One Piece: Invincible from the Start

"Hmm... he didn't say anything." The more he spoke, the more certain he sounded. He nodded solemnly at Yifu.

Yifu's hands trembled on the oar. He stared at him in disbelief and sighed. "You really have no shame."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Both of you, shut up."

"Yes, Lord Ivankov."

While the two bickered, Ivankov had already spotted Kuta. He frowned slightly.

"Is something wrong, Lady Ivankov?"

"Nothing, Inazuma. I just saw an interesting boy."

A woman stepped out from behind Ivankov, also dressed in a black robe. She wore orange-and-blue glasses, and her hair was shaped like the club on a playing card, orange on the left and white on the right. A lightning-shaped scar ran from her forehead to her right eye.

She gazed ahead calmly, her right hand held straight out with its palm down. With her left, she gracefully swirled the wine in her glass and said,

"That's impressive. He really can run on water."

She raised her glass and took a small sip. "Lady Ivankov, I think that boy is heading straight for us."

"What do we do... What do we do? He's coming for us!"

Ivankov suddenly bent his knees, shaking all over, and cried out with his mouth wide open.

"Lord Ivankov, are you all right?" Yifu shouted in alarm.

"I-I-I'm..."

Ivankov's teetering body suddenly spun 180 degrees. He threw both hands into the air. "I'm not scared at all!"

Yifu and the others on the boat burst into wild laughter and applause.

"So he wasn't scared!"

"He got us again!"

"Hahaha..."

Inazuma stood to one side, smiling as she watched them.

She wasn't nervous about Kuta's approach in the slightest. This was the East Blue, after all—the Weakest Sea.

Challenging a Legend ### A lively commotion rose from the docks in Shimotsuki Village's harbor.

"Whoa! What's little Kuta doing?"

"He... he isn't going to fight that giant, is he?"

"No way. Just look at them! The difference in size and strength is huge!"

"Hard to say. This is little Kuta we're talking about."

"Yeah! Little Kuta's really strong!"

Everyone on the docks watched the two facing off at sea with curiosity. They had all seen Kuta training on the shore with a Mountain-Sized Barbell Plate on his back, but they still couldn't help worrying about him.

The difference in size alone was enormous!

Kuta blocked the little boat's path. Watching Ivankov and the others laugh uproariously, he grinned and called out in excitement.

"Emporio Ivankov."

Ivankov turned and leaned forward, poking his head over the bow.

His head was so large that it blocked the sunlight, casting a vast shadow across the sea.

Kuta stood right in the middle of that shadow.

Ivankov looked down at him in surprise. "Cute boy, you know me?"

"I'm only here to spar with you. Please take it seriously, or you might die."

Kuta offered no answer to Ivankov's question. He simply stated why he had come.

Then he bent his left leg, stepped back with his right foot, and leaned forward. He raised his sword, fixed his eyes on Ivankov, and slowly gripped the hilt with his right hand, taking an attacking stance.

At that moment, Ivankov seemed genuinely frightened by Kuta's presence.

He hurriedly drew his head back, broke into a cold sweat, and waved both hands in front of himself. His words came out in a jumble.

"P-please stop! Don't bring out a weapon like that. It's dangerous, dangerous! Someone could die if you cut them! Die, die, die..."

He backed into the middle of the boat, then suddenly puffed out his chest, raised both hands, and roared, "They won't die at all!"

"Oh, so nobody's going to die!"

"He got us again!"

Another round of wild laughter followed.

Kuta's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This guy really wasn't taking him seriously at all!

He tightened his grip on the sword. His entire right arm swelled, and a faint black aura wound from the hilt around the blade.

His Armament Haki was still weak and limited in quantity. This was all he could manage for now.

He raised his head and locked his gaze on the back of Ivankov's neck. In an instant, his feet stamped against the sea dozens of times at high speed.

Shave!

Whoosh!

The sea beneath his feet suddenly dipped, and he shot toward Ivankov at incredible speed.

As if sensing something, Ivankov suddenly turned and winked his left eye forward.

Hell Wink!

A shock wave blasted ahead.

Kuta appeared directly in its path and swiftly drew his sword.

