"From the top down…"
After a long silence, Dragon finally took a deep breath and said solemnly,
"I have to admit—what you said makes sense. But since I've chosen this path, I'll never change it.
Besides, your path… is far more difficult."
He hesitated for a moment, then looked into Nao's deep, clear eyes before reaching into his coat and pulling out a thin dossier.
At that moment, Koushirou quietly rose from his seat. He left the inner room, and before sliding the screen door closed, he reached out and gently pulled away Zoro—who had been crouching by the door eavesdropping.
"This is intelligence we've only recently confirmed," Dragon said slowly. "There's not much—just a few vague traces—but it's almost certain that above the Five Elders of the Holy Land, there exists another being… someone with terrifying power…"
"You mean Imu?"
Nao interrupted him calmly.
Dragon froze in shock, staring at him.
"How do you know that name?"
The name Imu was a forbidden secret throughout the world—so secret that even most high-ranking members of the World Government and Marines were unaware of it.
Even the Revolutionary Army had only uncovered scraps of information about it after years of investigation through their worldwide spy network.
"Don't tell me…"
Dragon's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You've met them? Or… fought them?"
"It's 'her'," Nao corrected, shrugging slightly.
"You could say that. I just didn't win, which is why I resigned."
What do you mean, 'you could say that'?
Dragon's mind reeled. A battle between two beings of that level would surely shake the world—there's no way such an event could be hidden. Yet he had never heard a whisper of it.
He hesitated, then cautiously asked,
"Then right now… your strength…"
His Observation Haki—among the best in the world—could faintly sense the vast depth of Nao's aura. Compared to the time they first met on Hall Island, his presence had grown tremendously.
Exactly how powerful he was, Dragon couldn't say without crossing blades—but one thing he knew for sure:
He himself was no match for this man.
Still… if the opponent in question was Imu…
"When you hear I've rejoined the Marines," Nao said with a grin, "that'll mean I'm ready to fight her."
Leaving Dragon stunned, he stood, stretched lazily, and pushed open the screen door, stepping out beneath the eaves.
In the courtyard, several Revolutionary Army officers immediately turned their heads toward him, their expressions a mix of curiosity and wariness.
Nao scanned the crowd—and to his surprise, spotted a few familiar faces.
A massive man built like a mountain, wearing a fuzzy bear-eared hat—Bartholomew Kuma.
Six years ago, when they first met in the Holy Land, Kuma had still been a king of a World Government–affiliated nation. Now, he was a Revolutionary officer.
What had happened in between, Nao wondered?
Kuma gave him a polite nod and a gentle smile.
Nao returned the gesture with a small grin of his own—an acknowledgment between acquaintances.
Beside Kuma stood a young man with half-golden, half-white hair. His eyes glistened as he looked at Nao, visibly emotional.
Next to him stood another young man with ash-green hair, showing the same expression.
Nao blinked. He recognized them.
They were the slaves he had rescued two years ago.
The one with the two-tone hair—yes, his name was Ivankov's protégé, Emporio Ivankov's companion… no—Inazuma, that was it!
In the original story, Inazuma had become a key ally during the Impel Down arc, using his Devil Fruit ability to great effect.
As for the green-haired youth beside him…
Nao looked again—and then froze in mild astonishment.
That's Gild Tesoro… the Golden Emperor?!
He hadn't expected that the future ruler of the world's wealthiest empire would end up standing here, shoulder to shoulder with Inazuma, as a member of the Revolutionary Army.
He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Seems my butterfly wings have flapped harder than I thought.
Still, it made sense. Even if Tesoro hadn't joined the Revolution,
his future as the Golden Emperor probably wouldn't have come to pass anyway.
In the original story, Tesoro's Gol-Gol Fruit obtained the Gold-Gold Fruit by seizing it from the Donquixote Family. But now, forget the Donquixote Family, even Doflamingo had been captured by Nao and was sitting lonely and desolate in Impel Down.
Nao also smiled and nodded at the two. But when his gaze shifted elsewhere, he immediately stopped smiling.
A voluptuous woman with a wild purple afro was staring intently at him, her eyes practically shooting hearts, and she was drooling onto the floor. When she saw him looking, she immediately blew a seductive kiss and proudly thrust out her chest to fully display her impressive cleavage...
