The Revolutionary Army?

PS: The following chapters are transitional and might be a bit boring, but they are indispensable!

PS+1: I just realized something tragic—it seems the first chapter was censored, so now it goes straight from the prologue to the second chapter...

PS2: Thanks to 'Shan Su', 'Cong Ci Yi Lai Ni', and 'Mo Mo Mo' for the tips. Thank you for your support!

PS3: By the way, is the protagonist's name really that awkward? I'll open a poll in the book review section later to decide whether to change it. If we do, I'll take advantage of the low word count and edit it chapter by chapter.

PS4: Finally, please vote for this book!

"Hah—"

Bai Ina's tightly closed eyes snapped open. With a sharp shout, the Black Blade Dawn in his hand was unsheathed in an instant, and a pitch-black slash streaked out, passing straight through the boulder several meters high in front of him.

Accompanied by a crisp 'snap', the massive boulder was instantly split into two, the cut surface perfectly smooth.

"Still too weak. As I am now, I'm not even as good as Zoro when he first became a pirate hunter."

Looking at the severed boulder, Bai Ina frowned, his tone filled with intense dissatisfaction. One had to know that the Zoro of the future, having just become a pirate hunter, was already nearing the realm of hearing the "breath of all things." Before his battle with Mr. 1, he had successfully touched upon that state where one could cut nothing, yet also cut everything.

Bai Ina, however, couldn't catch even a glimpse of that realm. Still, he didn't feel too discouraged; after all, he was only ten years old, and in four months he would barely be eleven. He still had plenty of time.

Moreover, even if the Zoro of his age had high talent in swordsmanship, Bai Ina was confident he could easily defeat him!

He had been here for half a year, and during this time, Bai Ina's strength had seen an explosive growth. If his combat power had been 10 half a year ago, it had now grown at least fivefold.

It could be said that he could feel his strength changing every single day, and he had already reached the third movement of the second set of the conditioning postures taught by his teacher.

Of course, while training, he hadn't forgotten to develop his flexibility and... uh... the path of a female swordmaster... Every time he thought of this, Bai Ina couldn't help but feel like tearing his hair out...

After finishing some basic training, Bai Ina saw the sky brightening, so he put away his stance and headed toward the dojo.

When he returned, the children taken in by Teacher Kubo had already begun their morning training under the guidance of Hijikata Yoshitoyo. In a corner of the courtyard, Zongcilang was catching up on sleep while wearing an eye mask with eyes drawn on it...

Seeing this, Bai Ina shook his head, walked up, and kicked the lazy bastard.

"Ah—"

Suddenly ambushed, Zongcilang jumped up immediately. Without even taking off his eye mask, he cursed, "Bai Ina, you bastard! If you kick me again, even if I can't beat you, I'm going to slash you, you jerk!"

Zongcilang didn't even need to look to know it was Bai Ina who had ruined his sweet dream, because there were only two people in the entire dojo who could approach him so silently without being detected.

One was Teacher Kubo, and the other was Bai Ina. Since Teacher Kubo would absolutely never do such a thing, the answer was easy to guess.

Bai Ina ignored Zongcilang's frantic rage and said coldly, "Get up and get ready. In a while, after morning training ends, the three of us are going to the border town to buy supplies."

Upon hearing this, Zongcilang ripped off his eye mask and shouted angrily, "Can't you two ice blocks just go yourselves? Why drag me into it? I'm afraid of the cold; I'll catch a cold following you two ice blocks, you jerks!"

"Because Teacher Kubo wants you to go too. Even if I have to knock you unconscious, I will bring you along."

"..." Zongcilang.

"That's the spirit. It's about time this lazy bastard got some exercise." Hijikata Yoshitoyo walked over, looked at the deflated Zongcilang, and didn't hesitate to kick him while he was down.

"Where is the teacher?"

Bai Ina looked left and right but couldn't find Teacher Kubo. Usually, at this time, the teacher would have already arrived to supervise the group of brats in their training.

"We have a guest, so the teacher went to receive them!" Hijikata Yoshitoyo replied.

"A guest?" Bai Ina was stunned. This was the first time a guest had visited in half a year. Besides, he didn't think anyone would want to wander into a place like this, which meant the guest must have come with a specific purpose.

"Hah—seems like a friend of the teacher's. I've seen them a few times before; they're always so mysterious whenever they visit."

Zongcilang, standing to the side, let out a heavy yawn and said indifferently.

Bai Ina nodded upon hearing this.

"Hey, Big Brother Hijikata, Big Brother Zongcilang, you're here!"

Just then, a boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old ran over, waving his hand, his face full of smiles.

"Tch!" Zongcilang curled his lip at the approaching boy. Once he got closer, he said lazily, "I'm not your big brother. Even though we're the same age, my birthday is a month later than yours."

The smile on the boy's face stiffened for a moment, but he immediately laughed it off. "Those few months don't really matter. Besides, Big Brother Zongcilang, you arrived here before me and your strength is greater than mine, so you're definitely worthy of being called big brother."

"If you put it that way, you should be calling that guy over there, Bai Ina, 'Daddy.' He arrived before you, and his strength is far greater than mine!"

Zongcilang didn't buy the boy's flattery at all and retorted with a sneer.

His words caused the boy's expression to darken imperceptibly, though he recovered in an instant and said with a smile, "Big Brother Zongcilang really knows how to joke!"

"Tch!"

Seeing this, Zongcilang pulled his eye mask back down over his eyes.

The boy's eyebrow twitched. He turned to look at Bai Ina, his gaze complex—filled with jealousy, resentment, and even more so, disgust. He had always been annoyed by the disciple the dojo master valued most, and Bai Ina's perpetually expressionless face made him feel as though Bai Ina looked down on him immensely.

