Lin Mo was drinking in his room when the System Notification Sound suddenly rang in his mind, making him pause.
A stronger Sword Aura spread out from him, surging through the little room.
When he stilled his mind, he could even sense the Breath of All Things around him!
He had grown stronger again!
Lin Mo's gaze drifted to Wado Ichimonji, which lay off to one side.
In the original Pirate King story, Kuina had fallen down the stairs and died while looking for a whetstone for Wado Ichimonji.
Now the sword belonged to him.
Kuina had no reason to look for its whetstone anymore, so she would avoid the fall that had killed her.
"Looks like I'll finish the Shimotsuki Village task soon." In high spirits, Lin Mo went back to drinking. Sitting in his room and having good fortune drop into his lap felt pretty nice.
Half an hour earlier.
Kuina had narrowly beaten Zoro.
Zoro lay on the grass, covering his face in frustration. "Damn it! I was so close..."
Kuina stared at him, her face grim. "I'm the one who's frustrated."
Zoro lowered his hand and looked at her.
"When girls grow up, they become weaker than boys," Kuina went on. "You've already caught up to me. Soon you'll beat me. Zoro, you always say you're going to become the World's Strongest Master Swordsman, right? My father told me a girl can't do that. I know. I've known for a long time. But... I can't accept it! You're lucky, Zoro. You're a boy. I want to become the World's Strongest Master Swordsman too. If only... if only I'd been born a boy..."
Zoro got up from the grass, growing angrier with every word. "You beat me, so quit complaining! That's not fair! You're the person I've been trying to defeat all this time! What does being a boy or a girl have to do with it? If I finally beat you, will you say the same thing? You'd make it sound like I hadn't won through my own strength. Then what am I, an idiot for training so hard? Don't say that again!"
Kuina looked at Zoro, tears in her eyes.
Zoro stepped closer, gritting his teeth. "Promise me. One day, either you or I will become the World's Strongest Master Swordsman!"
Kuina stared at the resolve in his eyes. After a moment, her expression softened. "Idiot. You're still weaker than me..."
"Then it's a promise!" Zoro held out his hand. "But before either of us becomes the strongest, let's see who can beat Lin Mo first."
Kuina's eyes brightened. She took Zoro's hand and smiled. "Deal! Just watch. I'll beat him first!"
The next day.
Lin Mo got up early as usual to hunt in the valley.
But the one shadow trailing him had become two...
It was as if the pair had planned it. One after the other, they kept asking him to spar. When he refused them both, they still wouldn't give up. They even started launching sneak attacks.
Each time, Lin Mo knocked them down with a chop of his hand.
The next few days went the same way. No matter how many times Lin Mo put them on the ground,
it did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. Day after day, the two of them came back for more.
Koshiro saw it all, but he merely smiled. He made no attempt to stop his daughter or his student.
He had clearly decided to let them pester Lin Mo as much as they liked.
One evening,
after Lin Mo knocked Zoro and Kuina down in the dojo's rear courtyard for the umpteenth time,
Koshiro beckoned to him from the corridor with a smile. "Lin Mo, come here a moment."
Lin Mo glanced over.
Dragon was there too.
It looked as though Dragon was about to leave.
Lin Mo walked over.
Dragon smiled. "I've stayed here too long this time. I should be going."
"Oh," Lin Mo replied casually.
"Are you sure you won't reconsider coming with me?" Dragon asked.
"No," Lin Mo said at once.
Seeing that Lin Mo had no interest at all, Dragon gave up on recruiting him for now. "All right. I won't force you. If you run into trouble someday, you can find me in Baltigo."
Baltigo was the Revolutionary Army's base.
Lin Mo gave a perfunctory nod.
Dragon smiled, then turned to Koshiro without trying to hide anything. "Thank you for helping gather the food."
Koshiro smiled. "It was nothing. What are your plans now? Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom isn't far from here. You haven't been back in a long time. Will you visit?"
"No." Dragon shook his head. "It isn't time yet. I'll think about it later."
Koshiro nodded. "All right. Just let me know ahead of time the next time you come."
"I will." Dragon said nothing more and left Shimotsuki Village before nightfall.
In the original story, Luffy had not known who his father was until he reached Water 7 on the Grand Line.
Dragon was cautious and never exposed his weaknesses lightly. Very few people knew his background; even the subordinates he trusted in the Revolutionary Army did not know he had a son.
Koshiro had not said it outright just now,
but it was clear he was one of the few people who knew Dragon well.
Their relationship was no ordinary one.
Not that it mattered.
Lin Mo had no interest in it. All he cared about was completing his check-in task and drinking.
"If that's all, I'm going." Lin Mo turned toward his room for a drink.
Koshiro called after him. "The village is holding a festival tonight. Would you like to see it?"
"No," Lin Mo refused at once.
Just then, Zoro and Kuina jogged over.
