Swordsman of the Grand Line

Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.

Sengoku held the latest intelligence report between his fingers, his brow furrowing deeper as he read.

[Boa Hancock, the newly appointed empress of Amazon Lily and captain of the Kuja Adventure Group.]

[Ability: Paramecia-type Love-Love Fruit. She has led the Kuja Adventure Group to victory over several pirate crews in succession. Their range of activity continues to expand, and their reputation is growing around the Calm Belt.]

A photograph was attached to the appendix. A black-haired woman stood at the bow of a ship, her cloak billowing high in the sea breeze, a stack of captured pirate flags at her feet.

"Kuja specifically targets pirates, and you still insist on branding them pirates?"

Sengoku looked up at the government envoy across from him.

The envoy answered as though it were obvious. "Kuja has always been a pirate nation. You think changing their name to some bullshit adventure group makes them any less pirates?"

Sengoku was almost angry enough to laugh.

The rest of the document was even more direct: Boa Hancock was young and had astonishing potential, while the Kuja fleet could travel freely through the Calm Belt, beyond the government's control.

"So you want to bring them under your command?"

"As one of the Shichibukai. It would acknowledge her position and make her easier to control."

"And if she refuses?"

"The Calm Belt isn't beyond the law. If Kuja won't be reasonable, the government will find a way to make them understand."

They wanted to use Kuja's strength to protect the sea routes, yet refused to show them the slightest respect.

Sengoku rubbed his throbbing forehead.

Good thing Ron wasn't here...

The Calm Belt, Amazon Lily.

"The World Government is willing to formally recognize your position as empress."

The envoy bowed and presented an invitation bearing the World Government's emblem.

"So long as you accept the title of Shichibukai, the World Government will formally recognize your position and grant Kuja the appropriate protections."

Boa Hancock looked at the invitation left on the table.

"Recognize?"

She raised her chin, the corners of her eyes tilting slightly upward. "Since when did my throne require your recognition?"

The envoy's smile froze.

"This is also a matter of your country's security."

Boa Hancock's gaze turned cold. "If I accept, can the World Government guarantee it will never again send anyone to violate Amazon Lily?"

"That... would require further discussion and coordination."

"If you can't, then get out."

The envoy's expression changed. "If Kuja refuses to cooperate, the World Government will have no choice but to reevaluate its measures for controlling the Calm Belt's sea routes."

Boa Hancock rose slowly and looked down at him, her gaze bearing undisguised pressure.

"Are you threatening me?"

The envoy stepped back instinctively.

"Show him out."

Boa Hancock spoke in an indifferent tone.

A female guard immediately stepped forward and escorted him out of the palace.

Sandersonia came forward and asked quietly, "Sister, you're really not going to consider it?"

"Of course I'll consider it."

Boa Hancock looked at the document left on the table.

She and her two sisters had escaped from the Holy Land, after all. They knew better than anyone what the World Government was like.

She didn't want to risk her life for the government, much less let others order Kuja's ships around.

But if a letter of appointment could give the women on the island a more peaceful life, she wouldn't reject it outright on impulse.

"Tell them to come back and talk when they've brought genuine sincerity and guarantees."

That night, in her chambers.

Boa Hancock opened a locked drawer alone. Inside lay an old newspaper she had kept for two years.

Its edges were frayed. The young man in the photograph wore a Justice Coat and still looked seventeen, his features cold and stern.

The flames of Mary Geoise seemed to flicker before her eyes once more.

"Once you're out, don't do evil."

Boa Hancock gently smoothed the creases in the newspaper with her fingertips and murmured softly.

"I did it."

Kuja now went to sea to protect its own people and find a way to survive, rather than treating others' suffering as spoils of war.

She looked out the window at the pitch-black sea as waves broke against the island's shore.

"Where... are you now?"

East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.

"Achoo~"

Ron sneezed.

"Ron! Fight me again!"

Zoro stood blocking the entrance to the Isshin Dojo, a wooden sword raised in his hand.

Kuina stood beside him, gripping a wooden sword, her eyes shining brightly. "We've practiced some new moves!"

Ron had just finished packing and was preparing to say goodbye. He was still wondering who had been thinking about him when he saw them and put a hand to his forehead.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm a guest here. Is it really reasonable for you two to pester me for a duel every day?"

"Do you think I've got nothing better to do all day?"

Zoro answered without a hint of shame. "Don't you just sit around drinking tea every day?"

"..."

Ron really couldn't argue with that.

Ron turned to Koshiro. When he saw the man smile and nod, he raised a hand and opened an Air Door.

"All right, I'll teach you a little something before I go. Follow me."

The two children exchanged a glance, then immediately ducked through the door.

The next instant, a sea breeze rushed toward them, carrying a salty scent that struck their faces.

They were standing on an open stretch of coast outside the village, with soft sand beneath their feet and an endless sea before them.

"Wow! We got to the beach just like that!"

Zoro looked around, his face full of wonder.

Ron raised a hand and opened an Air Door.

Three real swords in their sheaths fell onto the sand one after another, and Kuina's Wado Ichimonji was brought over as well.

"Switch swords."

Zoro's eyes lit up. He immediately threw down his wooden sword and drew the three real blades.

