"Kuina, who is Kuina?"
Even while they were calling for a doctor, Tashigi still absentmindedly shook Zoro's shoulder.
"Hey, you haven't said who Kuina is yet! Don't just die like that!"
Also, why didn't you dodge? Even if you didn't dodge, you should have been able to block it, right?
Or do you just like the look of someone with scars?
Hey! Say something!
Wait, why are we saying all this now? Oh, I forgot!
"Doctor, quick, a doctor! Chopper, Chopper!!!"
Accompanied by Tashigi's soft yet loud voice, inside the mansion, Gawain and Koushirou looked at each other in bewilderment...
After making eye contact, Koushirou gently rubbed his forehead.
"You flatter me. My disciple... seems to have underestimated his opponent..."
"Was that underestimating her? Perhaps replacing 'underestimating' with 'underestimating' would be more appropriate. That Moss Head brat clearly let Tashigi hit him on purpose, didn't he?"
Beside him, Jinbe casually said to Koushirou, which made Koushirou roll his eyes.
"Cough cough!"
Koushirou coughed twice, then continued helplessly.
"I'll go prepare bedrooms for everyone. Ahem, please rest for a while, please rest for a while..."
After saying that, Koushirou got up dejectedly and walked towards the training ground to take care of his troublesome disciple.
Watching Koushirou's departing figure, Jinbe pursed his lips in confusion, then said to Gawain.
"My lord, am I wrong? That boy has definitely fallen for Kuina, hasn't he?"
Otherwise, a focused swordsman like him, even if less skilled than others, wouldn't be easily struck.
But then again, Kuina has only just come of age, and that kid is still a minor...
Ha, these kids these days, I really have to admire them!
After saying that, Jinbe immediately burst into laughter, seemingly genuinely happy to see the younger generation starting to date.
But he had only been laughing for a few seconds when Hancock, who was standing next to Gawain, suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, Jinbe, what's with that laugh?"
Even little kids are starting to date, and you're still single, okay?
How old are you? Over forty?
If I were your age and still single, I probably wouldn't be able to sleep. How can you be laughing at your age?
As soon as she finished speaking, Hancock tilted her head and looked at Jinbe with an arrogant air.
As she watched, she sat in Gawain's lap, showing off how she already had Gawain.
Meanwhile, all around...
Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged a glance, then burst into wild laughter.
Zephyr and Kureha shook their heads sadly; they had both lost important people in their lives.
Only after a light laugh did he pat Jinbe's arm understandingly.
"Everyone, please don't laugh at Jinbe. I understand Jinbe very well."
After all, uncles like us have all had more than one past. The hearts of wanderers have drifted in the storms for too long, and now they can't find a passenger ship to board!
At this point, Issho turned his head towards Jinbe with a friendly expression, furrowed his brow, and nodded slightly to Jinbe.
Jinbe, rolled his eyes in confusion and muttered something under his breath.
"What 'once'?"
"Why?"
Jinbe's words left Issho speechless. Amidst the sudden increase in laughter around him, Issho shook his head with a bitter expression.
"Never mind, it's nothing, we're different..."
After saying that, she smiled, pursed her lips, lowered her head, and gently stroked her longsword.
The self who once dedicated her life to swords and wine, to dice and young women, now has a completely different inner world than the Jinbe of the past.
Therefore, Jinbe dedicated his entire life to his former elder brother, and to his race and kingdom...
Thinking about it this way, I smiled and admired Jinbe's purity even more. He was a truly commendable knight-errant!
Indeed, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names; the title "Knight of the Sea" is truly well-deserved!
Under the frivolous sunlight, a few wisps of clouds drifted slowly in the sky, but it seemed as if some human figure, being lifted by a string, was constantly moving among the clouds.
The figure moved extremely fast, almost instantly moving from one cloud to the position of the second.
Indeed, the person floating among the clouds is none other than Donquixote Doflamingo, who once possessed the identity of Celestial Dragon, but subsequently lost it all due to his father's decision.
As Doflamingo moved, he pulled out a map from his Flamingo costume and glanced at it. Using a compass and other instruments to locate himself, Doflamingo was certain that he was close to catching up with Gawain.
Because the place he was currently in was Syrup Village, where Gawain had just stayed for a month.
Gazing at the enormous island beneath the clouds and the scattered villages on it, Doflamingo used a line to fish himself among the clouds, pondering as he spoke softly.
"He stayed here for over a month, probably recuperating. Defeating Garp comes at a price, and a month of recuperation is a reasonable price to pay."
But why did he make a special trip to the East Blue?
This is truly puzzling.
