Chapter 2: A Brat Comes to Pick a Fight
Name: Ian
Level: 1
Dori Value: 7
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
HP: 10
Nen: 0
Skill: [Basic Swordsmanship] Proficiency (23014/100000)
Cards: None
This was Ian’s status, which he could see in his mind. It took him a while to figure out what these attributes meant.
It seemed the game system had undergone some changes. In the original game, the measure of strength was combat power, but now it had become Dori Value, exactly the same as the measurement standard in the world of One Piece. Based on Ian’s memory, a Dori Value of 10 was the standard for an ordinary Marine soldier, while he currently had only 7, which seemed slightly better than a "combat power of five." He guessed this was due to his years of practicing swordsmanship.
As for HP, it should represent how much damage he could withstand. That went without saying—once it hit zero, he was dead. The last item, Nen, was more interesting.
Back when he read the One Piece manga, he had always wondered how characters like Enel, the God of Thunder, manifested their abilities. Or rather, what was the foundation for their powers?
Enel’s techniques: Ten Thousand Thunder, Thunder Dragon, and the One Billion Volt Thor—those supernatural phenomena couldn’t simply be summed up by a single Devil Fruit. Now that Ian saw the Nen Value, he finally had some insight.
It should be a manifestation of Nen ability. What a Devil Fruit granted a person was merely a certain aspect of Nen ability, which could grow stronger through training. This included Haki, which should also be a form of Nen application. That’s why there was a saying that Devil Fruits themselves weren’t inherently strong or weak—the difference lay in training. Some people who hadn’t eaten a Devil Fruit, like Hawk-Eye or Red-Haired Shanks, could still become incredibly powerful through Haki alone. All of this came down to their strong Nen abilities.
Now, Ian had a Nen Value, but it was zero, meaning his Nen ability was still unawakened. As for how to gain Nen Value, he had no clue.
His only skill at the moment was Basic Swordsmanship. He still didn’t know what use this skill had, so he could only practice it step by step. Even after three months, his proficiency was only a little over twenty thousand points. Looking at the proficiency value, it seemed he would need to reach one hundred thousand points before he could see any changes.
As for Cards, that was even more frustrating. He could find the Card Shop in the system, but he tragically discovered that he couldn’t draw any cards at all!
Because it cost money! A lot of money! Drawing a card required 500 diamonds, but recharging 100,000 Berries only gave him 500 diamonds. The exchange rate was a staggering 200:1! This was the first time Ian had seen such an outrageous recharge system.
Heaven help him—his current allowance was only 500 Berries a month, given by Master Koushirou. In this small village, there wasn’t much to spend on. Aside from occasionally buying newspapers, he saved as much as he could. But reaching 100,000 Berries still seemed like a distant dream.
This money-grubbing approach was consistent with the original game. To put it simply, while you could play without money, if you wanted to play well, you had to be a whale. It was a classic "no money, no play" kind of game, a typical cash-grabbing scheme!
If that were all, it might take Ian years to save up enough for a single card draw. Fortunately, as anyone who had played this type of card game knew, you could save up time to draw cards!
In the shop, the card draw option had a countdown timer. The original 48-hour countdown had now become 100 days!
When Ian first saw that countdown, he almost broke down. Damn it, was this forcing him to recharge or what!?
Having a system was a good thing, but not being able to use it for now was frustrating. So, during this time, Ian had been living in a daze. Fortunately, time passed easily enough. In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by, and the time for his first card draw was getting closer. This made Ian feel a bit of anticipation.
Since he had come to this world, no matter what, he wanted to travel and experience this strange world. But to leave this small Shimotsuki Village, he had to become stronger. In this world, only the strong had a stage.
Swinging his sword in practice, a full five hundred times. When he finished following Master Koushirou’s commands, Ian was already panting heavily. He had always been serious in his practice, putting all his strength into each downward slash, so his stamina naturally drained quickly. After all, his body was still that of a ten-year-old boy.
Five hundred sword swings brought five hundred points of Basic Swordsmanship proficiency. Just as Ian was checking his proficiency progress in his mind, he suddenly heard Koushirou speak: "Next is sparring practice. Ian, Kuina! You two go first!"
As soon as Ian heard this, his scalp went numb. Here we go again?
He naturally didn’t know what Koushirou was thinking. Over the past three months, Koushirou had noticed that Ian’s practice had become more serious than before, so he wanted to test how much Ian had improved.
The method of testing was naturally sparring. But the problem was that Kuina was much stronger than Ian. Every time they sparred, Ian ended up covered in bumps. Being beaten up by his little sister like this made Ian feel very embarrassed, didn’t it?
