Pirates: Invincible from the Start

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

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

Kuina stared at Kuta and said firmly, "But I made you a promise! I'm going to become the World's Strongest female swordsman. 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 of her heart caught him off guard.

For all these years, it was Master Koshiro and Kuina who had cared for him like family, gradually easing his confusion, uncertainty, and fear.

In that moment, the trust and bond between them became so clear.

Of course! This wasn't an anime world. It was a living, breathing world, filled with people who had ideals and dreams.

He had spent all this time trying to become part of this world, yet something had always felt missing. Now he knew what it was: a

bond. Only when he had a bond in this world could he have a home, a place where his heart belonged.

At that moment, he distinctly felt a power welling up from deep within him, breaking through the barrier to the realm he had long sought but never managed to enter.

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

Was this the Swordmaster Realm?

"Hahahahaha...!"

The sudden realization made him laugh without thinking. His laughter rang across the entire mountain behind the dojo, startling birds into flight.

His joy was infectious. Beside him, Kuina looked at Kuta, a gentle smile spreading across her face.

She didn't know why Kuta had suddenly burst out laughing, but she could hear how happy he was. She had never heard him sound quite like this before.

In the dojo's front courtyard, Koshiro sat meditating on the platform. At the sound of laughter from behind the dojo, his half-closed eyes opened a little wider.

It seems the boy has finally let go of what was weighing on him. Koshiro nodded, a smile touching his lips.

After a moment of thought, he stood and headed outside.

It won't be many years before he sets out to sea. 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 carrying, forward.

"Off you go."

Zoro traced a less-than-graceful arc through the air before landing in the water with a splash!

He woke the instant he hit the water. Thrashing about, he 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 drenched dog?"

Before he could finish, he clutched his stomach and laughed.

"Hahaha...!"

Kuina rested both hands on Kuta's right shoulder. She made no sound, but her narrowed eyes and trembling shoulders gave her away.

"Damn it! Just you two wait!" Zoro glared furiously at them from the water.

Kuta straightened and exchanged a look with Kuina. Still smiling, he turned back to Zoro. "All right, come up and keep training!" Then he and Kuina headed toward the training ground.

Watching the two of them walk away, Zoro slapped the water with both hands, sending spray everywhere. Once he had vented his anger, he made for the bank.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

His voice drifted after them.

The Sailboat Entwined by a Giant Dragon

Early morning.

On the beach along the coast of Shimotsuki Village, Kuta's teasing and Zoro's angry shouts could be heard from far away.

"Left, right, left! Left, right, left! Pick up the pace, Zoro!"

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

Kuta was riding on Zoro's shoulders, using his domain to put pressure on him. Zoro had asked for this training himself, though it came with one condition: he had to carry Kuta during their morning run.

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

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

"Aaaaaah...!"

Once he put on that burst of speed, the others had trouble keeping up.

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

"He has! He's the strongest of all the boys except Kuta now. Even the adults can't beat him." A-Tao turned her head, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and answered Ahua.

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

"Can't be helped. None of us can withstand 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. "All right, stop comparing yourselves to Zoro. You know how much he trains. Hurry up and keep pace!"

Yeah, there's no comparing ourselves to him. That guy's like a beast.

The children all nodded. Looking at Zoro and Kuta in the distance, they showed their admiration.

As for Kuina, she was nothing more than a tiny black speck ahead.

"Yes!"

With a shout, they pushed themselves to run on.

At the end of the beach, a turn led inland to a small harbor. A sea breeze, salty with a hint of fish, blew toward them.

This was Shimotsuki Village's only harbor. Where the stream flowed east into the sea, the coastline curved inward on both sides, forming a natural sheltered cove. That made it the place where the village's boats moored.

Unfortunately, Shimotsuki Village stood in a remote part of the island, and large ships rarely passed by. It had been months since Kuta had last seen one.

Though it was still early and the sun had only just risen, the docks were already bustling. The fishing boats that had set out at dawn had returned.

