shot a glare at Yoriichi like knives. Tap. Tap. Tap. Wooden mallet in hand, Yoriichi crouched by the shattered railing, hammering a carefully trimmed board into place. Nails followed. Surprisingly, Yoriichi actually had solid carpentry skills. During his years of seclusion in the mountains, he often had to build his own furniture. He wasn't a master craftsman, but he understood the basics of mortise and tenon joints. Kuzan, on the other hand… Whack! Whack! Whack! He was clearly no handyman. Slapping down planks at odd angles, hammering them in where they didn't fit, leaving awkward gaps and uneven edges. "Eh… close enough." "Doesn't have to be perfect." Yoriichi glanced at the lumpy patch Kuzan had left on the deck and fell silent. "Forget it, Colonel Kuzan. Since I broke it, I'll fix it. No need for a rework," he said with a sigh. Better to just do it himself. "Nah, no worries. Small problem." Kuzan didn't seem offended. He looked at the eyesore he'd created, then casually summoned a blade of ice into his hand. With practiced ease, he sliced off the excess wood and smoothed the plank flush with the deck. "Man, Devil Fruit powers sure are convenient," Yoriichi said admiringly before turning back to his repairs. "By the way, Colonel Kuzan—why did you become a Marine?" True to form as a hardworking carpenter, Yoriichi struck up conversation while working small talk, after all, was the best way to connect with people. "You're Zephyr-sensei's student, right? That means we're sort of comrades now. No need to be so formal, just call me Kuzan." He spoke casually, without putting on airs. Zephyr was his teacher too, and Kuzan had noticed Yoriichi had a good relationship with Garp. Add to that the young man's skill and talent, and Kuzan didn't see the point in acting superior. To him, Yoriichi felt more like a peer. "Why I became a Marine, huh…" "Do you really need to ask? To uphold justice, obviously!" "Isn't that why you're here?" Kuzan's eyes lit up when he spoke of justice, this young officer had joined the Navy burning with ideals. "Justice, huh… that does sound noble." "But I'm not as grand as you. I just don't want to see towns reduced to rubble… or good people dying for nothing." Yoriichi let out a soft sigh, his hands never pausing. Kuzan stilled for a moment, then turned to him with a more serious look. "You're aiming for something way more ambitious than I am." "This world is a big place, Yoriichi." "What you want to do, it's not easy. Without overwhelming power, it's impossible. Even with overwhelming power, it'll still be incredibly hard." "I gotta say… I didn't expect someone your age to carry that kind of ambition." He suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Now I get it why you were brought aboard this ship." "Yoriichi, you and I… we're both pretty damn lucky to be under Vice Admiral Garp!" Just as he said that... "You two! Quit slacking off and get back to work!!" Garp's bellow echoed across the deck. "..." "Alright, forget what I said." ********* Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 250 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch! For advance chapters, please do visit and consider joining me on Patreon, it really helps me out and I'd love to have you along for the journey! p(a)treon.com/Lnee *remove () to open it

Chapter 18 - 18: Soaring Slash

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