Shave: Iai Slash!

Boom!

A blast of air surged outward from the collision.

Kuta held against the shock wave for only a few seconds before its immense force hurled him backward.

His body skimmed across the sea, plowing a long furrow through it. He didn't stop until he had been driven dozens of meters back.

Watching the little boat drift away on the blast of air, Kuta felt a flicker of gravity cut through his excitement.

So strong! That was just a casual attack, and it had this much power. Looks like I'll have to go all out.

He rose out of the sea and stood above its surface. Not a single drop of seawater clung to him.

Meanwhile, everyone on the boat shouted excitedly, "There it is! Lord Ivankov's perfectly ordinary wink—Hell Wink!"

Inazuma stood calmly to one side, sharing none of their excitement.

Though her body rose and fell with the pitching boat,

her legs remained planted firmly on the deck, without the slightest movement.

She elegantly raised her glass, sipped her Red Wine, and looked up at Ivankov.

"Lady Ivankov, we can't fight at sea. This little boat won't withstand it."

"Hmm! I can tell the cute boy means us no harm. It seems he really does just want to spar."

Ivankov looked at the boat, which kept creaking, and thought for a moment.

Then he looked up and called to Kuta, "Hey, cute boy!"

"What?"

"If you want to spar, let's do it on land! If you want me to take you seriously, you have to give me room to fight."

Kuta glanced awkwardly at the little boat Ivankov was pointing at. He gripped his sword, gave it a deft flourish, and sheathed it.

After one more look at the boat, he turned toward the docks.

"Follow me."

"Kuta, are you okay?"

When Kuta returned to the boat at the dock, everyone crowded around him.

Kuta smiled and waved a hand.

"Of course I'm okay. I was just testing him. We'll fight again once they reach shore."

"You're still going to fight? The shock wave from that last hit almost blew me away!" Ahua exclaimed dramatically.

The others nodded along.

Just then, greetings rang out from the village.

"Good morning, Mr. Koshiro!"

"Morning, sir."

"What brings you out today, Mr. Koshiro?"

"I heard the commotion, so I thought I'd take a walk."

Smiling, Koshiro nodded to each of the fishermen in turn, occasionally offering a word or two in reply.

Hearing the voices, everyone on the boat turned toward the dock. When they saw Koshiro approaching, they hurried ashore.

The dojo stood halfway up the hill behind the port, not far away. From there, the entire harbor was visible at a glance.

Koshiro reached the boat and waited for everyone to disembark before asking Iku, "Uncle Iku, tell me what happened. I heard the commotion from a long way off."

Iku gave him a quick account. Only then did Koshiro look past him at Kuta.

"Kuta, that was far too reckless!"

Kuta shrugged at Koshiro and muttered, "That's what you get for going through the motions every time I asked to spar with you this past year, Master."

His brows lifted, and he went on excitedly.

"I happened to meet a strong opponent today. Of course I had to have a proper fight! How else would I find out exactly how strong I am now?"

A hint of embarrassment crossed Koshiro's calm face.

The truth was that Kuta had simply worn him out. In earlier years, Kuta had asked to spar with him every few days. Over the past year, since Kuta had reached the Swordmaster Realm, he had come even more often.

That wouldn't do. Koshiro had stayed at Isshin Dojo all this time precisely because he disliked trouble.

And since he was easygoing by nature, he had put less and less effort into their matches.

In truth, once someone reached the Swordmaster Realm, ordinary sparring no longer helped much. What they needed was a battle fought with everything they had.

But neither he nor Kuta could go all out against the other.

A swordmaster's attacks were too destructive. One careless moment could leave someone badly injured.

Bang!

Koshiro looked toward the sound and met the gaze of Ivankov, who had just come ashore.

He pushed his glasses up and let his habitual smile fade.

"Why would someone as important as you come to the East Blue, let alone this remote Shimotsuki Village?"

"I could ask the same thing. I never expected to find someone as strong as you in the East Blue."

Ivankov regarded Koshiro gravely. He could take Kuta lightly because he hadn't sensed much of a threat from him. But this narrow-eyed man was different.

Unless a strong fighter deliberately let their presence show, ordinary people found it hard to sense.