Big brother, I want to become the strongest pirate in the world!

Doflamingo held the newspaper in his hand, staring at the monster pirate crew's flag in the illustration, and couldn't help but let out a delighted laugh.

"Speaking of which, it seems the Vinsmoke are amassing troops."

"Fufu, take some people with you. Whatever they want to do, just cause trouble."

……

Naval Headquarters.

"Ah... so this guy is Kazan. He's a pirate after all."

Garp was eating a senbei (rice cracker) and staring at the two familiar words on the newspaper. He suddenly paused, seemed to remember something, and then continued eating as if nothing had happened.

"Hmm... The bounty is enough, but it still doesn't have much influence in the Grand Line... Well, there's still time. We'll deal with it when they arrive in the Grand Line."

Sengoku didn't notice what Garp was saying; he didn't want to listen to this old geezer who just farted all day long.

He's more concerned about Doflamingo now. According to Rosinante's information... the whereabouts of the Op-Op Fruit have been found.

……

Most of the ordinary villages and islands in the West Sea saw this newspaper.

They spread the news from house to house, announcing that the monster pirate crew had reappeared on the high seas.

They were genuinely happy.

Chapter 117 The Confused Boy

"Pepe-chan, there are dark clouds over there to the north. Is it going to rain?"

"Let me see... a strong wind is coming! Let's furl the sails."

Perona, who was sitting on the sun lounger with Robin reading, heard Bon Clay's voice from the lookout tower. She immediately jumped up and looked at the northern sky, and within two or three seconds, she judged the upcoming weather changes.

"Pepe's sailing skills are getting better and better."

"Ah... the Windmill Village library has quite a few books about the weather along the Grand Line. Perona is studying very hard."

"It's all for becoming the best navigator in your brother's eyes. With such a good little sister, your brother must be so happy."

"Hmph~"

As usual, Kazan was sunbathing on Carosso's dragon head, enjoying Monet's sunflower seed peeling service while humming proudly at Monet's words.

If you were to ask what Kazan is most proud of... without a doubt, it's his group of incredibly cute younger brothers and sisters.

"Ah~ Ah~ The weather's getting bad, no more sunbathing, let's go supervise Tiga's training."

"Brother, aren't you being too harsh on Tiga? He only gets so little time to rest each day."

"Hmph, what's so strict about that! When I was practicing swordsmanship, the total time I spent eating, drinking, relieving myself, and sleeping was no more than four hours a day!"

Monet is, after all, a girl, and she's more tender-hearted towards her younger siblings. Although Tiga is nominally Kazan's apprentice, since Kazan has already recognized him as a member of the monster family, he is naturally considered her younger brother.

However, Kazan is different. He grew up in a relatively traditional environment in both his lives. Although he is not so old-fashioned, he was more or less influenced by it.

Boys are supposed to be responsible and take on far more responsibility than girls. That's what my father and my master from previous lives always said!

To shoulder the responsibilities that must be borne, one must possess sufficient strength, and for this strength, proper and rigorous training is indispensable.

Kazan, in particular, had high expectations for Tija, hoping that he could pass on his master's swordsmanship.

Kazan arrived alone in the training room, where two teenagers were already working hard, giving their youth and sweat.

One is Akin, perhaps because of something Bellamy said, or perhaps because he couldn't forget that Kazan had put him together with the three little ones, or perhaps because he was afraid that Tiga would surpass him later.

In short, Akin has developed a strange obsession with strength and always trains on his own initiative.

Kazan thought this was a good idea. Akin's strength was top-tier among the 'Four Seas' level, but he was still a bit short of being able to enter the Grand Line. It would be good for him to train harder.

The other one is Tiga, who has been training here at Kazan's request, but he himself has not shown any desire for power.

What makes Kazan even more troubled is that among all the members of the monster family, Tiga is the only little guy without a goal.

In Kazan's view, Tiga was living in a daze all day long, without wanting anything, without wanting to kill anyone, and without any desire for money, status, or fame, like a robot.

"So, have you mastered the Three-Stage Slash?"

"It can be used now."

"Practice more and more, and don't neglect iaido. Remember to try combining the back jump slash with the uppercut."

"Ah."

"Once you've mastered these techniques, I'll officially begin teaching you a special swordsmanship. And perhaps your... dazed state will actually make it easier for you to grasp the essence."

"……Um."

Kazan was a little annoyed by Tiga's silent and obedient demeanor. Boys should be a little rebellious, and Tiga would eventually break down if he kept it all bottled up like this.

Like Bunkley, who started arguing with Kazan when he was thirteen, they argued every single day.

Bellamy idolizes Kazan and is basically obedient to him, but he just can't seem to shake off some of his bad habits.

