After a period of chaos and fierce fighting, the Navy branch had been turned upside down.
After causing trouble, Luffy and Zoro boarded a small boat borrowed from the naval base. Facing the sea breeze, they set sail.
On the boat, Luffy was excitedly fiddling with the sail, while Zoro sat cross-legged on the deck, carefully wiping the blade of Wado Ichimonji with a clean cloth.
The bright blade reflected his determined face.
It also reflected a memory buried deep in his heart.
It was the sword Kuina had left him.
It was also on that night in Shimotsuki Village that he truly realized for the first time just how vast the world was.
And how powerful the people standing at the top of the sea really were.
That night, the woman known as the World's Greatest Swordsman, Jaygarcia Gion, descended from the sky without warning like a god arriving in the world, appearing in the remote village of the East Blue.
Just the casual pressure she gave off had made the young and hot-blooded Zoro lose the courage to even hold his sword.
The gap was too great.
So great that he could not even draw his blade, let alone fight her.
What shocked and frustrated him even more was that the woman standing at the peak of swordsmanship had taken a liking to Kuina's talent, accepted her as a disciple on the spot, and taken her away from the East Blue.
Only then did Zoro understand.
The East Blue, known as the weakest sea, was not some paradise for adventurers.
It was a huge and closed cage.
As long as he remained trapped inside this cage called the East Blue, he would always be a frog at the bottom of a well.
He would never come into contact with the truly magnificent world.
He would never glimpse the level of power possessed by the World's Greatest Swordsman.
He had to go out to sea.
He had to become stronger.
And if he wanted to completely escape the cage of the East Blue and break those invisible shackles, following Luffy was the only way.
This seemingly absurd conclusion was not something Zoro had figured out himself.
Not long ago, the girl who had left many years ago had briefly returned to Shimotsuki Village and personally told him so.
("Zoro, if you stay in the East Blue, you'll never become the world's greatest. If one day you meet an idiot wearing a straw hat who keeps shouting about becoming Pirate King, then go out to sea with him.")
The look in Kuina's eyes at that time felt unfamiliar to Zoro.
It was also during that brief reunion that he realized in despair that in less than ten years, because of the enormous difference in opportunities and perspective, the gap between him and Kuina had already grown to a point that left him powerless.
The girl he had once been on the verge of surpassing could now casually swing her sword and split the sea apart.
That was a kind of power he could not imagine.
And yet everyone in Shimotsuki Village, including his teacher, believed his talent was greater.
He refused to accept it.
How could Roronoa Zoro allow himself to be left so far behind?
Zoro suddenly sheathed Wado Ichimonji with a sharp click.
He raised his head and looked toward the endless blue sea.
A fierce smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
'Kuina, just wait.'
'Since you've already reached such a height, then now...'
'It's my turn to chase after you.'
'I will personally shatter this cage, walk up to you, and show you who the true World's Greatest Swordsman is.'
———
At the same time, inside Navy Branch 153, which had just gone through a disturbance, space twisted slightly.
A door like rippling water was pushed open.
Sanji stepped out with an unlit cigarette in his mouth and a lazy expression on his face.
His dress shoes landed on the ground covered with debris, producing crisp sounds.
Behind him, a tall man and woman also stepped out of the spatial door one after another.
Both wore perfectly tailored, spotless white suits.
They were exclusive custom outfits belonging to the World Government's CP0.
Their upright posture and cold presence made them especially eye-catching and stylish amid the ruined branch.
"Kuina, aren't you going to catch up and take a look? That's your childhood friend who kept talking about you back in your hometown."
The long-nosed man chuckled.
The imposing aura he had deliberately maintained immediately collapsed.
He instantly turned into a grinning gossip who kept wiggling his eyebrows.
"There's no need."
Kuina's expression remained cold, and her voice carried undisguised pride, "I don't care about the process. I only care about the result."
Although she spoke as if she did not care at all, her beautiful eyes still looked through the shattered window toward the tiny black dot on the distant horizon.
"If he truly has the talent and determination, then sooner or later he'll stand before me with that sword. If he doesn't have what it takes and falls along the way... then when everything is settled, he and my father can join the World Government as civilians and live ordinary lives. For him, that may not be a bad ending."
Though her words sounded rational, there was still a trace of expectation hidden deep in her gaze that even she had not noticed.
After all, they had grown up training together in the dojo and pursuing swordsmanship side by side.
How could such a bond be forgotten so easily?
Her teacher had only taught her how to swing a sword.
She had never taught her how to forget her roots or become a machine without feelings.
If anything, Gion was actually someone with deep emotions and humanity. She had simply grown used to hiding it beneath a cold exterior after staying by that god's side for so long.
"As for you, Usopp."
Kuina withdrew her complicated gaze and turned her head, coldly glancing at the man beside her who was still grinning.
"Stop worrying about other people's business. Isn't it about time for you to take the stage? Syrup Village isn't that far from your hometown."
"Hehe! I've already planned the whole script in my head! Just watch closely. I guarantee this show will leave you and Princess Shirahoshi completely satisfied!"
Usopp laughed and patted his chest.
When he smiled, he looked nothing like a serious person. His facial features were all scrunched together, and the cool agent image he had when stepping through the door was completely gone.
"Hey, Long Nose. Why is it that every time you show your loyalty, you only mention Shirahoshi? Don't tell me you've got some kind of plan involving my little sister?"
Sanji walked over after finishing arrangements for cleaning up the scene on the other side. After hearing that, he gave Usopp a strange look from head to toe.
He swore he had no intention of stopping him.
He understood Shirahoshi too well.
