Chapter Thirty-Eight: Major News

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Roland was awakened from his dreams by little Donna.

Bleary-eyed, Roland looked at Donna, who was already dressed in her training clothes, gazing at him eagerly, and he was utterly bewildered.

What time was it?
Had the sun even risen?
Why was little Donna here?

As he gradually woke up, a sense of resignation washed over him. If she wanted to learn the sword, so be it—but why so early? He had never been in the habit of sleeping in, but this was still before his usual waking time.

“Brother, brother, it’s time to teach me swordsmanship,” Donna said, pouting as soon as she saw Roland open his eyes.

“All right, all right, you go wait for me on the deck. I’ll come find you once I’m dressed,” Roland replied, ruffling Donna’s hair with a helpless smile.

He’d been woken up, so what else could he do but get up? Children were truly bundles of energy.

After brushing his teeth, washing his face, and changing clothes, Roland made his way to the deck. In the dim light before sunrise, Donna stood there earnestly, holding the dull-edged iron sword custom-made the day before.

Beside her was Coby, who kept stealing glances at Zoro. For some reason, ever since Zoro had boarded the ship, Coby reacted to him as a mouse would to a cat. Perhaps it was simply Coby’s nature; Roland didn’t give it too much thought.

“Mr. Roland,” Coby greeted, his whole body trembling as he nervously bowed.

“Why are you up so early?” Roland asked. On the vast deck, the only people awake were Donna, who’d woken him, and Coby.

“Mr. Roland, pl-please let me train with you!” Coby pleaded, bowing deeply, stuttering with anxiety.

“With me? But swordsmanship might not suit you,” Roland replied. He had planned to include Coby in his training, but hadn’t yet decided what to teach him.

From his hazy recollection of the original story, Coby hadn’t become a swordsman but had mastered the Six Powers and become a physical combat specialist. As for martial arts, Roland hadn’t learned much from Golden Lion—he’d built up strength, stamina, and speed, but his technique was minimal. Even if Coby were to learn the Six Powers, that would come after joining the Navy.

“How about this: I’ll start you on some fundamentals. You can follow along with the swordsmanship lessons, but whether you truly learn it will depend on yourself.”

“In truth, there’s more than one way to become stronger. You could also specialize in martial arts, just like the current Navy hero, Garp, who’s a master of physical combat.” Seeing Coby’s sudden disappointment, Roland explained further.

“Really? Is that possible?” Coby’s eyes lit up as he gazed at Roland, excited. At first, he’d thought Roland was turning him down, but now he realized Roland was seriously considering his future.

“All right. Watch from the side for now. Once I’ve set Donna on her training, I’ll help you with your plan,” Roland replied, glancing at Donna, whose cheeks were puffed with anticipation, and smiled wryly.

Coby nodded, purposefully finding a spot far from Zoro before sitting down and focusing intently on Donna’s training.

“Donna, once training starts, I won’t treat you as gently as usual. Even if you’re exhausted, I won’t go easy on you. Do you understand?” Roland felt certain things needed to be made clear.

Donna was obedient and sensible, but unlike himself, Roland wasn’t sure if she could endure the rigors of training. He had managed to persist thanks to his extreme self-discipline and the motivation provided by the system.

As for Coby and Zoro, Roland had no worries. Zoro had his own lofty ambitions, and Coby longed to become a Marine—they both had ample motivation.

“Don’t worry, brother, I’ll stick with it,” Donna said, her gaze unwavering. Her desire to learn the sword was no passing fancy; she truly intended to see it through.

Back on Rossia Island, Donna’s goal in learning swordsmanship had been self-protection. But after what happened yesterday in Shells Town with Bellamy, her purpose had changed. Now, she didn’t just want to protect herself—she wanted to protect Roland, too.

Though Roland was stronger than her, she felt that a day might come when he would need her protection.

“Very well. Now, you…” Seeing her determination, Roland relaxed and began teaching her as Golden Lion had once taught him.

To Roland’s mind, Donna was better suited to an agile style of swordsmanship—like Brook’s—focusing on sheer speed. This wasn’t because he looked down on women; rather, without the power of a Devil Fruit, women tended to have less physical strength than men at the same level, but generally surpassed them in speed.

Once Donna’s sword swings were nearing perfection, Roland set her a new goal and walked over to Coby.

Compared to Donna, Coby’s training plan was much simpler: for now, his goal was to build up his physical condition, laying the foundation for learning the Six Powers later on. If he mastered both Armament and Observation Haki and became proficient in the Six Powers, Coby’s future might not make him an admiral, but he’d certainly be a candidate.

Recalling the basic physical training regimen the system had once set for him, Roland made a few adjustments and assigned it to Coby.

Watching the two of them sweat earnestly in the morning light, Roland felt a surge of satisfaction. Drawing a short sword from his system space, he began his own daily training.

As time passed, the sun rose above the horizon, its rays spilling over the deck. Zoro slowly opened his eyes. In his half-wakeful state, he saw the silhouette of a little girl practicing sword swings.

“Kuina—!” Zoro suddenly shouted, jolting fully awake. But when he recognized the girl in front of him, he could only smile bitterly.

How could it be Kuina? She’d been dead for eleven years. What was he imagining?

“Morning, Zoro.”

“Morning, Roland.”

Seeing the others already training, especially Roland, Zoro was a little dazed. It was one thing for Coby and Donna to be training—but Roland too? No wonder, even though Roland was only a year older, he was so much stronger.

“Can I train with you?” Zoro asked, approaching Roland and drawing his Wado Ichimonji.

“Of course,” Roland replied without hesitation.

Time went on. The pirates also began to wake, starting a new day.

“Why would a News Coo come by today?” wondered one of the pirates, curious as he watched the newsbird land on the deck. Still, he took out a hundred Berries and bought a newspaper.

Even pirates like them needed to keep up with current events. But when he saw the front page, the pirate’s face instantly changed.

“The Gosa Town Massacre!”

The headline was only five words, but next to it was a photo of a field of corpses that left the pirate pale with fear.

In the past, seeing such news wouldn’t have fazed him—it was obviously the work of other pirates, nothing more than gossip for them. But things were different now. The current master of their ship, Roland, was set on becoming a Marine. If he saw this report and his hatred for pirates was stirred, then as notorious captives, their fate could be dire.

But there was no hiding the newsbird’s arrival.

“B-big, big news—”