"Could it have something to do with those two?"
Kuina pulled out two copies of the World Economic Journal from behind her and looked at the large portraits of two men on the front pages.
"The Shichibukai, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo and Knight of the Sea Jinbe."
Hearing Kuina, Zoro leaned over, curious about the reports on the two newspapers.
"Could Dunn have some connection to them?"
Zoro stroked his chin as he spoke.
"That wouldn't be good. Dunn probably isn't a match for either of them yet."
Kuina looked at the paper's descriptions of the two men.
They were both great pirates from the New World. That Doflamingo had even become the king of a country, so he was sure to have some very powerful subordinates.
And Knight of the Sea Jinbe was a Fish-Man. The paper said Fish-Men were generally at least ten times stronger than humans.
The fact that the Marines had recruited them as Shichibukai said plenty about how powerful they were.
A hint of worry flashed in Kuina's eyes.
"Definitely not. Dunn said he wasn't going to the Grand Line anytime soon. Those two are both on the Grand Line."
Zoro suddenly spoke up.
He might usually seem a bit dim, but Zoro could always spot the key details.
"Oh, right!"
Kuina came to her senses, suddenly understanding.
Dunn had indeed said that. She'd just been misled by the fact that he'd been looking at those two newspapers earlier.
"Let's go!"
Kuina put down the papers and beckoned to Zoro.
"What for?"
Zoro looked puzzled.
"We're going to the village to buy supplies. Did you forget? Father told us to buy ingredients. Once they're done fighting, we're supposed to treat Dunn to a lavish farewell feast."
Kuina knew what Koushiro meant and explained it to Zoro.
Meanwhile.
The island where Dunn and Koushiro had fought before was no longer suitable for a battle.
Or rather, it wasn't suitable for this particular fight.
The little island had never been large to begin with, and sometimes the rising tide submerged most of it.
After nearly a year of the two of them battering it, the part of the island above water had shrunk considerably.
As they headed for a more distant island, Dunn leaned quietly against the side of the boat, gazing out at the vast sea as if lost in thought.
At least, that was what Koushiro saw.
The truth was, Dunn was checking his digitized status panel.
[Body Digitization: Your body's vital points have disappeared. When you are attacked, damage is converted into lost HP; your panel attributes change according to your strength; you will not die as long as your HP has not reached zero] [Current body age: 15] [Constitution: 83 (Continuously transforming due to certain influences)] [Current HP: 100% (Recovering; eating can speed up recovery)] [Innate Talent (Indomitable): When your HP reaches zero, you enter a brief enhanced state; all of your body's attributes increase tenfold; your HP no longer decreases; all negative statuses are cleared; current duration: 15 minutes; cooldown: 1 day] [Abilities] [Mera Mera no Mi (Proficient): A powerful Logia Devil Fruit ability that grants you the power to become and control fire; continuously strengthens your body; the fruit's drawbacks have been removed (weaknesses and a resident soul); you have a clear understanding of how to improve the fruit's abilities; current fruit development: 46%] [Swordsmanship (Proficient): You have mastered the basic techniques and training methods of swordsmanship; you have surpassed the limits of a swordsman; you have mastered Flying Slash; you have found a style of swordsmanship suited to you] [Observation Haki (Basic Mastery): You have a clear perception of the energy in all things; your range of perception has increased greatly; you can focus your perception in a specific direction, greatly extending its range] [Armament Haki (Basic Mastery): You can skillfully control the energy within your body for offense and defense; you have mastered Armament Hardening and Emission] [Flame (Black Blade): Under the influence of your Haki, your sword is evolving toward becoming a Black Blade; evolution: 3%; Advanced Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki Emission will accelerate the evolution; extensive battles and a stronger bond between the weapon and its owner's nature can also accelerate the evolution]
His progress over the past year or so had been tremendous.
There was no need to mention his constitution; it had increased dramatically once again.
The improvements that had been too subtle to notice when his constitution first increased had become clear now.
His constitution had improved in every way.
At his current level, every point added to his constitution brought a significant increase in strength.
At first, each point might have added the strength or physique of an ordinary person. But things were different now.
After all, at his current level, every additional point of constitution was incredibly difficult to gain.
Even for him, the rapid transformation he'd experienced before had ended, replaced by a gradual, ongoing transformation.
As for the rest...
His swordsmanship and Haki had improved tremendously, and he hadn't neglected developing his Devil Fruit abilities, either.
Or rather, his fruit abilities had continued to improve while he trained in swordsmanship. Combined with his own efforts to develop them, they were now the abilities he'd mastered best.
At the very least, he could easily reproduce the techniques Ace had developed. And he could also imitate the form of Old Man Yamamoto's techniques.
But what delighted him most was that Flame was evolving toward becoming a Black Blade.
Its progress was still slight, but as long as he could see it improving, he had a goal to work toward.
Moreover, while teaching him swordsmanship and Haki, Koushiro had often mentioned that all things in the world had their own breath.
Now, Dunn could faintly sense the pulse—or breath—of his sword, Flame.
It was a strange feeling.
Something like all things having a spirit.
But the feeling was still very vague. Perhaps he needed to further improve his Observation Haki.
The panel had already shown him how to turn a weapon into a Black Blade.
In any case, compared to when he had first arrived in this world a year ago, his strength had increased by who knew how many times.
So this time, he'd fight Koushiro to find out just how strong he'd become.
Dunn thought this as he looked toward Koushiro, whose eyes were calm.
"I'll give it everything I've got this time. I'm no longer confident I can beat you."
"Good. That's what I was hoping for, too. I want to know that I haven't wasted this past year."
Dunn stood up. He was just over two meters tall, and his build looked long-limbed but not frail.
"Haven't wasted it?"
Koushiro's expression turned strange.
Anyone would be thrilled to make the kind of progress Dunn had—not just in a year, but even in ten.
But Koushiro didn't know that Dunn was measuring himself against Monkey D. Luffy.
Luffy had set sail as a rookie pirate who didn't even know Haki, yet in a little under three years, he'd mastered Conqueror's Haki Emission and awakened his Devil Fruit.
Compared to Monkey D. Luffy, Dunn's progress was too slow.
The good thing, though, was that Monkey D. Luffy hadn't set sail yet.
And Dunn was improving quickly. Given a few years, he might well be able to stand at the pinnacle of this world.
But as soon as that thought came to mind, Dunn shook his head.
Getting stronger was important.
But then Dunn suddenly remembered that Robin was only a little over twenty this year. At that age, she was probably hiding somewhere in West Blue to escape capture by the Marines and the World Government.
Thinking of that, Dunn lost himself in thought.
Koushiro quietly steered the little boat and stopped beside an island farther from Shimotsuki Village.
"Let's get ready. Kuina and Zoro are probably already waiting."
With Wado Ichimonji in hand, Koushiro spoke as he leaped from the boat and landed on the island's sandy shore.
Before you continue