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Three days later, Kuina prepared to leave Shimotsuki Village with Eveya.
In the two days leading up to her departure, she engaged in some of the fiercest duels of her life with her close friend, Roronoa Zoro, ultimately winning every match.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Kuina boarded the battleship that was docked on the shore.
She noticed a tall, strange-looking man sitting on the edge of the ship. Flames burned behind him, and he radiated an aura that warned strangers not to approach.
"His name is Aroshu," Eveya introduced. "He's also an extremely powerful swordsman!"
Kuina was stunned and quickly bowed respectfully.
Aroshu merely nodded slightly and gave no further response. His main purpose in joining them on this journey was to accompany and protect them.
The battleship started to move, preparing to leave the island.
Kuina suddenly turned around and leaned against the stern to look at her father and classmates, who were gathered on the shore to see her off. Tears began streaming from her eyes.
"You have to work hard and become stronger, Kuina! I'll train hard too! By the time I set sail, I definitely won't lose to you again!" The green-haired child shouted loudly from the crowd.
"Zoro!" The moment Kuina saw him, she burst into laughter.
Zoro's face was covered in tears and snot; he looked utterly heartbroken.
"I won't give you that chance! In the future, I will definitely become the first female swordsman to stand at the top of the world!" Taking a deep breath, Kuina shouted at the top of her lungs.
The moment the words left her mouth, her tears overflowed uncontrollably.
Behind her, Eveya smiled gently, stepped forward, and pulled her softly into an embrace.
Meanwhile, Aroshu narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the nine-year-old girl.
As a swordsman himself, he was naturally sensitive to the title of 'World's Strongest,' yet he harbored no such ambition in his heart.
The reason he trained relentlessly and honed his swordsmanship was simply to repay that man and assist him in ascending to the throne at the summit of the world.
The battleship slowly sailed away from the harbor. A trace of reluctance flashed through Koshiro's eyes.
But he quickly composed himself.
"Perhaps a better teacher will help Kuina grow even further, and this is also the best destination for her." Koshiro sighed softly as he spoke.
The reason he could calmly allow his daughter to leave was, of course, the 'Chief Instructor of Kozuki' mentioned by the other party.
This made him suspect that there might be a connection to the Kozuki clan of Wano Country.
At the stern, Kuina waved tearfully at her friends from her hometown.
As Shimotsuki Village gradually faded into the distance and finally disappeared from sight, she became fascinated by everything she could see on the sea and increasingly curious about the Sensei Eveya had mentioned.
"What kind of person is Sensei?" She asked.
Hearing this, Eveya smiled and replied, "Once you meet him, you'll understand. Vice Admiral Kojin is a truly great man."
Kuina still had many questions but could only nod.
Suddenly, she noticed Eveya's expression change slightly.
"I'm fine. I just suddenly thought about Senior Officer Kojin, and my heart started beating faster." Eveya forced a smile.
Yet, no matter what, she couldn't suppress the uneasiness in her heart.
It was as though the person she cared about most had suddenly encountered some unknown danger.
...
New World:
This mysterious, dangerous, and ever-changing sea was originally the second half of the Grand Line. However, following the arrival of the Great Age of Pirates and the establishment of dominance by several Emperors, it eventually became known as the New World.
Doflamingo was sitting on a chair at the bow of the ship, holding a newspaper. After staring at it silently for a while, he finally looked away.
"Admiral, huh?" He muttered softly, a gleam flashing across his sunglasses. "In this world, perhaps the only person I truly can't understand is you."
The man clearly had the power to control him completely, yet he had chosen to release him instead.
This bizarre action left Doflamingo utterly unable to comprehend it.
'A Marine acting as a spy among pirates?'
'What kind of joke was that?'
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded behind him.
"Doffy! There's huge news! Huge news that hasn't even been fully released yet!" Trebol rushed over, clutching a sealed document bag, looking shocked.
As he neared Doflamingo, he nearly tripped and fell.
"Oh?" Doflamingo frowned slightly as he took the document bag from Trebol.
"Hurry and look at it! This is absolutely massive news!" Trebol's voice trembled with nervousness.
Seeing Trebol act this way caused a hint of seriousness to appear in Doflamingo's eyes. He quickly pulled out a stack of documents and scanned through them.
The moment he saw the photograph on the first page, his pupils suddenly contracted and his face, which had been calm until then, was instantly filled with horror and shock.
The photograph showed a figure with Seastone shackles around his legs and both forearms severed, with several chains piercing his back, walking towards the gates of Impel Down.
Although the photo had been secretly taken from a great distance and the outline was somewhat blurry, Doflamingo recognized the man immediately because he knew him well.
The information contained in the following documents revealed an even more shocking truth:
"The legendary Vice Admiral was sent to Impel Down on the very first day after being promoted to Admiral!"
"The Marines are suspected of suppressing all information in order to preserve their reputation."
"Shocking! The Vice Admiral Kojin, who once captured Roger and defeated the Golden Lion, has fallen into such a miserable state."
"Internal division has erupted within the Marines."
"..."
What followed was an endless stream of speculation and analysis, causing the light reflecting off Doflamingo's sunglasses to flicker continuously.
