OSSP 12

Chapter 12

Rosinante was twelve years old, making him the same age as Yoriichi.

His full name was Donquixote Rosinante. That’s right—he was the younger brother of Donquixote Doflamingo.

The Donquixote family had originally lived in the Holy Land of Mariejois as Celestial Dragons. However, his father had given up his status as a Celestial Dragon and moved with his family to an island nation somewhere in the Grand Line.

But after the local civilians learned that the family had once been Celestial Dragons, they began taking revenge on them.

The Donquixote family, having lost their status, was essentially “put on trial” by the civilians. And just as the family was about to meet a terrible fate, the young Doflamingo awakened his Conqueror’s Haki.

That “devil born from the heavens” believed that all the suffering they had endured was his father’s fault. He subsequently took his father’s severed head and went to Mariejois, hoping to have his status as a Celestial Dragon restored.

However, he was rejected.

Rosinante, who had survived the incident, was rescued by Sengoku and was later adopted by him.

The first half of Rosinante’s life could be described as a mixture of fortune and misfortune. His idealistic father had given Rosinante a kindness that the vast majority of Celestial Dragons never possessed.

Although Rosinante had lost some of his innocence after everything he had experienced, that kindness still remained.

Yoriichi could feel it.

…

Ever since meeting Rosinante, Yoriichi’s life had become somewhat more interesting.

Like Yoriichi, Rosinante was still too young to officially enter the Marine school, and he had not formally become a Marine either.

Moreover, Sengoku was extremely protective of Rosinante. In fact, only a few of Sengoku’s close friends knew about Rosinante’s true identity.

Yoriichi’s daily life consisted of staying at home and reading books with Rosinante. Sometimes, the two of them would casually stroll around the “family housing area.”

After spending more and more time together, the two “same-aged kids” gradually became good friends.

In the evenings, after Zephyr returned home, he would tell Yoriichi about interesting things that had happened at the Marine school.

As for Yoriichi’s “studies,” Zephyr didn’t care about them at all.

These days were peaceful and tranquil.

They made Yoriichi feel as though he had returned to his student days from long ago.

However, this peaceful lifestyle came to an end half a month later, when the dojo was finally completed.

The dojo that Zephyr had specifically built for Yoriichi was successfully finished, and Yoriichi’s life underwent a tremendous change.

“Hey! Yoriichi! Yoriichi!”

“I’m coming!”

“Come on, bring it on! Today, I’m going to show you just how strong I am!”

Early one morning, Rosinante came rushing into Zephyr’s home with a bamboo sword in his hand.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he immediately began shouting.

He had learned yesterday that the dojo was finished, and he had been clamoring to properly teach Yoriichi some “swordsmanship.”

Although he had not officially joined the Marines, Sengoku often gave him private guidance and training.

Rosinante had some foundation in swordsmanship.

Although that foundation was rather poor.

“Hm?”

“Oh! The little brat from Sengoku’s house!”

“Hahahaha! You’re here!”

At that moment, Zephyr pushed open the door of another bedroom and walked out.

The Marine school happened to have a rare day off today, so Zephyr did not have to go to work.

And as luck would have it, the dojo at home had officially been completed yesterday.

He had been planning to take advantage of today’s free time to properly train Yoriichi.

Seeing Rosinante rushing into his house, Zephyr did not scold him. Instead, he laughed heartily.

When it came to young Marines, Zephyr was always very tolerant and fond of them whenever they weren’t training.

Not to mention that Rosinante was Sengoku’s adopted son and also got along quite well with Yoriichi.

In a sense, he was Yoriichi’s first same-aged friend in the Marines.

“Uh…”

“Admiral Zephyr!”

Rosinante, who had been shouting loudly just moments ago, immediately straightened up when he saw Zephyr and respectfully greeted him.

At the same time, Yoriichi walked out of the bedroom wearing loose training clothes.

When he saw Rosinante, a smile appeared on his face.

“Kid, you’re here.”

“Come on, let’s go to the dojo!”

Yoriichi was already quite familiar with Rosinante.

The young Rosinante was thin and lanky, with hardly any flesh on his body, so Yoriichi affectionately called him “Kid.”

Of course, there was another important reason.

Rosinante’s identity was supposed to remain secret.

When the craftsmen from Marine Headquarters had been constructing the dojo, Yoriichi had never directly called Rosinante by his name.

“You bastard!”

“Don’t call me ‘Kid’! I have a name!”

Rosinante shouted angrily when he heard Yoriichi’s nickname for him.

The craftsmen had already left, and everyone here was one of their own, so there was no longer any need to be so cautious.

“Okay, Kid.”

Yoriichi answered cheerfully.

But he still called him “Kid,” leaving Rosinante speechless.

“Come, come, come! I’ll show you what I’m capable of! Let’s see if you’ll still call me ‘Kid’ afterward!”

As he spoke, Rosinante raised the bamboo sword in his hand.

Under Sengoku’s influence, Rosinante’s dream was to become an outstanding Marine.

Ever since arriving at Marine Headquarters, Rosinante had been working hard toward that goal.

If he wanted to become a Marine, combat ability was indispensable.

