One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

Shimotsuki Koshiro said with a smile, "Please come in, Vice Admiral White Crow. Zoro, you should go change your clothes too! What kind of appearance do you look, all dirty?"

Zoro pursed his lips and walked alone to the small room next door.

......

"Judging from the decorations here, Mr. Koushirou must have come from Wano Country, right?"

Koushirou smiled bitterly and said, "Ah~ that's right. About 50 years ago, my father fled from Wano Country, which was under a state of isolation, and came here."

"To be honest, I was only about one year old at the time..."

Karl nodded, took the black sword Autumn Water from his waist and placed it on the table: "You should recognize this sword, right?"

"The national treasure of Wano Country, the black sword Shusui, the sword of the dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma."

Koushirou's tone was very calm, as if the national treasure that had been missing from Wano Country for many years had nothing to do with him. It was just that it was intentional or not.

"The sword that every swordsman dreams of has been lost for many years. It is its good fortune to have become your sword today."

Karl smiled gently and put Qiu Shui back on his waist.

"My apprentice Zoro did not offend Vice Admiral White Crow just now, did he? This boy has a rather impetuous temper. If he did, please do not take it to heart, Vice Admiral White Crow."

"Hahaha, now that's all, Zoro is asking me to a swordsman's duel right off the bat!"

Koushirou looked surprised: "What? What about Zoro...?"

"Can't you tell whether he's alright or not?"

Koushirou scratched his head: "That's true, but as Zoro's master, I still have to apologize to you for his reckless behavior. I hope you won't hold it against him."

"Well, don't worry."

Just then, Zoro pushed open the door, holding three genuine swords in his hand, and stared intently at Karl.

"Zoro, what are you trying to do? Go back now!"

"Master, I just want to ask Lieutenant General Bai Ya for advice on swordsmanship. Right now, I'm too weak."

Karl turned to Zoro, a smile playing on his lips: "Wado Ichimonji, a nice sword. Perfect timing, the rice isn't cooked yet..."

Zoro shouted impatiently, "There's no one in the training ground right now!"

Koushirou smiled helplessly at Karl, as if to say that he had no way to discipline Zoro either.

......

Training Course.

Zoro, wielding two swords with one still between his teeth, assumed a fighting stance and looked at Karl.

Karl turned to look at the raven on his right shoulder, and with a cackle, it obediently transformed into a weapon and lay in Karl's palm.

"Is this Raven, who recently joined the ranks of the Supreme Grade Swords? What an amazing weapon!" exclaimed Koushirou, who was acting as the referee.

Karl flicked the tip of his blade, pointing it at Zoro.

Are you going to keep spacing out?

Chapter 182 Let's Train!

Zoro snorted and charged toward Karl.

"Three Swords Style: One Gorikiro, Two Gorikiro, Two Gorikiro"

After rattling off a whole bunch of names, Zoro finally finished reciting the names of his techniques. Karl didn't know exactly what they were, but they looked pretty intimidating.

Karl casually held the raven across his chest to block Zoro's slash, the weapons clashing with a crisp sound.

"I have enough skill, but not enough strength. If I use a little more force, I can still handle it."

Zoro's face darkened, and with a roar, he raised his twin swords and slashed fiercely at Karl's shoulders.

"Dang~"

Karl blocked again, then kicked Zoro in the chest.

Thump! Zoro flew backward and crashed heavily onto the floor.

"His strength is so-so, but he has too many weaknesses. Keep going!"

Zoro immediately sprang to his feet, glaring angrily at Karl: "Damn it!"

"Three Swordsman Style: Ghost Slayer!"

Zoro held his swords in his left and right hands in a crossed stance, as if to clamp down on Karl with a slash. The third sword was used to block Karl's space to dodge.

Unfortunately, Karl had no intention of dodging at all.

Hey~

The tip of Raven's knife collided with Zoro's two swords, and the knife he was holding in his mouth then struck Raven's blade.

Karl twisted his wrist, drawing a circle with Zoro's blade, then used a clever flick to...

Two knives flew into the air and then fell to the floor with a clattering sound.

"The sword is a swordsman's life, yet you can't even hold a sword properly. Is this the courage you have to challenge me?"

Zoro stared at the sword lying on the ground, his face pale, his lips trembling slightly.

"Right now, you're not even a third-rate swordsman, young man. Reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship isn't just a matter of words."

Zoro didn't speak, his head was down and his face was dark.

After a long while, Zoro finally raised his head and asked in a hoarse voice, "Then, what should I do?"

"Your foundation is very good, and your skills are also quite good, but your physique is too weak."

"Whether you're a swordsman or anything else, physical strength is of paramount importance."

Zoro swallowed hard. "You mean, my training isn't enough?"

Karl did not answer, but instead condensed a ball of golden holy light in his left hand and merged it into Zoro's body.

"This, this is..."

The moment the holy light entered his body, Zoro felt a warm sensation all over his body, which was very comforting, but that wasn't the point.

The key point is that he clearly felt that he had become stronger, and his whole body seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

"Your physique has improved several levels now, you can try again."

"Stop with your three-sword style or two-sword style, just use the most basic moves, come on!"

Zoro nodded, held the Wado Ichimonji he was holding in his mouth in his palm, took a deep breath, and then unleashed a seemingly ordinary downward slash.

During the swinging motion, Zoro already understood why Karl said physical strength was of paramount importance.

This seemingly ordinary downward slash was actually more powerful than his Three-Sword Style ultimate move!

Is this the effect of improved physical fitness?

Hey~

"How is it? Doesn't it feel different?"

A smile appeared on Zoro's face: "Yes, I felt it!"

"The stronger my physique and the greater my strength, the stronger my strikes will be!"

Karl had a "you're teachable" look on his face. He believed that for a swordsman to quickly improve his strength, enhancing his physique was the most reliable method.

Look at that old lady, she never calls herself a swordsman, but she manages to kill a bunch of so-called sword masters by sheer brute force.

This is probably what it means to overcome all obstacles with sheer force.

Carl is also gradually moving in this direction, thus reaching a state of returning to simplicity.

Bang bang bang~

Koushirou, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but applaud: "Lieutenant General White Crow's words are truly enlightening. Alas, I have seen too many swordsmen pursue technique for the sake of technique, and ultimately go down the wrong path."

"Mr. Koushirou, the food is ready. Please have your guests eat it while it's hot!"

Koushirou looked at Karl and extended his hand toward the door: "Lieutenant General White Raven, please."

"Zoro, you come too!"

Zoro shook his head: "No, Master Koushirou, I want to be alone for a while."

"Well, that's fine too."

...

After Karl and Koushirou left, Zoro sat cross-legged on the ground, staring blankly at the Wado Ichimonji in his hand.

"Kuina, do you know? Today I fought against the great naval swordsman Karl. Although I lost, I learned a lot from him."

"Give me a little more time..."

Behind the door, Koushirou took off his glasses, wiped away his tears, sighed deeply, and left.

The next day.

"Lieutenant General White Crow, take care."