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Shimotsuki Village.
Isshin Dojo.
"Hah!"
Tashigi lunged, bringing her blade down on Koshiro in a sharp, decisive strike.
"Learn to listen to the Breath of all Things..." Koshiro said, parrying her attack with ease.
Perhaps it was out of a lingering guilt over Kuina, but he had been remarkably dedicated to Tashigi's training.
Of course, while the two were identical in appearance, their personalities were worlds apart. Tashigi lacked Kuina's stubborn streak.
Kuina had been too rigid, too unyielding—like a blade that was all edge. The moment she faced a true setback, she was liable to shatter.
That had been Koshiro's fear, and it was why he had held back in his teachings with her.
Tashigi possessed that same inner strength, but it was tempered with a gentle flexibility.
In terms of pure potential, Kuina's was undoubtedly higher.
But in terms of adaptability, Tashigi had the clear advantage.
"The sword is more than just technique," Koshiro explained, instructing her in both form and philosophy. "It is the heart. When the heart and the sword are one—that is the essence of Isshin-ryu."
The Way of the Isshin-ryu did not overly pursue technical mastery. It placed its focus on the training of the spirit.
Forms were external. True strength was born from the power of the heart.
Every time Zoro surpassed his limits, it was through an awakening of his spirit, a refinement of his will. That was the secret of the Isshin-ryu.
After a full day of non-stop training, Tashigi was exhausted. But as night fell, she began her own regimen, training in the Marine style until she finally collapsed into a deep sleep.
She was pushing herself relentlessly. Having witnessed true strength, she now craved it for herself.
CRACK!
A sudden peal of thunder. A dark, heavy cloud had rolled in over the coast.
"Thunder," the dojo instructor said, sipping his sake with Koshiro. "Looks like a storm's coming."
Koshiro rose and went to the window. The wind blowing in from the sea rustled the leaves, brushing against his face.
Beneath his glasses, his eyes narrowed. He could feel something...
"I'm going to go take a look," he said, grabbing a rain cloak from the door.
In the distance, beneath the black clouds, two massive ships were slowly approaching, the sound of their passage swallowed by the wind and the rain.
"We'll need to resupply before heading to Tequila Wolf," Dragon said to Kuma. "Shimotsuki Village is one of our supply points in the East Blue."
He had already heard Kuma's story about Water 7 and had agreed to help rescue the enslaved people of the Sorbet Kingdom.
Dragon had already located Tequila Wolf, but it was heavily guarded. A special unit backed by the Celestial Dragons was stationed there.
The God's Knights.
He hadn't been confident about his chances. But now, with Kuma at his side, that had changed.
"Shimotsuki Village," Kuma said. "We've been here once before."
A hurricane-force wind tore across the shore, whipping their clothes about them.
"Koshiro. It's been a long time."
The deep voice was clear and steady, even amidst the roar of the storm.
On the reef, Dragon stood, as if he had been carried there by the wind itself.
Their words were lost to the storm, only fragments carrying on the wind.
"Investigate... Tequila Wolf..."
—————————
Foosha Village, Partys Bar.
The door was thrown open.
"Makino! Where'd that damn brat Luffy run off to now?" Garp stormed in.
"Garp!"
"It's Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Uncle Garp!"
The patrons of the bar were startled, then broke into warm greetings. The hero Garp was the pride of Foosha Village.
Seeing the crowd, Garp reined in his anger and gave a wave. He walked up to Makino's bar.
"Oh, I'm not sure," Makino said with a gentle smile, pouring him a glass of his favorite drink. "Up in the mountains, probably? He seems to be training quite energetically these days. Is something wrong?"
Wrong?
It was more than wrong. It was a disaster.
Garp's face was grim. Ace had actually set out to sea and was already making a name for himself. It made him deeply uneasy.
The boy was a raging fire. He wouldn't stop until he had burned himself out.
And that was why he had to stop Luffy.
Pirate King? Not on his watch.
It was all Shanks' fault.
Garp let out a long breath, then he saw Ace's wanted poster on the bar. His already dark face grew even darker.
"I'm going to go find Luffy... and teach him the meaning of the 'Fist of Love'."
He slammed his glass down and stormed out.
The patrons all looked at each other, then burst into cheerful laughter.
"Looks like Luffy's in for another beating."
"A grandfather's right to discipline his grandson."
"He'll be fine. That kid's tough as nails. Just like his gramps and his dad. He's been taking beatings since he was little."