So when he learned that Yoriichi also intended to become a Marine, and that Zephyr had even built a dojo specifically for Yoriichi’s training, Rosinante immediately suggested that the two of them train together and become stronger together.

“Sure.”

Seeing Rosinante’s excited expression, Yoriichi smiled.

He then entered the dojo with Rosinante.

The dojo was quite spacious, covering nearly a hundred square meters.

There was almost no furniture or decoration inside. Apart from several bamboo swords leaning against the wall, there was practically nothing else.

It was extremely simple.

But for Yoriichi, it was more than enough.

Yoriichi stepped barefoot into the dojo and casually picked up a bamboo sword from beside the wall.

He swung it a couple of times.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

The bamboo sword sliced through the air, producing sharp sounds.

“Feels pretty good.”

“Come on, Kid.”

Yoriichi smiled and called out to Rosinante.

Rosinante also carried his bamboo sword into the dojo and stopped in front of Yoriichi.

Zephyr followed the two children into the dojo.

Seeing that the two brats were about to spar, he sat down in an empty area nearby with a grin.

“I’ll be your referee!”

“Give it your all!”

Although Zephyr knew perfectly well that Rosinante had absolutely no chance against Yoriichi, he still enjoyed watching youngsters spar with one another.

Young people supporting each other and growing together—that was something he himself had experienced in the past.

A difference in strength didn’t matter.

Even a huge difference didn’t matter.

They were friends, after all.

Friends were supposed to help each other.

“Begin!”

Zephyr shouted loudly, genuinely taking his role as referee seriously.

The instant his voice fell, Rosinante immediately launched an attack.

He took a quick step forward, raised his sword, and swung it downward toward Yoriichi’s head.

“Whoosh!”

The attack came down with considerable force.

“Your footwork is a little shaky.”

“And your intentions are way too obvious.”

“You’re no good, Kid.”

The moment Rosinante made his move, Yoriichi immediately realized that his opponent was a complete novice.

He hadn’t even tested his opponent’s strength before attacking.

And while attacking, he had left his center completely exposed.

His swordsmanship was honestly terrible.

Yoriichi simply raised his bamboo sword and deflected the incoming strike with ease.

Then, using the momentum of the movement, he thrust forward.

The tip of his bamboo sword immediately touched Rosinante’s chest.

Yoriichi hadn’t used much strength.

He had relied purely on technique.

Rosinante’s breathing stopped for a moment when the bamboo sword touched his chest.

He stumbled backward three steps before finally regaining his balance.

“You’re dead.”

Yoriichi smiled cheerfully.

Sparring with Rosinante was practically like playing with a child.

“Again!”

Rosinante rubbed his chest, his eyes suddenly shining with excitement.

He hadn’t expected it!

His friend actually had some skills!

Now this was interesting!

However, ten minutes later, Rosinante began to find it boring.

He had originally thought Yoriichi only knew a little bit of swordsmanship.

Who could have imagined that what Yoriichi knew wasn’t just “a little bit.”

It was an absolutely ridiculous amount.

Every single one of Rosinante’s attacks was effortlessly neutralized by Yoriichi with a single move.

And every time, Yoriichi would immediately counterattack.

Without exception, Rosinante would be hit after only a single exchange.

Fortunately, Yoriichi always held back.

Although Rosinante was repeatedly struck, he wasn’t actually injured.

But being defeated in a single move every single time…

How was he supposed to keep playing?

It was like playing a shooting game.

You load your weapon, get ready to fight—

and then get instantly shot dead.

What was the fun in a game like that?

Nearby, Zephyr watched Rosinante get defeated again and again.

The smile on his face never disappeared.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

“I’m done! I can’t beat you!”

“Yoriichi, you knew swordsmanship before this, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“If I had known, I never would have sparred with you!”

“It’s completely one-sided! This is so boring!”

Several minutes later, Rosinante finally threw his bamboo sword aside.

Covered in sweat, he collapsed onto the tatami mat and completely gave up.

“You can’t be serious.”

“You’re already done after just this much?”

“Get up. Keep going.”

“I haven’t even properly warmed up yet.”

Yoriichi looked helplessly at Rosinante, who was lying on the ground and refusing to move.

He seemed to have figured out why this guy, despite being raised by Sengoku from such a young age, would eventually grow up to become such a weakling.

He didn’t know Haki.

He didn’t know the Six Powers.

No wonder that despite being Sengoku’s adopted son, he would ultimately only become a Lieutenant Commander.

If Yoriichi were to be honest, this guy wasn’t even strong enough to deserve the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Even Miss Tashigi, the sergeant from Loguetown, was stronger than him!

“No.”

“I can’t spoil this kid.”

“He needs to train.”

“At my current stage, I can’t even come into contact with Haki yet, and my physical abilities also need to develop gradually.”

“So when I train, I might as well drag this kid along with me!”

“That way, he won’t get beaten half to death by Vergo in the future and embarrass Sengoku’s adopted son.”

“If people find out that this guy trained together with me, it’ll even tarnish my reputation…”

“Although I don’t have a reputation yet…”

………………