2 02 | Cutting Steel!

02 | Cutting Steel!

I gripped my sword tightly before backing away from the towering figure before me. Captain Sadaki of the Broker Pirates loomed over me, his massive eight-foot frame casting a shadow across the riverbank. In contrast, I probably looked quite small, I was only fifteen after all. And I ain't gonna lie, I did feel a bit intimidated, but buried those feelings down as I focused on my fight.

Sadaki lunged forward suddenly, his giant fist swinging toward my face. I swiftly moved away, the gust from the punch ruffling my red hair. Sadaki followed relentlessly, throwing punch after punch at me. I ducked and wove, avoiding the attacks. I swung my sword, striking Sadaki's with my blade. But instead of biting into flesh, the weapon clanged against Sadaki's hardened skin. 

I winced at the vibration rattling my wrist, before Sadaki swang his arm throwing me away. 

"What the?!" The giant man said, rubbing the spot where I hit him, "That one actually hurt a bit." he laughed charging forward. 

Even though I wasn't able to cut through him, that didn't mean my blows were completely useless, that got to have hurt a little bit. Right? 

I mean, I was pretty strong. Heck, last day, I was able to punch through a rock. Don't ask me how… One Piece World has a different strength standard. Not that I was complaining, of course. I liked being strong.

Sadaki came at me again with a roar, fists swinging. I dashed underneath the blows, slashing at the back of his knees as I slid past. My sword bounced off the hardened skin but I saw Sadaki wince slightly at the impact.

Whirling, I leaped and aimed a fierce double-kick at his chest. Sadaki crossed his arms to block but still grunted as my feet made contact. He grabbed for me but I had already pushed off, somersaulting away. 

I gave him no respite, darting back in while he was still off-balance. My sword whirled, seeking out eyes. Sadaki jerked his head back with a curse as my blade narrowly missed his left eye. He tried stomping on me but I danced out of reach.

"Stand still, damn you!" Sadaki swung a backhand blow. I raised my sword to parry, angling so the force would slide off. But Sadaki's strength still sent me skidding several feet through the dirt.

I rolled to my feet swiftly. No time to catch my breath between exchanges now. We were fully engaged in a deadly dance, each seeking that one opening to finish the other off.

Sadaki came at me in a bull rush. I feinted left then dove right between his legs as he tried grabbing me. I slashed both his thighs as I slid past, only being able to chip his skin, but that was worth the effort.

"Gah! Why you sneaky little..." Sadaki stomped after me, shockingly fast for all his size.

I scrambled away from a two-handed pile-driver blow that exploded soil where my head had just been. As Sadaki's hands sunk wrist-deep in the dirt, I leapt onto his broad back and clubbed furiously at his head with my sword hilt.

"Get off me! You little shit!"

"Make me!"

Sadaki reared back, roaring and clawing at me. I clung on desperately with both hands and legs like the world's wiriest limpet. We staggered around the clearing, Sadaki trying to dislodge me while I continued bashing away with my makeshift club.

Finally, Sadaki backed himself at full speed into a large oak. I managed to drop off an instant before his bulk collided with the unyielding trunk, breaking through it. 

But it seemed the large man was unfortunate enough to fall, and actually give himself a concision. 

While Sadaki was still dazed from the self-inflicted impact, I tried to attack, but his huge hand seized me by the throat and slammed me against the oak, pinning me flat. I choked and gasped, claws scrabbling frantically at his massive wrist as my vision darkened.

In desperation, I drove my sword straight towards Sadaki's face. His head jerked aside just in time, my blade's tip grazing his earlobe to leave a bloody furrow behind.

But that reflexive dodge gave me the split second I needed. My hand dropped to my belt, closing around the small bamboo capsule fastened there. I twisted off the end cap with my thumb and jabbed the open end straight into Sadaki's eyes.

Sadaki howled as concentrated pepper juice squirted directly into his left eye. His grip spasmed open. I hit the ground coughing but instantly rolled away to regain my feet.

Sadaki reeled back, clutching at his face. Tears and snot streamed down his reddened features. His eye was swollen half-shut, insane with pain and fury now.

"You bloody fucker!" 

