Chapter 412: Dragon and Kuina
Kuina suddenly drew her sword and slashed, startling Luffy, who quickly sidestepped to dodge.
However, Kuina's blade suddenly turned horizontal, and she slammed the hilt directly into Luffy's face!
Kuina's strength now was immense; this blow deformed Luffy's face, and his entire body was uncontrollably sent flying.
With a crash, Luffy smashed straight into the wall of a nearby building, creating a large hole in it.
"Luffy!?" Sanji panicked, but as a gentleman who refused to fight women, he didn't attack Kuina. Instead, he hurried to check on Luffy's condition.
But Kuina blocked him and asked, "Aren't you that chef from the Baratie? Why did you become a pirate too?"
Sanji couldn't explain his troubles. In truth, Old Man Zeff had kicked him out. Zeff didn't want Sanji to spend his whole life at the restaurant with him, an old man. So when Luffy and Zoro appeared, Zeff made Sanji leave. The difference this time was that there was no Krieg Pirates and no Hawk-Eye, so Sanji had followed Luffy to sea somewhat reluctantly.
Of course, with a beauty like Nami around, Sanji quickly got used to it...
In the rain, trying to light a cigarette was troublesome. Sanji clicked his lighter a few times but couldn't get it lit, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Beautiful Marine lady, why are you here?"
"I'm a Marine Major in Loguetown, so of course I'm here!" Kuina snorted.
Just then, a clattering sound came as Luffy emerged from the hole in the wall. He stretched his arms, looking shaken but completely unharmed.
"You... how are you not injured?" Kuina was astonished.
"Ah! I'm a rubber man, so you can't hurt me!" Luffy said imposingly, hands on his hips.
Indeed, without Haki, Kuina's blunt attacks couldn't injure Luffy.
"Rubber man? A Devil Fruit user?" Kuina realized, then lowered her stance, gripping Wado Ichimonji with both hands, and said, "If I can't capture you alive, I'll just kill you!"
She stomped the ground, shattering the stone slab beneath her foot, and used the recoil to rush at Luffy with incredible speed, aiming a horizontal slash at his waist.
Luffy bent backward, but Kuina's swing was too fast. He couldn't fully dodge, and the sharp blade cut through his clothes, leaving a gash on his abdomen.
"That hurts!" Luffy, now injured and angry, punched a Rubber Pistol at Kuina.
Kuina sidestepped, dodging the punch, and as she looked at his stretched arm, she raised her sword to slash at it.
If that slash landed, Luffy's arm would be severed. But just then, two swords suddenly extended from the side, blocking Kuina's descending blade.
It was Zoro. Seeing Luffy injured, he knew things were bad, so he forced Kuina back and came to help.
Clang! Sparks flew from their blades, but Kuina's immense strength pressed Zoro down onto one knee.
Veins bulged on Zoro's arms, and sweat mixed with rain dripped from his forehead. Straining with all his might to hold off Kuina, he said to Sanji, "Idiot, take Luffy and go!"
Now that Kuina and Tashigi were both girls, Sanji couldn't fight them. His only role was to rescue Luffy, so he grabbed him and dragged him away. The Marines who came with Kuina tried to stop Sanji, but their gunpowder was wet from the rain, so they could only charge with swords. Sanji kicked them away one by one with thuds.
"Zoro, what are you thinking?" Kuina, locked in a blade clash with him, whispered, "That idiot may be a Devil Fruit user, but is he worth following?"
"Yeah, I've always been called an idiot too!" Zoro grinned at her. "So, isn't it perfect to have an idiot as a captain?"
"Have you thought this through?" Kuina stared into his eyes.
"Yes, we're heading to the Grand Line. I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro told her. "I won't give up until I achieve that goal! If you try to stop me, even if you're my senior disciple, I'll still take you down!"
With that, Zoro suddenly erupted with immense strength, standing up from under Kuina's pressure. He crossed his swords and pulled them apart, forcing Kuina's blade aside!
At that moment, Zoro displayed strength nearly equal to Kuina's, surprising her greatly.
She didn't know what conviction had unlocked such potential in Zoro. Hesitating, she wondered whether to attack him and capture him.