However, his face remained full of smiles as he said softly, "Yina, just back from morning training?"

"Is 'Yina' something you're allowed to call me?"

Bai Ina's voice was icy, and those cold, emotionless eyes startled the boy, causing him to subconsciously take a step back. A surge of shame and anger welled up in his heart, and the look he gave Bai Ina became laced with malice.

After saying that, Bai Ina turned directly to the other two and said, "I'm going to ask Loxi if there's anything she needs us to bring back." With that, he turned and headed straight toward the cafeteria.

He didn't want to see this boy named Jande at all. He suspected that if they spent too much time together, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from killing him.

Jande had come to the dojo of his own accord a month ago, kneeling before the entrance and begging Teacher Kubo to take him in with no shred of dignity left. The kind-hearted Teacher Kubo naturally could not turn away a youth who had come seeking help, so he agreed to let him reside in the dojo.

However, although he looked down on this spineless man, this alone was not enough to make Bai Ina feel disgust toward him.

Jande was a man who knew how to climb the social ladder. After entering the dojo and learning that Hijikata Yoshitoyo and Zongcilang were the dojo master's disciples, he constantly fawned over the two, though with little effect. Still, he achieved his goal of making others in the dojo believe he was close to them.

He made the children in the dojo call him "Big Brother Jande," acting very much like a fox borrowing the tiger's might. Of course, in front of Hijikata and Zongcilang, he always put on the act of a kind older brother, treating every child well.

Yet, behind their backs, it was a completely different story. Relying on his age, he would often bully the children, ordering them to do his chores. Although he avoided Hijikata and the others, he did not shy away from Bai Ina at all.

After all, Bai Ina was not close with the children in the dojo, and aside from Hijikata and Zongcilang, no one knew he was Teacher Kubo's disciple. Moreover, being the youngest in the dojo, Jande initially didn't bother hiding his ugly face in front of him.

Bai Ina couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Jande; as long as he didn't provoke him, he wouldn't interfere, though he did inform Hijikata and Zongcilang of his actions.

The incident that truly made Bai Ina develop killing intent occurred half a month ago in the cafeteria, when Jande was late for a meal because he had been slacking off. Because he arrived so late, the side dishes had already been distributed, leaving only some plain rice.

This two-faced man was instantly enraged, and taking advantage of the empty cafeteria, he threatened Loxi to cook a few extra dishes specifically for him.

Bai Ina, who happened to be in the cafeteria helping Loxi wash dishes, witnessed this and was instantly incensed, stepping in to give him a harsh lesson.

Afterward, once Jande learned from Hijikata that Bai Ina was the dojo master's disciple, he harbored deep resentment toward him but dared not provoke Bai Ina again.

Casting a venomous glance at Bai Ina's back, Jande continued to chat with Hijikata and Zongcilang with a face full of smiles.

Hijikata, who had never been one for many words, frowned at the incessantly chattering Jande and said bluntly, "I am going to call Teacher Kubo and our guest for the meal!" With that, he turned to leave.

Jande's eyes lit up at these words: "I'll go, Big Brother Hijikata. You should stay here and continue supervising the morning training of these younger brothers."

"Hmm... very well!" Hijikata nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Hijikata had agreed, Jande turned and ran toward the backyard where Teacher Kubo resided.

However, he hadn't gone far when he saw Teacher Kubo walking toward him with a grim expression. Seeing this, Jande hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Teacher Kubo, Big Brother Hijikata asked me to call you and the guest to the cafeteria for the meal!"

When Kubo Yamato saw Jande, his brow furrowed in a way that was hard to notice, though it returned to normal in an instant. He had learned something of the boy's character through their interactions over the past few days. While he felt a sense of distaste, he still believed that Jande's worldly, sycophantic nature could be corrected.

"Very well, go to my courtyard and call him down!"

Kubo Yamato was loath to return and continue conversing with the liaison sent by certain people. While he supported the organization's ideals, he was very unwilling to interact with some of the bureaucrats within it.

Jande was a bit puzzled, but he didn't ask any questions and continued toward the backyard.

A minute later, he arrived at the backyard. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he was interrupted by the sound of a cup shattering with a "clatter."

"That bastard Kubo Yamato, just because he's a Devil Fruit user, he thinks he's something special. We're both members of the Revolutionary Army; what right does he have to act so high and mighty? I only asked him to abandon this dump of a dojo, disperse this trash of a group of brats, and focus on cultivating a core team to prepare for the overthrow of the Goa Kingdom, yet he dared to scold me for meddling in other people's business."

This sudden outburst caused Jande's expression to change drastically. The information revealed in the words shocked him deeply; he never imagined that the dojo master was a member of the Revolutionary Army, which had been rising rapidly in recent years.

"If it weren't for the fact that the higher-ups sent me here to relay that Leader Dragon will be coming to the Goa Kingdom in the next few days, who the hell would come to this garbage dump... And looking at Kubo Yamato's attitude, he hasn't even considered overthrowing the Goa Kingdom at all, that bastard!!!"

Jande's expression turned uncertain, his face full of struggle. After a long while, as if he had finally made up his mind, a flash of greed appeared in his eyes...

Two minutes later, after confirming that the irritable man in the room was no longer shouting in a fit of rage, Jande stepped forward to knock on the door and shouted, "Guest, Teacher Kubo asked me to call you to the cafeteria for the meal."

"Hmm, I know. You may go!"

The man in the room didn't suspect anything and replied casually.

Jande gave a mocking smile at these words and turned to leave...