One Piece: Invincible from the Start

Kuina twirled her sword neatly in her right hand and slid it into its sheath with a crisp click.

Kuta's voice rang out beside her. "Point scored. That's the match. Kuina wins, bringing her record to ten thousand wins and zero losses."

At Kuta's voice, Kuina turned. Her cold expression melted into a smile as radiant as a field of flowers in bloom.

She hurried over to Kuta and smiled up at him.

At seventeen, Kuta had lost every trace of his boyishness. A gentle smile usually rested on his resolute, sharply defined face, and silver mist swirled in his azure eyes.

Together, it made him look strikingly handsome.

He was tall and sturdily built, his lean frame standing at six-foot-three.

He wore a moon-white robe, with Zankū and a wine gourd hanging at his left hip.

In the world of pirates, not being able to drink was no good thing.

The sea was vast, and fresh water could not be stored for long, so every ship carried a small supply of low-proof rum.

Demand was so high that the stuff could be found on just about every island.

As Kuina approached, Kuta took the pink kimono draped over his arm and settled it around her shoulders.

Embroidered with white flowers, it looked breathtaking on Kuina, who now stood five-foot-seven.

Kuina gazed tenderly at Kuta as he tied her sash and spoke softly.

"Kuta, Father and the others are waiting for us at the harbor."

"Mm!"

He looked up into Kuina's eyes, affection flickering across his own, then reached out with his right hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"We should say goodbye to Zoro before we go."

Kuina caught his hand and pulled it against her chest.

At the sensation against his arm, Kuta could only marvel. In the end, he had become the kind of person he despised most—the kind he liked most—and had succeeded in raising a girl to be his ideal.

Then he turned to Zoro and said with a gleeful grin, "You lost again, Zoro! And you really have gotten stronger!"

Zoro looked at Kuta calmly. He had grown immune to the man's jabs.

He could tell his physical abilities had probably surpassed Kuina's. He was still a little behind in swordsmanship, but he believed it would not be long before he truly overtook her.

With Kuina, at least he could see a path to surpassing her. Kuta, on the other hand, remained unfathomable.

Zoro had wanted to see what Kuta was really capable of before he sailed away.

But Kuta had insisted that he and Kuina finish this final match.

And now Zoro had earned himself the dubious achievement of ten thousand losses.

"Satisfied now? Can you show me your power?"

"Sure. If that's what you want."

Kuta glanced at Kuina. Understanding, she released his hand, took a few steps back, and stood to one side.

He gripped Zankū in his left hand and walked toward the open ground ahead.

As he advanced, a whirlwind sprang up from nowhere, scattering fallen leaves outward from him.

He stopped in the middle and bent slightly, his gaze fixed on the white clouds overhead. His right hand settled on the hilt, and pale purplish-black Haki spiraled around Zankū. At the peak of his momentum, he slashed with blinding speed.

"God Slash!"

Then the world fell suddenly still. He straightened and withdrew his presence, as though he had never moved at all.

Clink!

Only then did the sound of his sword sliding into its sheath break the silence.

A purplish-black slash could now be seen racing toward the sky.

It tore through the clouds at an astonishing speed.

Wind surged and clouds churned. At the harbor, Koshiro and the others hurriedly looked up.

Crack!

A rift had opened in the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled as clouds poured toward the opening like flowing water.

Everyone stared up, dumbstruck.

"The sky split open. Is it the end of the world?"

Iku turned to Koshiro, who was looking toward the hill behind the village, and asked in astonishment, "That was Kuta, wasn't it?"

"Mm." Koshiro did not turn around. "He's grown that strong already."

Kuta looked at Zoro, who stood frozen in place. Remembering the words Mihawk had once used to spur Zoro on, he suddenly shouted at him.

"Zoro! Know yourself. See the world. Grow stronger! Surpass my sword, surpass me, and you'll become the world's greatest swordsman."

Zoro slowly came to his senses. Hearing Kuta's words, he fixed him with a determined stare.

"Then you'd better be waiting for me at the top. From this day on, I'll never lose again. Just wait until I'm standing before you."

Zoro had no doubt Kuta could reach the top, just as he had always been certain he would become the greatest himself.

"Good."

Satisfied, Kuta turned and headed for the harbor with Kuina.

Without Kuina's death, would Zoro still become the same fiercely determined Zoro? Kuta did not know. But he believed Zoro would keep the promise he had made today. He was Zoro, after all. Once he set his sights on a goal, he would see it through.