Like Kuina, Ian was usually clean and tidy, unlike the snot-nosed, dirty little brats in the dojo. So Kuina was happy to play with Ian. But playing was one thing—once they became opponents in sparring, Kuina wouldn’t go easy on him. Even though she was a girl, she had a stronger personality than some boys. Every time they sparred, she went all out.
Steeling himself, Ian stepped forward, holding his bamboo sword with both hands, the tip angled slightly upward. It crossed with Kuina’s bamboo sword as he stood on guard.
When Koushirou shouted "Begin," Kuina immediately let out a loud yell, pulled her sword back with both hands, raised it high above her head, and swung it at Ian with incredible speed!
Ian blocked horizontally, but the immense force from the bamboo sword made his hands tremble. Before he could push the sword back, Kuina’s next strike came!
Kuina’s swordsmanship talent was universally recognized as the best in the dojo. Her sword techniques were fluid and fast, and she always found openings in Ian’s defense to attack. In just half a minute, the two had exchanged dozens of blows. Each time, Ian struggled to defend and couldn’t counterattack.
"Hah!" Kuina grew more aggressive as the fight went on. Suddenly, she thrust forward, hitting Ian’s wrist directly. Then, she flicked her bamboo sword upward, sending Ian’s sword flying.
Damn it, lost again! Ian felt a bit deflated.
But Kuina happily said to him, "Big Brother Ian, you’ve improved a lot recently! You’re much stronger than before!"
"You’re just comforting me..." Ian rolled his eyes and rubbed his wrist, which was still sore from where Kuina had hit him.
"Kuina is right!" Master Koushirou still had his harmless smile and said, "Ian, you really have become much stronger."
When Koushirou said this, the other children in the dojo looked at Ian with admiration. In their eyes, being able to fight Kuina for so long was already impressive. If it were them, they would probably be defeated in a few moves.
Seeing the admiring looks from these little brats, Ian felt a pang of frustration. He would rather not have this kind of admiration.
Just then, an arrogant voice came from outside the dojo.
"Is anyone here? I’ve come to pick a fight! The strong ones, come out and settle this with me!"
Ian’s heart stirred, and he looked toward the door. A child with a leaf in his mouth, arms crossed over his chest, stood at the dojo entrance. The sunlight shone from behind him, clearly revealing his messy green hair and his defiant, upturned eyebrows.
He stood there, looking incredibly cocky and smug.
Green algae head, Roronoa Zoro!
The moment he saw this cocky little brat, Ian recognized him. His mind went blank for a moment. Although he had mentally prepared himself when he learned that this village was called Shimotsuki Village, his master was Koushirou, and his junior sister was Kuina, seeing Zoro actually appear before him still felt surreal.
Strangely, when Ian saw Zoro, he didn’t think of the future Zoro, the cool and domineering swordsman. Instead, his heart raced as he looked toward Kuina!
Zoro’s appearance meant that soon, Kuina would die...
Was his junior sister going to die? Ian’s mind was in turmoil. Although he had just been defeated by Kuina and almost suffered another beating, he asked himself honestly—could he really watch Kuina die before his eyes?
This wasn’t just a manga character; this was a living, breathing person in front of him!
To all the children in Koushirou’s dojo, Kuina was their goddess, and Ian was no exception. Kuina had a tomboyish spirit, but that was precisely her unique beauty. Although she showed no mercy when sparring with anyone, afterward, she would care for and comfort every injured person, applying medicine and soothing them like a gentle older sister.
After three months of getting along, Ian had grown incredibly fond of his little sister. So, for a moment, his gaze toward Zoro became complicated.
Although Kuina’s death had nothing to do with Zoro—she died in an accident—there was no denying that Zoro’s appearance signaled that Kuina’s death was near.
This made Ian unsure how to face Zoro.
No one knew about Ian’s complicated feelings. When he heard Zoro’s arrogant declaration of picking a fight, Master Koushirou let out a hearty laugh. He stood up, walked to the door, and smiled at Zoro, saying, "So you’ve come to pick a fight? That’s rare these days!"
"Hmph!" Zoro crossed his arms and said smugly, "Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a kid. I’m undefeated in the neighboring village!"
"Alright then, I accept your challenge!" Master Koushirou said with a smile.
"If I win, I’ll take your dojo’s signboard!" Zoro declared.
Koushirou asked him with a grin, "And if you lose?"
"Lose? If I lose, then... I’ll join your dojo!"
Hearing Zoro’s answer, Koushirou laughed again. "It’s a deal. Then... Ian!"
Hearing Master Koushirou call his name, Ian snapped back to reality, but then immediately fell into shock.
"No, that’s not right!? Shouldn’t it be Kuina fighting him? Why is he calling me!"