Time flew by, and before Ethan knew it, it was already Sea Circle Calendar 1507.
He decided it was finally time to head for the Grand Line.
He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
This trip to the Grand Line would be tight on time and heavy on responsibilities.
Within two years, he needed to lay down his first layer of groundwork and prepare a generous "gift" for the World Government.
On this day, he came to say goodbye to Koushirou.
As always, he walked back into Shimotsuki Dojo. Because he would be leaving soon, the familiar scenery stirred a different kind of emotion in him.
The noisy little training yard, the Japanese-style eaves... he watched it all for a while, then went to find his teacher.
Ethan was not close to the other disciples in the dojo. That distance was deliberate.
The more you talk, the more you risk slipping up.
Being associated with him was not a good thing right now.
The other students only knew there was a senior called Adam at Shimotsuki Dojo, a cold but incredibly gifted writer whose novels were famous across the sea.
"You are leaving the Four Seas?"
"Yes, Sensei. I am heading to the Grand Line. I came today to say goodbye."
"With your swordsmanship, it is already impressive you managed to remain here this long. Since you have decided, then just move forward without hesitation."
"Yes. I have said this many times already, but I am still extremely, extremely grateful for your care and guidance."
"I will accept that gratitude. Three days from now, come to that small island 100 nautical miles north of Shimotsuki Village."
Ethan looked at Koushirou. With a single exchanged glance, he understood.
The fighting spirit inside him flared up in an instant, then was forced back down, locked in place. He bowed heavily and turned to leave.
And Ethan was not the only one whose fighting spirit had been stirred.
After speaking those words, the sword intent in Koushirou's heart began to sing as well.
He had stayed in the East Blue for too long. On this tiny island, who was there left for him to cross blades with and test his sword?
He was glad that Ethan had appeared later on.
From the first time they met, he had known this boy's future would be limitless.
So he had waited with anticipation, teaching Ethan Shimotsuki sword style, passing him the family secret medicine, pointing him along the path to swordmaster.
He just had not expected Ethan to catch up this quickly.
Koushirou had a family now. With those ties holding him back, he could no longer climb toward the highest peaks of the sword.
So he would use this battle as a farewell.
Wado Ichimonji quivered faintly in its scabbard, resonating with its master's fighting spirit.
Three days later. A nameless island.
The sky was overcast, clouds heavy and low. The island was small, all jagged rock and almost no vegetation.
It was so barren that no one ever came here. Even passing ships rarely sailed close.
Today, two swordsmen had come ashore to fight a hidden duel.
The only other person present was Robin, who stayed on a small boat just off the coast, watching from the sea.
There were medical supplies on board. Even if this was a "spar", accidents and serious wounds were always possible.
Koushirou and Ethan stood facing each other on opposite sides of the rocky shore and locked eyes.
Two surging auras of sword intent rose up between heaven and earth.
Koushirou's sword aura was like a silver moon: clear and pure, cold and sharp, with a hidden killing edge. Ethan's sword aura was like a crimson sea: blazing and fervent, carrying a resolve that wanted to overturn everything.
They did not exchange a single word.
Both of them moved at the same time, closing in and clashing first with pure sword technique.
Both had their roots in Shimotsuki sword style.
Koushirou's sword was polished and steady, backed by rich experience and a keen sense for predicting forms and angles. For a while, he suppressed Ethan entirely.
But Ethan did not lose in this field either.
With Observation Haki and his analyzing ability working together, he soaked up Koushirou's technique and experience like a sponge.
After a short time, he had already pulled the situation back from disadvantage.
The two of them exchanged one more heavy blow, then broke apart.
"Your improvement is astonishing. Warm-up is over."
As he spoke, Wado Ichimonji was wrapped in a layer of black Armament Haki, with faint, flowing patterns like scattered sakura petals running along the blade.
Ethan did not fall behind.
He wrapped his own quality-grade blade in Armament Haki as well.
They closed in again, the fight resuming at an even fiercer pace.
This time, Ethan was completely suppressed.
In Armament Haki, he was still a step below Koushirou.
Decades of accumulation were not something one could simply leap over in a few years.
There was also that strange force that slipped through his defense and damaged his body from the inside every time their blades clashed.
This must be Flowing Sakura.
It was strong, with no way to block it other than taking it head on.
Internal injuries were slowly stacking up in Ethan's body.
If he could not find a way to respond, he would have no choice but to accept defeat.
His analyzing power spun at full speed, breaking down the structure and flow of Flowing Sakura.
He even deliberately relaxed parts of his defense to let more of that force seep in, deepening the wounds so that he could analyze it more quickly.
Koushirou, on the other hand, maintained a steady offensive strength, neither adding more nor easing off.
The two maintained a kind of tacit understanding.
Before long, Ethan had been cut until he was covered in wounds from head to toe.
Fortunately, the pain was not without reward.
By feeling Flowing Sakura carve its way through his body, he finally grasped the nature of this advanced Armament technique and managed to imitate it.
When Koushirou saw the sakura-like texture appear along Ethan's Armament Haki as well, he was deeply pleased.
Three days ago, he had already decided to pass Flowing Sakura on to Ethan.
But even in Wano, this technique was something only a handful could master.
Aside from years of painstaking training, there were few shortcuts.
The only quick way was exactly this: a high-intensity battle where one's body learned with every wound.
Ethan had not disappointed him.
His talent for the sword truly was something to envy.
In truth, if Ethan had not managed to learn it by now, Koushirou himself would not have been able to hold out much longer.
It was not that his stamina was lacking. It was that maintaining precise control was becoming harder and harder.
It was already taxing just to use Flowing Sakura.
To keep projecting it at a fixed strength, nonstop, while still keeping the damage within a "safe range" for the opponent, was even more demanding.
If not for the Shimotsuki style's emphasis on control, he might have accidentally cut Ethan half to pieces long ago.
The match continued.
Light rain began to fall from the gloomy sky.
The two swordsmen fought on in the wind and rain.
After half a day, neither of them was in good shape.
Koushirou's spirit was heavily drained, his forehead slick with cold sweat.
Ethan, meanwhile, had been cut into something like a man made of blood.
With the amount of blood he had lost, he also could not hold on much longer.
Then let the flying slashes decide the winner.
The two of them came to a halt, then drew and swung.
One slash like a silver moon.
One slash like crimson fire.
The flying blades collided again and again, and the island's surface was carved into shards and ravines under the swordmasters' attacks.
Sword aura flew wildly.
Whenever a fragment of a slash flew into the sea, it would kick up a towering wave.
Robin quietly paddled her small boat farther back.
In that clash, both men entered a state where they forgot themselves.
One slash after another, as if they would keep going until every last drop of strength was gone.
However, Ethan's sword could not endure any longer.
In this kind of exchange, even Armament Haki could not fully absorb the shock on the blade.
Cracks had already appeared all along the quality-grade sword.
It would not survive another head-on clash.
So, with the next slash, they would decide victory and defeat.
(End of Chapter)
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