Two days later.
On a deserted island in the New World.
Splash!
Spreading open the newly arrived newspaper, Kouta lay on his recliner, his eyes scanning the text intently.
Before him lay a deep, sheer cliff, as if carved by a knife.
Facing the rising sun, one could see the horizon merging with the blue of the sea, and hear the roar of the ocean echoing from the abyss below.
Behind him, the three of Ahua stood by a huge grill, competing to see who could roast the largest and most delicious barbecue.
On the other side, Brook sat leisurely on the grass, humming a tune and slowly brewing coffee, looking to be in excellent spirits.
Beside him, Indigo waited for Brook's coffee, his gaze fixed on the coffee machine with its wisps of steam, his eyes filled with undisguised anticipation.
After Indigo joined the crew, Kouta and the others were accustomed to drinking tea, so he also started drinking tea. Although he could brew coffee himself, being a science and technology geek, he found his own coffee unpalatable.
Since Brook, the coffee master, joined the ship, Indigo had rarely drunk tea.
After all, for him, the refreshing effect of a cup of coffee was much faster and more effective than slowly sipping tea.
"Captain, it's just as you predicted. After we left, the pirates in the New World have truly gone all out to fight over Gran Tesoro."
Putting down the newspaper, Robin, who was lying on another recliner, picked up her juice, took a sip through the straw, and then turned to Kouta with a smile. "Fortunately, the Navy's support arrived quickly, otherwise those children would have had a hard time escaping that vortex."
"Mm!" Kouta nodded, his gaze drifting towards the sea, reflecting the red of the rising sun but remaining deep.
"Once the Navy knew that Gion and Kashi were at Gran Tesoro, they would definitely dispatch capable and powerful Marines to provide support."
"Two Vice-Admiral candidates, plus an Admiral. As long as Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks don't show up, they can easily escort the civilians on Gran Tesoro away. It won't matter how many pirates there are."
As he spoke, Kouta turned and smiled faintly at Robin, then picked up his teacup from the coffee table, brought it to his lips, blew gently, and took a sip before speaking again. "Besides, the pirates' main objective this time was to seize Tesoro's ship. Although we took Tesoro's treasury, we didn't take the gold."
"Man dies for wealth, birds die for food. For pirates, isn't the purpose of going to sea to seek that golden treasure that ignites countless desires?"
"Although the entire Gran Tesoro combined can't compare to what we took, it's still not a small amount."
"Such a vast treasure is right before their eyes. It's only been two days. Just watch, unless someone with absolute power appears, this storm will likely rage for a long time."
"As for the pirates, Whitebeard's territory isn't here. Coupled with his image as a loving father, and the fact that two Emperors have died, he shouldn't leave his territory to compete. Red-Haired Shanks, whom I invited to Mary Geoise not too long ago, also wouldn't come to fight over wealth at this time."
"And the Navy is even less likely to come. After all, this is the New World. If the Navy intervenes, it will only draw the pirates' fire. Therefore, this feast of predation was destined from the start to be a struggle among mid-tier pirates."
"Heh!!"
At this point, Kouta paused slightly, then let out a soft chuckle, for reasons unknown. To Robin's ears, it carried a hint of mockery.
Robin said nothing, quietly sipping her juice, listening to Kouta's account.
She knew what Kouta was mocking – likely the pirates who were consumed by greed.
Straightening up, Kouta gazed at the increasingly brilliant morning sun ahead and said with a smile, "And mid-tier pirates, on this sea, especially in the New World... are endless."
"Mm!" Robin nodded in agreement. "It truly feels like they're endless."
Then, she put down her juice cup, turned her head to look at the other side of the island, and said, "Captain, it's been almost a day. Kuina and Uncle Issho's sparring should be almost over!"
"Mm!" Kouta nodded, his gaze following Robin's. "It should be finishing soon. After breakfast, we'll set sail again."
"From here, Wano Country isn't too far. We'll try to reach Wano Country before the sun sets today."
Just then, Robin seemed to recall something, retracted her gaze, turned to Kouta, and asked curiously, "By the way, Captain."
"What is it?"
"I've always had a question. Judging by your and Kuina's and Ahua's attire and their usual swordsmanship styles, they are clearly quite different from the mainstream swordsmanship on this sea."
"I actually had this question after leaving Moria, but I gradually forgot about it and didn't ask."
Kouta relaxed his body, leaning back into the recliner, and turned to Robin with a smile. "You want to ask why your swordsmanship style is so similar to that of the samurai Ryuma from Moria's ship, right?"
"Mm!" Robin nodded, then asked, "You guys aren't from Wano Country, are you?"
"No," Kouta denied directly.
"No?"
Robin stroked her chin in thought for a moment, then looked up at Kouta and smiled. "I know you all come from the East Blue. Since you didn't come out of Wano Country, then your sword instructor must be from Wano Country."
"This means that Kuina's father, Mr. Koushiro, must be from Wano Country."
Robin and Kuina are not only comrades now but also like sisters. Robin knows Kuina's affairs very well.
Although it was a guess, she spoke with a tone of certainty.
"Mm! You guessed right. We are indeed not from Wano Country. As for my master Koushiro, I'm not sure. But master's father, Kousaburou, and Uncle Isshin, who watched us grow up, are genuinely from Wano Country. I know this for a fact."
At this point, Kouta couldn't help but think of the bearded old man who liked to tie his long hair into a ponytail.
The old man had appeared a few times when Kouta first arrived at the Isshin Dojo, but at that time, he had no idea who the old man was, nor where this world was.
Then the old man disappeared, as if he had never been there.
As he gradually became familiar with this world and mastered its language, he learned of the old man's identity from Kuina.
According to Kuina, Shimotsuki Kousaburou rarely returned to the Isshin Dojo, possibly due to some conflict with Koushiro. As for the nature of the conflict, even Kuina didn't know.
And Koushiro never mentioned Kousaburou in front of them, which led to only a few people in the Isshin Dojo knowing of Kousaburou's existence.
However, what Kuina didn't know was that Kousaburou hadn't gone far; he was in another village not far from Shimotsuki Village.
That is, the village where Zoro stayed before coming to the Isshin Dojo.
Kouta believed that his master was definitely aware of this.
Although Kousaburou had not taught Zoro any swordsmanship, he had told Zoro about "what a sword is" and "shedding one's name for wisdom." However, the young Zoro hadn't understood much, only realizing it when he grew older.
When Zoro left, Shimotsuki Kousaburou had also gifted Zoro two swords.
Perhaps it was these two swords, coupled with the traces of Kousaburou that his master saw in Zoro, that made him insist that Zoro become his disciple after being defeated.
After all, in the entire Isshin Dojo, the true disciples of his master were initially only him and Kuina, and later Zoro.
Even Ahua and the others were just ordinary disciples.
And the two swords Zoro brought were actually the ones that were cut by Kuina in the original story.
As for this timeline, they were naturally cut by Kuina much earlier.