Kuina
Bounty: 200,000,000 Berries!
A core member of the Lulusia Kingdom, exceptionally skilled with the sword, possessing tremendous potential, and harboring intense hostility toward the World Government.
This string of bounties—soaring into the billions and tens of billions—instantly shoved everyone onto the eye of the storm.
East Blue, Shimotsuki Village, Isshin Dojo.
Koushirou sat kneeling at the head seat, dressed in a plain-colored kimono, his face still wearing that gentle smile as he watched the dojo's apprentices go through their routine sword-swinging practice. But inside, his heart was anything but calm. Deep in his eyes, there was even a faint daze.
In his hand, he was gripping the newest bounty poster.
The paper was creased—obviously unfolded and stared at again and again.
With a quiet sigh, Koushirou smoothed it out once more and gazed at the photo, sinking into thought.
Beside the photo was his daughter's name and bounty amount:
Kuina
Bounty: 200,000,000 Berries!
And in the notes below, it even stated: tremendous potential.
Koushirou's eyes lingered on the words "200,000,000 Berries" and "tremendous potential." His chest filled with emotion—fatherly worry rising alongside pride at her growth—yet more than anything, there was an overpowering sense of unreality.
Three years.
Only three years had passed.
That daughter who once, in this very dojo, stubbornly swung her sword again and again until she collapsed from exhaustion—just because he had said, "A woman can't become the world's greatest swordsman."
That girl who had made a promise with him under the moonlight.
And now… she'd become someone with a 200,000,000 bounty, labeled by the World Government as tremendous potential!
He knew Kuina was gifted beyond measure. He knew that if she left the dojo to seek a path to greater strength, she was bound to encounter something extraordinary. From scattered newspaper reports, he'd also learned that she seemed to be following that legendary female swordsman, Teresa.
But no matter how he tried to imagine it, he never could have guessed her growth would be this terrifying.
In just three years, she had already forced her way into the ranks of the strong in the Great Pirate Era!
That accomplishment far exceeded even his boldest expectations.
"Kuina… what exactly did you go through…?" Koushirou murmured. His heart held pride—and a trace of guilt, because as her father, he hadn't fulfilled what a father should.
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
A short green-haired boy came running into the dojo, panting, stopping before Koushirou. A white headband was tied across his forehead, sweat soaking his bangs—clearly he'd just finished three rounds of self-training.
It was the young Zoro.
"Sensei!" Zoro called out out of habit, but his gaze was immediately hooked by the conspicuous bounty poster in Koushirou's hand. The moment he saw the photo and the amount, his eyes went wide and his mouth fell slightly open.
"This is…?!" Zoro pointed at the girl's portrait on the poster, his voice shaking with excitement. "Sensei! This is Kuina-senpai, right?! I—I've seen her photo in your room! No way I'm wrong!"
When Zoro first arrived at Isshin Dojo, Kuina had already left, so the two of them had never met. But he'd once happened to see an old photo of Kuina in Koushirou's room—a face still carrying a bit of youth, yet eyes unbelievably firm. It had left a deep impression on him. Only now, on this bounty poster, Kuina looked more mature, and her eyes were even sharper.
"Two hundred million…?!" Zoro stared at the astronomical number, his breathing turning heavy.
For a boy like him—less than three years into swordsmanship, aiming to become the world's greatest swordsman—two hundred million was a height you could only look up at.
It represented overwhelming strength.
"Kuina-senpai… she's already become this strong?!" Zoro's face was full of shock. But after the shock, what surged up wasn't jealousy—it was an uncontrollable admiration and yearning.
He clenched his bamboo sword tightly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"So amazing… Kuina-senpai! Our dojo produced a real swordsman…!" Zoro muttered, then suddenly lifted his head and looked straight at Koushirou, his tone turning firm. "Sensei! I'm going to work even harder! I won't lose to Kuina-senpai! Someday, I'll make my own name shake the world! No—I'll surpass Kuina-senpai and become the true world's greatest swordsman!"
Watching the youthful determination on Zoro's face, Koushirou, for a moment, felt as if he were seeing his daughter from three years ago—the one who had made that promise under the moonlight.
That sense of unreality in his heart slowly gave way to a quiet relief.
He carefully put Kuina's bounty poster away, then showed Zoro an encouraging smile.
"Zoro. Then go—toward your goal—with everything you've got. Kuina has already found the road that belongs to her. And you… you can, too."
Elsewhere, just as Ronan gathered everyone and prepared to put the plan into motion, Beth spoke up from the side.
