The Nine Yin Manual

As dawn breaks, a new day arrives.

A ship drifts on the sea, its bow led by Tang An studying a sea chart.

Several islands or villages and towns are marked on it.

Such as Gothic Island, Hilltown, Orange Town, Cocoyasi Village, Syrup Village, Shimotsuki Village...

Looking at the marked places, Tang An's somewhat blurry memories become clearer.

If he's not mistaken, Nami is in Cocoyasi Village, and Zoro is in Shimotsuki Village.

Now, Tang An's direction is towards Cocoa Village.

Compared to Zoro, Nami is easier to handle.

Just don't know if Arlong has taken control of Cocoyasi Village now; if he has, there might be some unexpected situations.

At that time, he could only use his brain

Setting the course, Tang An begins his daily practice.

He has shaved eight times now, and Tang An wants to reach nine in one go.

When a person is fully focused on something, time always passes quickly.

Unconsciously, dusk arrives, and the new day is about to end.

After finishing the practice, taking a shower, and changing into elastic boxers, Tang An prepares some food.

Lately, Tang An's appetite has grown, and his consumption has become extraordinary.

This is a good sign.

After all, strong individuals in the world of One Piece generally have astonishing appetites, indicating Tang An's progress every day.

Taking a short break, Tang An immerses himself in training again.

Now, there's nothing else to do besides practising.

That War Horse film, he has already watched a hundred and eighty times in the past half month, with no freshness left.

Around midnight, dragging his exhausted body into the dreamland, Tang An remains vigilant before sleeping, using a cupboard to block the cabin door as a precaution.

After all, the sea is not safe; you can encounter pirates at any time.

He roughly calculates the time; he might reach Cocoa Village early tomorrow.

But unexpected events can happen.

Suddenly, the bright sky turns into dark clouds, and torrential rain pours down.

The entire ship is like a leaf, swaying dangerously in the thunderstorm.

Tang An doesn't know how long he slept, but it's definitely less than two hours.

Although the East Blue is not the Grand Line or the New World, the weather at sea is unpredictable and can match Tang An's current situation at any time.

Hastily running to the bow to stabilize, raindrops the size of thumbs patter down like bullets, hitting him.

Tang An feels a bit scared, sensing he might end up buried at sea.

How did Luffy drift with just a barrel?

Is this the Luck of the child of destiny?

Continuing to be on edge, he doesn't know how much time passed. When the sky gradually brightens, the storm subsides.

Tang An sits on the ground, panting heavily; several times he almost thought of using random travel.

The ship is already shattered, and it's leaking.

Most importantly, Tang An is now directionless, even with a sea chart, he doesn't know where he is.

The ship could sink at any moment now, and with the added confusion of being lost, troubles pile up.

"Do I really have to use random travel?"

Tang An roughly estimates; that the ship can hold on for another hour. If he hadn't plugged the leaks in the bottom, he would be in the sea by now.

Unless absolutely necessary, Tang An doesn't want to use random travel.

Looking at the vast sea, besides water, there is nothing. Tang An's heart sinks.

The only somewhat good news is that the ship is still drifting. Perhaps in this hour, he could encounter another ship or an island.

Even though the probability is small. Time passes by, and if there's no other way, Tang An has no choice but to use random travel.

Just as the ship couldn't hold on, Tang An saw an island.

This is undoubtedly an oasis in the desert. Tang An paddles towards the distant island with a wooden barrel.

After about half an hour of swimming, Tang An lies on the beach gasping for breath.

After resting for a while and regaining his strength, Tang An starts to move.

"Luck is not bad."

Climbing a small hill, a winding path extends through the forest, indicating that this is not a deserted island.

After walking for more than ten minutes along the path, Tang An discovered a sword dojo, and there's a village in the distance.

Coming down to the sword dojo, hearing the training sound in the courtyard, Tang An's expression becomes strange.

When he sees a green-haired kid training with a wooden sword in his mouth, Tang An really doesn't know what to say.

He has actually come to Shimotsuki Village.

Green hair, biting a wooden sword in his mouth, hands gripping wooden swords— isn't it obvious?

Roronoa Zoro.

A storm actually brought him to Shimotsuki Village.

"Who are you looking for!"

A delicate girl in a kimono, around 11 years old, holding a wooden sword, notices Tang An.

Looking at this girl, Tang An guesses who she is.

Koushirou's daughter, the person Zoro has always wanted to surpass since childhood- Kuina.

Is she still alive?

"Oh! Hello, I was originally going to the Goa Kingdom for business. I got separated from my companions in the storm last night and woke up on this island. I came here following that path."

Tang An points to the road behind.

"Is that so!"

Kuina looks at Tang An, who is a bit dusty and dishevelled, clearly looking like he experienced a shipwreck, and it did rain last night.

"Can you give me a glass of water?"

Tang An licks his lips, genuinely feeling a bit dry.

"Please follow me!"

Kuina is kind and leads Tang An into the courtyard towards the sword dojo.

"Please wait."

"Sure."

Sitting on the veranda of the sword dojo, Tang An watches Kuina go away and then looks at Zoro, who is practising not far away, pondering.

He was originally going to Cocoyasi Village, but plans can't keep up with changes.

Since he has encountered Zoro, there's no reason not to stir up trouble and leave.

I have to think of a way.

Got it.

A light flashes in Tang An's mind. He opens the system interface, takes out the Nine Yin Manual, and quickly tears off the part that says "To practice divine skills, use a sword to castrate...."

Whether it succeeds depends on you.

Originally thought this Manual was useless, but now it seems to have value.

"Readable in any world without barriers."

This is the explanation of the Nine Yin Manual.

Simple and easy to understand means anyone can understand it, even if the writing system is different.

"Please have some water."

At this time, Kuina brings a bowl of water.

"Thank you."

Tang An puts the Manual on the ground, and the torn part is put into the system storage.

This system storage can only store things generated by the system.

Kuina looked at the book with some astonishment because she hadn't seen Tang An carrying anything before.

"Is the owner of this sword dojo here?"

After drinking the water, Tang An feels much better.

"Do you have any business?"

"I want to ask the owner to give me a boat in exchange for this swordsmanship secret Manual"

Tang An picks up the Nine Yin Manual.

"The Nine Yin Manual?"

Kuina is sure she doesn't recognize these four characters, but she inexplicably understands them.

"Yes, it is said to be written by a great swordsman. However, I can't understand it. Since this is a sword dojo, the owner should be a swordsman and maybe this manual will help him."

Tang An said full of nonsense things without even blinking his eyes.