One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

"Who taught you your swordsmanship? If I remember correctly, your mother's sword skills were... pretty limited," Rosinante said in mild surprise after watching Elsa go through a full demonstration.

He had discovered that Elsa's swordsmanship had already reached a very respectable level.

Not only that, but her fundamentals were extremely solid.

Shaxia's own swordsmanship was fairly average, and to be honest, she might not even be better than Elsa was now.

"At first, Uncle Daolang taught me," Elsa said. "Mom said he used to be one of your subordinates. Then later, another uncle named Mihawk taught me for a month. His swordsmanship was incredible! After just one month with him, my sword skills improved a lot!"

"So it was them." Rosinante suddenly understood.

"Daolang's blade techniques are quite good. As for Hawk-Eye Mihawk... by now, he should already be one of the world's top great swordsmen, right?" Rosinante said with a smile.

"To be taught by both of them is something countless swordsmen could only dream of. And on top of that, your talent with the sword really is quite high. Right now, you've already reached the top tier among ordinary swordsmen."

His eyes sharpened slightly.

"The next step... is to comprehend the realm of a true swordsman."

"A true swordsman? Then how do I break through into that realm?" Elsa asked, instantly excited.

"As long as you can easily cut through steel with your sword, then you've entered the realm of a swordsman," Rosinante said.

"Cut through steel?" Elsa stared at him in disbelief. "How is that possible? How could an ordinary sword easily cut through iron? At most, leaving a mark might be possible!"

Rosinante smiled faintly.

"As long as you can hear the breath of all things... cutting steel will become very easy."

As he spoke, Rosinante casually took Elsa's sword into his hand and slashed once through the air.

Nothing seemed to happen.

Elsa was just starting to wonder what exactly her father was doing when—

RUMBLE!

A deafening crash echoed out.

A protruding section of the cliff ahead had been cleanly severed by that single slash.

The massive chunk of rock broke away and came crashing down into the sea below.

"The cliff... got cut in half?!" Elsa's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open in utter shock.

"Aiya, my bad, my bad," Rosinante said with a grin. "Looks like I ruined the scenery a little."

"How did you do that?!" Elsa exclaimed, so excited that her voice nearly jumped an octave.

Both Daolang and Mihawk had only taught Elsa the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

They had been worried that if they showed her power that was too overwhelming too early, she might become overly ambitious and lose sight of the basics.

So up until now, she had never truly seen either of them seriously draw their blades.

"As long as you can comprehend the voice of all things and find their flaws, then doing something like that becomes easy," Rosinante said.

"The voice... of all things?" Elsa still couldn't understand.

"That depends entirely on your own insight. No one else can help you with that," Rosinante replied. "But before that... I'm going to teach you another kind of power."

He looked at her with a smile.

"After all, compared to boys, girls naturally have a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to raw strength. But once you have this power... you won't have to worry about that disadvantage anymore."

"What is it?!" Elsa asked excitedly.

As she grew older, she had gradually begun to realize something.

Her strength had become harder and harder to improve.

Compared to boys her age, the rate at which her physical power increased was slowly losing its edge.

And that was despite the fact that she trained desperately hard every single day.

Yet she was still being overtaken so easily.

That had once made Elsa feel deeply discouraged.

So now, hearing Rosinante say that he had a way to make sure she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in terms of strength anymore...

She was practically glowing with excitement.

At that moment, Rosinante walked over to a large tree.

Then, right before Elsa's astonished eyes—

He placed his foot on the trunk... and began walking straight up the tree as if he were strolling across flat ground.

"T-This... how did you do that?!" Elsa cried out in shock.

Then suddenly, she thought of something.

"Wait! Devil Fruit! You're a Devil Fruit user too, just like Mom?"

"I am a Devil Fruit user," Rosinante said as he lightly stepped back down. "But this ability isn't from a Devil Fruit."

A strange smile appeared on his face.

"This is a power called... Chakra."

The truth was, after their passionate night together, once Shaxia had fallen asleep, Rosinante himself hadn't felt sleepy at all.

So he had taken the opportunity to begin cultivating again... and had successfully refined chakra.

Thanks to his powerful spirit, his strong physical body, and the lingering traces of chakra that still remained within his soul from his previous life...

Rosinante had refined chakra with surprising ease.

And in just one night, he had already built up chakra reserves comparable to a Chunin.

"But what does this power have to do with increasing my strength?" Elsa asked.

"Watch carefully," Rosinante said.

He slowly raised his fist and brought it closer and closer to the tree beside him.

The instant his fist neared the trunk—

Without Elsa even seeing him exert any force at all—

BOOM!

A huge section of the tree exploded into splinters on the spot.

Elsa froze.

Her jaw dropped so wide it looked like it might never close again.

"And chakra can do much more than that," Rosinante said.

His expression changed.

"Lightning Release: Chidori Current!"

The moment the words fell—

Crackling arcs of electricity burst across his entire body.

His whole figure was instantly bathed in lightning, the air filling with an endless chorus of sharp, sizzling crack-crack-crack sounds.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Before Elsa's stunned mouth had even managed to close, Rosinante had already begun weaving hand seals.

Then—

He opened his mouth, and a fierce torrent of blazing fire erupted outward.

But before the fire had even fully finished pouring forth, he immediately switched techniques again.

A lifelike water dragon surged out from the sea below, roaring upward with terrifying momentum, and slammed directly into the Great Fireball in midair.

In an instant, a vast cloud of steam and mist exploded outward, spreading across the air.

Elsa stood there, completely dumbfounded.

Then, in the next moment—

"I want to learn! I want to learn!!" she shouted, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Rosinante laughed.

"Alright then."

"Today, I'll start by teaching you how to refine chakra."