Chapter 68

A few officers who had also graduated from the Naval Academy, at Tea Pig's suggestion and arrangement, held a welcome banquet for her, and the group had a small gathering together.

Wuzhumu was also dragged over by his good friend Huoshaoshan.

"I heard you've been teaching that specially-recruited intern kid swordsmanship every night lately, Wuzhumu?"

Drunk and reeking of liquor, Headquarters Vice Admiral Kake, nicknamed Tea Pig, sidled up to Wuzhumu and said.

"Is that so?"

Momotsu grew interested and looked at Wuzhumu.

Gazing at Momotsu's pretty face flushed with drunken color, Wuzhumu found it a little hard to look at her directly, and turned his face away with a nod.

"Mm."

"Eh... isn't that specially-recruited intern called Luo En? I ran into Tina on my way back, and from what Tina said, he's a very interesting kid."

Momotsu asked Wuzhumu with great interest. "Are you going to teach him tonight? Can I go take a look?"

"Well, about that..."

"What's the big deal, just going to take a look, what's there to it."

Drunk Kake threw an arm around Wuzhumu's shoulder,

"Momotsu rarely comes back, if you dare refuse her, I, I'll just... urp."

The corner of Wuzhumu's eye twitched.

"Hey, bastard, don't you dare throw up."

"Haha, Kake's tolerance is still as lousy as ever."

Huoshaoshan said with a chuckle.

"Don't just stand there making snide remarks, hurry up and pull him off me!"

【PS: extra chapter for two thousand words, begging for flowers, reviews, favorites, and monthly tickets!!!】

59, that is... a swordsman's slash! (1/5)

Around nine in the evening.

Wuzhumu arrived at Pier Four.

Momotsu, Tea Pig, and Huoshaoshan, three Headquarters Vice Admirals, appeared on the courtyard wall in the night not far away.

Momotsu took a look.

Although it was night, Marineford still had lights, illuminating the area so it wasn't too dim.

On Pier Four, which was covered in craters, a black-haired boy stood holding a long blade nearly as tall as himself, his eyes sharp, his expression calm and composed.

"That kid is Luo En."

Momotsu looked at the black-haired boy with great interest.

The last time she met that girl Tina, the name she heard most from her mouth was this kid.

What kind of child could, after only spending half a day together, make that proud and confident Tina care about him so much.

Momotsu was very curious.

Now sober, Tea Pig caught sight of Momotsu beside him staring fixedly at that black-haired little brat, and couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy.

"So that's the specially-recruited intern kid? He doesn't look like anything special."

"Stop talking, watch quietly."

The moment Momotsu spoke, Tea Pig immediately shut his mouth.

At Pier Four.

As Wuzhumu slowly approached, Luo En's eyes snapped open, his black hair stirred without wind, and a powerful sword aura was released from his body.

"Can you cut me today?"

Wuzhumu slowly drew his blade, and as the blade left its sheath, a massive sword aura instantly suppressed the sword aura Luo En had released, pressing it completely back into his body.

Before every sparring session, Wuzhumu would tirelessly suppress Luo En's sword aura, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"Begin."

Wuzhumu raised his long blade, pointing it at Luo En.

Luo En stared at him, saying nothing.

He stomped his foot, gripped Lei Qie in his right hand, and charged at Wuzhumu at full speed.

Arriving before him, he swung his blade in a slash, like chopping firewood, with not the slightest technique to speak of.

Wuzhumu raised his long blade.

Clang!

The blades collided, producing a crisp ring.

The moment his first strike was blocked, Luo En immediately unleashed a second.

Both his movements and slashes were extremely crude and simple.

They were parried by Wuzhumu with the greatest of ease.

For a time, the clanging of blade against blade at Pier Four rang out continuously like the sound of hammering iron.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

"Crude beyond belief, full of openings, does this guy actually know swordsmanship?"

Tea Pig looked away, unable to keep watching.

"Wuzhumu too, why bother messing around with this little kid."

His gaze passed over the Fire Mountain between the two of them, sneaking a peek at Peach Rabbit, who was still looking toward Harbor Four.

A perfect profile, skin that seemed to break at a breath, a high nose bridge, cherry-blossom lips — she really was beautiful…

If only she could be his wife.

He's already confessed to her sixty-three times — if I confess now, would this be the sixty-fourth?

Will it work this time?

Just as Tea Dolphin was sneaking glances at Peach Rabbit, mulling over his sixty-fourth confession in his head, Fire Mountain suddenly leaned forward and blocked his line of sight.

Tea Dolphin was a little annoyed.

"Hey, Fire Mountain, what the hell are you doing? Move aside for me… hey, what are you looking at? Why do you look so shocked?"

Tea Dolphin stared at Fire Mountain, who was leaning forward and looking toward Harbor Four with a face full of shock, baffled, and couldn't help but follow his gaze.

When he saw the slash-mark some ten meters long in front of Flying Squirrel, who was holding his blade up in defense, and at the end of that slash, Luo En gripping his long blade with both hands and gasping for breath, Tea Dolphin's pupils couldn't help but contract.

"What on earth happened?!"

"That is… a swordsman's slash."

Fire Mountain's voice was trembling as he spoke.

Tea Dolphin's eyes gradually widened.

Peach Rabbit stared blankly at the black-haired boy gripping his long blade with both hands not far away, her heart utterly shaken.

She had seen it very clearly a moment ago.

That slash was unquestionably at the level of a swordsman!

Otherwise it could never have forced Flying Squirrel back into sliding retreat for several meters, nor left such a slash-mark on the hard harbor ground.

An eleven-year-old… swordsman.

If Peach Rabbit hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have dared imagine it.

So this is why that girl Tina values him?

"Hahhh—hahh."

Luo En strained to circulate Sun Breathing, and his ragged panting finally began to steady.

He slowly loosened the left hand gripping the hilt, only to find that both his hands were trembling.

It wasn't muscle fatigue — it was excitement.

"How did that slash feel?"

Flying Squirrel, not far off, looked at him with a complicated expression and asked.

Luo En stared at the trembling palm of his left hand, recalling the sensation of that slash just now.

"Great, really great — it felt like everything I'd been suppressing inside burst out all at once, like that strike just now could cut through anything…"