After a long silence, he suddenly raised his head, waving his hand sharply and slicing all the documents into countless shredded pieces.
Doflamingo gazed down at the rolling sea ahead. The pleasant expression he had worn moments ago gradually turned gloomy.
"Fufufufufufu. This world truly changes in countless ways. Just when you think you're at the top, you can still fall."
"Even a man as powerful as Kojin was thrown into that prison!"
Doflamingo spoke in a low voice, his eyes dark and his expression shadowed.
"Doffy! If this is true, then what are you going to do next?" Trebol asked in a trembling voice.
They all knew that, not long ago, the young master had fallen into the hands of that man and had even been forced to join the Marines. But ever since returning, the young master had undergone a strange transformation.
Doflamingo appeared to deeply admire the Marine known as Kojin.
"Fufufufufufu." Doflamingo laughed.
"The truth of every matter is always buried in the hands of the victors. Only after time passes and the dust covering it is wiped away will the truth be revealed to the world, and only then will we know the reality behind this incident."
"We'll also learn man's true condition!"
At this point, Doflamingo stared out towards the sea ahead, the corners of his mouth curling upwards.
"Until then, let us embrace the world that belongs to us!"
"Let's play our roles as pirates properly!"
...
Impel Down, Underground Level 2: Wild Beast Hell
Darkness, decay, dampness, and fear constantly shrouded the enormous prison.
Along both sides of the corridor, torches flickered uncertainly. Every so often, one would go out entirely, leaving sections of the second level swallowed by darkness.
"ROAR!!"
Suddenly, a beastly roar echoed out.
Immediately afterwards, the ground trembled violently and produced heavy booming sounds. The prisoners, who had been holding onto the iron bars of their cells, widened their eyes in terror and started screaming.
"Ahhh!! That man isn't dead yet!"
"He was thrown into the beast zone with the other criminals, yet he can still move around outside!"
"Who the hell is he? He actually dares to fight the Jailer Beasts head-on!"
"Those Jailer Beasts are monsters!"
"And there are so many of them!"
As the first voice rang out, more and more prisoners began to speak in fear.
They all shrank back, trembling, and pressed themselves against the cold walls, staring ahead with terrified eyes.
"BANG!"
Suddenly, a thunderous sound exploded through the corridor.
A massive shadow flew past them at high speed, whipping up fierce winds.
A few moments later, there was another heavy crash as the shadow smashed into the ground.
"A Jailer Beast got blown away!!"
"That man is still alive?!"
Shocked cries echoed from the distance.
The prisoners then heard the clattering sound of chains rattling.
A tall man sprinted past them. The chains piercing his back were pulled taut by his speed and constantly collided, producing sharp clanging noises.
"It's that prisoner!"
"He's a monster too!"
The prisoners shouted loudly.
Despite his bare feet being shackled with Seastone restraints, the man appeared completely unaffected.
His speed was astonishing; he swept past every prison cell like a violent gust of wind.
Then, when he saw the enormous Jailer Beast climbing back to its feet ahead of him, he bared his teeth in a savage grin.
"ROAR!"
The Jailer Beast's eyes burned with rage. The nearly three-meter-wide footprint embedded in its head rapidly recovered, returning to normal.
Then it raised its claw and slammed it ruthlessly towards the man in front of it.
The figure, bound by chains, leaped upwards and kicked out fiercely with both feet.
"BOOM!"
The gigantic beast's claw collided with the man's legs with a powerful force, generating a shockwave.
After three seconds, both the man and the beast were forced backwards.
"Hahahahaha! This is exhilarating! When every function of the body is at its weakest, that is the best moment to break through the limits of the human body!" Kojin threw his head back and laughed loudly.
He had no idea how much time had passed since entering Impel Down, but one thing was clear to him.
Ever since he stepped onto the second level, he had been in constant battle with the Jailer Beasts.
His body, which had long since reached its limit, remained in a constant state of activity and frenzy throughout these days of combat.
One could say that his body was on the brink of death at all times.
Yet Kojin was intoxicated by precisely this kind of extreme state.
As he had said, this was also the greatest opportunity to temper body and spirit.
The Jailer Beasts were failed products of the Zoan Awakening. They possessed terrifying strength, monstrous regenerative abilities, and nearly immortal bodies.
These bizarre creatures were not only powerful but also extremely numerous. Endless battles constantly pushed the boundaries of Kojin's life force.
His feet were restrained by Seastone shackles.
Several chains pierced his back.
Both of his arms had been severed.
Under such conditions, countless others would already have died.
Yet for Kojin, these circumstances were the perfect starting point for growth and a new kind of trial.
"If I can make my body break free from the negative effects of Seastone in this condition...
"No, more accurately..."
"If I can train my body's stamina, strength, and reflexes until they equal or surpass those I have when I'm not wearing Seastone..."
"Then that will be my true peak!!"
Light burst forth from Kojin's eyes.
He had found a new path to becoming stronger, and that filled him with excitement.
Being imprisoned in Impel Down was not the lowest point of his life.
It was a dragon lurking within the abyss, undergoing a journey of transformation.
(End of Chapter)