However, it was quite by chance that this month-long stay allowed me to catch up in many ways; otherwise, it would probably have taken much longer to catch up with them.
After saying that, Doflamingo glanced around briefly before deciding to continue chasing Gawain's ship.
He now has his own judgment about Gawain's personality, and he just wants to live longer in his own way.
Of course, if I could cooperate with Gawain, or even use him to regain my status as a Celestial Dragon.
That would be even better!
With that thought, Doflamingo gently twisted his right hand, and extremely slender lines immediately spread towards the distant clouds.
In cloud-covered areas, he would naturally use this more energy-efficient mode of transportation.
If there are no clouds in the sky, then you can travel a short distance using Geppo.
In short, Doflamingo never worries about his travel arrangements.
However, just before Doflamingo was about to leave, when he had just flown over the edge of Syrup Village...
He suddenly spotted an interesting figure.
He was thousands of meters in the air, and if the pink figure hadn't been so conspicuous, he might not have noticed it at all!
Meanwhile, on the sea, Vinsmoke Reiju, Luffy in her combat suit, frowned.
As she flew, she nervously recalled everything that had happened in the past few days.
Originally, when Reiju learned that the Celestial Dragon Saint Gawain planned to dine at the Baratie, she was particularly worried that her younger brother from back then might be hurt by the Celestial Dragon suddenly bumped into her.
The other members of the Vinsmoke Family might not be particularly concerned about Sanji.
But Reiju is different. She had been following Sanji's affairs for a long time, and she knew where Sanji stayed after he went from the North Blue to the West Blue.
That's why she had separated from her brother earlier, intending to take a look in the direction of Baratie.
And it was this one glance that led to something even more worrying for Reiju.
She watched her brother until he disappeared!
She truly never imagined that her younger brother, who could have lived a peaceful life as a chef, would become the chef on the Dark Bird Ship!
The thought of the Dark Bird Ship's undisguised banner and Gawain's group's constant gathering of powerful individuals made Reiju feel as if she could already see the Dark Bird Ship stirring up endless waves on the sea!
That was an extremely dynamic team, and the more dynamic a team is, the more dangerous its future is destined to be!
How did my own brother end up on this ship?!
Because of this thought, Reiju did not return to the Vinsmoke Family after only seeing Sanji from afar.
Instead, she continued to hoist the Dark Bird Ship and followed Dark Bird Ship all the way to Syrup Village.
The Dark Bird Ship stayed in Syrup Village for a long time, and she lived at sea until a few days after the Dark Bird Ship set sail, when she continued to follow it.
During this month, Reiju had planned to find time to secretly meet with Sanji.
However, considering that Gawain had not yet woken up, and this environment had increased the vigilance of the Dark Bird Ship crew members many times over.
Reiju ultimately did not take any action.
She planned to follow the Dark Bird Ship all the way to a large kingdom, where the population was large enough and the environment chaotic enough, before having a proper talk with Sanji and trying to get her younger brother off the Dark Bird Ship.
But little did she know that as she kept following him, another malicious gaze was fixed on her!
On that day, Syrup Village suffered its most terrible impact in nearly twenty years. The battle between two powerful figures caused nearly one-tenth of the forest to disappear.
Even the wild beasts in the forest were so frightened by the battle that they hid in the villagers' village.
Around four o'clock that afternoon, in the forest of Syrup Village, which had been reduced to ruins, Doflamingo sat on a rock, smiling as he looked at Reiju, who was completely controlled by lines.
As he watched, Doflamingo asked, laughing loudly.
"Whoosh, whoosh, the Vinsmoke Family from the North Blue, are they interested in this small, weak sea area of East Blue?"
Or is the Vinsmoke Family planning to challenge the weaknesses of the Navy and the Revolutionary Army by expanding their assassin business to Garp and Dragon's hometown?
At this point, a cold glint flashed across Doflamingo's bright glasses. He stared intently into Reiju's eyes with a sneer and continued, enunciating each word clearly.
"Or perhaps the Vinsmoke Family isn't eyeing the uninteresting East Blue."
Rather... my increasingly famous relative?
As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo stood up and adjusted his breathing slightly.
Although Reiju isn't particularly strong, she is, after all, an elite member of the Vinsmoke Family. Keep in mind that five years later, even Katakuri couldn't lead his siblings to easily suppress the Vinsmoke Family.
Therefore, even five years ago, before he reached his peak, Doflamingo still needed to expend a lot of effort to deal with Reiju.
After catching his breath, Doflamingo strode arrogantly toward Reiju, who was bound and hanging in the air.
Doflamingo reached out and grabbed Reiju's chin, asking in a cold voice.
