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The torches in the corridor flickered, making the shadows on the ground sway uncertainly.
Kuina's heart trembled violently as she widened her eyes and looked ahead.
"Clank! Clank!"
The sound of chains rattling echoed out as two figures slowly emerged from the darkness.
The figure on the left was tall and gaunt. Seastone shackles bound his feet, both of his arms were gone, and chains dragged across the floor behind him.
On the right stood a Fish-Man with his arms crossed over his chest, silently observing them.
"Hisashiburi dana (Long time no see), Vice-Warden Hannyabal!" Kojin raised his head, speaking with a cold and emotionless expression on his face.
As his black hair swayed aside, his face was revealed.
"I-I brought your disciple to you!" Hannyabal said with a trembling voice.
For some reason, every time he saw this man, he instinctively felt awe and tension.
"Disciple?" Kojin turned his head toward the young girl stepping out from behind Hannyabal.
A ponytail, a fair and delicate face, a sword hanging at her waist, and eyes fixed firmly upon him, filled with shock and joy.
"It's Kuina, isn't it? I never expected you'd actually find this place."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and the oppressive atmosphere in the air suddenly vanished, like spring arriving and flowers blooming.
"Sensei?" Kuina called out blankly.
The Kojin before her was completely different from the one she had seen in photographs. In fact, he utterly shattered the image she had always imagined in her heart.
"Your disciple has been delivered. I'll take my leave now." Hannyabal carefully said.
"You may go." Kojin waved his hand dismissively.
Still smiling, he looked toward Kuina.
After entering Impel Down, he had lost all contact with the outside world and had practically forgotten about this disciple he had entrusted Eveya to accept on his behalf.
Yet unexpectedly, she had actually found her way here.
"To make it here, you must have gone through quite a lot, hm?" Kojin chuckled softly.
"So, what is it you seek? If it's merely swordsmanship, Kozuki Oden's teachings should already have been enough to build your foundation."
Hearing this, Kuina took a deep breath and solemnly replied: "Kozuki Sensei's teachings were indeed extremely thorough. But I've encountered a bottleneck. No matter what I do, I can no longer improve. So I came to find Sensei, hoping that you would personally guide me."
Kojin stared at her for a moment before suddenly laughing.
He shook his shoulders slightly, gesturing toward his severed arms, a teasing expression appearing on his face.
"Then tell me, what do you think I can still teach you now?"
Kuina froze.
'Could a swordsman without arms still be called a swordsman?'
'Could such a person truly teach swordsmanship?'
For a moment, Kuina fell into confusion. Had all the hardships she endured to enter the world's greatest prison been a mistake?
After a long silence, she suddenly took a deep breath and bowed deeply.
"Please teach me swordsmanship!"
Seeing her like this, Kojin narrowed his eyes slightly before smiling.
"Come with me."
Kuina lifted her head and noticed the iron chains piercing through his body behind him, causing her heart to shudder. She could not imagine what her Sensei had experienced in the past to become a taboo within Marine Headquarters, only to end up in such a state.
A short while later, the three arrived at a remote open area.
"Since I accepted you as my disciple, I should indeed teach you something." Kojin turned around with a faint smile.
Fisher Tiger stood quietly at the side, merely watching without speaking.
Kuina listened attentively, waiting for her Sensei's instruction.
"Now then, use your strongest sword technique, your greatest realization in this lifetime, and attack me!" Kojin said.
Kuina nodded and placed her right hand on the hilt at her waist. It was a Marine-issued military sword, exceptionally sharp and durable.
"A swordsman's heart must never hesitate! Has no one ever taught you that?" Kojin stood there like a towering mountain, shouting sternly.
Kuina suddenly tightened her grip.
In the next instant, her knees bent slightly and she burst forward, shifting from complete stillness to explosive motion, leaving behind streaks of afterimages.
In a blink, she had already leapt above Kojin's head, gripping the sword with both hands.
The next moment, her wrists moved, and the blade sliced through the air.
Only when the blade had already reached Kojin's head did Kuina realize in shock that her Sensei still had no intention of dodging.
Shua!
It was too late to pull back the blade.
The strike landed directly on his forehead, but an unbelievable scene occurred.
The blade trembled violently, numbing both her arms and sending her flying backward.
"Your strength and speed are decent… Continue." Kojin smiled faintly.
Shock filled Kuina's eyes as she recognized it immediately, this was Tekkai, one of the Marine Rokushiki techniques, but she had never seen a Tekkai with such monstrous defensive power, capable of blocking her strongest slash.
"Alright!"
Realizing that her Sensei was testing her current strength, Kuina inhaled deeply and moved again.
Shua!
This time, her disappearance was abrupt and unbelievably fast.
It was Soru from Rokushiki.
In an instant, she appeared behind Kojin, her blade cutting downward through the air. But unlike before, when the blade came within a single millimeter of her Sensei, his body moved ever so slightly.
