Pirates: Seeing My Proficiency, I Became a Legend

"Hmm~~"

Dongze had regained his domineering aura for some time now. The Revolutionary Army soldiers, initially stunned, were gradually recovering their composure.

Dragon turned to Ivankov, Bartholomew Kuma, and Koshiro, who were standing beside him, and said, "Today's trip has been fruitful, but it's time for us to go."

Koshiro sighed lightly, his gaze lingering on Dongze and Kuina. "A treasure, indeed."

Ivankov gave them a playful wink before turning to leave. "Boys and girls in love, keep our little secret, alright? It'll save you from unnecessary trouble~"

Dongze scratched his head, confused. "Who are you? Have we met before?"

His exaggerated response left Ivankov momentarily speechless, only for Dragon to burst into hearty laughter.

"Little Ivan, it's time to move!"

With the Revolutionary Army's departure, the turmoil in the dojo finally settled. In the East Blue, the existence of Haki was a rare thing, let alone someone unleashing its full force like Dongze just had.

Meanwhile, aboard the massive ship carrying the Revolutionary Army, Dragon stood at the bow, staring at the tranquil, windless sea ahead. Despite its calmness, his heart was restless.

"This era is about to spiral out of control…"

Time passed, and Dongze returned to his usual routine, though something had changed. A new passion had ignited within him—blacksmithing.

True to their word, Dragon's people delivered the requested ores via a merchant ship less than a week later.

"How unexpectedly generous of them," Dongze mused.

Utilizing the sword-making techniques left behind by Kozaburo, he successfully unlocked the skill of sword forging.

To his surprise, the proficiency level was higher than he expected:

Swordsmithing 1500/10000

Originally, he had assumed sword forging to be a basic-level skill, much like simple blade maintenance, which maxed out at 1000 proficiency points. However, upon activation, he discovered that sword forging belonged to an advanced category.

The first-tier skills were straightforward and could be mastered quickly with practice. However, second-tier skills—such as swordsmanship—required real combat experience to progress. Even then, once a swordsman reached a certain threshold, their growth would slow unless they faced strong opponents who pushed them beyond their limits.

As for third-tier and beyond, Dongze had yet to unlock them and could only speculate on how to accelerate their mastery.

At first, he thought forging swords would be easy. However, when he truly delved into it, he realized it was no mere beginner's craft. Determined to level up as quickly as possible, he transformed into a relentless blacksmithing maniac, tirelessly forging blade after blade.

"Well… if I keep this up, I might just cry," he muttered to himself.

To accommodate Dongze's newfound obsession, Koshiro opened a weapon shop next to the dojo, specializing in high-quality blades.

Finally, after countless days of ceaseless hammering, Dongze put down his latest creation—the finest long sword he had forged so far. If not for the material limitations, its quality could have reached the rank of a Grade-1 Good Blade.

Checking his proficiency panel, he exhaled in relief:

Swordsmithing 10000/10000

After nearly half a month of relentless work, he had finally maxed out his sword forging skill. Now, he could start crafting a weapon of his own.

"Hey, Dongze! What's today's masterpiece like? Better than yesterday's?"

Kuina entered the workshop, dressed lightly to combat the summer heat. Given the intense temperatures, Dongze himself wore nothing but a pair of shorts, his upper body bare.

"Over there."

He pointed to the long sword leaning against the wall.

The blades he had forged thus far contained no rare materials, only purified iron, carefully tempered and shaped into weapons. As a result, he could produce them relatively quickly. With his monstrous stamina, a simple long sword took mere hours to complete.

However, once the craftsmanship surpassed the 50-refinement mark, the forging time increased exponentially. This was something he had only realized after reaching full mastery.

Creating his own weapon, however, would take far more than just a few days.

As Kuina examined the sword, Dongze left her to it, jumping onto the tallest tree in the yard. Sitting on the thick branches, he gazed out at the vast ocean, contemplating the type of weapon he wished to forge.

Countless legendary swords flashed through his mind—

The Ten Great Blades of China:

• The Sacred Sword—Xuanyuan

• The Blade of Benevolence—Zhanlu

• The Emperor's Sword—Chixiao

• The Sword of Majesty—Tai'a

• The Noble Blade—Seven-Star Longyuan

• The Sword of Devotion—Goujian, Mo Xie

• The Blade of Valor—Yuchang

• The Supreme Sword—Chun Jun

• The Refined Blade—Cheng Ying

Famed Swords of the Qin & Han Dynasties:

• The Taoist Blades—Qiuli and Xueji

• The Mohist Blade—Momei

• The Strategist Swords—Yuanhong and Shark Fang

• The Ominous Blades—Zhanhun, Mishun, Zhengang, and Black-White Xuanjian

Each was a weapon of unmatched brilliance. Unfortunately, while he had memorized their names and descriptions, he lacked the techniques to forge them. Without the necessary craftsmanship knowledge, they would remain nothing more than fantasies.

A while later, Kuina climbed up to sit beside him, enjoying the momentary peace.

"Kuina, I'm going to start crafting my own weapon next. It might take a month or even longer. Can you tell Master Koshiro I need some time off?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Got it."

He smiled. "Thanks."

After a brief silence, she spoke again.

"Dongze… you lied to me, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"You said even a girl can become the strongest!"

Dongze's lips curled into a smirk. "I wasn't lying. I'm just a special case. Besides, that moss-headed swordsman is still getting his ass kicked by you, isn't he? Even your master admitted your talent."

Kuina huffed. "Who cares about him?"

Suddenly, she lunged at him, knocking him flat against the tree branch.

"Hey, don't mess around! We're seven meters up!"

But Kuina didn't stop. She grinned triumphantly as she sat on his chest, her expression smug.

"Hmph! Even if you're stronger than me, so what? Right now, I'm the one pinning you down!"

Dongze sighed, shaking his head. "Yes, yes, Lady Shimotsuki is the mightiest."

"Say it like you mean it!"

"Liar!"

A few days passed in a blur. The rhythmic clanging from the blacksmithing workshop grew louder, resonating throughout the dojo.

Koshiro, watching Dongze work tirelessly, sighed in admiration.

"I never imagined such a genius could exist… To achieve this level of mastery in sword forging within just a few months…"

True blacksmithing required decades of dedication to achieve mastery.

But Dongze, thanks to his golden finger, had reached the pinnacle of sword forging in record time.

And this was only the beginning.