Deep down, Shirahoshi was far more ruthless than he was.
In her heart, only Rosse had a place.
Even her own mother, Otohime, probably did not hold much emotional weight there.
"Brother Sanji, I respect you, but please don't make jokes like that. I only feel admiration toward Princess Shirahoshi."
Usopp immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and glared at Sanji.
"I'm a married man with a family! A responsible man! Unlike you unmarried brats!"
Then he clenched his fist slightly.
A rare seriousness appeared on his usually comical face.
"Speaking of which... do you still not know about the mess in my family?"
"Are we supposed to know?"
Sanji rolled his eyes and complained.
"When you married Kaya, you invited Shirahoshi to be your witness long beforehand. But we only found out you were getting married the day before the wedding! You are so cunning that not becoming a spy would be a waste."
"Hehe! Well, that couldn't be helped. We were childhood sweethearts. When the time came, it just happened naturally."
Usopp scratched his head awkwardly and laughed dryly.
He really had handled that matter poorly.
But the situation back then had been special.
It happened right when Kaya's family was going through a major crisis, and his mother's old illness suddenly worsened to a critical condition. It looked like she might not survive.
To bring good fortune and to put an end to one of his mother's hopes, he hurriedly chose to get married immediately.
"Since we have time now, let me tell you about myself."
"I was born in Syrup Village. It's a quiet, remote, and even somewhat boring village, just like Foosha Village."
Usopp put away his smile.
His voice grew heavy, and pain and hatred flashed through his eyes.
"Ever since I can remember... or rather, from the moment I was born, I never had a father..."
"No father?"
Kuina frowned slightly and interrupted in surprise.
"Didn't the intelligence reports say your father, Yasopp, is still alive with the Red Hair Pirates? He's even a senior officer."
"That bastard who abandoned his wife and child doesn't deserve to be my father!"
Usopp suddenly clenched his fists.
His knuckles turned white from the force.
His normally funny face was now filled with fury.
"Do you know what happened? That irresponsible bastard got my mother pregnant and then ran off by himself!"
"When he left, he shamelessly spouted nonsense about how the pirate flag was calling him and how it was some kind of 'man's romance'! Romance my ass!"
"My mother was such a gentle woman! She foolishly held onto that ridiculous promise. She missed him so much that she worked herself sick, and her health kept getting worse. Every day she stared at the beach from her sickbed. She got so ill that she nearly died several times!"
Usopp's eyes were red, and his voice shook.
"I was still a child then. I couldn't do anything."
"To keep my mother going, to give her even a little false hope, I endured the dirty looks and insults from the entire village and ran to the shore every day shouting, 'The pirates are here!' 'Dad's pirate ship is back!'"
"I turned myself into a joke just so that when my mother heard those words, she might eat a little more food and not give up on living!"
"But... but you know that animal's records too, right?"
Usopp raised his head and stared at Sanji and Kuina.
His eyes were full of deep hatred, "That animal! He followed the Red Hair Pirates and stayed in Foosha Village for so long, even though it wasn't far from Syrup Village at all!"
"He would rather waste his days eating and drinking with those bastards in taverns than cross that short stretch of sea and come home to see my mother even once!"
"Just because I'm his son, I'm supposed to forgive him?"
Usopp asked bitterly, "For a beast who doesn't care whether his family lives or dies, do you really think I'd acknowledge him as my father?"
After hearing Usopp's tearful account, filled with blood and pain, Sanji and Kuina both fell silent.
As people of the same generation raised by the World Government, they were colleagues, but they had never deliberately dug into each other's past.
At most, they occasionally chatted about ordinary things during their free time.
Who could have imagined that this long-nosed guy, who always seemed the least reliable and spent all day joking around, carried such a heavy and twisted hatred inside?
"He really is a hopeless animal."
After a long while, Sanji crushed the cigarette in his hand, sighed, stepped forward, and firmly patted Usopp on the shoulder.
He put away his usual laziness and made a serious promise.
"But now it's all in the past. Since you've chosen to join us, we'll give you the chance to take your revenge with your own hands."
Since Usopp had joined their side, that meant having him carry out the cruelest revenge against Yasopp was itself a development his father Rosse wanted to see.
"Thank you. Brother Sanji, you really do look cool when you make promises like that."
Usopp took a deep breath and forced an ugly smile onto his face.
"But unfortunately, it came a little too late."
"If you had been the first person to appear when I was at my lowest point back then, and if you'd been the one to save my dying mother, then even if I had to die right now, I'd willingly hand my life over to you."
"So the one who came for you and saved your mother was Shirahoshi?"
Sanji asked thoughtfully.
He vaguely remembered that Usopp had joined their inner circle as a specially recruited member ten years ago.
If he remembered correctly, Shirahoshi had only been six or seven years old at the time.
Compared to that, he himself had still been running around the palace behind Ace like an idiot.
"That's right."
Usopp nodded seriously.
At that moment, his face was full of sincerity.
"Princess Shirahoshi was only six years old then. She was even younger than I was at the time."
"But do you know what? When she stood beside my mother's sickbed with a kind of authority that didn't belong to someone her age and spoke those words down at me... that scene is still as clear as day whenever I close my eyes."
"What did that little girl say to scare you this much?"
Sanji asked curiously.
His impression of six-year-old Shirahoshi was actually very simple.
Back then, she was basically a spoiled little princess who loved sticking to Rosse.
As long as Rosse had not gone to the Soul Society, or had left a main body behind, Shirahoshi would cling to her father like a little accessory and ignore everyone else.
It was hard to imagine someone like that being so mature.
There was no need to think about it.
Rosse must have been the one who told her to do it.