"…"
Nao's eye twitched. A chill ran down his spine.
Don't think I can't recognize you just because you turned into a beauty. You were better off maintaining your big-headed doll form...
He immediately turned his head and coughed, looking at Koushirou beside him:
"I'm a bit hungry. Koushirou-san, is there any dinner left at the dojo?"
Koushirou blinked, then smiled and answered,
"There's leftover food, of course. But Mr. White Dragon came a long way as a rare guest — we can't serve him scraps. Please wait a moment; I'll prepare a proper meal now."
"Thanks, that's very kind, but there's no need to trouble yourselves — simple fare is fine."
Outsiders should follow local custom. In deference, Nao used slightly formal, old-fashioned wording.
"Not at all." Koushirou smiled, pointing to himself. "My daughter, Kuina, and Zoro haven't had dinner yet, either."
At that moment Dragon stepped out of the inner room. Koushirou turned to him and chuckled,
"I was thinking you might stay for dinner, but…?"
"No, I can't." Dragon pulled his hood back up and shook his head.
"We've already delayed too long. The eastern front is tight — once we finish unloading the grain at the port, we must move. Besides, there are too many of us; you'd be overwhelmed cooking for everyone on your own."
"Be careful on your way."
Koushirou nodded. After a slight bow between Dragon and Nao, Dragon led his subordinates away from Isshin Dojo.
Once they were out of sight, Koushirou went into the kitchen to get to work.
Meanwhile, back inside, Nao had just sat down again and was thinking about the favor Garp had asked, when a girl's slightly annoyed voice came through the window:
"It's late — why are you suddenly acting crazy? We already sparred twice today. Why another match?"
Zoro's defiant shouting answered right away,
"Daytime's daytime and nighttime's nighttime! If we fight now, I won't lose this time!"
"I don't have time — I have to help Dad with dinner. There are important guests tonight, and you haven't eaten either — you must be starving. How can you fight me?"
"I'm not hungry!"
His stubborn protest barely started before his stomach gave a loud grumble.
That kid… Nao smiled, opened the window and leaned out. He saw Zoro clutching his stomach, his face red with embarrassment, yet he still stubbornly declared,
"Even if I'm hungry, you haven't eaten either — you're hungry too! We're on equal footing, so the match is fair!"
The girl blocking him had black hair and black eyes and a pretty, delicate face. She frowned at his refusal to relent, then shook her head and raised a finger:
"Fine—okay, but only ten minutes. If you can't beat me in ten minutes, you have to go help Dad with the cooking."
"No problem!"
Overjoyed, Zoro grabbed his bamboo sword and pulled the black-haired girl toward the backyard training space.
Ten minutes? Hah — don't underestimate me! After learning so much from Uncle Nao tonight, even using half of it I can put you down several times in ten minutes!
…
Inside the house.
"Kuina, huh..."
Nao watched the two kids' silhouettes disappear into the courtyard, thought for a moment, then vaulted quietly over the window sill. Cloaked by the night, he followed them at a distance.
He already knew Zoro had never once beaten Kuina — not once in more than two thousand matches.
Precisely because of that, he was curious.
After all the insight and guidance he had given the boy — a near cheat code of skill and understanding — could Zoro finally overturn the long-standing result, even just once?
The crescent moon hung like a silver hook; stars were scattered thinly across the sky.
In the dim light of the dojo's open yard, two small figures faced each other from opposite ends.
"Please."
"Please."
They bowed to each other. Then Zoro, too impatient to wait, drew his bamboo sword with a sharp shff! and shouted,
"I'm coming! Watch out!"
Whoosh!
The moment the words left his mouth, his toes pushed off the ground — his body darted forward at full speed, bamboo sword slashing from left to right, aiming fiercely for Kuina's waist.
But Kuina stood perfectly calm, not moving an inch.
Only when Zoro was nearly upon her did her eyes flash sharp as lightning. In that instant, her bamboo sword flicked out in a flawless iai strike — crack! — cleanly intercepting his blow and sending him stumbling back several steps.
Zoro's palms throbbed from the shock, but he quickly followed Nao's earlier teaching — using a subtle redirection to disperse the impact. At the same time, he changed from a slash to a thrust, using the rebound's force to drive his sword straight toward Kuina's chest.
"Hm?"
