Chapter 8

The advancement in swordsmanship brought a slight increase in Dao Force, and now Ian's Dao Force had reached 20 points.

However, the thing that Ian was most excited about was that he could finally use the true [True · Flash] skill from [Akechi Samanosuke Hidemitsu] card. Just thinking about the scene where he coolly cut down opponents in the game Ghost Samurai (or Onimusha), Ian felt an irresistible itch to show off. Was he finally able to show off a bit?

He needed to find someone to try it out. Ian pondered for a moment, and his first choice was, of course, Kuina but when thinking of Kuina, Ian hesitated. In a short period of time, he also discovered that the strength of a person's strength can indeed be judged by Dao. He estimated her power is just slightly stronger than him.

However, Ian can now use the secret skill of [True . Flash]. According to the attribute description of this sword move, it may be quite powerful. If one accidentally hits Kuina during the fight, it is very likely that Kuina will be injured! In this village, the only person Ian didn't want to hurt was Kuina, so he wouldn't use Kuina to try his sword moves. He couldn't risk accidentally hurting her. So, how about finding the dojo instructor, Zoro, or Master Koushiro?

With that in mind, Ian paused his training and said to Zoro, who was struggling to hold up a rock for muscle exercises, "You keep practicing; I'll go back to the dojo."

Hearing Ian's words, Zoro was about to answer when the rock in his mouth fell, landing squarely on his foot.

"Ouch!!" Zoro screamed in agony as he hopped around on one foot.

"You fool!" Ian shook his head, exasperated, and without bothering about Zoro's pain, he headed back to the village.

When he arrived at the dojo, Ian noticed that the young disciples who should have been training were huddled together outside, talking about something.

"Did you see that guy? He's so tall!"

"His face is the biggest thing I've ever seen!"

"Yeah, it's the biggest face in the world!"

Curious, Ian interrupted, "Why aren't you practicing? What are you doing here?"

Hearing Ian's voice, one of the disciples with a bald head ran up with a runny nose and excitedly said, "Senior Ian, there are outsiders in the village! We saw them at the beach today. One of them has an incredibly huge face, it's amazing!"

The other disciples nodded and joined in, describing the person in detail to Ian.

The sight of the bald boy's runny nose reminded Ian that he had neglected his daily task of buying newspapers for Koushirou-sensei. He had left this job to the other disciples since he started training with Zoro. Now that they mentioned it, he asked, "Do you have today's newspaper? Who fetched it?"

Since Ian took Sauron to start exercising, Ian didn't go to buy newspapers for Koushirou-sensei recently. This job was handed over to other juniors. As Ian asked, the bald disciple ran to the dojo, returning with a newspaper that he handed to Ian.

Ian opened the newspaper and saw a huge headline: "World Noble Charles Set to Visit the Goa Kingdom!" (p.s did I get this right?)

Even in the East Blue, not to mention a small village like Syrup, everyone knew about the beautiful Goa Kingdom, which could be considered the most beautiful country in the East Blue. It was enough to attract the attention of world nobles for a visit.

However, Ian knew the ugly truth behind the beauty. The Goa Kingdom was nothing but a "segregated society" that concealed all the dirty and unsightly things, exiling the homeless and the jobless to a trash mountain outside the city. The government then built a high wall to isolate the garbage mountain, forming two completely different worlds.

They called it the "Final Destination for Indeterminate Matter."

While they turned a blind eye to the world of garbage in their everyday life, when they heard that world nobles were coming to visit, they set the trash mountain on fire to prevent its stench from polluting the air. They knew that many people lived there, yet they still chose to burn the place down, showing no concern for what would happen to the homeless people who lost their habitat. Their indifference was suffocating and heartless.

Ian recalled a past event—Sabo's early departure.

Sabo, as a noble of the Goa Kingdom, hated the oppression there and always yearned for freedom. He had always wanted to find a way to inform his sworn brothers, Luffy and Ace, about the garbage mountain's impending incineration, but he was confined to his home by his parents.

His brothers' fate was unknown, but the people of the Goa Kingdom, with their indifferent and uncaring faces, pushed him to the edge. Unable to bear it any longer, Sabo chose to escape. He knocked out the guards, left a letter for Luffy and Ace, and set sail on a small boat in advance.

Unfortunately, on the day he set sail, it coincided with the arrival of the world nobles...

The approaching ship reminded Sabo to be polite and steer clear. He even fantasized about becoming a captain of such a ship, sailing the seas freely. However, what he didn't expect was that his politeness couldn't win the understanding of the arrogant Celestial Dragons. A mere commoner dare not pass by a celestial Dragon. They launched an attack on Sabo's boat without any mercy...

In the world of One Piece, the World Government always regarded pirates as evil. However, in Ian's eyes, the true villains were these so-called world nobles, Celestial Dragons. They represented the most grotesque and ugly aspects of humanity.

Feeling melancholic, Ian put down the newspaper and stood up. He asked the disciples, "You guys continue practicing; I'm going to take a look."

"Ah, Ian-senior, you're so sly! You're going without us!" the bald boy exclaimed, sounding a bit resentful.

Ian chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately, and walked out of the dojo.

Ivankov must have come to Syrup Village because he and Dragon separated here. Dragon's trip to the Goa Kingdom was a secret operation, so it was impossible for him to bring Ivankov along. His huge face would draw too much attention and expose their plans.

Ian decided to see Ivankov for himself. He was curious to meet this legendary Queen of the Okama and, perhaps, there was a chance to encounter Dragon as well.

In the world of One Piece, there were many mysterious figures, and Dragon, Luffy's father, was one of them. Nobody knew his background or his true strength. He played the role of a behind-the-scenes boss, pulling strings from the shadows.