One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

Though Koushirou was leading a secluded life, hiding his true identity, he displayed decisiveness befitting a swordsman when he took Wright under his wing.

This decisiveness, as fate would have it, would greatly benefit Koushirou himself in the near future.

"From today onward, Wright officially joins our Isshin Dojo to practice the Way of the Sword alongside everyone," Koshiro announced.

"Wright, since you're the newest member, that makes you the junior disciple. Be sure to take good care of your senior brothers."

Huh? Something seems off here. Shouldn't it be the other way around? As the junior disciple, wasn't he the one supposed to be taken care of?

Suppressing the urge to complain, Wright cast a glance at his so-called "senior brothers."

Hmm… a couple were still wiping snot from their noses, some stared blankly into space, and as for the relatively "normal" ones—well, they only looked somewhat stable in their basics. If it came down to a fight, Wright was confident he could handle the whole group with one hand.

"…Understood, Master," Wright replied weakly.

And thus began the "joyful" life at the dojo.

"The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, will be publicly executed in Loguetown under the custody of the Marines!"

"The Flying Pirates led by 'Golden Lion' Shiki attacked Marineford but were defeated by Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp working together. Shiki has been imprisoned in Impel Down!"

"Before his execution, the Pirate King revealed an earth-shattering secret: the existence of the legendary treasure known as One Piece!"

"The Great Pirate Era begins!"

"The World Government establishes the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. The first Warlord: the great pirate 'Crocodile'!"

The information network in the world of pirates was incredibly advanced. The peculiar News Coo birds and the equally bizarre Den Den Mushi operated like cash-on-delivery drones and mobile phones, with advanced projection features to boot.

In this pivotal year, several world-shaking events rapidly spread across the globe, altering the course of history forever.

Over the next few months, Wright practiced swordsmanship under Koushirou's meticulous guidance. This helped him address the flaws and hidden dangers left behind by his prior self-taught training.

Thanks to the healing and restorative powers of the Holy Light, Wright could train harder and recover faster than other swordsmen of his level, making him fearless of injury. Consequently, his training became exceptionally intense.

Often, Wright would challenge his senior brothers to gang up on him, using their combined assaults to refine his combat reflexes. Despite his solid foundation and superhuman physical strength, Koushirou's elite disciples could sometimes breach Wright's defenses, leaving him bruised and battered when he relied solely on swordsmanship.

This only deepened Wright's admiration for Koushirou's teaching ability. Motivated by this respect, Wright continued to train relentlessly, sparring with his fellow disciples to validate his progress.

Meanwhile, history was marching into the Great Pirate Era. Panic gripped civilians, the Marines struggled to manage their stretched resources, and pirates reveled in newfound freedom—all of which began reshaping the world's balance.

To survive in this increasingly perilous sea and achieve his dreams, Wright knew he had to grow incomparably strong—strong enough to stand among the world's strongest, and perhaps even strong enough to shake the era itself.

With over twenty years until the story's main events began, Wright had ample time to strengthen himself to the point where even the tides of revolution couldn't unsettle him—or perhaps, where he alone could alter the tides of an entire era.

Time flew, and soon it was the year 1502 of the Sea Calendar. That year marked a momentous event: under the charge of conducting "illegal research into the Poneglyphs with the intent to revive ancient weapons," the World Government ordered the Marines to unleash a Buster Call on the archaeologists' sanctuary of Ohara, erasing it from the map. The Tree of Knowledge, which had stood for over 5,000 years, was destroyed.

Though Wright understood the hidden truths behind the incident, he feigned the same shock as everyone else. Privately, he and his fellow disciples condemned the World Government and the Marines for the atrocity of firing upon civilian evacuation ships. But soon, Wright returned to his grueling training, knowing that strength was paramount.

His efforts paid off handsomely. After resolving the flaws in his swordsmanship, Wright's progress became explosive. Before long, he reached a critical bottleneck.

"The realm of the Swordmaster: cutting what you wish to cut, and protecting what you wish to protect…"

Swordsmanship is not something that can be mastered with a few simple pointers. If it were, Wright wouldn't have needed a teacher despite his extensive knowledge of famous lines from masters like Koshiro, "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, and Hyogoro the Flower.

The path of swordsmanship involves comprehensive improvement—of the body and the mind alike. Physical training requires correct guidance to avoid long-term harm, while mental cultivation demands even more precise direction.

Physical training methods are relatively uniform, but mental cultivation varies greatly:

Some temper their spirits through relentless combat, forging an indomitable will.

Others immerse themselves in slaughter, teetering on the edge of madness to achieve their goals.

Many prefer meditation to sharpen their awareness, attaining a harmonious and resilient spirit.

A rare few experience sudden epiphanies, where a single moment of insight transforms them forever.

The orthodox approach combines combat and meditation, balancing action and stillness for gradual progress. Without guidance, however, this path becomes fraught with missteps and inefficiencies.

Most people lack the ability to recognize and correct their own spiritual flaws unless a major opportunity arises—a rare event that often comes at a heavy cost. This is where the importance of a skilled mentor becomes undeniable.

Wright, however, possessed something this world had never seen before: the power of Holy Light. This energy, deeply tied to one's spirit, faith, and willpower, was unparalleled in its ability to heal wounds, restore stamina, and strengthen the mind.

Moreover, training both body and mind enhanced the Holy Light itself, creating a feedback loop akin to the synergy of a Devil Fruit user mastering their ability.

Now armed with an exceptional mentor in swordsmanship, Wright could navigate mental cultivation without stumbling blindly.

"The breath of all things, and their voices…"

Everything in existence has a "breath," a "voice." More precisely, all things constantly emit a rhythm, a pulse of life.

To attune to this rhythm is to gain the power to cut what you wish to cut, and to protect what you wish to protect:

The rhythm of stone.

The pulse of leaves.

The whisper of the wind.

The dance of flames.

The flow of water.

The heartbeat of grass and trees.

And the countless rhythms of life itself…

No, it goes even beyond that.

Sitting cross-legged before a massive boulder, Wright meditated as usual. Suddenly, it felt as though his consciousness had left his body. Though his physical form remained relaxed, strange and fleeting images seemed to appear before his closed eyes. Mysterious, faint, and dazzling "messages" seemed to pour into his mind, as though carried by unseen currents.

"What a wondrous sensation… almost like the legendary 'spiritual out-of-body experience.'"

Wright had been entering this state more frequently of late. He knew this was the threshold he needed to cross—a barrier between being a mere swordsman and becoming a Swordmaster… or perhaps even more.

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