Although Ah Jin is also a quiet person, he doesn't keep it bottled up. He expresses his unhappiness through things like "Hmph!", "(▼ヘ▼#)", and "(╬◣д◢)".

The days flowed by slowly. When passing through towns and islands, they would stop to replenish their supplies, hunt pirates, bandits, and gang leaders for bounties, or sell the spoils of war they had captured after each battle, and finally ask for directions to Shimotsuki Village.

These leisurely days are not bad, at least for the girls on the ship.

However, it's quite frustrating for the boys, who have plenty of energy but nowhere to use it.

Finally, a month later, they arrived at Shimotsuki Village, a relatively remote village in the East Blue. No wonder Zoro couldn't find his way home after setting sail; he's terrible with directions, and the location was so remote.

The Carroso slowly docked on the island where Shimotsuki Village is located. There should be quite a few towns on this island, and Shimotsuki Village is just one of them.

"Xiao Feng, find a good place to hide Caroso. We'll be staying on this island for a few days."

"Oh."

As Bon Clay drove Carosso away from the shore and circled the island looking for a hiding place, Kazan and the others also set off on the country road toward Frostmoon Village.

The entire island exudes an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, making it an ideal place for those seeking quiet spiritual practice. It seems that Shimotsuki Kozaburo didn't just randomly choose this location to build his village.

"Quack quack, hug me!"

"Hug my ass! How old are you? You're almost nine! You still want to be hugged? No way! Let whoever wants to hug you hug me!"

"Waaaaaahh ...

Kazan still carried Sugar in his arms and left, not because he was soft-hearted, but because he was annoyed by the little girl's crying.

When Sugar hugged him like that, Perona didn't say anything, but Kazan immediately understood what she meant from her big, watery eyes.

The final result was that Kazan had Sugar in one arm and Perona in the other, like a stay-at-home dad with a baby.

The other boys in the monster family didn't seem to care much, but Monet and Robin were a little envious, as they didn't receive this treatment when they were young.

Thinking about it this way, being younger doesn't seem so bad.

Before they even reached Frostmoon Village, Bon Clay, who had transformed into a giant bird in mid-air, spotted them and rejoined the group.

They landed quite far from the island, and by the time they reached Frostmoon Village, it was already evening.

Of course, this is also due to the fact that they stopped along the way, occasionally looking at the scenery, and rolling around on the grass.

However, they eventually arrived at Shimotsuki Village.

Chapter 118 Kuina and Zoro

As soon as the monster family entered Frostmoon Village, they saw a short, slightly spirited girl with short blue hair leading a green-haired village brat who looked like he could infuriate anyone.

Judging from what they were carrying, it's easy to tell that the two children were out buying groceries.

Of course, the most crucial point is that both of these little devils had different numbers of bamboo swords hanging from their waists.

The rest of the monster family didn't know who these two brats were, but Kazan certainly did: the dying Kuina and the three-sword-wielding Liu Zoro.

"Huh? What? Need directions?"

When Roronoa Zoro passed by Kazan, he noticed that this handsome man with red eyes was staring at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Of course, the reason Zoro spoke first was because of the two swords hanging at the man's waist... He was currently training to fight with two swords.

And one of the guys in the group behind this man also looks like a swordsman.

"..."

Who gave you the confidence to say that?

A very noticeable question mark appeared above Kazan's head.

"Excuse me, how do I get to the Isshin Dojo?"

Robin, who has always been the most composed and quiet person, surprisingly spoke up before everyone else this time.

You really dare to ask.

Although Kazan knew what Robin was thinking, he still couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap!" to himself.

"Zoro! Back off..."

At this moment, Kuina, who had been observing from the side, dropped the groceries she was buying, reached out and blocked Zoro's path, cautiously watching the monster family group in front of her.

Upon witnessing this, Funker suddenly left the group, said something to Monet beside him, and then took Bellamy away on his own, disappearing without a trace.

From the very beginning, Kuina could tell that the monster family group wasn't from Frostmoon Village, and the appearances of Kazan, Bellamy, Arkin, and Tiga... weren't exactly approachable.

Now that Robin mentioned the 'Isshin Dojo,' Kuina couldn't contain herself anymore; it was obvious that this was aimed at her family.

"Hey……"

"Zoro, shut up! What... do you want to do?"

Kuina nervously led Zoro back slowly, her gaze mostly fixed on Kazan, as the group was clearly surrounding him.

Robin realized at this point that she had been a bit rash, but in Robin's eyes, her brother's situation was already extremely urgent.

"Um... don't get me wrong, I've encountered some problems in my swordsmanship training and just wanted to ask for your guidance."

Just as Robin was about to explain something, Kazan gently patted her head twice, then stepped forward and began to explain himself.

"How...can you prove it?"