Kuina took hold of the Wado Ichimonji as well.

Then Ron reached his right hand into the door beside him, gripped a hilt, and slowly drew the sword out.

Clang—

The pitch-black greatsword, over two meters long, emerged completely, cold light glinting along Zhenyuan's spine.

Zoro involuntarily tightened his grip on his sword hilts, while Kuina instinctively straightened up.

Ron smiled.

"I'm getting ready to leave. Before I go, I'll show you how a Swordsman of the Grand Line really fights."

Their eyes instantly lit up with excitement.

"Okay!"

Zoro was the first to charge, all three swords slashing out in a crossing attack.

Kuina shifted her footing and circled around to Ron's side.

"Smarter than you were a few days ago."

Ron held Zhenyuan crosswise and gave the blade a slight turn.

Clang!

All three of Zoro's swords were pinned down at once, and his whole body sank.

"Just how heavy is that sword?!"

"Heavier than you think, but I haven't even put any strength into it yet."

"Don't look down on me!"

Zoro gritted his teeth and put all his strength into his three swords, pushing forward with everything he had!

But Ron suddenly withdrew his sword.

"Huh?!"

Zoro's push met empty air. He stumbled forward and nearly fell face-first onto the beach.

"Remember, don't put all your strength into a single clash."

Kuina took the opportunity to thrust from the side, her sword tip coming within an inch of Ron's clothes.

Ron moved just half a step, and her thrust missed.

"Don't chase after my sword."

Kuina immediately changed her move, while Zoro adjusted his stance and charged again from the other side.

This time, pitch-black Armament Haki slowly spread along the blade of the Zhenyuan Sword.

Clang!!

The moment the blades collided, both young swordsmen were knocked back several steps, their hands tingling between thumb and forefinger.

"What was that just now?!" Zoro cried.

"Armament Haki. It can strengthen your offense and defense, and it can also hit Logia users."

Ron held back his strength. "If you want to truly establish yourselves on the seas, you can't rely on just swinging a sword with your arms."

Kuina took a deep breath. "Can we learn it too?"

"Of course. But get the basics down first. If you can't even control your own balance, learning anything else is pointless."

He closed his eyes.

"Again."

Zoro and Kuina attacked at once, one from the left and the other from the right.

After several exchanges, neither of them had even touched Zhenyuan's blade, while Ron easily avoided every attack.

The hilt tapped Zoro lightly on the shoulder, and the sword's spine stopped steadily beside Kuina's neck.

The two stood where they were, forgetting even to breathe.

"You can see with your eyes closed?"

"Observation Haki. It lets you sense danger in advance. Sometimes, even without using your eyes, you can tell where an attack is coming from."

"Can we learn that too?!" Zoro asked eagerly.

"You can."

Ron tapped him on the forehead.

"But first, kid, learn to take fewer hits."

"Hey! What does that have to do with getting hit?!"

"A lot. You can't even tell where my next strike is coming from, and you're already thinking about learning Observation Haki?"

Ron lowered Zhenyuan and waved a hand with a smile.

"That's enough for today. You two lost."

"What about your Spatial Swordsmanship?!"

Zoro's face was full of defiance. "We haven't seen it yet!"

"That's right!"

For once, Kuina joined him in a united front.

Ron looked toward the sea hundreds of meters away.

"Watch closely."

With his back to the two of them, he slowly raised Zhenyuan high.

Above the distant sea, several dark cracks of opening doors appeared in succession.

Ron swung his sword.

"Dimension Slash."

Hum—!

The flash of the sword swept across the sea, suddenly extending through the Spatial Doors as they opened one after another.

Rumble!!

The entire surface of the sea seemed to split down the middle as walls of waves surged upward on either side.

The seawater cut into the doors gushed wildly from the exits on both sides, raising two walls of water dozens of meters high.

A trench briefly appeared in the middle of the sea.

Ron made a casual slash, and several Spatial Doors opened again, swallowing the remaining waves as they rushed toward the shore.

The distant walls of water crashed down, and the sea remained turbulent for a long time.

On the shore, Zoro and Kuina's eyes widened at the same time, their jaws nearly dropping to the ground. Neither could speak for a long while.

"Th-this is swordsmanship too?!"

"He split the sea open?!"

Ron put Zhenyuan back into the Spatial Door.

"Well? Did that open your eyes?"

Zoro nodded vigorously, then grew indignant again.

"You used your Devil Fruit ability!"

"Of course I did. I have the ability, so why wouldn't I use it?"

Ron laughed.

"But don't just focus on my moves."

"If you want to become Great Swordsmen, you'll have to develop something of your own."

Zoro stared at the churning sea in the distance and suddenly tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

"Someday, I'll unleash a slash even stronger than that!"

Kuina tightened her grip on Wado Ichimonji and nodded firmly. "Me too!"

Ron was just about to laugh when he suddenly felt a rapid vibration against his chest.

Brrring, brrring, brrring—

He froze. It was the Den Den Mushi reserved for emergency contact with Rosinante.

"Who is it?"

Zoro leaned closer, curious.

Ron didn't answer. The smile vanished from his face.

He took out the Den Den Mushi and answered it.

"Big brother?!"