"So, this lady who makes you want to click your tongue had better give me a proper answer."
Otherwise... hehe, don't expect me to let you off the hook just because of our past relationship."
"Snort!"
Faced with Doflamingo's flippant threat, Reiju spat out a mouthful of venomous saliva.
Unfortunately, Doflamingo dodged it with ease.
Before that venomous spittle even hit the ground, Doflamingo moved his hand from Reiju's chin to Reiju long, slender neck.
He clenched his fists so tightly that swollen veins immediately appeared on Reiju's neck and face!
Seeing that Reiju was unwilling to say anything even so, Doflamingo shook his head regretfully and finally released Reiju's neck.
Accompanied by Reiju's desperate breathing, Doflamingo said with a cold laugh.
"I'm struggling to come up with a reason to meet my clansman."
Or rather, given my sudden visit, I was indeed lacking a suitable gift.
Thinking about it that way, your appearance is actually quite timely, phew phew phew.
"You don't need to say anything. Just enjoy your life as a prisoner, Vinsmoke Family woman."
As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo picked up Reiju and rushed towards the clouds.
After climbing up into the clouds, he immediately sped up and chased after Gawain.
Meanwhile, in Shimotsuki Village, Gawain and his group, who had only stayed for a few days, were also preparing to set off.
However, before leaving Shimotsuki Village, Gawain had one more important thing to do.
Shimotsuki Village, in the forest.
Looking at Zoro, whose chest was wrapped in heavy bandages, Gawain casually twirled his longsword and asked.
"Are you sure you want to fight this so-called final battle with me in this state, Zoro?"
"I'm quite certain, because if I miss today, I don't know how long it will be before I have another chance to challenge you!"
Although you are not a pure swordsman, a swordsman cannot only face enemies who are focused on the sword!
So, go ahead and attack me. Even if I can't withstand a single blow, I'll remember everything that happened today, and I'll keep improving myself until I can truly stand before you and Mihawk!!!
Roaring out his determination, Zoro gripped his twin swords and looked resolutely at Gawain.
Gawain, watching Zoro's muscles gradually tense, slowly shook his head.
"Zoro, forget it, I don't want to grant your request to challenge me."
It's not that I don't like playing house with you. After all, everyone has moments of weakness. Back when I couldn't even catch fish, I still had Rayleigh and Gion to help me out.
Looking at you like this, although I can sense your determination, I don't feel any respect for me, kid...
After all, when you think you're ready, do you really think I enjoy fighting a wounded soldier?
Or, to put it another way, when you disrespect your own body, do you think I'm someone who likes to take advantage of others in their vulnerable state?
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain gently turned his long sword, Rokumei Kotetsu immediately returned to its sheath.
At the same time, Gawain turned around and leisurely walked into the distance.
Watching Gawain's departing figure, Zoro frowned with regret. He hesitated for a long time, but ultimately did not take any action. Instead, he stood there regretfully, watching Gawain gradually leave.
Just as Gawain was about to leave the forest, he finally stopped.
Slowly turning around, Gawain gave Zoro a bright smile and said with a laugh.
"Haha, alright, alright, you little rascal, you really have a lot of patience."
How could I bear to let a young person like you have regrets?
Come on, attack with your most powerful move, but you only have this one chance.
If you want to gain my favor, then show me all the skills you've acquired through your intensive training these past few days!
"Very good!!!"
As soon as Gawain finished speaking, Zoro excitedly gripped his twin swords, Wado Ichimonji, assuming the standard stance for the Three-Sword Style!
"The ultimate technique of the Three-Sword Style, the Thirty-Six Pound Phoenix!!!"
With a desperate roar, he and his sword transformed into a hurricane, hurtling towards Gawain's location.
Facing the hurricane-like attack, Gawain blocked it fiercely with his left hand, holding his longsword upside down, and then with his right hand, he cut through the hurricane and grabbed Zoro by the neck!
After forcing Zoro to stop, Gawain chuckled and tapped Zoro on the head.
"Not bad. You've only fought Tashigi for a few days and you've already developed such a powerful new technique. You're quite talented, kid."
Unfortunately, I have to leave now and can't play this childish game with you anymore.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain released Zoro's neck, then reached out and, seeing Zoro's helpless expression, roughly ruffled Zoro's hair.
While rubbing, Gawain asked with a smile.
"Why don't you come with me, you little brat?"
Forget about being under seventeen and not old enough to go to sea yet. Just come aboard my Dark Bird Ship and continue your life together!
I have kids here who are even teenagers, so one more or one less won't make a difference.
What do you think, kid?