Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

The Path to Becoming Stronger: A New Adventure Ahead

The next day, Ryomen stood on the deck, absentmindedly staring into the horizon as the waves clashed with each other, creating a rhythm that usually calmed him. But today, his mind wandered.

‘Who was he?’ The thought wouldn't leave him alone, circling back to the encounter from yesterday.

‘No matter how much I try to lie to myself, that wasn’t just a dream.’ His hand trembled involuntarily, remembering the overwhelming presence of the figure.

‘Most importantly, why did he look like me?’ Frustration bubbled inside him until he slapped his cheek lightly, forcing himself out of the stupor.

“Dwelling on this won’t change anything,” He muttered, his voice low but resolute. “I just need to get stronger. Then, I’ll know everything.” With renewed determination, Ryomen pulled a worn-out manual from his pocket, flipping through it with attention.

“Now, how do I get them all to actually focus on this?” He mused, thinking of his friends quirky personalities, a scenario already playing in his mind.
…

«“Listen carefully! To train in using Haki, you have to—”» Ryomen began explaining, trying to adopt a more serious tone.

Within moments, Luffy was fast asleep, snoring loudly. Usopp and Chopper, barely containing their laughter, started to draw on his face.

Nami yawned, casting a bored glance at the horizon, clearly uninterested. Robin relaxed in a beach chair, engrossed in a book, while Sanji had already disappeared into the kitchen to prepare drinks for the ladies.

Only Zoro remained, sitting cross-legged on the deck, his eyes shut in concentration. He was the only one even attempting to pay attention, trying not to miss any details Ryomen was providing.
…

Ryomen chuckled at the absurdity of it. “I guess I can’t outright tell them about it.” He muttered under his breath.

A plan then began forming in his mind, though it was far from perfect. “I’ll start with Zoro.” He concluded.

He then went toward the helm, where Zoro was training with weights.

“How’s it going?” Ryomen asked casually.

“Better.” Zoro plainly replied. “Trying to get that feel back for cutting steel.”

“I see…” Ryomen mumbled, not fully understanding but trying to follow along. “You remember the talk we had about Haki?” He then asked with a smile.

“Hm. Of course. Still waiting for a way on how to train it.” Zoro stated, then noticed Ryomen's teasing smile, and set his weights down.

“Really?” He simply asked.

“Yep.” Ryomen responded.

“The hell are we waiting for then?” Zoro exclaimed with a smirk.
…

A few moments later, the two stood in silence on the deck, facing each other.

“This is your idea of a joke?” Zoro asked, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed.

“I showed you the manual. What else do you want?” Ryomen shrugged, trying to hold back a smirk.

Zoro sighed but quickly shifted focus. “Let’s start with Observation Haki.”

Ryomen blinked in surprise. “Really? Thought you’d go straight for Armament.”

Zoro shrugged. “I’ll train both, but when I fought Mr. 1 back in Alabasta, I felt this… sixth sense. Like I could hear voices from everything around me. It helped me cut through steel.”