Chapter One Hundred: The Six Styles of the Navy

Regarding Bucky’s reaction, Luo Lan had only one word: “Perfect.”

It’s often said that in moments of extreme anger, people can accomplish the impossible, but to encounter someone like Bucky—able to use his ability even with the restraints of seastone handcuffs—this was a first for Luo Lan.

Smiling as he approached Bucky, Luo Lan patted him on the shoulder in reassurance and said, “Don’t be so tense, Bucky. After all, we both came from the East Blue; you could say we’re almost fellow countrymen. I’m just here to say hello.”

Bucky listened, half-believing, half-doubting, but what choice did he have? Luo Lan wasn’t just stronger than he was; he was also more favored among the navy.

Rather than live in constant fear, it would be better to simply relax.

With this in mind, Bucky plopped down on the ground with a sigh of resignation. “You— I don’t even know if I should thank you or hate you,” he said. “If you hadn’t interfered back then, maybe after looting Orange Town, I could’ve kept living freely in the East Blue. Who would’ve guessed that after that Straw Hat kid, I’d run into someone like you?”

Luo Lan simply took Bucky’s complaints as harmless grumbling and didn’t pay them much mind. Bucky might be complaining now, but before long, he might be singing Luo Lan’s praises.

In the future, the seas might not be completely free of pirates, but there’d be no place left for the likes of them.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Bucky, Luo Lan turned his attention to Zoro.

Greeting Bucky had been a spur-of-the-moment whim; his real reason for coming over was because of Zoro and Koby.

Compared to chatting with Bucky, he was far more interested in the training duel between Bogard and Zoro.

From Shells Town up to now, Zoro had made remarkable progress.

If he measured Zoro’s strength in terms of his own system levels, Zoro had completely advanced from level three to level four, and his swordsmanship was even showing signs of breaking into level five.

During their bouts, Luo Lan could clearly see traces of his own style in Zoro’s swordsmanship. This wasn’t necessarily a flaw, but it certainly wasn’t ideal.

Back on Blue Star, Luo Lan had heard a saying: “Those who imitate me survive; those who resemble me perish.”

If Zoro merely imitated his swordsmanship, he would certainly learn a great deal.

But if he only copied without innovating—if he never made that swordsmanship his own—it would be more harmful than beneficial.

Aside from himself, Luo Lan thought Bogard must have seen this too. In their current sparring sessions, Luo Lan could see Bogard constantly guiding Zoro, helping him to integrate these borrowed techniques into his own style.

Watching now, Luo Lan realized that whatever Bogard’s motives in training Zoro and Koby, at least as a teacher, he was thorough and earnest.

Though he wasn’t imparting new techniques at the moment, what he was doing now was far more important than teaching fresh sword skills.

Seeing that Zoro and Bogard’s duel would last a while longer, Luo Lan decided not to watch any further. After greeting Koby, he returned to Zephyr’s side, and together they searched for a place to formally begin his own training.

He’d been at headquarters for several days now—Zoro and Koby had both found instructors and started their training, yet he himself had made no headway. If he didn’t hurry, he might leave Marineford without ever learning Rokushiki.

Rokushiki was something Luo Lan truly coveted.

It wasn’t that mastering it would make him overwhelmingly powerful, but rather, it was essential for him.

Besides, among the World Government, there were many who had mastered Rokushiki in its entirety.

The simplest example was Rob Lucci in Water 7. Even before eating a Devil Fruit, Lucci was a master of Rokushiki—his fruit only served to enhance his martial prowess.

Standing on the open ground, Zephyr’s demeanor changed in an instant as he prepared to teach. He was now utterly different from the kindly mentor he’d been moments before.

His gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s, locking onto Luo Lan and making him scarcely dare to move.

It felt just like being a mischievous child caught by a strict headmaster—having done nothing wrong, yet seized by a strange sense of dread.

Seeing Luo Lan standing ramrod straight, Zephyr gave a satisfied nod, then explained in detail, “The six forms of Rokushiki are: the offensive Finger Gun and Tempest Kick; the defensive Iron Body and Paper Art; and the mobility-enhancers, Moonwalk and Shave.”

“I’ve heard from Garp that you’ve already learned Armament Haki, so as for Iron Body, which serves a similar function, I personally think you can ignore it—or leave it for last—since it wouldn’t be much use to you.”

“Smoker’s report mentioned that you’re a swordsman and have already mastered flying slashes, so Finger Gun and Tempest Kick can also be left for later.”

“As I see it, learning Shave and Moonwalk first will benefit you the most. What do you think?”

In just a few words, Zephyr had crafted a rough but, for now, perfectly suitable training plan for Luo Lan based on his current strength and abilities.

Luo Lan had thought along these lines as well. After all, he wasn’t a native of this world but a traveler from another, who’d known about Rokushiki and its uses long ago.

Before asking Garp for help, Luo Lan had considered what to do if time was short, and his plan matched exactly with Zephyr’s suggestion.

While Rokushiki was said to be six martial arts forms, only Shave and Moonwalk were truly useful to Luo Lan.

As Zephyr mentioned, having already learned Armament Haki, Iron Body would be of negligible use. Coupled with Iron Body’s lackluster performance in the original story, Luo Lan had little regard for it.

As for Finger Gun and Tempest Kick, since he’d already mastered flying slashes, he lacked nothing in ranged attacks; learning these would be a bonus, but not essential.

Paper Art, however, did interest Luo Lan, because within it was a technique called Life Return. Luo Lan was extremely curious about it.

In the story, Lucci used this move to greatly enhance his strength, utterly overwhelming Luffy. In a recent battle, that strange guy Tuggy had also used it to transform the peculiar Armadillo Man back into a human, greatly boosting his power.

What Luo Lan wondered was whether, if he used Life Return in his Udian or Udian’s ultimate form, it would have any effect.

Still, compared to Shave and Moonwalk, learning Paper Art could wait. The former two were the true priorities.

“Instructor Zephyr, I have no objections to your plan. If possible, I’d like to begin training right away,” Luo Lan replied.