Shimotsuki Village: Koshiro's Temptation

"Who's the brat you mentioned?"

"I'm not telling you. Hahaha." With that, Red-Hair hung up the Den Den Mushi.

On the other end, Garp was so furious that he slammed the Den Den Mushi onto the ground and stomped it to pieces. "Shanks! Sooner or later, I'll personally capture you and throw you into Impel Down!"

The nearby Marine tried to stop him, but it was already too late. He could only laugh and cry at the same time. "Vice Admiral Garp, that was the only Den Den Mushi capable of contacting Red-Haired Shanks..."

Garp: "..."

After hanging up on Garp, Red-Hair returned to the tavern and sat down beside Lin Mo.

Lin Mo silently drank his wine.

Red-Hair spoke up. "Brat, do you want to know who just called me?"

Lin Mo glanced at him speechlessly.

He knew...

Although he hadn't heard what came afterward, the moment he heard the other party's first words, he was certain it was Garp.

"It was Marine Vice Admiral Iron Fist Garp." Red-Hair took a sip of wine and continued, "That old man actually managed to get a Den Den Mushi that can contact me. But that's not important. Brat, you'd better think this through. With your talent, you'll definitely attract the attention of many factions in the future. If you don't join any faction, you may find yourself surrounded by enemies from all sides."

"Whatever." Lin Mo shrugged indifferently, then picked up his wine cup. "Red-Hair, let's have one more drink before I set out."

Red-Hair didn't say anything else. He raised his wine bottle to clink against Lin Mo's cup, then downed the half bottle of wine that remained. After casually wiping his mouth, he asked, "Leaving now?"

Lin Mo nodded.

Red-Hair stood up directly and said boldly, "Let's go. I'll see you off."

In truth, Red-Hair was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't managed to recruit Lin Mo.

But given his personality, he could face anything calmly and optimistically, so there was no sign of disappointment on the surface.

They arrived at the docks.

Red-Hair suddenly asked, "Where's your ship?"

Lin Mo pointed toward a small sailboat moored by the shore and replied, "Over there."

Lin Mo had bought it several days ago, planning to leave as soon as he completed the sign-in mission.

"Such an ordinary little boat. Are you sure it'll be fine sailing on the open sea?"

"Yeah." Lin Mo jumped aboard and untied the rope secured to the shore. "I'm leaving. The next time we meet should be on the Grand Line."

"Good. Next time we meet, we'll have a proper drink, brat. If sailing alone wears you out, you're always welcome to come find me."

"Yeah. Until we meet again."

The small boat carrying Lin Mo slowly sailed away.

His next destination was Shimotsuki Village, where Zoro lived. Since the system came with built-in navigation, Lin Mo didn't need to worry about getting lost at sea.

The boat had barely left the docks by fifty meters when the water suddenly began churning violently, sending enormous waves rolling across the surface.

Immediately afterward, a Sea King resembling a gigantic crocodile burst through the waves. It opened its bloody maw, filled with rows of sharp teeth, and bit down toward the small boat carrying Lin Mo.

Cries of alarm rang out from the villagers of Foosha Village at the docks.

"Lord of the Coast? It's actually the Lord of the Coast! Brat, run for your life!"

"Ahhh! What do we do? He's going to be eaten! Someone, go save him..."

Compared with the villagers' concern, Red-Hair and his crew appeared much more relaxed.

Red-Hair knew Lin Mo was strong, but he had never truly seen him fight. This was a good opportunity to see what the brat was capable of. Still, to be safe, he decided to keep a backup plan ready. "Hey, Beckman. Yasopp."

"Don't worry. That brat's fate doesn't end here."

"Ah, Boss, you really do love meddling in other people's affairs."

The two men simultaneously picked up their guns and aimed them at the Lord of the Coast's head, ready to fire the moment Lin Mo was in danger.

Lin Mo raised his head and stared disdainfully at the so-called Lord of the Coast that dominated these waters. "You overestimate yourself."

This was the perfect chance to test the power of the Great Dragon Fire Technique.

The corners of Lin Mo's lips curled up slightly. He condensed and compressed the Chakra within his body, gathered it in his throat, and then spat it out in one breath. It transformed into a tangible fire dragon that, under his control, howled toward the Lord of the Coast at point-blank range.

Almost instantly, the fire dragon pierced straight through the Lord of the Coast's thick, rugged body before dissipating into the air.

A powerful wave of heat spread in all directions.

The Lord of the Coast, pierced straight through, rolled its eyes white. It didn't even have time to let out a cry of pain before its enormous body crashed heavily onto the surface of the sea, sending countless waves splashing into the air.

From the Lord of the Coast's appearance to Lin Mo's defeat of it, only a few seconds had passed.

Everyone on the docks who witnessed this scene stared with bulging eyes, their jaws practically dropping to the ground in shock.

Red-Hair was especially astonished. Beneath that astonishment lay deep shock. "This brat was still hiding something! A fire dragon? Could he also possess the power of a Logia Devil Fruit?"

Chapter 3: Shimotsuki Village: Koshiro's Temptation

Devil Fruits were also known as the secret treasures of the sea and incarnations of the Sea Devil. Their taste was indescribably awful, yet they could grant the eater powerful abilities. Their side effect, however, was being cursed by the sea and losing the ability to swim.

Therefore, seawater, as well as Seastone, which represented the solidified sea, could be used to restrain and capture ability users.

Aside from their own powerful abilities, Devil Fruits also possessed a higher Realm known as Awakening.

The Awakening of a Devil Fruit could not be achieved simply by endlessly training its abilities. It required a certain opportunity and chance.

