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

Kazan and Shimotsuki Koshiro stood in the center of the dojo, each holding two bamboo swords and one bamboo sword, already in a ready state.

As for Ah Jin, who had a large bump on his head, he continued to coldly observe everything in the mortal world from the corner.

(▼へ▼メ)

Chapter 120 Poor Kuina

*Clap clap clap clap clap*

Click.

During the sparring match, Kazan did not use Blood Rage, but even so, his sword strikes were incredibly fast, so much so that the dojo masters and disciples watching from the sidelines stared wide-eyed.

However, you can only see a tiny shadow passing by; you can't see at all when or where Kazan's sword has reached.

The most obvious example is that Shimotsuki Koshiro was initially forced to retreat a few steps by Kazan in order to adapt to Kazan's sword speed, but he still appeared relaxed and at ease.

The sparring session between the two lasted only a dozen seconds. It wasn't that they couldn't continue, but under Kazan's frenzied attacks, their bamboo swords couldn't withstand the strain and broke.

Since it was just a normal sparring match, neither Kazan nor Shimotsuki Koshiro used their full strength. Obviously, if it was just like that, there would be no problem at all.

Based on this battle, Kazan was able to make a rough judgment about Shimotsuki Koushirou's skill level. Shimotsuki Koushirou's swordsmanship level was at least higher than his, but it was hard to determine the exact level.

The two stopped fighting. Kazan glanced at Shimotsuki Koshiro and sighed when he saw the other shake his head helplessly.

"Everyone else has gone to eat. Kazan, please come with me. Oh, and Zoro, you come too."

Shimotsuki Koushirou looked up and saw Kazan looking somewhat dejected. After hesitating for a moment, he made a decision. Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something and called Zoro, who was still immersed in the sparring between Shimotsuki Koushirou and Kazan.

Kazan nodded, put down the broken bamboo sword in his hand, and then planned to leave with Shimotsuki Koshiro. He could roughly guess what they were going to do.

It's highly likely that we'll have a real duel where the full strength can be unleashed; this is the most direct way to see a swordsman's true nature.

"Father! I want to go too!"

When Kuina saw that Shimotsuki Koshiro hadn't called her, she gritted her teeth, stood up, and said something to him, her voice filled with a mix of trepidation and stubbornness.

Kuina didn't know what Shimotsuki Koshiro was going to do with Kazan and Zoro, but she didn't want to fall behind Zoro. She disliked the feeling of being ignored by her father because of her girl status.

"Guina, go cook. You don't need to come."

Shimotsuki Koshiro walked ahead, saying something without turning his head, which made Kuina's eyes immediately turn red.

Even Kazan felt that Shimotsuki Koshiro's words were a bit excessive. From his perspective as the eldest brother, he always treated his own girl with utmost care and tenderness, and Jueji would never act like that.

Kazan glanced at the little girl with short blue hair. In fact, whether it was before the soul transmigration or before the physical transmigration, the phenomenon of valuing sons over daughters would only occur in underdeveloped places that were somewhat out of touch with the times.

The situation is similar in One Piece. Wano Country is a prime example. Years of 'closed-door policy' have kept Wano Country's ideology at a relatively traditional stage.

There were many swordsmen there, each striving to earn the honor of being a 'warrior.' If they couldn't achieve it themselves, they would pass it on to their descendants. In such situations, the preference for sons over daughters became very apparent.

As the son of Kozaburo Shimotsuki, Koshiro Shimotsuki, whose hometown is in Wano Country, inevitably retains some of the outdated ideas surrounding swordsmanship: 'Only boys can fully inherit swordsmanship, are qualified to become the next head of the Isshin Dojo, and are qualified to compete for the title of the world's greatest swordsman.'

Therefore, Shimotsuki Koshiro never hindered Kuina from learning swordsmanship, but he also did not support her; on the contrary, he always maintained an optimistic attitude towards Zoro learning swordsmanship, and even directly groomed him as the next successor.

Kazan disagreed with Shimotsuki Koshiro's view, but he couldn't refute it either.

