After the warehouse incident,
Shimotsuki Kōshirō began making arrangements to repair and reinforce the dojo.
The aging beams would be replaced.
The training floor would be reset.
Weakness had no place in a house that forged swordsmen.
Clang
Clang
Clang
The sound of steel rang cleanly across the courtyard.
Seated cross-legged near the veranda, Roronoa Zoro watched the sparring match unfold with unwavering intensity.
Across the yard
Kuina faced Saint Roselith Seraphina.
When Zoro first learned Kuina had formally taken Seraphina as her teacher, an unfamiliar ache had stirred in his chest.
Jealousy.
He would never admit it aloud.
Yet no matter what, he could not leave Shimotsuki Kōshirō.
The dojo had given him purpose.
The sword had given him direction.
Even if he did not fully understand it as a child
His master was Kōshirō.
And that would never change.
Seraphina's blade moved like flowing water.
She had named her style Natural Flow.
A school born not from inheritance
But from insight.
Her footwork was light, her cuts direct, her transitions seamless. There was no wasted motion, no rigid adherence to tradition. It was a style that obeyed instinct refined through discipline.
After days of discussion with Kōshirō, her foundation deepened significantly.
She had been introduced to the classical philosophy of sword mastery.
The Five Realms of the Blade:
First Realm — Cut wood.
The beginner who cleaves what is soft.
Second Realm — Cut stone.
The trained hand that splits what resists.
Third Realm — Cut steel.
The true swordsman whose edge conquers iron.
Fourth Realm — Cut anything.
The master who slices what he wills.
Fifth Realm — Cut nothing.
The supreme state… where the blade obeys intention itself.
It was a concept that resonated faintly with the teachings that would one day define masters like
Dracule Mihawk.
But Seraphina did not cling to doctrine.
If one merely walked in the footprints of predecessors
One would never surpass them.
To become the strongest required carving a new path.
Natural Flow would evolve beyond borrowed theory.
She would ensure it.
"That's enough for today."
Seraphina sheathed her blade.
Kuina lowered hers immediately.
They both understood.
The time for departure had come.
Kuina turned and ran toward her father.
"Father!"
"I want to join the Marines!"
Her voice did not waver.
Kōshirō regarded her quietly.
"Have you made up your mind?"
There was no sternness in his tone.
Only clarity.
Kuina's small face held iron resolve.
"I will become the world's strongest swordsman!"
Not swordswoman.
Swordsman.
The title did not change for gender.
Her dream would not bend.
Kōshirō closed his eyes briefly.
A flower raised in a greenhouse would never survive the storms of the Grand Line.
Without the tempering of the sea
The title of strongest meant nothing.
He had never underestimated his daughter because she was a girl.
If anything, he had demanded more from her than from any other student.
Perhaps
Too much.
Perhaps he had mistaken harshness for guidance.
"If you are ready," he said softly,
"Then go."
Kuina's expression lit up like dawn breaking over the sea.
She grabbed the luggage she had prepared days ago.
The Marines had stayed long enough.
Even Kōshirō agreed.
East Blue patrols did not pause forever.
The Marine warship departed Shimotsuki Village at sunrise.
They had arrived intact.
They now left with one more soul aboard.
Standing at the prow, Seraphina felt Kuina's unwavering gaze fixed upon her.
Hero worship.
Unfiltered admiration.
For the first time
Seraphina felt the faint pressure of being someone's standard.
Kuina herself barely understood the emotion.
She had grown among boys.
Trained like one.
Dreamed like one.
She had lost her mother young and had buried any softness beneath steel.
But now
She had found someone to follow.
"Captain! Pirate vessel ahead!"
The lookout's cry cut through the morning air.
Seraphina's silver eyes shifted toward the horizon.
A black flag snapped in the wind.
A familiar insignia.
"The Sapphire Pirates!"
A murmur spread among the Marines.
"They were reported destroyed last year!"
The lookout cross-checked the emblem against wanted posters.
No mistake.
They lived.
Seraphina did not hesitate.
"If they sail," she said calmly, "they can be captured."
"Full pursuit."
"Aye!"
The sails unfurled.
The warship surged forward.
On the pirate deck, panic erupted.
"Why are Marines here?!"
"Didn't Branch 17 clear the route?!"
A crewman peered through a spyglass.
"Captain! That's Branch 18's insignia!"
Not the compromised branch.
Unfortunate timing.
"Change course!" barked their captain, Brujme.
"Head for the Goa Kingdom!"
The chase intensified.
One fleeing.
One hunting.
Until
The pirate vessel slipped into the harbor of the Goa Kingdom.
Seraphina narrowed her eyes.
"They didn't vanish," she said evenly.
"They hid."
Her vice-captain, Fran, swallowed.
"Captain… I may be mistaken, but…"
"Speak."
"I believe this kingdom may be sheltering them."
Before the thought could fully settle
Another vessel blocked their path.
"This is the territory of the World Government-affiliated Goa Kingdom!"
"Halt, Marine warship!"
"State your purpose!"
Fran looked toward Seraphina.
"We are in pursuit of pirates," she replied.
"Stand aside."
"We have received no directive from Marine Headquarters nor the World Government authorizing this action!"
"Under whose authority do you operate?"
Seraphina's gaze sharpened.
"Mine."
Silence fell.
East Blue Marine Captains possessed full jurisdiction to pursue pirate threats within affiliated waters.
Stalling tactics were obvious.
"Advance."
The Marine warship surged forward.
The patrol vessel broke formation.
They valued their lives more than obstruction.
But by the time the Marines reached the harbor
The pirate ship had disappeared.
Seraphina disembarked personally.
The pier was already lined with armed soldiers.
A noble stepped forward, adorned in silk and arrogance.
At first glance, he sneered
Until he noticed the Marine insignia upon her coat.
Captain.
In East Blue, that rank carried weight.
"May I inquire what brings you to the Goa Kingdom, Captain?"
His smile did not reach his eyes.
Fran answered.
"We are pursuing pirates who entered your harbor."
The noble's tone tightened.
"Under whose orders?"
Seraphina stepped forward.
"Mine."
She met his gaze without blinking.
"Is that a problem?"
The wind shifted.
The tension thickened.
East Blue was calm
But calm waters often concealed rot beneath the surface.
And Seraphina had no intention of ignoring it.