Officially Recruiting Zoro and Kuina

January 1, Sea Circle Calendar 1531.

East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.

Ten thousand meters above the ground, David's Revenge lurked like a dormant beast. The thrusters beneath its hull screamed as they expelled azure currents, holding this floating fortress, remade with space pirate technology, firmly above the clouds.

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

The wind shrieked past his ears. Dawn's invisibility suit rippled like water as he fell at high speed. The outline of Shimotsuki Village gradually came into focus below—the Japanese-style roof tiles, winding paths, and flags flying over the dojo, all as tiny as models played with by children.

When he was still more than ten meters from the ground, a thought flickered through his mind. Gravity drew in its claws like a tamed beast, allowing him to land soundlessly like a dead leaf.

The village was steeped in the laziness of the first day of the new year. The villagers wore freshly washed kimono and bowed to greet one another, their smiles piled up like goods on a shelf. Dawn moved through the crowd unnoticed.

The wooden doors of Isshin Dojo stood slightly ajar.

Inside the dojo, 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. So when that oppressive aura, like an undercurrent in the deep sea, seeped into the dojo, the clashing of bamboo swords came to an abrupt stop.

Koshiro's eye slits widened by a millimeter as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Training ends here for today."

The students looked at one another, but under their master's unquestionable gaze, they could only gather their bamboo swords and file