"Ronan-sama! But those four members of the God Knights who escaped and infiltrated the kingdom—we still haven't been able to lock down their exact locations."
Her words made Ronan's movements pause slightly.
He recalled that previous battle: on their side, they'd only captured Garling. The others had slipped away.
Beth continued her analysis. "They clearly specialize in infiltration and disguise. If they commit to hiding—fully suppressing their presence and blending into civilians—then unless we conduct the strictest carpet-style sweep, even Pitou's En will have a hard time dragging them out with precision."
If that's the case…
A flash of resolve crossed Ronan's eyes. He lifted his head and said to Beth, "Lift the harbor blockade. Let them go."
Everyone present was startled by the order, but no one questioned him.
"Garling is in our hands—that's enough. The remaining four are just headless flies. Forcing them to stay could cause even greater losses for the kingdom."
And Ronan also knew: the God Knights were connected to Imu by a contract.
Imu.
That mysterious existence hidden above the Empty Throne—someone who had lived for at least eight hundred years and held the World Government's highest authority.
Power unfathomable.
And the one Ronan was currently most wary of.
If those four God Knights were pushed into a corner and, at any cost, used some unknown method to draw Imu's attention—or even Imu's power—directly to Lulusia…
The consequences would be unimaginable.
This was Ronan's kingdom. This was his foundation.
If a direct clash erupted with an existence on Imu's level—even if only a trace of that power leaked out—then the entire Lulusia Kingdom might be reduced to ruins in the aftershock.
That was not an ending he was willing to see.
Risking the entire kingdom being dragged into an abyss of no return, just to flush out four rats hiding in the dark…
It wasn't worth it.
Ronan turned around, a sharp gleam in his eyes.
"Besides…" the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "It won't be long before we see those rats again—on another stage. And then, if they want to run… they won't get the chance."
"I understand, Ronan-sama. I'll go relay the order to lift the blockade immediately." Beth gave a slight bow and left at once.
Then Ronan's gaze shifted to Pitou, who had been quietly waiting in the corner.
"Pitou, what about what I told you to prepare?"
As if summoned, Pitou darted to Ronan in a blur, dropped to one knee, looked up, and answered with absolute loyalty.
"Ronan-sama! It's completely ready!"
"As you ordered, I found the largest uninhabited island in the nearby waters. The moment you give the word, I can make it fly!"
"Good." Ronan nodded. "What about Germa?"
"King Judge has already finished assembling as well!" Pitou reported rapidly. "Aside from the four thousand soldiers deployed to key positions throughout the kingdom and assigned to the royal palace guard, the remaining six thousand clone soldiers of the Germa Kingdom have all boarded that 'Flying Island' late last night, exactly as you ordered! They also brought Germa's most advanced individual equipment and heavy weapons. They're ready to be deployed at any moment!"
Six thousand gene-optimized clone soldiers who obeyed absolutely.
In Ronan's eyes, that was unquestionably a powerful force—enough to create massive chaos inside Mary Geoise.
Hearing this, Ronan's expression finally showed satisfaction.
"Rather than sit here and wait for them to come knocking… turning Lulusia into ruins and a graveyard," Ronan slowly rose to his feet, "we'll go pay a visit to those who call themselves 'gods'!"
Ronan's plan was insane—and bold.
Instead of waiting in Lulusia to get bogged down in a war of attrition with the Marines, he would directly use Pitou's Devil Fruit power to control a floating island, load everyone and the Germa army onto it, cross the Calm Belt and the Red Line, and appear above Mary Geoise!
A colossal floating island suddenly appearing over Mary Geoise—by itself—was a provocation against the World Government's authority.
And the psychological shock it would inflict on the World Government would be far more intense than however many enemy troops Lulusia might defeat on its own soil.
After all, Devil Fruits that allow flight are extremely rare in this world.
And the ability to manipulate an island—making it appear anywhere, anytime—was something only the Float-Float Fruit could do.
You could say that if one person used it alone, its deterrence was limited.
But if an entire force possessed that ability…
It was an existence that could not be ignored.
Moreover, the floating island itself was the most terrifying weapon.
If it fell, it would be enough to wipe most of Mary Geoise off the map.
Of course, Ronan understood perfectly well that trying to overturn a World Government that had ruled for eight hundred years with a single surprise raid was nothing but a fool's dream.
Too many ancient monsters were hidden in the depths of Mary Geoise: the mighty Gorosei, Kong—who hadn't made a move in countless years—and that Imu, who never showed their face, yet seemed to control everything.
And on top of that, the strength of Marine Headquarters was no mere decoration.
(End of Chapter)
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