One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

Is this the great swordsman?

Zoro's eyes sharpened instantly. He gripped his training sword tightly, his body trembling slightly, and stared at Karl without saying a word.

"Three-Sword Style Zoro, reporting for duty!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro got into a fighting stance and charged at Karl with the momentum of a tiger.

Karl shook his head helplessly, took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and disappeared from the spot with a whoosh just as Zoro was about to get close.

"what?"

Zoro was shocked and, having accomplished nothing, turned back to look at Karl in disbelief.

"I told you, you're too slow. I don't like bullying little kids."

"Stop looking down on me, draw your sword and fight me!"

Karl gently exhaled a smoke ring, and his aura instantly changed, sending a suffocating sense of oppression towards Zoro.

Zoro suddenly felt short of breath, and an inexplicable urge to kneel and submit welled up within him, because only in this way could he save his life.

Cluck, cluck~

Zoro gritted his teeth, struggling against Karl's oppressive aura, but Karl's aura quickly vanished without a trace, and Zoro immediately felt his body relax, letting out a rapid panting sound.

"Young man, are you sure you want to fight me? You should know very well what the consequences are for a swordsman who is defeated, right?"

Whew, whimper~

After catching his breath, Zoro's breathing gradually became steady. He grinned, took off the black sash from his waist, tied it on his head, and looked "greedily" at Karl with his clear black and white eyes.

"Hehe, I was already prepared the moment I decided to become a swordsman."

As he spoke, Zoro slung two training swords behind his back, forming a grid shape with the knife he was biting in his mouth.

"Santo-ryu·Tiger Hunting!"

Although the name is Tiger Hunt, Karl did not feel the aura of a tiger hunting at all. If there was one, it was Zoro's eyes.

Honestly, Zoro isn't that fast, at least in Carl's opinion. This means Carl has plenty of time to counter his moves, but there's no need for him to.

Karl was mainly thinking about what kind of sword he should use to play with Zoro.

Raven, Autumn Water, and Thunderstorm are all unsuitable; using this would be utterly unfair. We didn't bring nail clippers or fruit knives either. Wait a minute!

Carl looked at the cigar in his hand, a smile appearing on his face.

Armament Haki - Hardening.

The dark brown cigar instantly turned black, with a metallic sheen, but the only downside was that it extinguished the cigar.

As Zoro charged towards him, Karl casually drew an arc with his cigar.

Click~

The three broken pieces of the wooden blade flew into the sky, and Zoro, holding the broken sword, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Thump! Zoro fell flat on his face.

"I told you, you're too weak right now, so weak that I'm not even interested. Besides, even if you really wanted to fight me, you'd have to bring a real knife, right?"

"Isn't using a training knife a bit too disrespectful?"

Zoro: Then why do you use cigars?

Zoro, kneeling on the ground, clenched his fists in frustration, leaving finger marks on the ground, showing just how hard he was pulling.

Why is it that he has always trained himself to the highest standards and strived to become the world's greatest swordsman, yet even encountering Karl is a luxury?

From an angle where Karl couldn't see, Zoro's eyes turned red, and tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground and splashing up dust.

Kuina, can I really become the world's greatest swordsman?

In a daze, Zoro seemed to hear the answer...

Yes! He can, he can't give up yet. He's still young, he can't despair. It must be that he hasn't tried hard enough; his cultivation is far from meeting the highest requirements. His...

But... he has already failed. A defeated swordsman has only one fate.

Chapter 181 One Heart Dojo

Zoro took a deep breath, got up from the ground, closed his eyes, and spread his hands.

"Come on! I've lost, take my life!"

Karl chuckled softly, walked up to Zoro, and gently patted his cheek: "Good intentions, but you shouldn't die here."

"You can owe me your life for now. Come back and get it back when you become stronger!"

Upon hearing this, Zoro suddenly opened his eyes, which seemed to be glowing.

"why?"

"Why? Why so many whys? Perhaps one day you will stand at my level and meet a young person like yourself. Then you will naturally know why."

Tears welled in Zoro's eyes as he shouted to Karl as if making a vow: "I am Roronoa Zoro! From this day forward, I will never lose to anyone again!"

"And also, I'll take back the life I owe you with my own hands!!!"

Karl patted Zoro on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Yeah, I'll wait for you."

After saying that, Karl turned and left without a trace, but not long after, Karl returned.

As it was getting late, Karl didn't want to rush to the Navy Headquarters without eating, so he decided to stay overnight and take a look at the mysterious staircase that could kill Kuina.

"Um, Zoro, right? Do you have accommodations here?"

Zoro paused for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Yes, it's at Isshin Dojo. Do you want to come?"

"Lead the way!"

Half an hour later, Karl had only two words in his mind: regret, or rather, deep regret!

Why is he so foul-mouthed, letting Zoro, who has no sense of direction, lead the way?

Damn it, Zoro somehow managed to stray off course on such an obvious path, leading him in circles. They've managed to walk a mere kilometer and are still wandering around in the forest.

The Lost King truly lives up to his name...

Finally, Karl couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Zoro by the neck, heading towards the Isshin Dojo, which was just a stone's throw away.

Eight minutes later, we arrived at the Ishishin Dojo smoothly.

"Kid, you really have no sense of direction!"

Zoro, his face flushed, said, "No, no, I, I'm just not feeling well."

Even walking can turn into a tangled mess; you're something else entirely.

"This is the Isshin Dojo? Its style is somewhat similar to Wano Country."

"Wano Country? What kind of place is that?"

Karl didn't say much, but simply patted Zoro on the shoulder: "So this is where you practice your swordsmanship?"

Zoro nodded, and the dojo door opened. Several snotty-nosed kids shouted, "It's Senior Brother Zoro! Senior Brother Zoro is back!"

"Hey, big brother, who are you?"

Another kid excitedly said, "I know, I know! He's a Marine! Look behind him, it's a justice cape!"

"Only the Navy can wear the cloak of justice! So cool!"

Karl reached into his pocket, but it was just for show; he was actually taking out some candy from his system space.

"Here, have some candy."

"Thank you, big brother!"

Zoro said impatiently, "Take the candy and get out of here! Don't block my way."

A child made a face at Zoro: "I'm not afraid of you! You idiot, directionally challenged senior brother!"

Zoro's expression changed, and he raised his fist threateningly: "What did you say?"

The little devils scattered immediately.

Just then, a smiling man wearing glasses walked out of the room: "Zoro's back! Oh, and who's this...?"

Shimotsuki Koshiro squinted and carefully examined Karl before finally opening his eyes.

"You are, Lieutenant General White Crow?"

Karl nodded slightly: "That's right. It's getting late, and I'd like to ask if it's alright if I stay here for the night."

Shimotsuki Koushirou quickly replied, "Of course, of course, as long as you don't mind our simple setup."

After saying that, Shimotsuki Koshiro carefully examined Zoro and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was not injured.

That's great, no injuries.

He originally thought that Zoro would definitely challenge him when he encountered Karl, and given Zoro's current strength, the outcome was obvious.

It seems that Vice Admiral White Raven held back! Well, he is a naval officer after all, and he certainly wouldn't kill civilians.

"Of course not, I'm already very satisfied with not having to live a life of hardship."