Because the facts are there: no matter what anyone says, unless a boy is of a special race or has some special ability, his strength growth potential is higher than that of a girl!

If Kuina and Zoro trained in the same way at the same time, it wouldn't be long before Kuina was far behind Zoro—that's an indisputable fact.

However, Kazan disagrees with Shimotsuki Koshiro's view that Kuina could not possibly be stronger than Zoro in the future, and that there is absolutely no single path for her to take.

Whether it's science, skill, or a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, this vast ocean offers many options that allow Kuina to surpass Zoro or others while maintaining her identity as a pure swordswoman in the future.

Kazan's second senior sister was just an ordinary girl who discovered early on the shortcomings of being a woman in terms of physical attributes. She gave up developing her strength and devoted herself to studying skills and agility, eventually becoming a sword master who surpassed almost all male swordsmen.

"Hehe, it's okay. I've already asked Monet and the others to cook. You can come and watch too."

When Kazan walked up to Kuina, he bent down and ruffled her short blue hair. It was a little rough, not like the hair of a typical girl, so it seemed she hadn't taken good care of it.

Kuina paused, glanced at the gentle Kazan with her large eyes that were already glistening with tears, and then cautiously glanced at Shimotsuki Koshiro, who had turned around and was staring at her.

Looking at his daughter's pitiful appearance, Shimotsuki Koshiro sighed, said nothing, and continued walking forward.

"Let's go."

Seeing this, Kazan reached out and wiped away the tears from the corner of Kuina's eyes, then patted her on the back, signaling her to follow.

For the rest of the journey, Kuina kept her head down, clutching the hem of her clothes, and quietly followed behind Kazan, not daring to make a sound, like a child who had made a mistake.

Kazan didn't seem to care much about this scene; it was quite normal. In Kuina's mind, Koushirou was probably just a 'strict father' figure.

Sometimes when his younger siblings make mistakes, Kazan will also act as a strict older brother to educate them, but such situations are relatively rare.

As for Kuina's appearance, it seems she's already used to it, so skilled it's heartbreaking.

Arriving at the small courtyard behind the Isshin Dojo, Shimotsuki Koushirou looked up at the pavilion in front of him and said, "Kazan-kun, wait for me."

Kazan nodded and watched as Shimotsuki Koshiro went up to the attic and came down shortly afterward, now holding a sword with a white scabbard.

Upon seeing the knife, Kazan suddenly remembered something and turned to glance at Kuina, who was staring intently at the knife beside him.

"This is the 'Wado Ichimonji', one of the 21 Great Swords."

"I've heard of it."

"Let's go to the back mountain; this place is too small."

"it is good."

Chapter 121 The Truth

bass!

Inside the back mountain, Kazan drew two knives from his waist, one gleaming black and the other glowing red.

"Go all out, Kazan."

Shimotsuki Kousaburo stared intently at the demon sword Mujou held by Kazan Oni-Hand. He was a simple swordsman who was neither proficient in nor interested in forging. He had only learned a little bit because of Shimotsuki Kousaburo, and had only barely reached the level of being able to forge ordinary swords.

Shimotsuki Koshiro was interested in fast swords; in fact, any swordsman or blacksmith would be interested in fast swords.

He did have a desire to take a closer look at Kazan's Black Blade, Darkmoon, but when the 'other dream blade of Wano Country,' which had been in his ears since childhood, actually appeared before him, the Black Blade's allure wasn't as strong anymore.

"it is good."

Kazan wasn't worried at all about whether the upcoming battle would hurt Shimotsuki Koushirou. He had already judged from the sparring session that Shimotsuki Koushirou's swordsmanship was superior to his own, so Kazan had nothing to worry about.

Bloodlust.

Rampage.

Bloodthirsty.

Armament Haki.

Enhanced - Kazan, the Soul of the Blade.

There is also a steel transformation that is always in a 'ready to be activated' state, ready to be activated at any time during the battle, and the timing is entirely up to Kazan's own combat intuition and Observation Haki.

