One Piece: Rayquaza of the Beasts Pirates

Upon seeing the scabbard, Hiyori Kozuki excitedly stood up.

As the princess of Wano Country, she would never mistake the country's most precious treasure, "Shusui".

She bowed deeply to Brook and said earnestly, "Mr. Brook, please forgive my impertinence, but I implore you to return Shusui to me. I will enshrine it again in the shrine of Wano Country."

However, Brooke looked troubled.

He scratched his head: "Well...you are my saviors, and also Mr. Longma's fellow townsmen. Logically and morally, I should return the knife. But..."

"Mr. Ryoma's dying wish was for me to find it a master who could fight alongside it, rather than letting it return to the shrine and become a mere ornament for admiration."

He gently stroked the scabbard of Qiushui and said with emotion, "For a swordsman, the greatest wish is for his sword to continue to shine in the hands of a new master, rather than being enshrined in a shrine and becoming a treasure that is revered in name but has no use."

Hiyori Kozuki paused, then fell into deep thought.

She subconsciously touched the Enma and Futsu-no-Mitama at her waist, realizing that Brook was right.

Swords and knives are weapons of violence; they should not be meant to be kept at a distance or treated with respect.

For a swordsman, the sword in his hand is also a partner; to truly cherish a partner is to allow it to realize its value.

"I was being too persistent."

Hiyori smiled with relief and abandoned the idea of ​​welcoming back Shusui to be worshipped again.

As for taking Qiu Shui under one's own control?

Hiyori never even considered that she was a dual-wielding swordsman, and that the Enma and Futsu-no-Mitama swords in her hands suited her perfectly, leaving no room for Shusui.

At this moment, Kane, who had been watching quietly from the side, turned his head to look at the three little ones who were listening to the story, as if he were deep in thought.

He noticed that Zoro's gaze had never left Shusui since it appeared, his eyes sparkling with the excitement and longing a swordsman would have when he saw a fine sword.

"Zoro."

Kane's words pulled the green-haired boy back to reality. "Interested in giving it a try? You happen to be missing two suitable swords. Although Autumn Water is already a black sword, you can use it as a temporary solution."

Originally, Kane intended to entrust the withered tree and Sakura Ten left behind by Shiki to Zoro.

Unexpectedly, this kid simply said "I don't feel anything" and rejected two great swords that most swordsmen might never even get to touch in their lifetime.

Thus, the two renowned swords now lie quietly in Kane's treasury, awaiting the arrival of their destined owner.

Kane didn't think Zoro was ungrateful for not even wanting a Great Grade Sword.

Just as a magic wand chooses a wizard, a famous sword also possesses a spirit, and a swordsman and a famous sword need to be mutually attracted.

At this moment, Zoro was clearly in love with Shusui at first sight.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Zoro immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his fighting spirit blazing.

“Mr. Brooke, what do you think?” Kane inquired.

“Of course I have no objection,” Brooke readily agreed.

He stayed on Reverse Mountain partly because he had nowhere else to go, and partly to fulfill his promise to Ryoma to select an outstanding swordsman to entrust to Shusui.

Since the young man in front of him was interested, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Are we going to fight?"

A pair of small bull horns knocked Kane off balance.

Immediately afterwards, Yamato's expectant little head popped out from his left shoulder.

"Oh, I want to see rivers of blood!"

Bonnie had somehow ended up hanging on Kane's right shoulder, waving her little fists and shouting.

“Bonnie, a lady shouldn’t say such violent things.”

A gentle yet helpless voice came from the bear.

After curing Bonnie's leprosy, he had always wanted to raise Bonnie into a true lady, but unfortunately, she seemed to be getting further and further away from that path.

"Alright, Big Bear, don't put so much pressure on Bonnie. In this world, a lady can't protect herself."

Kane smiled and stroked Bonnie's soft pink fur.

"That's right, that's right. Brother Kane is right!"

Bonnie, feeling supported, happily rubbed her head against Kane's palm, revealing a sweet and adorable smile.

Big Bear sighed.

Kane was the biggest obstacle on his educational path.

