Formally Recruiting Zoro and Kuina

Sea Circle Calendar, January 1, 1531.

East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.

High above the ground, Davy's Revenge hovered like a slumbering beast. The thrusters beneath its hull roared as they spewed deep blue streams of air, pinning this floating fortress, reforged with Space Pirate technology, firmly above the clouds.

A circular hatch silently opened, and a figure almost completely blended into the air leaped down.

The wind shrieked past his ears. The Invisibility Suit Dawn wore rippled like water in the high-speed descent. The outline of Shimotsuki Village gradually became clear below—the Japanese-style roof tiles, winding paths, and flags fluttering outside the dojo, all as tiny as models played with by children.

When he was still over ten meters above the ground, a thought stirred in his mind. Gravity drew in its claws like a tamed beast, allowing him to land soundlessly like a fallen leaf.

The village was immersed in the laziness of the first day of the new year. Villagers wore freshly washed kimonos and bowed to greet one another, their smiles stacked up like goods on store shelves. Dawn passed through the crowd unnoticed.

The wooden doors of Isshin Dojo were slightly ajar.

Inside, bamboo swords clashed as densely as a sudden downpour. Koshiro sat kneeling in the seat of honor, his eyes narrowed into two slits as though he were always smiling.

Dawn did not suppress his presence. Thus, when that oppressive aura, like an undercurrent in the deep sea, flooded the dojo, the clashing of bamboo swords abruptly stopped.

Koshiro's narrow eyes opened another millimeter as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Training ends here for today."

The students looked at each other in confusion, but under their master's unquestionable gaze, they could only put away their bamboo swords and file out.

The last child to