"Sword-wielding monkeys!"
Before Shano could react, Nami's eyes were already sparkling:
"Oh wow, so amazing! Sister Kuina, lend me your Hua State, I want to spar with them!"
Hua State was the Skillful Grade Blade that Robin had given to Kuina back then.
Kuina liked it a lot and always kept it as her backup sword.
"Stop messing around, you don't know any swordsmanship, just use fire to chase them away."
Nojiko pinched her ear in exasperation.
"That would be bullying the monkeys too much! Don't worry, I learned a bit of swordsmanship from my brother back in the day, dealing with just a few monkeys is no problem for me!"
"..."
Kuina shook her head and tossed Hua State over reluctantly.
"Here we go! Little monkeys, prepare yourselves!"
Nami rushed over enthusiastically.
As expected.
She didn't last even a minute before she was beaten into a panicked retreat, returning in embarrassment.
"Boohoo, these damn monkeys are so strong…"
"Let me handle this."
Kuina sighed, drawing her Wado Ichimonji.
She glanced at the baboons with a look of growing interest.
Initially, she didn't take these sword-wielding monkeys seriously.
But after witnessing their battle with Nami, she realized that these baboons weren't just swinging randomly; their swordplay was quite refined, with some combinations even surprising her.
They are worthy opponents!
Avoiding accidentally killing these baboons, Kuina refrained from using Haki and tried to use only the back of her sword, restraining her strength.
However, the difference in skill was too great.
After a few rounds.
The baboons were easily defeated, lying all over the ground with stars in their eyes and froth at their mouths.
"Impressive swordsmanship."
Kuina sheathed her sword, making her assessment, "But there are only a few of them. If there were more, even I might struggle."
"Really?"
Shano smiled, "That's easily remedied. I just scanned the island with Observation, and there are at least a few hundred sword-wielding baboons here."
"A few hundred?"
Kuina was astonished, "So many baboons skilled in swordsmanship? Who on earth had so much free time to teach them all?"
"It might not have been taught. Baboons are creatures that like to mimic humans. They probably picked it up by watching people practice swordsmanship for years."
"Just by mimicking, their swordsmanship reached this level?"
Then what level had the swordsmanship of the one practicing reached?!
Kuina looked up at the castle enshrouded in thick mist, "It seems the owner of this castle is an incredibly skilled Great Sword Master…"
"Let's have a look inside."
Shano pushed open the door and strode in.
He was now completely sure that this was where Hawkeye lived.
The place had a long name, something like Klaykan Island.
It used to be a normal town, but after a brutal war here, only a few survived, and the place gradually became desolate and abandoned.
Accustomed to solitude, Hawkeye settled here to live.
The style of the castle was elegant and classical, but the furniture and floors were covered in dust, suggesting the owner had been away for a while.
Where have you gone, Hawkeye…
Not meeting the main person, Shano felt some regret. He wondered if Hawkeye had heard of his reputation; he actually wanted to have a spar with the world's greatest Great Sword Master.
Kuina probably longs for it too, right?
"Let's stay in this castle to train."
After touring the entire castle, Shano made a decision.
This castle in the center of the island was a perfect place for secluded training.
The surrounding open land was vast and deserted, which met Shano's needs perfectly, and the numerous sword-skilled baboons…
For others, they might be a big problem.
But since their ship had a young swordswoman eager to improve her swordsmanship, Shano actually thought the baboon clan was not big enough.
However.
If he remembered correctly, there was also a giant King of Baboons here, wielding a Broadsword similar to Hawkeye's Black Blade Yoru, with quite remarkable swordsmanship skills.
For Kuina, it would be a perfect sparring partner.
After exploring the surrounding area, they all settled in the castle according to Shano's instructions.
The ground floor was spacious, with many empty guest rooms, more than enough to accommodate the crew.
The castle had a kitchen, bathroom, and everything needed… there was even a small vegetable garden and fish pond in the backyard, making self-sufficiency possible without worrying about supplies.
As for the second floor, that was the owner's quarters. After all, they were borrowing someone else's territory, so they had to show some respect.
The rest of the crew didn't have to worry, but Shano specifically warned Nami and the two pets not to snoop around upstairs.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
A little after five in the morning, before sunrise, Shano was up early.
He spent half an hour running ten laps around the island as a warm-up and then found an open spot in the forest to continue practicing the "Qi Circle Slash."
In the previous days.
He had thoroughly read through all the key points described in the secret manual and tried a few times, but all ended in failure.
The biggest challenge was that in the Pirate World, the so-called "Qi" from the Dragon Ball World didn't exist.