There was a chance that the man codenamed the East Blue God of Slaughter was not an original resident of the East Blue. This was because the Marine Hero, "Iron Hammer" Garp, traveled to the East Blue every so often under the pretext of visiting his grandson.
He couldn't just return empty handed, so many famous pirates from the East Blue were hauled back as "local specialties." If this guy had been in the East Blue before, he likely would have been discovered by Garp before he ever had the chance to grow strong.
Of course, that wasn't absolute. Perhaps he had been training and mastering his Devil Fruit powers in secret, constantly avoiding Garp until his strength was sufficient to come out and cause a scene. Many people across these seas underwent a complete change in temperament once they attained great power.
As for whether the man was still in the East Blue or had fled elsewhere, Kizaru couldn't tell. Their intelligence only suggested that the man was an enigmatic Devil Fruit user; they knew nothing about his appearance or height.
The man had been too thorough; he hadn't left behind a single shred of information. Had there been a single footprint or even a drop of saliva, the Marines could have investigated using another Devil Fruit user or the Cipher Pol intelligence agency. But he had struck from high in the sky and left no trace. How were they supposed to find someone like that?
Kizaru highly suspected that even if the East Blue God of Slaughter walked right past him, he wouldn't realize who the man was.
Currently, the only people in the world who knew of Qiuxia's abilities were the Red Hair Pirates. Qiuxia was well aware of this. Whether Shanks and his crew would betray him was something Qiuxia couldn't be certain of; after all, one couldn't judge a person's true character solely based on the manga and anime he had seen.
However, even if Shanks did sell him out, Qiuxia had other means. He had practiced Transformation Jutsu before, and his [Dual Hands] was the ultimate tool for changing one's appearance.
Over the following period, Garp and Kizaru scoured the East Blue in circles looking for any sign of Qiuxia. In other sea regions, the Marines deployed many Headquarters generals to see if they could find him. But since his last strike, the East Blue God of Slaughter had completely vanished, never appearing again. They searched for several rounds and found no one.
Finding no one, the Marines couldn't exactly issue a statement saying the man had been found and executed. If they did that and he suddenly committed another massacre right after the announcement, what would they say? Claim he was a new user of the [Starlight-Starlight Fruit]? That he had mastered it to such a terrifying degree right after obtaining it? The pirates of the world weren't fools; they would never believe it.
In fact, after months of searching to no avail, that is exactly what the Marines did. They released a report claiming that the original East Blue God of Slaughter had been killed by the Marines. Since no one knew what he looked like or whether he was dead or alive, it didn't matter if the great pirates didn't believe itso long as they could deceive the civilians.
Qiuxia, who had been staying in Shimotsuki Village for several months, looked at the report of the East Blue God of Slaughter's execution in the newspaper with a look of utter bewilderment.
The East Blue God of Slaughter had been executed? Then who the hell was he? He was alive and well, so how had he been executed? "Damn it, the [Duke of Victory] has become a body double."
After a moment of confusion, Qiuxia realized what was happening. "The Marines are playing a tactical game. They claim to have executed the target to conduct a secret investigation or to bait him out. But I won't fall for that. We've used these tricks in the East for ages. Do you think I'm that easily tricked? You've got to be joking!"
After reading the paper, Qiuxia tossed it aside and leaned back in his rocking chair, deep in thought. "I've been in Shimotsuki Village for three months now. Should I head somewhere else? Should I go collect some more Devil Fruits?"
While he was pondering, a voice called out from nearby. "Qiuxia, the food is ready! Time to eat!"
Staying in Shimotsuki Village for three months, Qiuxia obviously didn't just lie on a rock every day. He had built a house on the mountaintop.
The house had been created by Qiuxia using his magic to condense stones and alter their structure. Inside, there was stone furniture and even a stone bed.
Aside from building the house, Qiuxia had planted many vegetables on the summit. When Kuina came to the back mountain to see him, she often used those vegetables to cook for him. Occasionally, when she was busy practicing her swordsmanship, Qiuxia would cook for her instead.
During these three months, Koushirou had only visited once, on the night Kuina first came over. The rest of the time, he simply observed Qiuxia from the shadows. Through his observations, Koushirou found Qiuxia to be an incredible "Salted Fish." Aside from mealtimes, he spent almost every waking moment lying in that rocking chair he had made for himself.
After watching him for over a month, Koushirou had reached a conclusion. The boy might be powerful, but his personality was that of a total loafer. A Salted Fish like him wouldn't hurt Kuina. As for why he had passed that mysterious [Breathing Style] and unknown sword arts to her, it was likely just a case of an expert giving pointers to a gifted genius.
After finishing the meal, Qiuxia was about to return to his rocking chair when he heard Kuina speak. "Qiuxia, I feel like my swordsmanship has reached a bottleneck. Do you have any way to help me break through?"
During these three months, Kuina had mastered basic swordsmanship and learned many other techniques from the information in her mind. Regarding the Breathing Technique, she had been absorbing Spiritual Qi for three months.
Since the technique strengthened the divine body through cultivation, the Spiritual Qi she had gathered was more than enough to open her meridians long ago. She just hadn't been in a rush to do so.
"Your progress in swordsmanship is decent, but you are lacking significantly in terms of Qi," Qiuxia explained. "If you want to take your swordsmanship to the next level, you must open your meridians and learn to control the sword with Qi.
You need to digest your sword techniques while gaining an understanding of the artistic conception. While one can grasp the conception without True Qi, using True Qi will make the process much faster."
"Opening my meridians? I understand. Thank you, Qiuxia!"
Qiuxia nodded. "You can go to the guest room to open your meridians. Before you start, you'll need to prepare a change of clothes and a bath. Opening the meridians expels a significant amount of impurities from the body."
"I understand!"
Following Qiuxia's instructions, Kuina went to the guest room. Once she was ready, she began to circulate the Spiritual Qi in her body to open her meridians. Qiuxia didn't stay in the room, but he used his Divine Sense from outside to protect her, ensuring nothing went wrong.
As for why he was so protective of Kuina but wasn't worried about Nami or Nojiko, it was simple. Nami was an original member of the Straw Hat Pirates and an essential navigator.
She carried a great deal of the Pirate World's fortune, so nothing would happen to her. Since Nami was safe, the probability of her sister, Nojiko, having an issue was also very low.
In terms of opening meridians, the younger one was after the age of five, the more of an advantage they had. Being young meant there were fewer impurities in the meridians, making them easier to clear.
The Spiritual Qi in Kuina's body was sufficient; the only thing she had to worry about was the pain. However, for Kuina, that wasn't a major problem. If she were afraid of pain, she wouldn't have practiced swordsmanship in the first placeshe had suffered plenty of injuries during her training before.
As time passed, night eventually fell. The meridians in Kuina's body had been successfully opened. Perhaps due to the three months of accumulated Spiritual Qi, she managed to open four meridians at once, widening and consolidating them in the process.
Once the cultivation ended, Kuina was eager to test the effects of the True Qi converted from her internal power, but then a foul stench reached her nose...
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