A Visiting Guest

"Has he already gained this kind of strength and speed...?"

Duen stared at the hand gripping the wooden sword, finding it somewhat unbelievable. After a real fight, he could better sense that he had undergone a complete transformation.

"Duen..."

Koushirou had not expected this outcome either. The fight had ended far too quickly!

Though it had not been a fight to the death, it was enough to reveal the difference and gap between them in speed, strength, and swordsmanship.

Was Zoro weak?

Although he was only fifteen and still had an incomparably long road ahead of him in the way of the sword, that did not mean he was weak now. He could venture into the forest and kill a nearly one-ton beast alone—he was already far more outstanding than ordinary people!

Duen had never possessed much talent for swordsmanship, yet he had now easily defeated Zoro. This reversal was like dazzling fireworks suddenly bursting across the sky without warning. It was shocking and bewildering, yet once one recovered, it also seemed remarkably interesting and incredible.

"Master Koushirou." Duen responded to Koushirou's murmur.

"You've improved greatly."

A smile gradually appeared on Koushirou's face. Though he did not know exactly what had happened to Duen, seeing the growth in his swordsmanship filled him with heartfelt satisfaction.

A late bloomer? It was not too late.

Zoro sat up and began reflecting as well, carefully considering which step of the fight had gone wrong.

"Would you like another match?"

Andrew, who had originally been meant to serve as referee but had already finished that duty, tried asking.

"Another—" Before Zoro could finish, Duen had already handed over his wooden sword. A calm yet somewhat regretful expression appeared on his face. "There's no point..."

"Tch..."

Hearing Duen's rather punchable tone, Zoro gritted his teeth and handed over his wooden sword as well. Though he wanted Duen to spar with him and help him practice his moves, could he possibly say that aloud so easily?

Of course not.

"Whatever."

He dusted off his clothes and casually walked out of the dojo.

"Negative emotion value from Roronoa Zoro +1, +1, +1, +1..."

"Training starts now!"

Andrew gave the command again. The disciples were still unsatisfied, sighing a few times before obediently picking up their wooden swords and continuing to practice.

By afternoon.

Duen lay on the stone platform in the courtyard, his hands behind his head and a straw stalk hanging from his mouth, peacefully taking a nap. That alone was nothing, but while everyone else was training desperately, he was the only one snoring away right in front of them. That was simply too much.

His negative emotion value rose a little. Duen turned over with his eyes closed, an imperceptible smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

At around two in the afternoon, someone came to visit.

"Excuse me, is the master of One-Heart Dojo here?" A potbellied middle-aged man stood at the entrance and shouted loudly.

Koushirou had been explaining the details of sword-swinging movements to the disciples. Upon hearing the voice, he motioned for silence, walked beneath the veranda, and said to the man, "Please come in."

The middle-aged man entered and looked at Koushirou. "Hello, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Out of courtesy as the host, Koushirou stopped teaching, handed the task of continuing the disciples' instruction to Andrew beside him, and led the middle-aged man into an inner room.

Seeing this, the dojo disciples became restless again and craned their heads out.

"Who is that? Who is he?"

"Could he be the teacher's enemy?"

"Would an enemy be that fat? You idiot!"

Several troublemakers who had sneaked out of the dojo to investigate were each grabbed by Duen with a kindly smile, dragged back, and tossed before Andrew, where they received another scolding. The remaining disciples quickly straightened up, not daring to glance outside again.

After a while, Koushirou emerged from the inner room and stood beneath the veranda, smiling as he beckoned to Duen, who was sitting in the courtyard.

Duen walked over and entered the inner room.

"Come, have a seat."

Koushirou poured Duen a cup of tea, then introduced the middle-aged man beside him. "This is Mr. Daniel from the Goa Kingdom."

He then turned to Daniel. "This is the Duen you wished to meet."

"A pleasure, a pleasure!" Daniel hurriedly extended his hand.