However, there is one point that Big Bear agrees with.

In any case, in this world, strength is the greatest source of confidence to protect oneself.

He simply wanted Bonnie to have the power while also behaving politely.

Mr. Brooke did something like that... well... something like that.

On the open ground, Brook and Zoro stood facing each other, the air thick with a tense and menacing atmosphere.

The crowd gathered in the outer circle to watch the battle, and even the giant island whale Laboon surfaced, looking at Brooke with concern.

It has witnessed similar scenes countless times.

Kane turned his gaze away from the battlefield and looked at the enthusiastic Yamato beside him: "By the way, how's your apprentice learning Haki?"

Before they parted ways last time, Yamato generously shared his experience in training his domineering skills with Laboon.

"It did it!"

Both of them raised their heads, extremely proud of themselves.

She had just personally confirmed that, although Laboon couldn't even cover his body with Haki, he had indeed successfully activated it.

"That's truly remarkable, Mr. Yamato!"

Kane smiled and cheered, and one sentence made Yamato so happy that she forgot herself and hugged his arm and rubbed against him happily.

It's not impossible for animals to learn domineering traits; as long as they have enough intelligence to unleash their latent willpower, they can learn.

When Luffy was in Alabasta, he took a group of kung fu dugongs as his students. When they reunited later, these kung fu dugongs demonstrated the application of Armament Haki.

The atmosphere on the field was extremely tense at this moment.

Please enlighten me.

Zoro let out a low shout, assumed the Three-Sword Style stance, and charged forward like a cheetah.

Brooke calmly drew his cane sword and parried precisely.

Clang!

The metal clashed, and a piercing sound exploded!

Centered on the two people's feet, more than a dozen cracks instantly spread across the ground.

The two parted ways immediately after their initial clash, both satisfied that they had found a worthy opponent (a swordsman).

Brooke raised his cane sword, his tone becoming solemn: "From now on, I will no longer hold back."

"It should have been done long ago!" Zoro grinned wildly.

"Dawn Song - Aurora Burst!"

Brook pointed his sword at Zoro, and before he could finish speaking, his figure vanished from the scene like a ghost.

not good!

Alarm bells rang in Zoro's mind, and he forced himself to the side using his honed fighting instincts.

A sharp sword aura grazed his earlobe, silently severing a few strands of his green hair.

Zoro rolled away awkwardly to create distance, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

If he hadn't been training his Armament Haki and Observation Haki recently, he probably wouldn't have been able to react in time to that attack.

This thrilling scene made Sanji a little worried.

He leaned closer to Kane and asked in a low, worried voice, "Brother Kane, is Green Hair really alright? That Mr. Brook is ridiculously strong."

Even he was a little caught off guard by that attack.

Kane smiled confidently: "Don't worry, trust Zoro. His efforts over this period should have yielded something by now."

Besides, his ability to foresee the future isn't unfounded; he'll act when absolutely necessary.

However, Brook's strength at this moment seems to be even greater than it was seven years later when he was first rescued from the Devil's Triangle by Luffy.

Could it be that his constant battles with the Four Seas Swordsmen during this period have allowed him to rediscover his old combat experience?

It's not impossible, really.

Brook still possesses some strength, but it has diminished.

It's always much faster to regain strength after it has declined than to start from scratch.

On the field, Brook took a step back, his sword and staff hanging slightly, giving Zoro time to adjust.

"Want to continue, young man? You might not be so lucky next time."

"Enough with the nonsense!"

"Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!"

Zoro roared, crossed his swords in both hands, and charged at Brook once again with unwavering resolve.

Brooke's figure also flashed out at the same time, and the two figures passed each other like lightning.

In an instant, everything came to a standstill.

Zoro remained frozen in place, frozen in the final stance of his strike. Brook, with his back to Zoro, gracefully and slowly sheathed his staff and sword.

"Nose Song Three-Strike - Arrow Tail Slash!"

Pfft—!

A line of blood spurted out from Zoro's chest.

"Zoro!"

Sanji and Ace exclaimed almost simultaneously.