One Piece: Invincible from the Start

He looked down at Kizaru and smiled mockingly. "Instead of catching the pirates still on this island, you Marines come after a law-abiding citizen like me? What's that about?"

He pointed toward the enormous beasts charging in from the distance, drawn by the explosion. "You'd better catch those things too. Leave them in the East Blue, and they'll be a disaster!"

"Pirate, don't forget what you are. The Marines don't need you telling us how to do our jobs."

Kizaru stared at Kuta without expression.

Kuta didn't need to tell him how dangerous the beasts were.

The pirates were the least dangerous things on the island.

Kuta shrugged. "Look, Uncle Pikachu, why don't we pretend we never met? You can't do anything to me anyway, can you?"

He paused, then added, "Besides, your salary doesn't justify risking your life against me!"

Kizaru found himself nodding. He has a point. My salary really doesn't justify fighting Kuta to the death.

Besides, arresting Kuta wasn't the purpose of this trip.

He kicked a beast that had just arrived and tried to ambush him, sending it flying.

What am I thinking? He nearly led me astray. I didn't become a Marine for the paycheck!

Kizaru looked up at Kuta, anger flashing in his eyes. "Don't go giving people nicknames! I'm Kizaru. Kizaru! Not Pikachu."

"Got it, Uncle Pikachu."

Kuta kicked a beast away and spoke as though it didn't matter.

Then he ignored Kizaru, teleported in front of Indigo, and patted his shoulder. "Let's go."

"Oh! Right."

Indigo had recognized Kizaru the moment he saw him.

Any pirate who paid the slightest attention to the news knew the three Marine Admirals.

The Marines touted those three as their strongest fighters.

They were the face of the Marines.

At first, Indigo had been worried about Kuta. Beating Golden Lion didn't necessarily mean he could stand up to a Marine Admiral.

Indigo knew just how far Golden Lion's strength had declined.

But when Kuta teleported, Indigo breathed a sigh of relief.

No wonder he had beaten Golden Lion. He could fly and teleport, and he probably had other abilities too.

Looks like I picked the right captain. He can even hold his own against a Marine Admiral.

Kuta looked up at Kizaru, who was fighting the beasts. It was obvious he was dragging his feet.

Kuta expanded his Space Domain and sent the door panel flying into the sky.

In truth, he and Kizaru had reached an unspoken agreement to go their separate ways as soon as the beasts arrived.

Neither could do anything to the other.

And since Kizaru wasn't particularly determined to catch him, he let Kuta leave.

On the ground, Kizaru kicked another beast aside and watched the door panel climb higher into the sky. He couldn't help sighing.

"The Marines and the World Government are in for another headache."

But none of that was his concern. He was only an old Marine on a meager salary.

His usual manner returned.

One kick per beast, and a "How scary" for each one.

Ants and Rabbits

After leaving Golden Lion's palace island,

Kuta and Indigo rode the door panel swiftly toward Loguetown.

They encountered the Freedom as they neared the town.

The trip from Prothius Island to Loguetown normally took only a day. But with the ship packed with people and heavy waves during the first half of the voyage, Kuina and the others had taken a day and a half.

They had dropped the villagers off at Loguetown without entering the town, then reversed course and hurried back.

Kuta descended onto the deck atop the door panel.

At the bow, Kuina's cool expression gave way to a radiant smile.

She hurried over and wrapped both hands around his arm, looking up at him without so much as a glance at Indigo. Few things could draw her attention away from Kuta; her eyes were almost always on him.

"Kuta, you're finally back! I thought the fight might go on forever!"

"Yeah. That old man still had some fight in him. Even on the verge of death, he kept fighting me through sheer will for a day and two nights."

Kuta reached out and ruffled Kuina's hair. He liked doing it so much that it had become a habit.

Kuina narrowed her eyes in pleasure and even rubbed her head against his hand like a cat.

She always let him muss up her hair, then had him smooth it back into place with his fingers.

She enjoyed the whole process.

"Oh! And who's this?"

Only after a while did she turn her attention to Indigo.

"This is Doctor Indigo. He's our ship's doctor now."

Kuta looked at Indigo as he introduced him.

"Oh. Hello, Doctor Indigo."

Kuina's voice was cool, neither too distant nor especially warm.

Aside from training and fighting, little usually interested her.

But Indigo had earned Kuta's approval, which meant he was now a shipmate. She was always friendly to her companions.

"Hello. You can leave your health in my hands from now on!"

Indigo made two squeaking sounds, spun in place, and gave a gentlemanly bow.

"Whoa! Why are you so weird?"

A-Luo slid down from the mast.

"Seriously. You're like a performer at an amusement park!"

