Pirate: Invincible from the Start

His eyes suddenly lit up. Wasn't Sabo's boat blown up by the Celestial Dragons before Dragon saved him?

Could it be those very Celestial Dragons? If so, it should happen tonight!

"Hmm!"

Just then, he sensed something. He turned and walked to the stern, staring gravely at the distant sea.

"What is it, Kuta?"

Kuina noticed the change in him and followed him to the stern, puzzled.

"A ship. A very big ship."

"A ship?"

Iku came over too and looked out past the harbor in confusion. Apart from clouds and waves, all he could see were seagulls flying freely overhead.

He turned back and gave Kuta an astonished look. The boy's Observation Haki was incredible!

Iku was an old man who had followed Kozaburo here from Wano Country. He knew exactly what it meant that the boy could sense something he himself could not.

Suddenly, the cabin grew noisy.

Ahua and the other kids had climbed aboard one after another, then charged into the cabin, shouting excitedly.

The senior apprentice leading them searched all over before finding Kuta and the others at the stern.

Seeing them staring into the distance, he didn't ask any questions. He simply followed their gaze out of curiosity.

Then, at the far edge of the sea where it met the sky, a faint black speck appeared.

As time passed, the speck came into focus. It was a massive sailing ship dozens of meters long, rising over ten meters above the water, with a giant dragon coiled around its hull.

From afar, it looked like a living dragon swimming across the sea toward the harbor.

The ship moved fast and soon reached the mouth of the bay.

When Kuta spotted the enormous figure at its bow, excitement slowly spread across his face.

It really was them.

The Legendary Okama King

As the huge dragon-prowed ship drew closer, everyone on the docks stopped what they were doing and turned to look.

"That ship's enormous!"

"Yeah! It's been ages since I've seen one that big."

"Hey, look! Is that a face at the bow?"

"Yeah, what a huge, weird face! Is it a kite?"

"It's too far away to tell."

The morning sea breeze did nothing to quiet the murmurs on the docks as everyone watched the ship approach.

The dragon-prowed ship was too large and sat too deep in the water to enter the bay, so it stopped outside the harbor.

A small boat was lowered from the ship, and the big-faced figure who had been standing at the bow hopped down into it.

Bang!

The little boat rocked so violently it looked ready to capsize, but it stubbornly settled back into place.

Several more people in matching black robes descended the gangway behind the figure.

Only when the boat drew closer did everyone realize the figure really was a person. Her face alone was as large as the boat's bow. Everything but her face was hidden beneath a black robe, and she looked to be over four meters tall.

They could see long, thick eyelashes and an outrageously large mouth on her exposed face. Pale blue shadow covered her eyelids, and purple gloss colored her lips.

Inside the cabin, the kids helping Zoro and Kubi move fish heard the commotion. They dropped what they were carrying and rushed out to watch.

Ahua leaned over the railing and pointed in amazement at the approaching boat. "See that person with the huge face?"

"Yeah! I've never seen anyone like that," A-Tao replied, eyes wide.

A-Luo chimed in, "Look, the ship's huge too."

"Yeah, yeah..." The other kids nodded along.

Zoro came out of the cabin with a tuna bigger than he was slung over his shoulder. Kubi followed, carrying a basket of fish in each hand.

Zoro looked around. When he didn't see Kuta or Kuina, he called to Ahua and the others, "Have you seen Kuta and Kuina?"

"At the stern."

Ahua turned and excitedly pointed out to sea. "Zoro, look at the big-faced weirdo!"

Zoro glanced in the direction he pointed, then lost interest.

"Zoro."

"What?" Zoro turned to face Kuta and the others coming up behind him.

"You've always wanted to know how strong I am, haven't you? Today I'll show you."

Zoro looked at Kuta's excited expression in puzzlement. He had never seen Kuta this worked up in the past year.

"Ever since I broke through, I've barely had a proper fight. And whenever I go to Master, he never gives it his all."

Kuta turned eagerly to Iku beside him. "Today I can finally go all out and see what I can do. Uncle Iku, sorry for the trouble, but please keep them safe." He glanced at Ahua and the others.

"Hey, Kuta! Don't look down on us. We don't need protecting!"

"Yeah! We're strong too!"

The kids waved their arms and shouted. A-Luo even stepped forward and struck a pose, flexing his muscles.

"Quiet, kids! That opponent is way out of your league."

Iku's expression changed sharply as he barked at them.