A flicker of surprise passed through Kuina's eyes. But it vanished in an instant; with a twist of her wrist, her sword moved again — fluid, alive, almost as if it had eyes of its own — and effortlessly forced Zoro back once more.
Blow after blow, strike after strike —
Within minutes, the duel had stretched on for seven or eight full minutes.
Zoro was drenched in sweat now, his breathing ragged. Each exchange was harder than the last.
Even though he had applied much of what Nao had taught him that day — correcting his form, tightening his movements, refining his flow — he still couldn't break through Kuina's defense. Not even close.
Meanwhile, the black-haired girl remained composed and graceful, responding to every attack with calm precision. When Zoro lowered his head and charged fiercely, too focused to notice her expression, she even had the leisure to glance sideways toward the clock inside the house…
From the rooftop, Nao could only shake his head.
"Just as I thought… I got my hopes up for nothing."
With his experienced eye, he had seen it early on — Kuina had been holding back from the very beginning.
She fought defensively, almost never taking the offensive. She wasn't fighting seriously — not even at eighty percent of her strength.
In speed, power, sword control, and depth of understanding of the blade —
The two weren't even in the same league. The gap was enormous.
No wonder, Nao thought, that over all those years, Zoro had lost to Kuina more than two thousand times — without managing a single draw.
At this rate…
Even with all the guidance Zoro had received from him — saving the boy countless detours —
Before he ever set out to sea, he would still keep losing.
Five thousand matches? He'd lose five thousand.
Ten thousand? He'd lose ten thousand.
There wasn't even the slightest possibility of victory.
Nao's gaze lingered on the black-haired girl, tinged now with faint admiration.
Her talent was remarkable, her will strong and ambitious — yet she also knew how to hold back.
Her temperament and potential were both outstanding.
She was, in every sense, a born swordswoman.
Only…
Thinking of the fate that awaited Kuina in the future, Nao shook his head slightly.
Koushirou was undoubtedly an excellent teacher, even a decent father — but he carried an unshakable, deeply rooted bias about the difference between men and women.
Without Zoro's later encouragement and support, even if she hadn't died young, her spirit might still have been crushed beneath that prejudice…
Thud!
A dull crash broke his thoughts. Nao looked down just in time to see Zoro sent flying by a single strike, crashing hard onto the ground. His bamboo sword slipped from his hands, spinning several meters away into the flower bed.
Across from him, the black-haired girl stood calm and composed, returning her bamboo sword to its sheath with practiced ease.
Nao glanced at his watch.
Not a second more, not a second less — exactly ten minutes.
"This makes 2,204 times. You lost."
Leaving those cold words behind, Kuina turned to go. But when she saw Zoro still clutching his stomach on the ground, struggling to stand, she sighed softly and bent down, reaching out a hand.
"I don't need your help!"
Zoro slapped her hand away with frustration. After a long struggle, he managed to get up on his own, teeth gritted, face full of unwillingness.
"Damn it… damn it! I was so close this time! Just a little more and—"
So close?
From the rooftop, Nao was speechless. Kuina simply shook her head, said nothing more, and turned back toward the kitchen.
Watching her slim figure disappear into the night, Nao fell into thought — a plan quietly forming in his mind.
About twenty minutes later…
A simple yet hearty dinner — not extravagant, but balanced in color, aroma, and flavor — was set before him, carried over by Kuina herself.
"Thank you," Nao said warmly, smiling at the girl. He really was hungry, and as soon as he picked up his chopsticks, he began to eat.
The Isshin Dojo clearly carried the old traditions of Wano. Even within a family, meals were taken separately — each person seated at their own low table.
Across from him sat Zoro.
Nao ate quickly but still with refinement.
The boy, on the other hand — whether from hunger or from frustration at losing again — devoured his food with ferocity, as if the dishes before him were his enemies to be vanquished.
In no time, a pile of empty plates appeared before him.
Watching his student eat like a storm, Koushirou, who had only just started his own meal, couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're never this hungry, even on your worst days. What's gotten into you tonight?"
"It's because he lost to me again," Kuina huffed.
"That stubborn brat — no wonder he was so confident out of nowhere, barging in at night to challenge me again. Turns out he'd just learned some weird tricks from who-knows-where…"
"Hm?"
Wait—
She suddenly paused, a thought dawning on her, and turned her gaze toward Nao.