Chapter 32: Difficult Training

Chapter 32: Difficult Training



Cherry approached the tree she was instructed to cut down with the stalk of grass.

'Am I supposed to figure this out all on my own? Or are Brogy and Dorry just terrible teachers?' Cherry sighed.

In either case, she would give it a good go at least.

'Grandma said Haki is the will manifested into the world. How do they do that though?' Cherry pondered. 'Well, I'll just start swinging and see where that takes me.'

Cherry did just that, swinging the stalk of grass endlessly at the trunk of the tree. Naturally this did no damage to the tree whatsoever.

10 swings...

100 swings...

1,000 swings...

At first, Cherry tried out a number of things. Such as concentrating on the stalk of grass, on the tree, on the idea of cutting. She tried imagining the grass was a sword and the tree was only soft, vulnerable flesh.

Nothing seemed to click, though. Eventually, she sank into a trance-like state and cultivated to pass the time, all the while swinging away at the tree mindlessly.

Brogy and Dorry finished their duel with yet another tie. After recovering from the exertion, they walked over to observe Cherry.

"Her concentration is good." Brogy whispered.

"Yes, but that's not enough." Dorry whispered back.

Dorry leaned down, placing his head next to Cherry. "Does your weapon cut when you have not willed it to do so? No, it is only an object. Your weapon is only a tool to make the cutting easier. It is your spirit, your soul, your will that cuts into the world."

Cherry's arm ceased to swing the stalk of grass and her eyes opened.

'That's stupid and makes no sense at all.' Cherry smiled. 'Just like the rest of this world of madness and absurdity.'

Cherry cast aside all doubt. Her word became truth, her will became reality.

"Cut." Cherry uttered. It was a simple word, but it was filled with conviction. As if there was no other outcome that could occur.

The stalk of grass swung towards the tree and just before it touched the bark, the faintest flash of black light raced along its length. The stalk of grass dug a few inches into the tree before it ripped itself apart.

Cherry looked at the tree with dropped jaws.

"I did that?" Cherry asked, pointing at the deep gash in the wood.

"Gegyagyagyagya!" "Gababababa!"

"Not bad, Cherry! Are you sure this is your first time learning Haki?" Brogy asked.

easy task.

In the meantime, she had also hit a roadblock with her Haki, which meant she needed to try something new.

She approached the giants after one of their duels. "Guys, I need to do the life threatening method. My training isn't working out lately-"

*BAM*

"Gabababa! Not like that, Cherry! You have to become an immovable mountain, an unbreakable shield!" Brogy laughed after kicking her halfway across the clearing.

Brogy continued to bash Cherry around the clearing, increasing the strength of his blows whenever she started to get even slightly comfortable.

Although it was a very brutish method, it was also very effective. Cherry started to improve once more, albeit slowly.

Cherry continued in this daily routine of getting thrashed in the day and cultivating in the night for another few months.

By this point her Armament Haki had reached a decent level in both offense and defense and her cultivation had finally reached the point that she could use the devil fruit to perfect the realm.

Cherry returned to her ship, the Cabernet, and sat cross legged on the deck. She brought out her sword and the devil fruit, and pondered about the choice between the two blood bound

artifacts.

Her sword had been with her for far longer. That was a reason in favor of using it first. Though, she could also say that's precisely why she should not use a random devil fruit with unknown effects on it and choose more wisely.

While lost in her thoughts, the rudimentary spirit she had sensed from the Cabernet before, once more awoke from its deep slumber. It could not communicate properly, but Cherry could feel that it was asking for her to choose it.

"Well, if that's what you want." Cherry had been stuck on the fence and this request tilted it in

favor of the ship.

She wasn't sure what this spirit was or how it formed, but she was interested to see how it would develop in the future, especially with a devil fruit.

Cherry put the sword away and place the devil fruit onto the deck. She focused her own devil fruit to fuse the new one and the Cabernet together and found the process proceeded much more smoothly than she could have hoped.

A change came over the ship and Cherry dragged the excess energy into herself to complete

the third realm.

Her mind was focused entirely inwards, taking no notice of the happenings in the outside

world.

So when she finally opened her eyes with a sigh, having perfected her Heart Core, she was shocked to see that there was no ship in sight. Fortunately, she had beached it beforehand or she would have fallen into the water.

Instead of a ship, there was a woman with silver white hair, scarlet eyes resembling Cherry's own, reddish-brown skin with patterns like the grain of wood, great black feathered wings, and crimson flames dancing along her shoulders and upper back.

Cherry gawked at her. "Cabernet?"