A Sailing Ship Entwined with a Dragon

"You can't underestimate Zoro. His willpower and determination are every bit as strong as yours."

"After spending today with him, of course I could feel his determination. I saw his beastlike willpower, too."

Kuina stared at Kuta, her voice firm. "But I promised you! I promised I'd become the World's Strongest Swordswoman. Only then can I stay by your side, always and forever."

Kuta stopped beside the stream and looked at Kuina on his left. The resolve in her eyes and the strength in her heart caught him off guard.

All these years, Master Koshiro and Kuina had cared for him like family. Little by little, they had eased his confusion, uncertainty, and fear.

That trust and those bonds had never felt clearer than they did now.

That's right! This isn't an anime world. It's a living, breathing world full of people with ideals and dreams.

He had spent so long trying to belong in this world, yet something had always felt missing. Now he knew: it was the bonds

he had with others. Only with bonds in this world could he have a home, somewhere his heart belonged.

At that moment, he felt a power welling up from deep within him, breaking through into the realm he had struggled so long to reach.

He gently closed his eyes and let his awareness spread outward. The whole world seemed to come alive: the stream, the trees, birdsong, the ocean, the clouds, the sunlight. Everything was so vivid.

So this is the Swordmaster Realm?

"Hahahahaha...!"

The revelation made him burst into laughter. His voice rang across the entire mountain behind the dojo, startling birds into flight.

His joy spread to Kuina beside him. She gazed at Kuta, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

She had no idea why Kuta had suddenly laughed, but she could hear in it a happiness unlike any she had ever heard from him before.

Koshiro was meditating on the platform in the Sword Hall's front courtyard when he heard the laughter from behind the dojo. His half-lidded eyes opened a little wider.

It seems the boy has finally worked through what was troubling him. Koshiro nodded, a smile touching his lips.

After a moment's thought, he stood and headed outside.

At this rate, he'll set out to sea in a few years. I should prepare a gift for him.

Kuta stopped laughing and looked at the stream ahead. He swung his right arm back, then hurled Zoro, whom he had been holding, forward.

"Off you go!"

Splash! Zoro traced a less-than-graceful arc through the air and landed in the water.

Zoro woke the instant he hit the water. He thrashed about and roared, "Who? Who threw me in the water? Cough! Cough, cough!"

Watching Zoro flail, Kuta turned to Kuina. "Look at him. Doesn't he look like a drowned rat?"

Before he finished speaking, he doubled over with laughter.

"Hahaha...!"

Kuina rested both hands on Kuta's right shoulder without making a sound. But her narrowed eyes and trembling shoulders gave her away.

"Damn it! You two just wait!" Zoro glared furiously at them from the water.

Kuta straightened and exchanged a glance with Kuina. Still smiling, he turned to Zoro. "All right, come on out and keep training!" Then he and Kuina headed for the training ground.

Watching their backs recede, Zoro slapped the water hard with both hands, sending spray everywhere. After venting for a while, he made his way to shore.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

His voice carried after them.

Early morning.

From a long way off, Kuta's teasing and Zoro's angry shouts could be heard along the beach at Shimotsuki Village.

"One, two, one, two! Pick up the pace, Zoro!"

"Shut up!" With Kuina's back ahead of him, Zoro tightened his grip on Kuta's legs and ran faster.

Kuta was perched on Zoro's shoulders, using his domain to weigh him down. Zoro had asked for the training himself, though Kuta had made one condition: Zoro had to carry him during the morning run.

Looking down at Zoro, Kuta increased the pressure again. "Come on, Zoro, put some effort into it! You can barely see Kuina anymore."

At Kuta's gleeful taunt, Zoro felt his shoulders sink. He gritted his teeth, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right arm, drew a breath, and roared as he charged ahead even faster.

"Aaaaaah..."

Once he surged forward, the others struggled to keep up.

Watching Zoro race past, Ahua panted, "Damn it! Zoro's improved so much this year."

"Yeah. He's the strongest boy here after Kuta. Even the adults can't beat him now." A-Tao wiped the sweat from her forehead before answering Ahua.

A-Luo, who had been running at the back, sped up to Ahua's side. "Too bad we can't train with Kuta."

"Can't be helped. We can't take that kind of pressure!" One of the kids running ahead slowed down, too.

Hearing the children talking behind him, the senior student leading the run turned and scolded them. "Enough. Stop comparing yourselves to Zoro. You know how much he trains. Hurry up and keep pace!"

Right. There's no comparing ourselves to him. He's like a wild beast.

The children nodded together and gazed admiringly at Kuta and Zoro in the distance.

As for Kuina, she was no more than a tiny black speck now.

"Yes!"

With a shout, they pushed themselves to run faster.

Past the end of the beach, a turn led inland to a small harbor. The sea breeze blew toward them, carrying salt and the smell of fish.

This was Shimotsuki Village's only harbor. A stream flowed east into the sea here, and the coastline curved inward on both sides to form a natural shelter from the wind. The village's seagoing boats moored here.

Unfortunately, Shimotsuki Village lay in a remote part of the island, and large ships rarely passed by. Kuta had last seen one several months ago.

Though the sun had only just risen, the docks were already bustling. The fishing boats that had set out early had returned.

A dozen or so small fishing boats of various sizes sat in the harbor. Burly men aboard each one carried baskets of fish and shrimp ashore.

