Chapter 7: The Swordsmith Master
"The characters on this... are very strange. Some I recognize, but some look completely unfamiliar no matter how I look at them."
Mochizuki Tosaburo's voice was very low as he continued, "But this material, you can tell just by touching it that it's top-notch. Warm and smooth, it feels like it's been worn close to someone's body for many years."
He looked up, his gaze falling on Ryuji's face. On that face, carved with sea breezes and scars, a caution and softness not seen for years were revealed.
"You were too small back then... I was afraid this thing was too eye-catching and would bring you trouble, so I secretly hid it."
He gently pushed the wooden box forward. "Now it's time to return it to you."
Ryuji lowered his eyes to look at the object in the box.
It was a white jade plaque, with a red and yellow cord passing through the top.
The front was engraved with the three characters "Ryuji" in neat strokes, surrounded by shallow flowing cloud patterns, elegant in its simplicity.
Turning to the back, several lines of small characters were carved in extremely fine brushwork, showing traces of clerical script in the flowing shapes.
The handwriting was slightly blurred due to age, but "Sixteenth Year" and "June 6th, the Hour of the Rabbit" could still be vaguely recognized.
Ryuji's eyebrows twitched. The characters on this look like Chinese, specifically Traditional characters. Of course you can't read them!
This thing... looks like an old item recording the Eight Characters of Birth no matter how you look at it.
"Keep it."
Mochizuki Tosaburo's voice pulled him back to reality. "Perhaps... it's the last keepsake your family left for you."
Ryuji nodded and reached out to take the jade plaque.
The moment his fingertips touched the warm jade texture, he suddenly froze as a cold dampness came from his cheeks.
He raised his hand to wipe it; it was actually two lines of clear tears that had silently fallen at some point.
"Ha, looks like you still have some memories, even though you were just an infant in swaddling clothes when I found you..."
Mochizuki Tosaburo patted Ryuji's shoulder and spoke softly.
"Maybe."
Ryuji said softly.
Time flew by, and fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye.
That jade plaque didn't cause Ryuji much trouble. Even if he wanted to find out his identity, it would have to be after defeating Muzan.
Well, mainly because he had been completely immersed in the sense of fulfillment brought by practice lately, almost unable to extricate himself.
"Whew."
Ryuji let out a long breath of turbid air, picked up a coarse linen cloth to wipe the sweat off his lean body, and then picked up a coarse porcelain bowl to gulp down a large mouthful of cold water.
He glanced at the few young women and little girls peeking from not far away, his heart already calm.
He was used to it.
He murmured in his heart: "System, settle today's practice."
[Ding! practice settlement complete. This practice duration: three hours. Training item: Marine Basic Physical Training (Zephyr's Recruit Manual Standard).]
[Completion: Good.]
[Reward obtained: practice points +10. Since the host strictly followed the "marine recruit training manual" for scientific training, an additional reward is obtained: practice points +10.]
"Open the System panel."
[Host: Ryuji]
[Age: 14]
[Position: East Sea Branch Marine Soldier]
[Abilities: Stone Breathing, Armament Haki (Prototype)]
[practice Points: 110]
[military merit points: 80]
[Item: marine recruit training manual (Written by Zephyr)]
[Evaluation: A lucky cannon fodder who just entered the Marines. Has some potential, but the type who might be scared to death by the mountain bandit Higuma.]
"Fifteen days, and I can clearly feel my body getting stronger! Endurance improved, strength increased, and even Stone Breathing has become much more proficient! This marine recruit training manual from Zephyr is truly powerful!"
Ryuji felt the power filling his body, checked the panel, and calculated in his heart: "Finally saved up a hundred points... I can finally add points to Armament Haki."
No way around it, this System is ridiculously unscrupulous. Adding points actually requires a full hundred practice points to increase a single attribute point.
And it has the nerve to call it "incentivizing the host to actively pursue pirates instead of idling away at the base." Is that even human language?
Isn't it better to lay low until I'm invincible before heading out?
"System, add points to Armament Haki."
He commanded in his heart.
[Point allocation successful! Consumed 100 practice points.]