As they were laughing, another man rushed in. "Hey, Makino! Quick, check this for me! Did I win??"
"Win what?" someone asked.
"You don't know? The World Economic Journal and Hannabal just launched a new paper, Entertainment Weekly. There's a section in it called 'The Billion-Berri Grand Prize: It Could Be You!'. You buy the paper, cut out the section, and pick your numbers. They draw once a week. If you match all the numbers, you win a billion Berries!"
"A billion Berries??"
"Has anyone won yet?"
"I don't know, this is only the second issue. But I heard they're announcing last week's numbers in this one. And you can win even if you only match a few numbers. There's a first prize, a second prize, and so on. But the prize money is a lot less. I heard the jackpot rolls over, too. If no one wins this week, next week it'll be two billion!"
"Damn... that's amazing. Is the paper expensive?"
"500 Berries a copy, but there's a catch. You have to buy a full year's subscription up front, and it's limited to one per person. But people are already buying up the lottery section. They're paying 600 to 1,000 Berries for it."
"So you're saying you can actually make money just by buying the paper?"
"Yeah, pretty much... But what if your numbers hit? That's a billion Berries!"
"Nah, that'll never happen."
"It's obviously a scam. Just a gimmick to sell a new paper."
The crowd murmured, a mixture of skepticism and intrigue.
But the man who had rushed in was beaming. He'd heard about it on a Den Den Mushi broadcast. He had subscribed to the paper because he'd heard Uta's songs on the radio and had been instantly captivated. He'd filled out the numbers on a whim, never thinking he would actually win. But then he'd heard that he'd matched a few...
Makino took out the new issue of the paper and turned to the page with last week's numbers and the corresponding rules. She checked it, then looked at the man's ticket.
"Congratulations, Uncle Runo!" she said, her face lighting up. "You've won the second prize!"
"Second prize! How much is it?"
"Let's see... five million Berries!"
The tavern went silent. Everyone craned their necks, their ears perked, their eyes wide.
Holy crap.
Five hundred Berries for five million Berries.
"Runo, you son of a gun!"
"Drinks are on you!!"
They were all from the same village. The teasing was good-natured, but there was a definite hint of envy in their voices.
"Hahahaha!" Runo roared with laughter. "Tonight, everyone's drinks are on me! But hey, don't go too crazy! Makino, how do I claim the prize?"
"I'll call the paper to verify," she said. "The two tickets have to match."
"Okay, okay..."
The bar was silent as they all listened to Makino's call.
The person on the other end was an employee of Entertainment Weekly. They confirmed that Runo was on the list of winners.
Runo was ecstatic.
The other patrons were getting restless.
Five million Berries was no small sum.
And there was still the billion-Berri grand prize...
A chance to get rich overnight.
"Hey, Makino, do you have the second issue of Entertainment Weekly? Do you really have to subscribe for a year?"
"I'm in. I'll just have a few less drinks each week."
"Yeah, me too..."
With the new papers in hand, they all began to study the lottery section.
Some of them were first distracted by the full-page spread of a group of long-legged beauties. It was Porche and her dance troupe from the Hannabal Music Hall, dressed in sexy, revealing outfits...
They all took a moment to appreciate the view.
Entertainment Weekly was divided into five sections: Entertainment Weekend, Fashion Forward, Literary World, Advertisements, and The Billion-Berri Prize.
The first two sections were focused on entertainment and fashion news—concert reviews, interviews with fashion designers, and so on.
The last two were self-explanatory.
Literary World was what caught many people's attention. It was a full page, divided into four columns: Poetry, Serial, Star Talk, and Fables.
In the second issue, the Poetry section featured the lyrics to a song called "New Genesis" by Uta.
Star Talk was a column by Gordon, in which he shared short anecdotes about various musicians.
Fables was a collection of legends and short stories from the Four Blues and around the world.
But the most interesting section was the Serial.
It was a novel.
Battle Through the Grand Line?
Never heard of it.
Might as well give it a read.
It was about a kid from a noble family who, after his physical strength mysteriously waned, was ridiculed by his family, bullied by his father and brothers, and had his engagement broken off by his fiancée. But he had a beautiful childhood friend who supported him... and an old man in a ring who helped him...
It seemed a bit... simple. Compared to the flowery prose of a proper novel, the language was direct, almost crude. Was this really what passed for a novel these days?
The plot was a little new, but there were plenty of other stories about princesses falling in love with knights or family power struggles.
"The river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty more—never underestimate a young man with nothing to lose!"
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