28 Class is in session

Using her telekinetic powers, she split a tree trunk to fashion two wooden blades. One of the swords was shaped and sized remarkably like Yoru, the weapon of Hawkeye. The other was a traditional Eastern straight sword—double-edged with a pointed tip, a design capable of inflicting harm from any angle.

Because Shariya had spent so much time in the past indulging her creativity to conceptualize and craft a wide variety of objects—despite the frequent failures of the "creativity" granted by her Devil Fruit—her manual dexterity had, unbeknownst to her, been honed and refined to a great degree. Having crossed blades with Hawkeye, she was able to replicate the likeness of the famous blade Yoru almost perfectly from memory.

"Master Mihawk, I’m just making some teaching aids," Shariya chirped with a playful, winsome smile. She then lightly tossed the wooden sword, which bore a striking resemblance to Yoru, toward Hawkeye. "Earlier, you asked if my swordsmanship was a fusion of two different styles. I feel like it is, but then again, maybe it isn't."

Shariya briefly recounted the process of her swordsmanship training to Hawkeye, throwing in a bit of a sob story for good measure. She told him that her offensive techniques were self-taught through practice, while her defensive Tai Chi swordsmanship had been passed down from her homeland. However, since her home had been destroyed, she no longer had anyone to guide her. "Master Mihawk, if you can fix the flaws in my swordsmanship, I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life!"

In truth, her swordsmanship was born from using her clones to spar with children, wielding blades as weapons and focusing primarily on lethality and aggression. Later, recalling the Tai Chi sword classes she had taken in college, she decided that since both were forms of swordsmanship, she might as well integrate them. However, the fusion had been poor, and the transitions felt clumsy and forced. During their recent skirmish, Shariya felt as though she had caught a glimpse of her flaws, yet the realization remained just out of reach.

Mihawk replied, "...That won't be necessary."

Hawkeye brushed aside the woman’s nonsense, extracting only the essential information. Since he had already agreed to instruct his opponent, he would not hold back. Setting aside her personality, he recognized that this woman was a talented swordswoman with a promising future. Opponents with such formidable skill were rare indeed on the high seas. Hawkeye hoped that her swordsmanship would improve so that they might spar again in the future.

"Your Observation Haki is far too weak. Your inability to predict an opponent’s strikes makes it easy to lose the initiative in a clash," he noted. "Obsessing purely over offense provides little benefit to the refinement of your art. You must learn how to defend correctly."

"The Tai Chi swordsmanship from your homeland is exquisite, but you lack practice and are not yet familiar enough with it," Hawkeye added, his voice cooling slightly. Although he had only used basic Armament Haki during their duel, a master swordsman of his caliber could easily discern the underlying issues in Shariya's technique.

Even when not actively employing Observation Haki, those who have mastered it possess naturally formidable perception. To a true swordsman, perception as keen as a hawk's and impeccable judgment are as natural and indispensable as breathing. By Hawkeye's standards, Shariya’s Observation Haki and sensory awareness were abysmal. Furthermore, her fighting style was overly aggressive, fixated solely on swift and fierce attacks; the moment she was forced onto the defensive, she became helpless.

Moreover, while Hawkeye believed that training required a balance between exertion and rest—and that blind, mindless practice had little utility for technical improvement—he knew that diligent practice was never truly useless. It was clear that Shariya was gifted, but her lack of proficiency with her own heritage's style was undoubtedly due to a lack of practice. Thinking of the woman’s often flippant and lazy demeanor, Hawkeye couldn't help but frown slightly, his tone turning stern. "If you wish to improve your swordsmanship, you must stop being so slothful in the future."