Hawk Eyes’s Sword Body

Hawk Eyes had always been a steady and composed man.

Unlike Zoro, he practiced the sword not to become the world’s strongest, but simply out of love.

Swordsmanship was what he loved.

But now, he felt a long-lost rush of passion.

It was like every time he encountered stronger swordsmanship—a surge of passion born from love.

He opened the final jar.

Inside was a drop of water.

Zoro and Luffy could not help leaning closer to look. There truly was only a single, silent water droplet floating in the very center of the jar.

It was transparent and pure, with nothing visibly unusual about it.

"It’s a Sword Body," Shen Mo said.

"A Sword Body?" Hawk Eyes could not help repeating.

"Simply put, it’s a kind of aptitude," Shen Mo explained. "You should understand that Swordsmanship is a path with stringent requirements for aptitude, and those aptitudes vary. Hawk Eyes, you were able to comprehend the Wave Sword Intent, yet failed with the Explosive Sword Intent of the same level. That is your aptitude. What you obtained is called the Beginner Water Sword Body. It can condense Sword Aura and enhance your ability to comprehend this Sword Intent."

Shen Mo had actually considered the Class Change for the Swordsmanship Series for a long time.

The ideas he had come up with were Sword Immortal, Sword Cultivator, and the like.

But those were still exceedingly broad classifications.

The purpose of a Class Change was to further narrow down the items within the jars. Since that was the case, he would use a Sword Body of a particular direction as the Class Change, along with the ability to condense Sword Aura.

After Shen Mo’s explanation, the two of them finally understood what it was.

"A Sword Body that can turn ordinary people into swordsmanship geniuses…" Zoro stared at the drop of water, feeling as though his worldview was about to be overturned.

Even something innate like aptitude could be acquired?

These jars really could do anything.

"There are three main elements in Swordsmanship Cultivation: talent, effort, and opportunity." Shen Mo raised three fingers, the corners of his mouth curving upward. "And all three can be obtained from jars. That Sword Intent orb just now belonged to opportunity."

Before placing this item inside, he had run a scan on Hawk Eyes.

Among the Five Elements Sword Intent, the Water Sword Intent suited him best.

Even the Wave Sword Intent he had obtained earlier was merely a lower-level branch of the Water Sword Intent.

Hawk Eyes vaguely understood as well.

"This is to prevent us from continuing to obtain Items from jars that are of little use to ourselves," he said.

"Wait—" Zoro seemed to suddenly think of something and could not help interrupting. "Doesn’t that mean even an ordinary person who can’t even hold a sword can become a Great Swordsman, as long as he has enough money?"

Shen Mo was somewhat surprised.

He had not expected Zoro, who looked like an idiot, to have flashes of insight now and then.

"That’s not wrong." Shen Mo did not deny it, merely smiling mysteriously. "Jars were originally Destiny Chests that grant wishes. As long as one’s wish is strong enough to pass the assessment and one can pay the price, one can gain greater opportunities to fulfill that wish—though only greater opportunities."

Although Shen Mo’s purpose was to make money.

He also had to consider the damage that money above all else could do to game balance.

This might not have been so obvious in the Naruto world.

But in the Pirate world, the problem was very clear.

Because the gap between rich and poor here was immense.

Not to mention the extravagantly wealthy Celestial Dragons, Guild Tesoro alone was a major problem. He possessed twenty percent of the Beli in this world.

It could be said—

If no intervention was made, the game in this world would be over from the moment Guild Tesoro began Opening Chests.

Hawk Eyes vaguely caught the implication behind Shen Mo’s words, but he did not press the matter.

He looked at the droplet before him and reached out his hand.

The instant his fingertip touched it, the droplet flowed into his body. In an instant, it seemed to course through every limb and bone. Then, Hawk Eyes clearly felt that the world had changed.

He could sense the moisture in the air and hear the sound of the waves. A sharp yet broad Sword Aura flowed through his body. It was extremely weak, yet seemed to contain boundless potential.

"So this is what a Sword Body feels like. This is true Swordsmanship…" Hawk Eyes murmured.

"If ordinary people do not have a Sword Body, they may need an entire lifetime before they have any hope of seizing that fleeting opportunity and comprehending Sword Intent. A Sword Body can shorten that process." Shen Mo’s unhurried voice drifted over.

Then he paused before continuing:

"However, this is only the most basic Sword Body. If you wish to keep strengthening it, you must open jars from the Limited Series. Some higher-level Sword Intents cannot be comprehended no matter what without the necessary aptitude—this is the cruel nature of Swordsmanship."

"Damn it!" Zoro clenched his fists once more.

He naturally understood.

Even if the fellow disciples from the same dojo worked hard, they simply could not catch up to him.

And Kuina, who had worked even harder than he did, had still been gradually caught by him.

Now, he suddenly understood Kuina’s feelings somewhat.

It was the pain of having no hope, no matter how desperately one struggled.

Fortunately—

There was still hope before him. He only needed to open more jars. Even if it killed him, he would catch up!

Shen Mo read Zoro’s thoughts and smiled faintly to himself.

Working hard to make money was still working hard.

"I’ll use all my remaining money to buy jars from the Limited Series," Hawk Eyes said.

"No problem." Shen Mo waved his hand.

More than twenty Water Swordsmanship jars appeared.

Without a word, Hawk Eyes continued opening jars.

Shen Mo read his heart.

Hawk Eyes had also firmly set his goal on earning money to open jars. For Sword Masters like him and Zoro, even without hope, they would keep striving forward. And when hope was visible, they would move toward it with unwavering determination.

People with dreams and goals were Shen Mo’s naturally high-quality customers.

At that moment—

Nami floated in from outside the ship with a bundle on her back, disappointment on her face.

"They were a bunch of paupers. This was all they could scrape together." She tossed down the bundle in her hand. "The three of us can split it."

"Five people," Luffy raised his hand to correct Nami. "The cook and Usopp too."

"Huh? Didn’t those two fail the assessment?" Nami pointed outside. "Usopp didn’t even pass the first stage."

Just as Nami had said.

Sanji still wore a lecherous expression, showing no sign of breaking free from the Illusionary Realm.

Meanwhile, Usopp was still outside the Heart-Questioning Trial, advancing with great difficulty, bit by bit. He was painfully slow and weeping profusely, looking as though he might turn and flee at any moment.

"They’ll definitely board this ship." Luffy flashed a huge smile. "Definitely!"

"If it’s five people, there isn’t even enough for everyone to become members… Forget it, I won’t take any. I’m already a member." As Nami said this, her eyes brimmed with tears, as though her heart was breaking.

I’ll post the first two chapters together, otherwise you’ll have to wait until two in the morning.