Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

Chapter 469: Father disciplining a child is perfectly normal, right?

"Ah... yeah, I can feel the aura of a fierce beast."

Zoro replied with a smile, but his eyes were razor-sharp.

As a swordsman, he could clearly feel that Kuina’s aura at this moment was far stronger than when they last met.

And the fact that Kuina had become stronger didn’t make Zoro feel jealous in the slightest, because this was exactly the kind of rival he needed on the road toward becoming the strongest swordsman!!!

Slowly drawing his long blades, Zoro bit Yami Karasu between his teeth. Then he tied the black bandana behind his head and took his three-sword-style stance.

"Hey, Kuina, that mysterious female swordsman they talked about in the announcements—that’s you, right!!!"

"That’s right!!!"

"Then let me see for myself!!!"

Clang—

Jet-black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around his arms and then slowly spread across the blades. Zoro unleashed his Haki completely, taking an attacking stance.

Kuina also smiled and slowly drew Wado Ichimonji from her waist. The Armament Haki she had recently been trained in by Orin, already showing some results, likewise wrapped itself around her blade.

The two of them shot forward at high speed.

Pitch-black blades suddenly crashed together.

Boom!!!

Clang!!!

They unleashed fierce sword strikes brimming with killing intent. The shockwaves alone were enough to keep the weak from even getting close.

Where their Armament Haki clashed, faint streaks of lightning seemed to spark.

Facing Zoro’s overwhelming assault, Kuina received it solidly and even faintly suppressed him in terms of raw strength.

It was only in Haki and swordsmanship that Kuina still couldn’t fully match Zoro, who had been taught by two renowned sword masters.

"What are they!!!"

"Two great sword masters?!!!"

The two twisted and flashed around each other, the swordsmanship inherited from Orin and Mihawk being displayed to the fullest. They were not only competing but also honing and growing together.

Rebecca, who had staked everything on winning the Float-Float Fruit and overthrowing Doflamingo, now simply stood among the crowd like a small fry.

What kind of power was this???

Even a burly gladiator as large as a small giant tried to intervene in their sword duel, only to have his arm severed by a stray flying slash.

She had naively believed that relying on her own strength, she could at least hold out in the colosseum until the end and obtain the Float-Float Fruit.

But in the eyes of real monsters, she was no different from the small fry around her.

"By the way, I’m curious about one thing,"

Zoro gritted his teeth and raised his blade horizontally, blocking another slash from Kuina as he spoke.

"Why did you become one of Doflamingo’s subordinates!!!"

"The newspapers said you would be one of the guardians of the Float-Float Fruit arena, didn’t they!!!"

But Kuina’s eyes were firm, seemingly unmoved.

"I never said I was Doflamingo’s subordinate."

...

On the other side,

Green Bit.

A gigantic island-sized fist was suspended in midair, coated in flowing jet-black Armament Haki, about to come crashing down—

And at that moment, a figure appeared.

Orin, clad in a black robe, patted nonexistent dust from his clothes and looked toward the massive figure in the sky.

"So impressive, Sadgeo~"

"Hm???"

Sadgeo’s eyes turned toward the bow of Noah, where a very familiar figure was sitting.

In the next instant, that figure appeared before Doflamingo and the others.

"Orin-san!!!"

"Saint Orin?!!!"

"Father!!!??"

Orin didn’t react much to their shocked expressions. He simply took out a cigarette.

His long black hair fluttered without wind. Even while standing within the realm of darkness, he was completely unfazed.

Seeing this, Sanji hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward with a lighter to light Orin’s cigarette.

At the same time, he looked down at the dark substance beneath their feet, wanting to say something but stopping halfway.

"Father, this Devil Fruit ability..."

He had just heard Doflamingo and the others explain it, and he knew this darkness could strip Devil Fruit users of their powers.

So his father’s own miraculous fruit ability was probably...

Thinking that his father’s nearly invincible power might already have lost its effect, he felt inexplicably nervous.

How were they supposed to block that fist as large as an island now?!!!

Unlike Sanji,

Doflamingo and Green Bull both let out a huge sigh of relief.

The cold sweat on their faces disappeared.

And Orin?

He simply turned slightly, accepting the act of his adopted son lighting his cigarette, without even looking at the massive falling island-sized punch behind him.

After lighting it, he slowly exhaled smoke.

His other hand casually stretched out to the upper right.

In the next instant, a pure crimson Haki surged from Orin’s arm.

That strange Armament Haki extended outward like an external weapon, radiating tremendous impact.

After so much use of Observation Haki and Conqueror’s Haki, perhaps the world had forgotten—he was a master of all three types of Haki.

In both quantity and quality, his Armament Haki was in no way inferior to Sadgeo’s, and it burst outward like a shockwave.

It collided with the falling island-sized punch.

The flowing Armament Haki released by Orin expanded until it wrapped half the island, firmly catching that island-sized Armament-coated fist.

The two forces ground against each other in midair, unleashing endless shockwaves.

But compared with Sadgeo, who was gritting his teeth to hold on,

Orin had only lifted one hand, still smoking leisurely.

Maybe he was starting to feel bored.

Orin finally raised his head and looked at the somewhat unwilling Sadgeo.

"Do you still want me to keep playing with you, Sadgeo?"

"..."

As soon as those words fell, the previously unruffled Sadgeo suddenly grew solemn.

Unconsciously, several drops of cold sweat appeared on his face.

"...You really are a strict father."

The massive fist slowly deflated, and Sadgeo’s figure descended from the sky.

He landed on the bow of Noah, looking at the "father" who had created him—that terrifying man.

"Why did you stop me? I only..."

"wanted to wipe out those people from the World Government, and the traitors colluding with them!!!"

Oh???

Orin was a little surprised.

Good kid—was he actually questioning him?

But when he designed the experiment back then, he never said there would be a trait like this.

Rebellion?

Was this Vegapunk’s little trick, or... fate working in secret?

Ambition, strength, and spirit—these things complemented one another.

There was even talk of destiny in this world.

Orin suspected that Sadgeo was no longer just his experimental subject; perhaps he had really inherited a part of this world’s operating fate.

Thinking of this, Orin smiled happily.

Something unexpected after such a long time~

"A father disciplining his child is perfectly normal..."

"Right, Sadgeo?"