Her strength was high.
Her agility was high.
Even her stamina, which Natsuya had always been proud of, was higher than his.
Looking through all her stats, she was a perfect all-rounder with no apparent weakness.
The point reward for successfully winning her over was extraordinarily high—almost dozens of tis greater than for any other female character Natsuya had scanned so far.
But then again, it was Rear Admiral Gion (Momousagi), after all. Considering the difficulty, it wasn't exactly surprising.
"Wait a second…"
When he noticed the final note in the system panel, Natsuya froze, wide-eyed: "—Compared to n, she actually prefers cute young girls?"
What did that an? Could it be that Momousagi was secretly into girls?
Could that explain why the point reward was so high, as if accounting for this hidden challenge?
He stared blankly at Momousagi's tall and graceful figure in the distance, looking conflicted. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions—after all, the system's note was vague and even phrased as a question.
"Hey, Natsuya, why don't we join the fun and get Rear Admiral Gion's guidance too?" Rosinante's voice suddenly broke his thoughts.
"Huh?"
Snapping back to reality, Natsuya quickly closed the system panel and shook his head. "It's not our turn. Haven't you noticed? She's only selecting the female Marines."
"It's all close-quarters instruction. There's too much physical contact involved," added Shiryu, lighting a cigarette with a sharp snap. The guy was a chain-smoker, easily finishing three or four packs a day.
"Oh."
Rosinante finally caught on, but he wasn't too disappointed. After watching for a bit, he eagerly dragged Natsuya and Shiryu to a corner of the training room to spar with their swords.
When it ca to swordsmanship, Shiryu was undoubtedly the strongest among the three.
Like Natsuya, he'd trained in swordsmanship since childhood, and now he was on the verge of mastering the "Cutting Steel" realm, recently focusing on how to consistently unleash sword energy—projected sword slashes.
These flying sword slashes were a level of mastery achieved by top swordsn, where physical force combined with spirit and will. While not limited to swords (other weapons could technically achieve the sa), it was similar in principle to Rokushiki's Rankyaku.
The ability to unleash sword energy was the key threshold distinguishing a regular swordsman from a true master—a "swordsman of legend."
For example, in the manga, Zoro, after relentless training, eventually achieved the ability to consistently unleash powerful long-range slashes, a breakthrough marked by his "Hiryu: Kaen (Flying Dragon Fla/Blaze)" technique during the Thriller Bark arc.
Shiryu was very close to this point; once he crossed that threshold, he could rightfully be considered a master swordsman.
Natsuya, by comparison, was still far from cutting steel. He'd never beaten Shiryu in a sparring match. However, his fundantals were rock-solid, and he'd thoroughly absorbed Zephyr's lessons, reaching a point where theory and practice rged seamlessly.
Every duel was an opportunity for both of them to learn and improve through mutual guidance, rapidly advancing their sword skills.
As for Rosinante…
While his hand-to-hand combat was decent, his swordsmanship talent was abysmally low.
Every ti they sparred, Rosinante ended up getting soundly thrashed by Natsuya and Shiryu, but he never gave up. Always calling himself a "future great swordsman," he vowed he'd one day beco the Marine's top swordsman.
In reality, Natsuya and Shiryu would simply give him a blank look before beating him with their bamboo swords until he was sprawled on the ground, wailing.
Today was no different. After a morning of sword practice, Rosinante was bruised and battered, yet still wore a satisfied expression, convinced he'd improved a little.
Natsuya couldn't bring himself to shatter his friend's confidence, so while applying ointnt to Rosinante's bruises, he offered so half-hearted encouragent, saying he'd definitely beco a renowned swordsman soday.
The afternoon was dedicated to intense physical training. Exhausted, Shiryu and Rosinante were too tired to even speak by the ti they finished around seven or eight in the evening.
In contrast, Natsuya seed perfectly fine. Still full of energy and with a glowing complexion, he devoured dinner with gusto, stacking up plates high beside him.
The two stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
"As expected of you…" Shiryu muttered, his expression a mix of admiration and frustration. "Even though you were already a monster when it ca to stamina, you've gotten even more ridiculous lately…"
"Really? Maybe it's just that we have shorter training hours on the ship, so I'm feeling more rested," Natsuya replied innocently, blinking as he resud eating. His table manners were refined despite his voracious appetite.
"…"
Shiryu was at a loss for words. He exchanged a look with Rosinante, both sharing a silent, exasperated understanding.
To keep up with Natsuya, they'd extended their training sessions by nearly two extra hours compared to their usual routine at Marineford. And yet, he had the nerve to say his training had been lighter?
Truly, a relentless training demon!
Oblivious to their silent complaints, Natsuya focused on his al while ntally summarizing the day's training and systematizing his learnings—a long-standing habit of his.
"Without the body training boost from that Skill Card, my progress has definitely slowed compared to last week," he mused. "But it's still better than when I was stuck at a bottleneck. Looks like the increase in my stats has broadened the pathways to tap into my body's potential, like unlocking deeper layers of hidden strength."
He felt satisfied with his progress. Just as he was about to head back to the training room for another late-night session, Shiryu and Rosinante blocked his way.
"Enough is enough, Natsuya!" Shiryu threw an arm around his shoulders. "You already train yourself to the bone back at the base. Why not cut yourself so slack for once?"
"Yeah, save so energy for the upcoming field test, Natsuya!" Rosinante chid in with a grin. "The moon's out tonight. Let's go for a walk and relax."
"Walk with two guys under the moon?" Natsuya grimaced in disgust. "That's so la! What do you think I am—soone who can't get a girl's attention?"
With that, he turned to head for the training room.
But the next mont, the two annoyed friends forcibly dragged him off, carrying him out of the cabin and onto the deck.
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