Ahua pushed up his glasses as he emerged from the kitchen. There was no telling what he did in there, but whenever he had nothing else to do, that was where he stayed.

"Hey, you two! Hurry up and set the sails!"

A-Tao poked her head out of the wheelhouse and shouted.

Now that they had picked up Kuta, they needed to turn back toward Loguetown.

A-Luo and Ahua hurried to help adjust the sails.

Once the course was set, the three of them gathered around Indigo and bombarded him with one bizarre question after another.

Indigo soon hit it off with all three.

Every so often, he fired off a magic bullet that made them yelp and shout.

Anyone who didn't know better would have taken Indigo for a magician!

At the bow, Kuta once again

settled into his personal lounge chair.

He glanced at Ahua. Doesn't he know better? His captain's back, and he hasn't even brought me a glass of juice. Looks like I'll have to give him some extra attention later.

Kuta looked at Kuina beside him, sat up, and took her hand, drawing her down next to him. Then he told her about his fight with Golden Lion.

He included everything he had learned about swordsmanship and the techniques for using Haki.

Kuina had been in the Swordmaster Realm for over a year. With those techniques, a few more major battles, and more practice with Armament Haki, she should soon become a Great Swordsman.

There were considerable differences between a Swordmaster and a Great Swordsman beyond the power of their Slashes.

A Great Swordsman could imbue a Slash with Haki, making it devastating up close and formidable at range.

A Swordmaster's Slash, by contrast, was relatively weak. It dealt far less damage than striking an enemy directly with a blade.

That was why Swordmasters rarely used Slashes and instead fought up close with their swords.

To become a Great Swordsman, one had to grasp Cutting Steel—the Breath of All Things. A step beyond that was Observation Haki.

One also had to master advanced applications of Armament Haki.

It was worth explaining the different ways Armament Haki could be used.

Because Armament Haki could flow, it had several applications: Hardening, Coating, Emission, and Internal Destruction.

Those techniques differed in sophistication, but that did not necessarily reflect the strength of a person's Armament Haki, much less their overall power. In Wano Country, it was called Ryuo because of its flowing nature.

Hardening was straightforward. By covering the body with Armament Haki, one could make it harder than steel, increasing both defense and attack power.

It could also be applied to objects, not just the user's body.

This was the most common and most basic use of Armament Haki in the New World.

Coating meant wrapping gas-like Armament Haki around the outside of the body. It improved offense and defense, could be applied to weapons, and could even remain on projectiles such as arrows and bullets for a time. It could be used alongside Hardening.

Emission was an advanced application. By gathering Armament Haki in the hands or a weapon and releasing it, one could turn it into tangible offensive or defensive force. It could produce a powerful impact that sent enemies flying, form a protective barrier, or even defend against invisible attacks.

As for Internal Destruction, the highest level, few people in the entire world could use it.

It allowed a user to emit Armament Haki through an object's surface and damage it directly from within.

Hardening, Coating, and Emission could also be used at the same time.

Kuta had only just reached the point where he could use Emission.

His battle with Golden Lion had strengthened his Haki considerably, but he still had not reached its peak. He needed to work harder.

He tempered Zankū with Haki at every moment. He believed that once Zankū became a Black Blade,

his Haki would have reached its peak.

A Great Swordsman's Slash combined advanced Armament Haki with their unparalleled swordsmanship, creating an extraordinarily powerful long-range attack.

Such a Slash was fast and powerful, and it could even harm Logia users.

That was why so many people feared Great Swordsmen.

Seeing so many people in the New World produce Slashes with weapons, or even with their bodies, might make it seem as though Swordmasters were everywhere.

The truth was precisely the opposite.

Those attacks were nothing like a true Swordmaster's Flying Slash.

A Swordmaster's Slash was forged through years of training, one stroke at a time.

It was concentrated and carried that Swordmaster's unique understanding of the sword.

Every Swordmaster's Slash was the product of their own training.

One could learn from other Swordmasters how to concentrate a Slash, but not how to reproduce their true Slashes.

That was why every Swordmaster's Slash, including those of Great Swordsmen, was different.

To become a Great Swordsman, one first had to train from childhood and advance step by step until reaching a point where further progress seemed impossible.

At that point, anyone with reasonable talent could generally awaken Armament Haki. If they then grasped the Breath of All Things, they would undoubtedly become a Swordmaster.

Going from there to Great Swordsman, however, truly demanded exceptional talent.

Advanced Armament Haki was practically the domain of monsters and geniuses.

Monsters were born with extraordinary gifts. Once they awakened Armament Haki, they could naturally reach Emission through combat and daily training, provided they weren't completely hopeless.

Just look at Luffy and Zoro.

They had only awakened it recently, yet their Armament Haki was already close to its peak.