And in that instant, the blade slid past him and slashed into the ground.
Suddenly, her rhythm was disrupted, causing Kuina to lose her balance.
At the same time, a foot ruthlessly kicked her in the backside.
Bang!
In an instant, Kuina rolled across the ground in a miserable heap.
"I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl." Kojin said with a smiling expression.
Kuina climbed back to her feet, noticing that the sudden kick had left scrapes and bruises all over her body. She slowly raised her head, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
"I also don't want Sensei to treat me like a girl. On the path to becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman, there is no distinction between men and women!"
Hearing those words, Kojin froze momentarily before bursting into laughter.
"With spirit and determination like that, things become much easier!"
Then Kuina charged forward once more with her sword in hand.
Kojin dodged effortlessly, occasionally counterattacking, causing his disciple to become increasingly disheveled.
Gradually, he fully grasped the extent of her abilities.
Without a doubt, Kuina was the hardworking genius type. Though she was a woman, she possessed determination and courage far beyond ordinary people.
Through relentless training in the West Blue, her physical abilities had already surpassed the level of ordinary humans, and she had mastered Soru, Geppo, and Rankyaku from Rokushiki.
What was even more interesting was that she had fused Rankyaku with her swordsmanship, allowing her to unleash flying slashes.
"Not bad. At your age, reaching this level of strength is truly impressive." Kojin nodded in satisfaction.
"But!"
After a brief pause, his gaze suddenly turned stern.
"With strength like this, you're still far from becoming the world's greatest!"
Kuina's body trembled slightly as she bit her lip.
"If you want to go further, you must understand what true power really is. You still need a great deal of real combat! Only tempering yourself between life and death, only that flash of realization when facing despair, can shatter all bottlenecks and allow you to climb to a higher level!" Kojin spoke in a deep voice.
"And here is the best possible opportunity for your transformation!"
Kuina's eyes lit up.
"Please guide me, Sensei!"
"From now on, I'll teach you Haki whenever the time is appropriate. As for the rest of the time, you'll become a beast that knows only battle!"
A curve appeared at the corner of Kojin's mouth, while the light in his eyes became somewhat terrifying.
Kuina's heart tightened with unease, a bad premonition rising within her.
And sure enough, only half an hour later…
This Sensei of hers led both her and the Fish-Man beside him straight toward the Jailer Beasts.
The frenzied battles made Kuina feel pressure unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Yet just as her Sensei had said, her understanding of swordsmanship and life-and-death combat deepened more and more.
Gradually, she shattered her current bottleneck and became capable of unleashing powerful slashes with ease.
Even more astonishing was her growth in combat awareness.
The constant life-and-death battles added a chilling sharpness to her temperament, and her eyes became increasingly fierce.
At the same time, the more she learned about her Sensei, the more awe she felt toward him.
Injuries that would have long killed ordinary people seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever. Even without his hands, he still displayed terrifying power.
And even more unbelievable…
As time passed, Sensei's strength continued to grow at a rapid rate.
Within Impel Down, the three of them trained tirelessly through endless battles against the Jailer Beasts.
In the blink of an eye, the year arrived at 1518.
"A new Emperor has appeared upon the seas?"
"It's Red-Haired Shanks! The world calls them the Akagami Pirates!"
"To this day, the New World finally has four Emperors!"
"This is a power so terrifying that even the World Government fears it. The raging era has already far surpassed the days when Roger was still alive."
"..."
That year, the world was shaken.
The balance of the Yonko was established, and Red-Haired Shanks became the youngest Emperor to reign over the seas.
…
East Blue, in a small town.
Crack!
The wine bottle in his hand suddenly shattered without any visible exertion. At that moment, the glass bottle turned into tiny fragments that drifted away like dust.
"Heh~ Red-Haired Shanks!"
A cold laugh rang out as the red-nosed man slowly raised his head, his expression unreadable.
The group of subordinates beside him looked at their old boss with curiosity and surprise.
"Old Boss, you know Yonko Red Hair? Among pirates, he's incredibly famous now!" One pirate asked curiously.
At the same time, he wondered how the old boss had turned the bottle into powder. Was it some new technique?
"Know him? Hell no." The red-nosed man shook his head and sneered.
"I don't want anything to do with a guy like that!"
Then his gaze shifted toward his right hand. A few dust-like fragments of glass quietly rested in his palm.
"I've finally reached this step. The awakening of the Chop-Chop Fruit, and I can finally feel the powerful force you once spoke of! If I went to the New World now, perhaps my achievements wouldn't be inferior to Shanks."
"But why… Why does everything suddenly feel so meaningless?"
A trace of confusion appeared in the red-nosed man's eyes as he gazed into the distance.
"When will you finally appear before the world again?"
(End of Chapter)