Just then, the roar of a motorcycle sounded. Kuina turned to see that as Luffy and Sanji were about to break through the Marine encirclement, Smoker had finally arrived and blocked them.
Luffy and Sanji attacked Smoker together, but the Straw Hat Pirates—Zoro, Luffy, and the others—were still rookies. Against a Logia user like Smoker, they were helpless. Their punches passed through smoke, and even Sanji's kicks only pierced Smoker's body.
Turning into smoke, Smoker surrounded them, then appeared behind Luffy, pressing him to the ground with his Seastone-tipped jutte, rendering him powerless.
Just as Smoker prepared to arrest Luffy, a figure in a raincoat suddenly appeared behind him.
Dragon had shown up. In fact, while Sabo and Koala were still in Alabasta with Ian, Dragon had already left the Revolutionary Army's headquarters at Baltigo and secretly headed to the East Blue.
As a father, Dragon always cared about his son Luffy. He'd heard from his old man Garp that Luffy and Ace had promised to set sail at 17, and he rushed to the East Blue because Luffy was about to turn 17.
That was why Sabo hadn't seen Dragon when he returned to Baltigo.
By the time Dragon reached the East Blue, Luffy had already set sail and found companions for his adventure. So Dragon didn't reveal himself, quietly following from behind.
Now, seeing that Luffy and his crew were no match for the Loguetown Marines and were about to be caught, Dragon finally intervened.
Turning his head and seeing the tattooed face under the hood, Smoker immediately recognized Dragon.
Smoker had been transferred from Marine Headquarters to the East Blue, so he'd seen Dragon's wanted poster there. Shocked to find him here, he said, "You!? The World Government has always wanted your head!"
"Who is that?" Kuina and Zoro both saw Dragon's figure, but from their angle, they couldn't see his face clearly. They just felt a chilling sensation, sensing he was dangerous.
As Smoker and Dragon spoke, and Kuina was distracted, Zoro took the chance to run!
He was smart enough to know that fighting Kuina here was pointless. Nami had said a huge storm might be coming. If they didn't set sail now, they'd be trapped in Loguetown. But if they could leave before the storm, the Marines wouldn't dare pursue them in such weather, giving them a better chance to escape.
Seeing Zoro flee, Kuina instinctively wanted to chase him. But just then, Dragon, standing behind Smoker, suddenly spread his hand, unleashing a fierce gale!
The wind was so powerful that even standing people were blown away. Kuina was in the path of the gale and was sent flying.
The swirling wind tossed Kuina's body, threatening to smash her into a sharp protrusion. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared behind her and caught her.
Kuina felt herself being held. Looking up, she saw it was the cloaked man who had stood behind Smoker.
It was Dragon! He had saved Kuina.
"You... who are you!?" Kuina asked warily.
Dragon whispered to her, "You're Ian's sister, right? Is Master Koushirou doing well?"
Those two words immediately dispelled Kuina's wariness. She realized this mysterious man likely knew Senior Brother Ian and might even know her father.
Looking back, she saw that Smoker, Tashigi, and all the Marines had been scattered by the gale like rolling gourds, so no one noticed them. Kuina asked, "You... are you from the Revolutionary Army?"
Koushirou had vaguely guessed Ian's secret identity and hinted at it when Kuina set sail, which motivated her to join the Marines to help Ian later.
Now, Dragon's mysterious demeanor made Kuina think along those lines.
Dragon smiled but said nothing, simply setting Kuina down and walking away.
Kuina looked back and saw Smoker and the others getting up.
Dragon's appearance had saved Zoro, Luffy, and the others, making Kuina think deeply.
When she silently regrouped with Smoker and heard him decide to pursue the Straw Hat Pirates into the Grand Line, she said nothing.
She knew that Zoro was determined to become a pirate with that Straw Hat boy. Since it was his choice, she couldn't stop him. If Smoker wanted to take them into the Grand Line, then so be it.
She had always wanted to understand what Senior Brother Ian had experienced in the Grand Line...
Smoker made his decision, and the Loguetown Marines prepared for them. After the storm subsided slightly, Kuina finally stepped into the Grand Line with Smoker.
However, her journey would lead to events Ian could never have imagined...