Duen found the greasy-looking fat man somewhat distasteful, but before Koushirou, he could not embarrass a guest. He still extended his hand.

After shaking hands, Daniel said, "Mr. Duen, your skills are truly astonishing. To be honest, I hope to hire you to work aboard my cruise ship. What do you think?"

Duen looked puzzled. "I... don't quite understand what you mean."

Daniel patiently explained. He was a noble of the Goa Kingdom and had recently invested in a luxury cruise ship. He and several partners intended to run an ocean party business, and they had recruited chefs, sailors, helmsmen, navigators, and other crew members at high prices.

However, pirates were rampant. Once they sailed beyond the coastal waters, even the Marines could do nothing about them. He was cautious by nature and had never found a good solution. Yesterday, while accompanying a cargo ship into town to replenish supplies, he had happened to witness the final moments of the Sea Owl's death from afar.

As a noble who rarely went to sea, he normally never saw such bloody and violent scenes. While shocked, he immediately felt the urge to recruit Duen. After asking around, he learned that Duen lived at One-Heart Dojo, so he had personally come to visit today.

After hearing Daniel out, Duen shook his head slightly. "I'm not very interested in being someone else's guard..."

Daniel hurriedly said, "You may name whatever salary you want. We can discuss it."

"It's not about the salary..."

Duen considered it before saying, "How about this? I can stay aboard your ship for a while, but you cannot restrict my freedom. I'll leave whenever I want to leave. As for payment, I have no particular demands, but you must provide for my food and lodging."

If he left Shimotsuki Village for the sea, he could make a living by exchanging pirate heads for Beli, right?

Why would Duen allow himself to be bound by the salary Daniel offered? He had never cared much about money to begin with. The fact that he had spent all one hundred thousand Beli on Zoro without holding back a single coin made that clear enough.

"This..."

Daniel found himself in a difficult position. He had made several plans before coming, but he had never expected Duen to make such a demand. In other words, Duen wanted to come and go as he pleased?

If pirates attacked and he slipped away with a whoosh, what then? Even the strongest person would be useless that way!

Daniel would rather pay an expensive salary to thoroughly win someone's loyalty than cheaply keep a person who might leave at any moment. That completely went against his original intentions.

Duen picked up the cup of hot tea, blew on it, and took a sip.

Back then, he had firmly intended to go to sea, but because of the limits of his talent, the older he grew, the more unrealistic that idea had seemed.

But times were different now. His strength could break through once more, as though the ashes buried deep in his heart had reignited into flames. Along with that fire, his desire to go to sea began to burn fiercely again.

However, that did not mean he could only choose this nobleman's ship to leave on.

"Mr. Koushirou, I can pay to renovate this dojo... and I will also do my best to promote it in the Goa Kingdom."

Daniel looked at Koushirou tentatively. Through his many years of dealing with people, he had discovered that older people often valued fame and profit. If Koushirou, as the dojo master, spoke on his behalf, it should influence Duen's decision.

But he was quickly disappointed. Koushirou still wore a gentle smile as he calmly said, "I cannot make decisions for him. You should discuss this matter yourselves."

"Mm..."

After weighing the pros and cons, Daniel finally made up his mind and said, "Mr. Duen... I accept your conditions!"

Receiving the answer he had expected, Duen nodded. "That would be for the best."

"In that case." Daniel stood up. "Please come to the east shore tomorrow morning. I will be waiting for you there."

After exchanging a few polite formalities, Daniel left One-Heart Dojo.

Koushirou stepped beneath the veranda and watched Daniel's figure gradually shrink into the distance. He calmly asked, "Duen, have you made up your mind?"

The breeze brushed against his face as Duen looked into the distance. "I have. The world is vast..."

"When do you plan to return?"

"Perhaps soon, perhaps after a long time..."

"Is that so..."

The woods in the distance rustled with leaves in the wind, while nearby, the sounds of disciples practicing their swords came from within the dojo. Only beneath the veranda outside Koushirou's room...

There was a deeply mutual silence.