The Cook, the Lookout, the Helmsman, the Shipwright, and the Navigator

A gentle breeze, the open sea, the rising sun.

Cool mist blanketed everything. Morning sunlight filtered through thin clouds and scattered across the sea, making the waves shimmer.

Seabirds called incessantly over the blue water. Every so often, one plunged into the sea like a fighter jet, then soared away with a fish in its beak.

But even the finest hunters sometimes missed. A few unlucky seabirds never came back up.

They must have picked a bad day to leave home.

It was hardly a rare sight, but for Kuta and his crew, fresh out at sea, it was more than enough to excite them.

Creak!

The wooden cabin door groaned open, startling a seabird that had been preening on the roof.

A plump man in a white chef's uniform and glasses emerged, carrying a tray with two glasses of juice in his left hand.

Spotting Kuta reclining in a deck chair at the bow, he hurried over and set the juice on the small table beside him.

"Kuta, try this lemon-apple juice I made."

"Mm! Thanks, Ahua."

Kuta put down the navigation book in his hand and looked up to thank Ahua warmly.

Just then, a head with spiky hair appeared over the edge of the lookout platform atop the mast and shouted down.

"Ahua, where's my juice?"

Ahua adjusted his glasses and looked up at him calmly. "In the kitchen. Go get it yourself if you want some. You think you're Kuta or Kuina? Why would I bring it to you?"

"You're the cook. You're supposed to take care of us fighters."

The spiky-haired young man climbed down the mast and stood on the deck amidships, calling out his challenge.

A vein bulged on Ahua's forehead. He charged at the young man in leather pants.

"A-Luo, are you looking for a fight?"

Ahua had told himself that now they were at sea, he needed to stop acting on impulse. He had to be mature and stay calm.

But ever since A-Luo had boarded the ship, he had kept stirring up trouble for no reason. Somehow, he always managed to get under Ahua's skin.

A young man with thick lips stepped out of a room on the upper level. Dressed in denim with a cowboy hat, he would have looked like a real cowboy if he had not been a little heavyset.

He hurried down the stairs and pulled the two apart.

"You two get into it several times a day. You've been bickering since you were kids. We're at sea now—can't you give it a rest?"

"A-Tao, stay out of it."

"Today I'm going to show this guy who's the second-strongest person on this ship."

Ahua rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight A-Luo.

A-Tao stared at them, speechless.

They were awfully eager to fight over second-to-last place. Why didn't either of them try challenging Kuina?

Speak of Kuina, and—

there she was.

Kuina came up the stairs beside the cabin in a pink kimono and sandals. Drops of water still clung to her dark blue hair.

Drying her hair, she walked calmly past Ahua and the others, giving them a brief glance as she went.

That one glance made all three of them stand up straight.

Ahua and A-Luo, who had been butting heads a moment ago, even slung their arms over each other's shoulders and acted like the best of friends.

They were not afraid of each other. They were not even afraid of Kuta. But Kuina was another matter.

She had beaten every one of them up as they grew up, leaving them all with a deep-seated fear of her.

If Zoro had not come along later, they might have had it even worse.

Only after Kuina reached the bow did they all let out a breath and wipe away their nervous sweat.

Ahua and A-Luo remained arm in arm for a while before suddenly remembering they were still holding each other.

Their faces filled with disgust, and they hastily let go.

As if they had been embracing something horrible, they sprang several steps apart. They exchanged a look, snorted in unison, turned their heads away, and spat on the deck.

"Ugh!"

"Pah!"

A-Tao watched the two of them and sighed.

I'm the third-strongest person on this ship, and even I don't make this much of a spectacle.

He shook his head, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and put one between his lips.

Click!

He lit it, drew deeply, and blew a smoke ring with practiced flair.

Then he lifted his chin and strode proudly past Ahua and A-Luo toward the cabin.

Wasn't the juice worth having?

It was.

Very much so.

Sweet and tart, it tasted delicious.

Kuta lounged in his deck chair, gently swirling his glass before taking a sip.

He smiled as he watched the three clowns below.

Ahua really did have a talent for cooking. He had loved eating since childhood, which was why he had always been so fat.

Even sending him to the dojo had not helped his father slim him down.

Two years ago, Ahua had gone home to take over the family restaurant and become a cook. By the time they set sail, he was already well known throughout the area for his cooking.

When Kuta first invited him to sea, Ahua had refused.

As he put it, he had good food and drink at home. Why would he go to sea with Kuta just to suffer?

In the end, it had taken Kuina to persuade him to come.