Kuta withdrew his domain, looked at Zoro sprawled on the ground and gasping for air, and gave him a kick in the backside.

"Get up. You're acting half-dead after that little bit of training. When are you ever going to surpass Kuina?"

He pulled Kuina, who had been watching them, over to his side. "Right, Kuina?"

"Exactly. He's still so weak."

Kuina watched Kuta clown around and answered in a playful voice.

She only said it to get a rise out of Zoro. He really had improved quickly over the past year, faster than she had at his age.

As she grew older and her figure began to develop, she could clearly feel her progress slowing. It forced her to spend more time training her strength.

As for swordsmanship, over the past few months she had gradually let go of her fixation on

the differences between men and women. She could feel her sword techniques becoming easier and more natural to use.

Hearing Kuina's answer, Kuta looked at her increasingly gentle, playful face and smiled with satisfaction.

To be clear, he was no creep, and he wasn't trying to mold her into anything...

As for the grindstone that had caused Kuina's death, he had thrown it into the sea long ago. He had even sealed off the attic.

When to reopen it would depend on Kuina. The dojo was big enough, with plenty of empty rooms.

It was absurd that someone could fall to her death on stairs only a few meters high.

For a while, he had suspected Koshiro and Kuina had staged the whole thing.

Unfortunately, they hadn't.

At least, up until the time he had crossed over, Kuina had never reappeared in either the Pirate King manga or anime.

"Let's go see what tasty seafood came in today."

He took Kuina with him and headed toward a familiar fishing boat at the dock.

"W-wait for me."

Zoro's slightly breathless voice came from behind them.

As they entered the harbor, they heard merchants and fishermen haggling. These people carried goods and news between villages.

Most came from mountain villages on the island. They took fish and shrimp up into the mountains, then brought fruit and wild game back down, earning money both ways.

Kuta and the others headed straight for the largest fishing boat. "Largest" was relative: it was only a small sailboat, a little over ten meters long and a few meters high.

The boat belonged to Isshin Dojo. It was mainly used to buy grain from other islands, though it also went fishing now and then.

A burly man working aboard spotted them and called into the cabin, "Uncle Iku, Kuta and the others are here!"

"All right, all right, I'm coming." An old man with a head of white hair and a goatee emerged, carrying a large basket of fish.

The moment Kuta saw him, he jumped aboard and hurried over. He took the basket from the old man and set it beside the rail.

The old man lightly wiped his hands on his apron, took a pipe from his waist, and packed its bowl with tobacco.

Then he fished a lighter out of his trouser pocket, flicked its wheel, and lit the tobacco with a click.

He leaned against the rail, raised his pipe, and took several long draws with narrowed eyes.

Slowly lifting his head, he looked through the smoke at Kuina, who had followed Kuta aboard. Reminiscence filled his eyes as he teased, "Kuina, you're looking more and more like your mother!"

Kuina stepped forward and leaned against Kuta's back, peering over his shoulder at the basket on the deck.

"Uncle Iku, did you catch anything good today?"

Before Iku could answer, Zoro scrambled aboard, rushed over, and yanked the lid off the basket.

Inside, it was piled high with plump, hefty lobsters.

The lobsters recoiled from the sudden light and scrambled to climb out. But they were stacked together, each pulling the others back, and none could escape.

"What? Lobsters again? I'm sick of them."

Zoro tossed aside the lid and complained to the lobsters in the basket.

Thump!

Iku promptly punched the loudly complaining Zoro on the head. "You little brat! Isn't having lobster to eat good enough? It's the tastiest thing you can catch around here."

"Yeah, Zoro! How can you be so ungrateful?"

As Iku lost his temper, Kuta and Kuina hurriedly took a step back, nodding furiously.

"Ow... Ow, ow, ow!"

Zoro crouched on the deck

with both hands over his head. He looked up at Kuta and Kuina, who had retreated to one side, and shouted,

"Hey! You two have no loyalty at all! Who was it that said they were sick of lobster last time?"

Iku's face flickered through the smoke as he looked at Kuina. She quickly shook her head, denying she had said it.

His gaze shifted to Kuta. Kuta shrugged and said with a solemn face, "Uncle Iku, you know me. How could I ever say something like that?"

Then he turned to meet Zoro's furious eyes and winked at him.

The burly man beside them, who had been watching with a smile, spoke up. "Come on, Uncle Iku, stop teasing them. Isn't there still a big catch in the cabin?"

Zoro looked up at Iku in surprise. Iku took a puff of his pipe before glancing down at him. "What are you looking at? Go haul it out of the cabin yourself!"

Zoro cheered, sprang to his feet, and ran into the cabin.

Iku turned to the burly man. "Kubi, go give the brat a hand."

"Yes, Uncle Iku." Kubi followed Zoro into the cabin.

Kuta stepped over to Iku. "Uncle Iku, where's today's news?"

"You brat, what's the hurry?"

Iku lowered his pipe and tapped it against the side of the boat. Then he rummaged inside his clothes with his left hand, pulled out a stack of papers, and handed them to Kuta. "Here. This is the news from the past few days."

Kuta unfolded the papers, leaned against the rail, and began to read.

The first article announced a Celestial Dragons celebration in the Jia Ya Kingdom. Reading on, he learned it was being prepared to welcome the Celestial Dragons.

Kuta rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. Hmm... Celestial Dragons, the Jia Ya Kingdom, King Luffy, Foosha Village.