"Language!" I said, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

That pissed him off even more. But it was worth it. Some might wonder why I had papper-powder on me? Well, this was mainly for Buggy, that bastard spiked my food with papper last time, but oh well…

Sadaki looked more monstrous than human. But I gave him no time for recovery. While he was still blinded, I darted back in and landed several fierce strikes along his torso. My sword turned the air into silver lightning, flickering almost faster than my own eyes could follow. I followed up with multiple slashes, each strike precise, but other than annoying the guy, nothing happened. 

Unfortunatly I couldn't do what I was intending. It was a bit fustrating, really. Trying to re-learn my own techniques that is.

Well, there's no better time to do that under the threat of a possible death. Cutting steel will make things a lot easier if I get it down right now.

Even though Sadaki was temporarily blinded he managed to regain himself much more quickly than I anticipated. 

Well, he was a grandline pirate after all. He must be used to these kinds of cheap attacks. 

"I'm goona rip your spine off!" 

"Yeah, like I…" I was cut mid way, when I lost my balance for a bit. Sadaki took the chance to deliver a strong roundhouse kick that caught me in the midriff, sending me flying backwards. I hit the ground and tumbled wildly, stopping just short of the river. The air rushed from my lungs at the impact. "Okay, that one hurt… time out!"

But I didn't have any time to rest. By the time my sight cleared, Sadaki was right on top of me again.

I barely managed to roll aside as a giant boot stamped down on where my head had just been. The impact from his feet left a small crater on the ground making me winch, which wouldn't have ended well. 

"Stay still, you piece of shit!" He growled charging at me with wild punches. Again I used my agility to my advantage dodging the blows as I tried cut him. Only to fail yet again.

But I didn't give up. While I hadn't noticed, it seemed that I was getting a bit sloppy. I was over-exhausting myself from swinging my blade. I needed to pace myself, but before that Sadaki's fist collided with my face. 

Cartilage crunched sickeningly. Blood gushed from my shattered nose as I crashed onto my back, skidding several feet in the loose dirt, before falling to a roll, only stopping myself by stabbing my own sword on the ground. 

"Okay… ow!" I said as I saw the bastard grinning at me.

"Huh, is that all you got!"

My brow twitched. With a growl of defiance, I forced myself up. I spat blood from my mouth, along with a few teeth. I really hope they grow back after drinking milk, otherwise, I'm gonna put some diamond teeth on? What? I liked shiny things? 

"Come here boy. I'm not done with you yet," Sadaki said in sick amusement before he charged forward. 

I did the same with my sword as I brought my blade forward. Our fight continued, but while my strikes did little damage, Sadaki's blows were deadly. 

Still, all my efforts weren't useless. I could see that my strikes might not be able to cut him, but it did hurt him. That was good for now.

Blood covered my chin and the front of my shirt, dripping onto the ground. I wasn't surprised by this. I only been training for a month now. The only reason I could even keep up was because of my body being fast, durable and strong. 

"Got to give it to you kid, you are one tough brat... but you are going to break eventually," Sadaki said with a cruel smile. His eyes were bloody red from my act earlier, and he seemed to be holding a grudge. 

There was focus in my eyes, as I charged forward. There was something tell me to keep pushing aheade. That what I did, rather than retorting the bastard. 

"You don't know when to give up? Do you..." He swung a fist at my head. I ducked beneath the blow and spun behind Sadaki in an instant. This time to his credit, he didn't let me jump on him.

But that wasn't my aim.

"Gah! My balls…" 

I was kicked back, but rather then going back immediately, I laughed. Sadaki on his end was barely standing with shaky legs.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you bastard!" 

"Aww, you say the sweetest things," I cooed, as I took my time to get some air. 

Even though it looked rough on me, I was the one who had the advantage here. Why else was I fighting near a river bank? If I wanted, I could easily push Sadaki onto the river and kill him there. Devil fruit weakness and all. 

But that would be easy... too easy. And I didn't want to win that way. It wasn't any false sense of honor or anything like that. No, it was purely because I wanted to challenge myself and re-learn Shanks' techniques. It hasn't been that long since I got here, but I knew I needed to up my game, if I wanted to survive this world.

