Chapter Sixty-Nine: Guidance

Dasqi’s attitude was extremely earnest, not the least bit playful, and Roland knew well that she was not joking.

When it came to obsession with swords and swordsmanship, Roland felt that aside from Kuina in the original story, no other female swordsman could match Dasqi.

He glanced at Zoro beside him and sighed helplessly—what a bizarre situation.

He had indeed received instruction from Master Shiki, and thanks to the system's help, his swordsmanship had reached the sixth level. Yet when it came to theory, he truly couldn't explain much.

Why did everyone either want to learn swordsmanship from him or ask for his guidance?

If you wanted him to spar with Dasqi, perhaps she could learn something from fighting. But pure instruction—Roland honestly felt he had nothing to teach.

Yet, facing Dasqi's sincere and earnest gaze, Roland found it hard to voice his refusal.

After thinking it over and organizing his words, Roland finally spoke slowly, “Calling it instruction seems too formal. How about this, Dasqi—we spar, and I hope you can discover your own shortcomings during the fight.”

“Sparring!”

Dasqi suddenly straightened up, astonished as she looked at Roland. “Is that really okay? I—I’m certainly no match for you.”

Roland fell silent for a moment, then continued, “That may be so, but think of it as a guiding bout. The goal is for you to find your weaknesses, not to determine victory or defeat. Do you understand?”

Hearing this, Dasqi finally understood Roland’s intention. Her gaze became resolute. “Don’t worry, Mr. Roland. I will treat this sparring match with utmost seriousness.”

“Roland, may I come watch?”

A fight between swordsmen was something Zoro was quite interested in.

Although he had sparred with Roland once before, that match had been decided in a single move, so he hadn’t really grasped Roland’s swordsmanship. Now, with the chance to observe a guiding duel up close, Zoro—who aspired to become the world's greatest swordsman—would never miss it.

“Of course.”

Roland nodded, then turned to Dasqi. “Lead the way, Dasqi.”

“Alright.”

…

An hour later, at the Navy base training grounds, Dasqi was breathing heavily, her face tinged with gravity.

She knew Roland was powerful and his swordsmanship profound, but she never expected that, despite his young appearance, the gap between them would be so immense.

They had arrived at the training ground half an hour ago, and in the subsequent thirty minutes of fighting, Dasqi kept attacking, yet she couldn’t get within two meters of Roland.

Though her sword and Roland’s arm together were less than two meters, she felt as if that distance was an unbridgeable chasm.

Watching Dasqi’s performance, Roland couldn't help but shake his head.

Perhaps at first she kept her composure, hoping to learn something from the bout.

But as time went on, Roland sensed Dasqi growing restless; each attack appeared stronger, but she lost her steadiness.

“Dasqi, have you forgotten what we discussed before the sparring?”

Roland frowned and rebuked her, seeing her somewhat obsessed expression.

“What we discussed before?”

Dasqi was taken aback, a flush rising instantly to her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Roland. I got carried away.”

Dasqi quickly apologized, adjusted her mindset, and resumed her fighting stance.

“Let’s continue. Your aim isn’t to defeat me or reach some goal; you must focus on your shortcomings during your attacks, and consider how you might improve.”

Roland nodded and went on.

Dasqi said nothing, advancing toward Roland again.

Holding Shigure, Dasqi’s determined gaze was not obscured by her glasses.

Bang—

The clash of metal rang out; Dasqi was forced back by Roland’s move, just as before, still unable to breach the two-meter boundary.

But this time, Dasqi did not lose heart. She searched for another opportunity and pressed her attack.

Her objective remained to enter that two-meter zone, but her mentality had changed greatly.

During the first half hour, she was intent on proving herself before Roland, which left her obsessed.

Now, she simply sought to refine herself and improve her swordsmanship.

This difference in mindset made the fight much easier for Dasqi.

Without a heavy burden weighing her down, her performance was clearly much better than before.

Even Zoro, watching Dasqi’s series of attacks, had to admit that the girl’s swordsmanship was indeed impressive.

If Kuina were still alive, she would surely become friends with this Navy swordswoman.

“Have you finally realized?”

Roland watched Dasqi’s sudden change of tactics, a faint smile on his lips.

From the very start, he had noticed a major flaw in Dasqi’s swordsmanship, but he hadn’t pointed it out, waiting for her to discover it herself.

When he studied under Master Shiki, the teacher had treated him the same way.

But unlike his guidance of Dasqi, Master Shiki would tell him when he had shortcomings, but would leave it to Roland to find and correct the specific flaw.

“Mr. Roland, I understand now—this will be my final attack.”

Clearly aware now, Dasqi paused for fifteen minutes, then attacked Roland again.

This time, she advanced boldly. After clashing swords with Roland, she did not retreat as before, but shifted her power and changed her angle, successfully entering the two-meter range, though Roland still blocked her.

“A promising student.”

Roland smiled as he sheathed his short sword, nodding to Dasqi.

Dasqi’s current weakness was just this—her power was sufficient, but she lacked endurance.

Perhaps, as Kuina said in the original story, female swordsmen are naturally weaker than their male counterparts in terms of physical strength.

Where a male swordsman achieves results with seven parts force, a female must use nine or ten.

Against evenly matched or weaker opponents, this may not be a problem. But when facing enemies stronger than oneself, it becomes a fatal flaw.

Charging forward without restraint, risking one’s life.

Now, Dasqi’s attacks had lost some force, but her ability to vary her moves had increased. Even against a superior foe, she would not simply fall.

If she performed well, she might even be able to hold them off.

“Roland, give me some guidance too!”

Watching Roland’s bout with Dasqi, Zoro was itching for a match.

Although he'd sparred with Roland once, that match had been unsatisfying.

“Zoro, you’re different from him.”

Roland refused Zoro’s request and explained, “You need to temper yourself in real battle—whether it’s cutting iron or flying slash, you can only and must comprehend it through blood and death.”

“As for me, it was only through constant battle with beasts far more terrifying than Arlong that I was able to master these skills.”

“Blood and deadly combat?”

Zoro began to understand, though he felt there was still a barrier he hadn’t broken through.

But Roland’s words made him realize that since setting out to sea, he had fought pirates for survival as a bounty hunter, and his skills had advanced rapidly—he’d worn out one sword after another.

Yet in the days spent with Roland, apart from the fight with the so-called Six Sword Style Hachi, he’d had no chances to battle. Even though he’d been training, his progress had stalled.

“Smoker, you’ve been hiding there watching for quite a while—are you itching for a match with me as well?”