The moment Kazan transformed into a blood-soaked figure almost merging into the blood energy, Shimotsuki Koshiro's eyes behind his glasses opened—they truly opened!

You can see their dark eyes.

"I see..."

Shimotsuki Koushirou opened his eyes for a brief moment before closing them again, squinting as he glanced at the faintly visible blood-red armored fish head above their heads.

Bang.

Kazan stomped his right foot hard, and with a triple slash, he arrived in front of Shimotsuki Koushirou. He raised his twin swords high and put his body into a steel-like state. With the help of Kazan's weight, he used a powerful Mountain Crash Strike to press down hard on Shimotsuki Koushirou.

Kazan did not choose to start with Earth Shatter Wave Slash this time. Having had many experiences fighting Shanks and Mihawk, he had long understood that this move was not suitable for starting when facing enemies stronger than himself. Even if he did start with it, it was only to test the opponent's strength.

However, Kazan and Shimotsuki Koshiro already had a general idea of ​​each other's swordsmanship level during their sparring session, so there was no need to waste any more time testing each other.

Shimotsuki Koshiro tilted his head slightly, and with a gentle movement, he instantly teleported five meters away.

Kazan's Mountain Crash missed its mark, striking the ground and causing it to crack open. The cracks spread outwards for exactly five meters before finally stopping at Shimotsuki Koshiro's feet.

Kazan was somewhat surprised that Shimotsuki Koushirou hadn't blocked his attack... He had somehow developed the belief that powerful swordsmen all possessed their own pride.

Because neither Shanks nor Mihawk ever dodges Kazan's Mountain Crash, but instead chooses to raise their swords and take the hit head-on.

Kazan now realizes he misunderstood; a true master swordsman does have his pride, but it won't manifest in this way.

Shimotsuki Koushirou's unconventional approach caught Kazan off guard for a moment. In that brief moment of surprise, Kazan regained his senses and the Wado Ichimonji was already at his neck.

Yes, they did indeed slash at it, but they didn't even manage to cut off a single hair on Kazan's head.

It was instantly defeated.

Kazan certainly wouldn't think it was such a stupid reason as Shimotsuki Koushirou's strength being too weak... It was simply that Shimotsuki Koushirou's swordsmanship was far too high.

"Kazan, even in the midst of a sparring match, you must not be distracted."

“I understand, Mr. Koushirou.”

Kazan accepted his defeat wholeheartedly. Shimotsuki Koshiro was far stronger than him, far stronger than him by a wide margin. He was so strong that Kazan couldn't even see him. Kazan was even stronger than Shanks and Mihawk were at the current level.

At least high-end.

In less than two seconds, the back mountain, which was filled with blood energy, returned to its original state, and Kazan also withdrew from his dual-wielding state.

As for Kuina and Zoro, who were watching from the sidelines, they just stared at them in disbelief.

At first, Kazan's Mountain Crash attack scared them so much that they immediately hid behind a large rock nearby. However, the powerful Kazan was instantly defeated by Shimotsuki Koshiro.

If Kazan hadn't used Mountain Crash, they might not have noticed anything, but with the comparison, the difference became apparent. Now, in their minds, Shimotsuki Koshiro was different from before.

“Kazan… when you entered that berserk state just now, there was a momentary struggle in both your eyes and hands.”

"This kind of struggle is the least likely to occur in swordsmen and gunmen. Your problem... is not small."

"Also, when you drew your sword just now, your power was like a wild beast that had been unleashed. Logically speaking, it should have been incredibly ferocious."

"But... when you actually came at me, you gave me a feeling of absolute rationality."

"This is too contradictory. Your power is like an external object. You are forcibly controlling it, or rather, you are rejecting your own power."

Shimotsuki Koshiro approached Kazan, his squinting eyes reflecting the writhing veins on Kazan's demonic hand. He then bent down and gently stroked the blade of the demonic sword, Useless, the blood on it making it look as if the sword was bleeding: "You've even... suppressed the true nature of the sword."

Kazan swallowed hard, standing there dumbfounded, and in a daze realized just how stupid he had been.