The moment he saw that face, he had felt he recognized it from somewhere. It had been too far away to make out before, but now that he could see it clearly, he finally remembered.

"What is it?"

Seeing Iku's sudden change in expression, Kuta asked a question he already knew the answer to.

"I remember now."

"Remember what?"

"I know who that big-faced person is."

"Who?"

Everyone looked at Iku curiously, waiting for his answer.

Iku took a hard puff on his pipe before saying gravely, "If I'm not mistaken, that's the person people have been calling a legend these past few years."

"A legend?"

"Yes. They say she's a brilliant doctor who has saved patients other doctors declared beyond help, and even brought a dying nation back from the brink. She left behind the 'Legend of Salvation.' The greatest Okama King in history: Emporio Ivankov."

"What? So she's just a doctor."

Ahua pushed up his glasses and eagerly cut in. "Wait, Okama King? What's an okama, anyway?" Clearly, that interested him more.

"Hmm... An okama... How do I put it? Maybe someone who's half human and half monster?"

A-Luo nodded, rubbing his chin with his right hand as if he had it all figured out.

Thump!

Thump!

Iku raised his pipe and gave each of them a knock. "Don't interrupt, kids."

A-Luo and Ahua immediately stood straight, bowed, and said, "Sorry!"

After a few seconds, Iku narrowed his eyes and continued, "Don't mistake her for an ordinary doctor. The Marines have put an 85.3-million-Beli bounty on her head."

"Eighty-five point three million?"

The place fell silent. Everyone froze. Okama, doctor—none of that had meant much to them. But they knew what an 85.3-million-Beli bounty meant. The highest bounty in the East Blue was only around twenty million Beli.

Kuta had known from the start that she was Emporio Ivankov, the Okama King.

That was exactly why he was so excited. She wouldn't attack civilians, and she was strong enough for him to fight without holding back. Afterward, he could smooth things over by calling it a misunderstanding.

Hmm... The plan was perfect.

A gust of sea wind swept past. The frozen crowd came back to life, and voices erupted.

"You've got to be kidding! Kuta, you're going to fight a monster like that?"

"Yeah! Even you can't beat someone with an 85.3-million-Beli bounty!"

"Enough, stop shouting. It's not a fight to the death. I just want to spar with her."

He explained it to the noisy kids in an easygoing tone.

Then he looked at Kuina. "Kuina, lend me Wado Ichimonji."

Kuina tightened her left hand around the sword and looked at Kuta with concern.

He saw her worry and rested his right hand on her head. "Kuina, as long as I don't let them, no one can hurt me," he said gently.

That's right. No one can hurt Kuta. Kuina slowly relaxed, took the sword from her waist, and handed it to him.

"Give it everything you've got, Kuta. I want to know how far apart we are too."

"I will."

His voice was firm.

Kuta took the sword and held it before him in his left hand. Gripping the hilt with his right, he slowly drew it partway out. The blade rang clearly against the scabbard.

Shing!

Wado Ichimonji was one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords. Its hilt and scabbard were white, its design simple and unassuming. It was a blade that concealed its true worth. According to Tenguyama Hitetsu, Shimotsuki Kozaburo had forged it alongside Enma.

"Beautiful sword."

Kuta gently slid the blade back into its scabbard.

Click!

Then he took the ordinary sword from his left hip and tossed it to Kuina. "This blade can't withstand a full-strength swing from me."

He fastened Wado Ichimonji at his waist, glanced up at Kuina and Zoro, then turned and jumped off the ship with his left hand resting on the sword.

Zoro hurriedly dropped his fish and ran to the side with Kuina. Leaning over the railing, they watched Kuta race across the sea.

Behind Ivankov, a young man in a hat with rabbit ears was rowing hard. Suddenly, he stared ahead in shock.

"Hey, look! Someone's running across the sea toward us!"

Smack!

A large palm struck the back of his head. Another young man behind him cursed, "Yifu, stop daydreaming in broad daylight! Who the hell can run on water? If anyone can do that, I'll eat this oar right here."

A few seconds passed before he noticed how quiet everyone had become.

He stopped rowing and followed their gazes. His eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped out.

"Uh..."

Someone really was running across the sea.

Yifu turned to him and laughed smugly. "See? You know what you just said, right?"

With that, he held out his oar.

The young man behind him quickly composed himself. He turned his head from side to side, feigning confusion as he muttered, "What? Did I say something just now?"