A dozen or so small fishing boats of varying sizes lay in the harbor. On every boat, sturdy men were unloading baskets of fish and shrimp.

Kuta withdrew his domain, then gave the panting Zoro a kick in the backside as he lay on the ground.

"Get up. You're already like a dead dog after that little bit? When are you ever going to surpass Kuina?"

He pulled Kuina, who had been watching them, closer. "Right, Kuina?"

"That's right! He's still so weak."

Kuina watched Kuta fool around and answered with a playful smile.

She only said it to rile Zoro up. His progress this year had truly been fast—faster than hers had been at his age, at least.

As Kuina 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, as she gradually let go of her fixation on

the difference between men and women, she had found it easier and easier to wield her sword freely.

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

To be clear, he wasn't a creep, and this wasn't some scheme to raise her to his liking...

As for the culprit behind Kuina's death—the "whetstone"—he had thrown it into the sea long ago. He had even sealed off the attic.

When he would open it again depended on Kuina. The dojo was big enough, with plenty of spare rooms.

It was absurd. How could anyone fall to their death from a staircase only a few meters high?

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

Unfortunately, they hadn't.

At least until the day he was transported here, Kuina had never appeared again in either the Pirate King manga or anime.

"Come on. Let's see what tasty seafood they brought in today."

Taking Kuina with him, he walked toward a familiar fishing boat at the docks.

"W-wait for me!"

Zoro's slightly breathless voice came from behind them.

As they entered the harbor, they could hear merchants and fishermen haggling. These traders carried goods and news between villages.

Most were villagers from the mountains on the island. They took fish and shrimp inland, then brought fruit and game back out, earning money in both directions.

Kuta and the others headed straight for the largest fishing boat. It was large only compared with the other boats: 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 saw them approach 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 full head of white hair and a goatee emerged, carrying a large basket of fish.

As soon as Kuta saw him, he hopped aboard and hurried over. He took the basket from the old man and set it by the side of the boat.

The old man lightly wiped his hands on the apron across his chest, then drew a pipe from his waist and packed the bowl with tobacco.

He fished a lighter from his trouser pocket, rolled the wheel, and lit the tobacco with a click.

Leaning against the railing, he raised the pipe and took several long draws, his eyes narrowed.

Then he slowly lifted his head and peered through the smoke at Kuina, who had boarded behind Kuta. A look of reminiscence entered his eyes as he teased, "Kuina, you look more and more like your mother."

Kuina hurried over and leaned against Kuta's back, peeking 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 up to them, and pulled the lid off the basket.

Inside, the basket was piled high with fat, sturdy lobsters.

At the sudden light, the lobsters scrambled to climb out. But they were stacked so tightly that each dragged the others back, and none could escape.

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

Zoro tossed the lid aside and complained down at the lobsters.

Thump!

At Zoro's loud complaining, Iku promptly rapped him on the head. "You little brat! Isn't having lobsters to eat enough for you? They're the tastiest thing you can catch around here."

"Yeah, exactly! Zoro, why can't you appreciate what you've got?"

Seeing Iku flare up, Kuta and Kuina quickly stepped back and nodded vigorously.

"Ow... That hurts!"

Zoro crouched on the

deck, clutching his head with both hands. 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 last time they were sick of eating lobster?"

Iku's face flickered behind the smoke as he turned toward Kuina. She immediately shook her head, denying she had said it.

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

Then he turned toward Zoro's furious glare and winked at him.

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

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

With a cheer, Zoro sprang up and ran for the cabin.

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

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

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

"You brat, what's the rush?"

Iku lowered his pipe and tapped it against the gunwale. Reaching into his clothes with his left hand, he pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Kuta. "Here. News from the past few days."

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

The first article announced a Celestial Dragons ceremony in the Jia Ya Kingdom. Reading on, Kuta saw that it was being held to welcome the Celestial Dragons.

Kuta rubbed his chin and thought it over. Hmm... Celestial Dragons, the Jia Ya Kingdom, Luffy, Foosha Village.