That was why very few people could truly achieve Devil Fruit Awakening.

Lin Mo was already astonishing enough for someone his age to possess the Three Types of Haki. Now, to make matters worse, the brat also seemed to possess the power of a Devil Fruit—and a tremendously powerful Logia ability at that!

Judging from how he used the ability, it was not only practiced but also extremely powerful!

He really was a treasure trove.

It was just a pity that the brat refused to board his ship.

Red-Hair turned around, flicked his sleeve, and shouted, "Men, let's go and continue drinking!"

By the time the deeply shaken villagers recovered from their shock, the small boat carrying Lin Mo had already sailed far away.

"W-what just happened? Did that brat defeat the Lord of the Coast?"

"Good heavens, I didn't see wrong, did I? How old is that boy?"

"He killed the Lord of the Coast in a single move! That's incredible! Who is this brat? Does anyone know?"

"Not really. I think he came to the village a few days ago. I thought he was just an ordinary child. Tsk tsk, he really kept his abilities hidden."

"I remember now! I think I saw him at the tavern. I even laughed at him for imitating adults by drinking... Ah, I hope he didn't take what I said to heart."

As for Lin Mo...

He sat aboard the small boat.

Regarding the power of the Great Dragon Fire Technique, which was still only at the entry level, he was fairly satisfied.

As for the villagers' voices at the docks, he could still hear them even after sailing several hundred meters away. Naturally, he paid them no attention.

Lin Mo opened the navigation function built into the system.

He began steadily sailing toward his next destination, Shimotsuki Village.

Near dusk, he finally saw the small island where Shimotsuki Village was located.

He moored the small boat by the shore.

The moment Lin Mo stepped off the boat, the system's notification rang out in his mind.

'Beep beep! Congratulations, Host, on successfully arriving at the sign-in location, Shimotsuki Village. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 10%. Reward: Cursed Blade Stardust. Skill unlocked: Swordsmanship Lv1.'

Cursed Blade Stardust?

The name of this blade sounded rather interesting.

Lin Mo had some impression of the names of certain Famous Swords, but he truly had no impression whatsoever of Cursed Blade Stardust.

Whatever. He would see what kind of blade it was first.

With that,

Lin Mo moved his mind.

A seemingly ordinary wooden sword appeared in his hand.

That's right, a wooden sword.

Looking at the words "Toyako" engraved on the hilt,

Lin Mo fell silent.

He didn't know anything about Cursed Blade Stardust, but when it came to Toyako, he knew exactly what it was. Wasn't that the sword wielded by the protagonist, Gintoki Sakata, in Gintama?

'Beep beep! System notification: Cursed Blade Stardust, also known as Toyako, is a blade forged from an Adam Tree that has lived for ten thousand years. Whether rock or Meteorite, it can cut or shatter anything in a single stroke. Even bullets are no exception. It can even reach the level of cleaving stars and moons and destroying all things.'

Cleaving stars and moons, destroying all things...

It seemed pretty good.

Lin Mo brandished Toyako a few times and found it unexpectedly comfortable to use.

After fastening Toyako to his waist,

Lin Mo rose and walked toward the village.

When it came to Shimotsuki Village, the first person Lin Mo thought of was Zoro, followed by the Isshin Dojo.

Based on Zoro's current age, he should have already become a disciple of Koshiro, the master of the Isshin Dojo.

Moreover, the initial rewards for this landing had been Swordsmanship and Toyako, which showed that this sign-in mission should be closely related to the way of the sword.

Since that was the case, he would first visit the Isshin Dojo and see what was going on.

Under the enthusiastic villagers' directions, Lin Mo soon arrived outside the Isshin Dojo.

Although it was already late, the dojo was still brightly lit. The sounds of children practicing their sword strikes came from inside.

'Beep beep! Arrived at the Isshin Dojo. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 20%. Swordsmanship level +1.'

In an instant, a warm current flowed through his entire network of meridians, and various Swordsmanship techniques at Lv2 naturally appeared in his mind.

Compared with the less noticeable improvement from Lv1, Lv2 gave Lin Mo a clear sense that he had grown stronger again.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

Lin Mo walked generously into the dojo.

Inside the dojo, a blue-haired girl led dozens of relatively young children in practicing their strikes.

At first glance, Lin Mo noticed the green-haired boy among the group of children, as well as a middle-aged man sitting at the side of the dojo. The man wore glasses, kept his eyes narrowed, and always had a smiling expression.

The green-haired boy was Zoro, while the middle-aged man was Koshiro, the father of the blue-haired girl Kuina and the master of the Isshin Dojo.

Koshiro's Swordsmanship was extraordinarily advanced. As far as Lin Mo knew, this reclusive expert had never truly used his full strength. With his current Lv2 Swordsmanship, Lin Mo had no chance of victory against Koshiro.

The slight noise at the entrance caught Koshiro's attention. At the same time, he noticed the wooden sword hanging from Lin Mo's waist.

A glint flashed across Koshiro's glasses.

That wooden sword.

It gave him an unusual feeling.

He stood up.

Koshiro walked toward Lin Mo.

The children still practicing their sword strikes inside the dojo stopped and turned toward the entrance one after another.

"You're a child from out of town, aren't you? Are you a Swordsman as well?" Koshiro asked with a smile.

Lin Mo gave a slight nod but did not answer Koshiro's question directly.

He had only come here to briefly meet Koshiro and Zoro. Since he had achieved his purpose, it was time to leave.

Lin Mo was just about to depart.

Koshiro watched Lin Mo's gradually retreating back in confusion.