Chapter 8: The Man with the Very Big Face
♂』The improvement in swordsmanship realm brought a slight increase in Doriki value. Ian's Doriki had now reached 20 points.
Aside from this, what Ian cared about most was that he could finally use the True・Flash Slash skill from the Akechi Mitsuhide card. Whenever he thought back to the cool scenes of slashing enemies with a Flash Slash in the Onimusha game, Ian felt an itch in his heart—could he finally show off a bit this time?
He needed to find someone to test it on, Ian thought.
His first choice was, of course, Kuina. But when he thought of Kuina, Ian hesitated. Over this short period, he had also discovered that personal strength could indeed be judged by Doriki value. Before his swordsmanship realm improved, Ian had 14 Doriki points. Going all out, he could tie with Kuina. This meant Kuina's Doriki at that time was probably around 15 to 17 points, which matched the impression that she could beat the adults in the dojo.
During this time, Ian also noticed that Kuina was still working hard to get stronger. In terms of Doriki, Ian figured he and Kuina were still about the same.
However, Ian could now use the secret technique of True・Flash Slash. According to the skill's attribute description, its power was likely considerable. If he accidentally hit Kuina during a spar, he might seriously injure her!
In this village, the only person Ian didn't want to hurt was Kuina, so he wouldn't test his sword technique on her.
Maybe he should go find that instructor, Suke, or even Master Koushirou.
Thinking this, Ian stopped his training and said to Zoro, who was still gritting his teeth while biting a rock and doing muscle exercises, "You keep practicing. I'm going back to the dojo for a bit."
Hearing Ian's words, Zoro naturally wanted to respond. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, the rock fell and landed right on his foot!
"Ouch!!" With a scream, Zoro's tragedy was complete...
"This idiot!" Ian shook his head in exasperation, ignoring Zoro hopping around on one foot, and headed back toward the village.
When he arrived at the dojo, Ian found that the younger disciples, who should have been training, were gathered together outside the dojo, whispering about something.
"Did you see him? That guy is so tall!"
"I say, his face is the biggest!"
"Yeah, yeah! This is the first time I've seen someone with such a big face!"
Curious, Ian couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you training? What are you all gathered here for?"
Hearing his voice, the group of younger disciples quickly turned around. One of them, a kid with a watermelon-shaped head, ran over with snot hanging from his nose, looking eager to report, "Senior Brother Ian! An outsider came to the village! We saw him at the beach today. Among those people, there's one with a really huge face! It's amazing!"
The other younger disciples nodded in agreement, chattering around Ian as they described the man.
Ian's heart stirred. He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is there a newspaper? Who went to get the latest one?"
Since he had started training Zoro, Ian hadn't been buying newspapers for Master Koushirou anymore. That task had been handed over to the other younger disciples. Hearing his question, one of them, a bald kid, quickly ran into the dojo and brought out a newspaper for Ian.
Ian opened the newspaper, and the headline on the front page read in large letters: "World Noble Charlos Saint to Arrive in Goa Kingdom for Visit!"
Even in the East Blue, in a small village like Shimotsuki, everyone knew about Goa Kingdom, which was considered the most beautiful country in the East Blue. The fact that it could attract a visit from a Celestial Dragon, a World Noble, spoke volumes.
However, Ian knew that this so-called "most beautiful country" was merely a place that hid all the ugly things away and excluded anything unsightly. It was a model of a "segregated society"!
As soon as he saw the name Goa Kingdom in the newspaper, Ian immediately remembered something: Sabo's early departure to sea.
This sick country, in order to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of its city, swept all the garbage out of town and piled it outside the walls. It drove all the homeless and unemployed people, who were considered eyesores, to live in the garbage mountain. Then, they built a high wall to separate the garbage mountain from the city, creating two different worlds.
They called this place the Gray Terminal...
On ordinary days, they ignored the world of the garbage mountain, acting as if such a place didn't exist in their country. But when it was confirmed that a Celestial Dragon would visit, to prevent the stench of the garbage mountain from polluting the air, they chose to burn it all down! They knew full well that many people lived there, yet they still did it, never once considering what would happen to those homeless people who had lost their only means of survival. It was chillingly indifferent and horrifically cruel.
Although Sabo was a noble of this country, his nature yearned for freedom. He had always wanted to escape this suffocating place.
After learning that the garbage mountain would be burned, Sabo had been trying to find a way to inform his two sworn brothers, Luffy and Ace. However, he was confined to his home by his parents.
With his brothers' lives hanging in the balance, yet seeing the cold, indifferent faces of the people of Goa Kingdom, Sabo finally saw the ugliness and hypocrisy of this world. Unable to bear it any longer, he chose to escape. He knocked out the guards, left a letter for Luffy and Ace, and set out to sea early on a small boat.
Unfortunately, the day he set sail happened to be the day the World Noble Celestial Dragon arrived...
Seeing a large ship approaching, Sabo chose to politely give way. He even fantasized that one day he would become the captain of such a grand ship, sailing freely across the sea. But what he didn't expect was that his politeness wouldn't earn him forgiveness from the arrogant Celestial Dragon. Unable to tolerate a commoner sailing past him, the Celestial Dragon directly attacked Sabo's boat...
In the world of One Piece, the World Government always saw pirates as a cancer. But in Ian's eyes, these so-called World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, were the real cancer! These self-proclaimed noble Celestial Dragons were the ugliest collection of humanity.
Thinking of this, Ian couldn't help but sigh. If he remembered correctly, the man with the very big face that the younger disciples mentioned was probably the Okama King, Ivankov!
As a Revolutionary Army officer, Ivankov's presence here meant that Luffy's father, the Revolutionary Dragon, had also arrived in the East Blue and was probably on his way to Goa Kingdom right now.
Putting down the newspaper, Ian stood up and said to the younger disciples, "You all train well here. I'm going to take a look."
"Ah! Senior Brother Ian, you're so sneaky! You're not taking us with you!" the watermelon-headed kid couldn't help but complain.
Ian chuckled and patted his head before walking out of the dojo.
Ivankov coming to Shimotsuki Village was probably because he had split off from Dragon. Dragon's trip to Goa Kingdom was a secret operation, so naturally, he couldn't bring Ivankov along. That huge face of his was too eye-catching and would blow their cover.
Ian chose to go see Ivankov, partly out of curiosity to meet this legendary Okama King in person, and partly to see if he might run into Dragon.
In the world of One Piece, there were many mysterious figures. Luffy's father, Dragon, was one of them. No one knew his origins, and no one knew his strength. He played the role of a complete behind-the-scenes big boss.