Cutting steel, one of the things that every novice swordsman dreams off. Something that the original Shanks had already learned how to do. I also 'knew' how to do it, but couldn't. 

But who could blame me really… I wasn't from here. This world was just a fiction to me a month ago. 

So how did I get here, some might ask? Nothing major really…

I was just watching some old One Piece episodes on my PC. Before a survey popped up asking me if I wanted to play a super-realistic One Piece game. 

Thinking nothing of it, I said yes. Answered a bunch of questions. Of course, I chose Shanks. He's the best character. Selected the hardest difficulty there was, cause why not. And also chose the 'developer's time-line' cause I love surprises. 

And before I knew, my headphones jumped me, hugging my face, morphing around it as I screamed like a little twat. This isekai shit… they really didn't teach you this stuff at school. But you know what… I don't care anymore. 

Eh… what were you expecting? 

I didn't die some over-dramatic death with some complicated back-story. Or get smashed by Truck-kun for that matter. Wait? That didn't come out right. So, yeah… No, reincarnation or transmigration. 

Things were pretty narly to get used to. It didn't explain shit, but meh… For all I knew this world might as well be a super simulation or what not. But did I honestly care? Nope.

I had other things to worry about as I ducked below one of Sadaki's punches, my hair flying back from the force of his blow. I took the chance to spit in his face, his eyes making him shut them, as I delivered a kick to the jaw. 

I won't lie, my foot hurt from kicking him. But I found satisfaction in his misery, so I just gave him a mocking smile. 

But it seemed Sadaki was more bothered by my spit than my kick, "Did you just spit on my face?"

"What? You into that shit pussy?"

That got him riled up to push himself further to kill me. Should I try to kick him in the balls again? Nah? That wouldn't work anymore…

Anyway, where was I? 

Oh, yes. Explaining my situation. Well, things were tough, not gonna lie. One moment I was in my house, the next moment I was in the lobby. A white waiting room, that stretched for eternity. 

Honestly, I didn't have to wait much, before I found myself in Log Town staring down at Roger's execution. I… I won't lie, I cried that day. It was just right. 

There was Buggy and a few others from the Roger's crew who also shared the sorrow of loosing their captain, so it was just right to cry. Even I was surprised by how quickly I accepted things, but then again, I was always like this. 

Seeing opportunity in everything was a good way to lead life. 

If I was here, I might as well be at the top. That's also the reason why Buggy's still sticking around, and I ain't complaining. 

Buggy might be a pain in the ass. But he's a good friend, not one moment is boring with him being there. And, believe me when I say this, it gets pretty boring when you have to travel from one island to another with noting but a small boat and basic navigation skills. 

Another good thing is that Buggy's a good enough navigator when it comes to it. So yeah, we just need a ship, build a crew, then head to Grand Line.

My thought process was stopped when I was suckered punched to the face… again. 

Okay, I really should focus more on the fight. I mean I don't wanna ruin my pretty face. This time rather than dropping, I rolled back before charging forward again. 

I was getting a bit winded, but so was my opponent. Well, it was pretty bad for him. Like I said, Shanks practically grew up in a pirate ship, battling night and day for fun. So yeah my stats were pretty high if I say so myself.

"Why the fuck don't you stay down!" The large man growled, his breathing uneven as he panted. 

I sidestepped one of his punches before swinging my blade, this time, just for a second it felt different. It was as if I was one with my blade. It was a strange feeling really, being able to fell my blade as it was new limb, but this was the feeling I was looking for… I grasped the feeling, feeling my strength flow through my blade, feeling my blade heat up a bit as I stepped forward swinging my blade with all my might.

Sadaki to his credit reacted out of instinct and pulled back my blade only managing to graze his forearm. But this time, unlike others my blade past his flesh, like a hot knife through butter. 

"Ugh! What the…" 

I quickly crossed my arms as I was kicked back, Sadaki creating distance between us as he looked wide-eyed at his wound. I smirked seeing that reaction.

"Finally scared, big boy?" I said, okay, was I being cocky here? Yup. But in my defense he broke my nose, and my ribs and my shoulder were hurting pretty bad as well, so I did take some sick satisfaction when I saw his fear. 

But I knew this was far from over, a cornered beast was the most dangerous one after all.