Chapter 20: A swordmaster

"Haaa." the young Angella is seen on the beach, nearby was the black jackson, swinging her beloved Saber back and forth, swearing to bring out its full potential. 

'... Even a thinly branch stick will serve as a lethal weapon in the hands of a skilled blade master' she kept saying this in her mind, her master Matthew was a mysterious man, he possessed immense knowledge and great strength to back it up, she remembered one day when they sailed on the black jackson, she wore a simple silky white dress that day, for she wanted answers for her questions and doubts. 

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"... Teacher, what makes a good swordsman?" the albino girl asked, knowing full well how her master will answer her vaguely, '... you have to find the end of the ropes yourself, if I'm forced to show you myself then I failed my duty' he often said, that's how things usually are around the handsome blindfolded brunet. 

"... Strength, pride, wisdom. Choose one and guess the answer" the latter talked, his eyes hidden behind the blindfold, his posture was weird to say the least. The unlucky seagulls will not get any rest for this day it seemed. 

"... Let's say strength, do I need an overwhelming might to handle the hardened steel and make it yield?" his disciple said after pondering for a while. 

" hmm, strength. A delectable thing to pick, strength is attractive for those foolish enough to be masters of their own will, they face everything with a stern face never submitting to their fates, always wearing unsatisfied expressions, as with strength comes desire… the need to get their hands on wealth, on any delicate thing their eyes stumble upon… the pirates are a good example of that, they are strong, relentless and rebellious… yet not many of them claim to be sword masters. " spoke the young man with a subtle tone. 

"... What about pride, everyone has ambition, there ought to be pride in their hidden selves" this time Angella spoke with more confidence in her voice. 

"hmm, pride is it? Rudger Blackbull the 'biter' was a prideful old man, he had deep bottomless ambitions, he was ready to swallow the whole world, going as far as to enslave the innocent to satisfy his need for 'conquest'. He came a long way from his first day as a 'king of the sea'... Only for those half-witted aspirations to fail him, the 'biter' faced a pathetic end, at the hands of a young girl nonetheless… pride, it is a powerful tool if honed properly, unfortunately it's not the real solution to the ordeal we are facing"

"... That leaves wisdom, master, is it the answer I'm looking for?" her eyes shined with excitement, resembling a fisherman who caught his first trout.

" Wise men are not easily found in this world we live in, young Angella. A crafty mind certainly did not help all of them in their journeys to master the sword. the insights you get, the sharp wits you were born with, can only aid you once or twice… Yet for the blessed ones who held the blade for the first time, they felt as if a part of their vessel that was missing, was finally fuelled. in all their lives, nothing but enlightenments in the way of the blade transpired in their minds. To say that was due to wisdom is an understatement. You gave a good answer, unfortunately not the full one. "

"... I apologize, it seems I am lacking…"

" Yes, and it seems you are gonna stay 'lacking' for a long time until you find one solution…" he took off the blindfold for one second and met her gaze with his signature cold one. Yet she felt no fear or stress ongrowing, a long time passed and she was used to his weird antics. 

" What I am searching for, ignorant Angella, is 'luck'. Not many people are born with talent, and not many can afford to dedicate their whole lives to the sword. 'luck' is the key to everything you do in life, one will practice the same move a hundred times every day in hopes of mastering it, while another will simply use it as if his body was meant to 'be one with the sword'. The difference between the two is talent, which again is the result of pure luck."

" So, luck is everything you need to swing a sword" the confused voice of his disciple fell on Matthew's ears. 

"... Of course not, imagine the swords you will hold in your life will be the seeds that shall grow big one day, the talent you were born with is the soil needed for the 'seeds' to cultivate, your hardwork is the rich water that shall aid the process and make it into a gorgeous plant, all the three previous traits. strength, wisdom and pride. will cast a dazzling sunlight, giving the beautiful grown plant the nutrients and its green color…"

"... I see, was I born with talent? No plant can grow without soil after all." the enlightened girl questioned herself. 

"... That is for you to find out, you should catch your own fish, now leave me alone will you" Matthew put his blindfold back on and presumed his haki training, what he failed to mention however is that some 'plants' can actually grow without 'soil', except they will need multiple 'necessities' that the 'soil' provides… 

' she better figure it out herself, now where was I? Ah, catching my sixth seagull…' the madman kept sending crescent kazes here and there causing massive shock waves. 

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"... Talent and luck was it?" Angella wondered, while she understood what her master hinted at her perfectly, she couldn't really implement the lesson. 

"... Make your blade yield, make it yield Angella, hear its voice…" the girl in question closed her eyes and focused on her hands, fully concentrated. She just got an idea that should hypothetically work. 

"... Saber, obey me, obey my command…" a wave of Conqueror's haki was released from her body, engulfing the steel in its domineering presence. 

"... Say saber, don't you want to cut any tough thing you find? Isn't that your purpose? Blades are made for war and slaughter, cutting flesh and metal is your sole goal…" Angella moved to the nearest block of strong metal she could find, this island was unsurprisingly unique in its own way. 

The sword in her hand quivered, her aura was all concentrated on this one piece of metal she held. She opened her eyes once again. ' so this is what you mean master. you once said you envied me, it was only after using this power I was blessed with could I understand, this is luck and talent at its full display', no genius liked to be undermined for his hard work, people often referred to them as the sword prodigies and most of them hate it. Angella was a real anomaly in the herd. 

"... Saber, you will be called 'morning' once you come under me. I hate the coward and the gutless, I hope you know that" her presence oozed absolute confidence in herself, she stanced herself, assuming a hanging one. It was not a stance suitable for a nimble saber user like herself but she didn't care. The world had its own fair share of weird sword users. 

She raised 'morning' up to her face, the full length of the saber extends rearward, over the back of her left side, the weight of the steel is thus allowed to 'hang' in this position, all the while still controlled by the left hand for aim and right hand for power, the leg positioning is similar to the one her master uses, with the right one brought forward entirely which adds to the strength behind the cleave she was about to deliver. 

"... Come on, don't be shy, 'morning' will cleave its way through the mighty tides, no other sword shall face it…" after a long time of stancing, her back ached in pain but she paid it no further attention, the faintest of the voices started appearing in her exhausted mind.

"*"... Wield my sheathe, swing me with all your might…

… The night is dark and full of terrors and I, morning, shall provide the light that guides… 

… my rusty steel will split everything under your hands, from the toughest bone to the densest metal… 

… A resolute mind is all you need, worry not, for I will not fail you…

… My hunger will not be satisfied, but that metal block you face is a fine thing, it wouldn't stand a chance, so let me in..."*"

With that being said, a gentle smile made its way on Angella's elegant visage. 

' Morning, we have come a long way together, show me what you are made of' 

She cleaved sideways, using her usual amount of strength, which normally wouldn't have sliced through the tough block she's facing. However this time a massive cut was seen, the dense block was split in half. 

" I will become a fine swordswoman, wielding Morning in my hand and a resolute mind in the other…" her haki finally scattered as she laid down from tiredness. In that whole day, the same gentle smile never left the albino beauty. 

Which drove the half giant and her captain with a new black eye patch on his left eye hiding the red crow, to question themselves. And together they departed from the island of the mystical frogs, while eying the massive mountain peaks in the distance. 

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