[Detected that the host has long followed the "marine recruit training manual" for scientific and systematic tempering; the Physique has been significantly solidified.]
[Your understanding of the Armament Haki within your body has further deepened, touching the threshold of substance. Perhaps the next Breakthrough will allow you to truly master this power.]
[Armament Haki (Threshold): Now able to condense and release Armament Haki for a short time. Congratulations, rookie, you've become a five-second real man.]
Ryuji: "..."
Five-second real man? Who are you looking down on!
If it weren't for the fact that I'm still young, you'd see if those young ladies and wives would dare to stare at me like that!
"Brother Ryūsei!"
A crisp child's voice interrupted his internal grumbling.
A little girl about four or five years old, wearing a faded short robe, carrying a clean cloth bundle, came running over.
"Brother Ryūsei, this is the rice ball Mama told me to bring to you!"
The little girl stood on her tiptoes, holding the bundle high, handing it to Ryuji, staring with her big watery eyes, looking like she was asking for praise.
"It's Haruko, thank you."
Ryuji rubbed the little girl's soft hair and spoke gently, "Go back and tell Sister Yuriko that there's really no need to go through this trouble every day; it was just a small favor."
"No way!"
Haruko shook her head like a rattle, smiling as she rubbed her cheek against Ryuji's palm. "Mama said Brother is the best at lying, so Haruko must watch you finish eating!"
Ryuji was helpless.
It was just that a while ago he had conveniently killed a blind bear that broke into the village, saving the young widow Yuriko at the end of the village—oh, that's Haruko's mother.
It was just a casual thing, and he even got ten military merit points... but now he was being pestered by this mother and daughter, who sent him food in various ways every day.
This enthusiasm was really a bit overwhelming.
"In! The master from the Swordsmith Village is here and wants to talk to you!" Mochizuki Tosaburo shouted while holding his pipe, "Come back quickly!"
Hearing this, Ryuji was instantly excited. Finally!
He picked Haruko up and lifted her over his head with one hand. "Sit tight, it might be a bit fast in a moment!"
"Oh!"
Haruko's watery eyes were full of excitement.
Ryuji took a deep breath, Stone Breathing circulating, and the rock beneath his feet shattered as if struck by a heavy hammer!
Ryuji's figure instantly appeared three meters away. This was a Breathing Technique alternative he had developed based on the Six Powers' Soru.
He named it Stone Breathing, First Form: Stone Strike.
Although the movement distance was limited to only three meters and the speed wasn't as fast as Soru, for Ryuji, this was simply the most useful Move.
It could overcome Stone Breathing's weakness in speed, and more importantly, the physical requirements for this Move weren't as high as Soru!
At least, Pillar-level swordsmen should all be able to use it.
"Hahahaha! So exciting!"
Haruko giggled from up high; this little girl was truly brave.
With a few leaps, Ryuji returned to the front of the small wooden hut.
At a glance, he saw the Swordsmith Master from the Swordsmith Village.
Wearing a bamboo hat with wind chimes hanging from it, dressed in a long robe, and most eye-catching was the huge wooden box behind him that was almost as tall as a person.
"You must be the master Swordsmith Master from the Swordsmith Village. I am Ryuji, the Master should have told you about me."
Ryuji gently set Haruko down and stepped forward with a respectful attitude. "So, about my sword..."
Bang!
Before he could finish, a muffled sound exploded!
Amidst the flying dust, the huge wooden box was actually swung up by the Swordsmith Master with one hand and slammed heavily onto the ground where Ryuji had just been standing, creating a shallow pit.
Ryuji had already jumped back. Mochizuki Tosaburo on the side also subconsciously gripped his pipe in reverse, then relaxed and took a slow puff.
Looking at the shallow pit on the ground, Ryuji sighed inwardly: As expected, Swordsmith Master masters aren't that easy to talk to... and his skills are not simple.
Looking at the Swordsmith Master holding the large wooden box with one hand, Ryuji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"My name is Tetsugane Iwao, and I am the Swordsmith Master responsible for forging Ryuji's sword."