"Shimotsuki Village throws a lively festival at the end of every month," Zoro said excitedly. "It's great fun! Lin Mo, come with us."
"I don't particularly like browsing stalls," Kuina said with a haughty air, "but if you're going, I suppose I could accompany you."
Lin Mo: "..."
"Not interested. I'm not going," Lin Mo said.
Koshiro smiled. "Quite a few villagers will be selling wine they've brewed at home. Every household's tastes different, and you won't find any of it at the tavern."
Lin Mo stopped on his way to his room.
Koshiro looked at Zoro and Kuina. "What are you waiting for?"
The two exchanged smiles, grabbed one of Lin Mo's arms each, and pulled him toward the door.
"Aunt Sugimoto's wine should be pretty good," Kuina said. "Uncle Dragon's friend—you know, the scary-looking Okama with the enormous face—always buys wine from her whenever he visits the village. Usually she doesn't sell it to outsiders. She only makes an exception outside festival nights because Uncle Dragon and my father are on good terms."
"Is wine really that good?" Zoro asked, puzzled. "I sneaked a sip once. Juice tasted better."
Lin Mo pulled his arms free and said, exasperated, "How can you two be so shameless..."
Zoro laughed openly. "We're not. Have you got the wrong idea about me and Kuina?"
Lin Mo: "..."
Kuina grinned. "Actually, when you ignore us and knock us down in one hit, you're training us, aren't you?"
Lin Mo: "..."
No. I really am not...
"My reflexes and my ability to take a hit have improved so much," Zoro went on. "It's all thanks to you teaching me."
Lin Mo: "..."
Huh? When did I teach you that?
"There's something I've been wanting to ask," Kuina said. "A lot of the time, Zoro and I attack you from behind at the same time. You never even see us. How do you dodge every attack?"
"Yeah, exactly!" Zoro nodded eagerly. "I've been wondering too. Come on, Lin Mo, tell us how you do it."
Shimotsuki Village: Higuma the Bandit's Provocation
Faced with question after question from Zoro and Kuina,
Lin Mo had no desire to answer them.
And he didn't. No matter how much the two begged and tried to charm him, Lin Mo ignored them.
Running out of options, Kuina suddenly had an idea. "Lin Mo, if you tell us, I'll use all the pocket money I've saved over the years to buy you wine. How about it?"
No, thanks.
"I don't need it. I have money," Lin Mo said flatly.
"Don't be so stingy," Zoro muttered.
As they spoke, the three arrived at Shimotsuki Village's busiest Night Market street.
Vendors called out on every side, and people streamed past. The street was bustling.
Lin Mo remained fairly calm.
Zoro and Kuina, on the other hand, were flushed with excitement, looking everywhere at once.
Kids were kids.
"There she is." Kuina pointed to a middle-aged woman calling out to customers from a handcart stall on the left side of the street. "That's Aunt Sugimoto. Her wine sells faster than anyone else's. If we'd come a little later, she'd probably have sold out."
Even as she spoke, people gathered around the small cart and began lining up for the limited supply of wine.
Lin Mo and the other two hurried over and joined the back of the line.
"Go have fun on your own."
Lin Mo did not want them following him everywhere.
Kuina smiled. "Aunt Sugimoto's wine is limited to one small jar per person. If Zoro and I stay, we can buy you two more."
She had barely finished speaking
when a group of fierce-looking men shoved their way through the crowd and up to Sugimoto's stall.
Their leader was a tall, long-faced man with a cross-shaped scar on his forehead and a sword at his waist.
It was Higuma the Bandit.
He was the man who would one day pour wine over Red-Haired Shanks, one of the future Four Emperors.
Shanks had been broad-minded enough not to hold it against him at the time.
At this point, Higuma and his men probably had not yet gone to Foosha Village or met Red-Hair's crew.
"Quite a line. The wine must be good. I'll take the whole cart," Higuma declared arrogantly.
The villagers nearby shrank back in fear.
"B-but my wine is limited to one small jar per person," Sugimoto said nervously. "If you want to buy some, c-could you please join the line?"
"The line?" Higuma sneered. "I'm a Bounty Criminal worth eight million Beli, and you want me to stand in line?"
Sugimoto looked close to tears. The villagers were furious, but none dared speak up.
A Bounty Criminal worth eight million Beli was no joke. The villagers had no way to defend themselves, and none dared provoke him.
Zoro and Kuina both reached for the bamboo swords they had brought with them.
Kuina's cool voice rang out. "I don't care how big the bounty on your head is. This is Shimotsuki Village. You can't do whatever you want here."
"That's right!" Zoro gripped his two bamboo swords tightly despite his nerves. "We won't let you bully people."
Higuma tilted his head toward Lin Mo and the other two and let out a derisive laugh.
His underlings laughed even louder.
Before you continue