Ivankov's Shock
On the other side.
Kuina and Koushirou had finished their conversation.
She smiled happily at Ron and said, "My father agreed to let me go to sea."
"Koushirou agreed?"
Ivankov was slightly surprised and picked up the transponder snail, which hadn't been hung up yet.
"This is really unexpected, Koushirou. I never thought someone as protective of his daughter as you would allow her to go to sea."
"I had no choice. Since she's already made up her mind, I can't keep stopping her," came Koushirou's slightly helpless voice from the other side of the line. "And with her traveling alongside Ron, I feel a little more at ease."
"Ron... that boy?" Ivankov glanced at Ron.
He hadn't expected Koushirou to trust this boy so much.
Could there really be something special about him?
"Ivankov, I'm counting on you to take care of the two of them," Koushirou continued.
Scratching his head, Ivankov replied, "I never thought I'd be asked a favor by Koushirou, who never asks for anything. Since that's the case, I have no choice."
"I'll take responsibility for these two and take good care of them until we get to the next island."
"Thanks for handling that."
The beeping sound from the other side indicated the call had ended.
Ivankov put away the transponder snail and shouted to the helmsman, "Boys, set sail!"
The revolutionary army's supply ship slowly sailed away from the island.
...
Ron and Kuina's arrival piqued the interest of several members of the revolutionary army on the ship.
"Hey, you're Ron, right? How old are you?" a young woman in a black robe crouched down in front of Ron and smiled at him.
"Ten."
Ron turned his head, a bit uncomfortable with the situation.
"Ten, huh? Wow, such a cute little brother. Hey, could you call me 'big sister'? I'll give you candy!" The young woman looked at him with anticipation.
"No, thanks," Ron replied, turning away.
"Haha, Yuri's been rejected!"
The people around them laughed together.
The young woman named Yuri wasn't upset and laughed along with them.
At this moment, a sharp-eyed man noticed the sword on Ron's back. His eyes flickered slightly as he said, "Hey Ron, can I take a look at the sword on your back?"
Without even thinking, Ron replied, "No way."
"Hahaha, Neil got rejected too!"
"Haha."
...
On the nearby deck.
Ivankov, wearing a black robe, stood with Haku.
"Do you notice anything?" Haku asked, looking at Ron in the crowd.
"That boy's aura is unusual," Haku observed.
"You don't feel it?"
Haku glanced at Ivankov.
"I just feel like his life force is quite extraordinary. Although I haven't measured it precisely, it's definitely several times stronger than an ordinary person's," Ivankov said seriously.
"And since Koushirou trusts his strength, this boy might be even more powerful than we imagined."
"A ten-year-old kid—how strong could he possibly be? Let's not concern ourselves with unnecessary trouble and just focus on getting them to the next island," Haku said, folding his arms and looking away.
"Any news from the commander?"
"Not yet."
"In any case, we should hurry and reach the Goa Kingdom as soon as possible."
"You don't have to tell me."
...
Two days later.
As the initial novelty of Ron and Kuina's arrival wore off, the crew on the ship returned to their respective tasks.
Ron and Kuina also found time and space to practice on the ship.
That day, after blocking one of Kuina's vertical slashes, Ron looked at her in surprise.
"Kuina, you've entered the 'momentum state'?"
"Hehe," Kuina laughed, clearly pleased with herself. "I can't let you keep leaving me behind."
"Take this!"
As Kuina pressed her advantage, a sharp whistling sound came from the sky.
Ron's eyes narrowed.
He stepped forward, his figure flashing.
He moved to the side of the deck, gripping Raikiri with his right hand. Gazing at the cannonball speeding towards them, he slashed through the air from left to right.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
"Fish-Man Karate: True Fist Strike!"
A concentrated, water-blue slash and a fierce punch shot out at the same time, smashing the cannonball in midair.
Boom!
The cannonball exploded in the sky!
"Huh?" Haku, still in a punching stance, turned to look at Ron, who was sheathing his sword.
His eyes widened instantly.
"That slash just now... was from that kid?!"
The revolutionary soldiers finally reacted, shouting, "We're under attack!"
A pirate ship was approaching from a distance on the sea, with smoke still rising from its cannon.
Ron glanced at it and said to Kuina, "Let's go back inside."
"They're pirates. Shouldn't we fight them?" Kuina asked in surprise.
"There's no need for us to step in," Ron replied as he led Kuina inside.
Haku looked at Ron's retreating figure.
"What's wrong?" Ivankov asked as he and several revolutionary soldiers ran up to the deck.
"A pirate ship has spotted us," a man in a black robe replied.
"They must have mistaken us for a fishing boat."
Ivankov put his hands on his hips and smiled at the pirate ship. "The pirates of the East Blue sure are bold."
Just then, another cannon shot was fired from the pirate ship.
Haku leaped up and kicked the cannonball into the sea.
Boom! The sea exploded with a splash of water.
Ivankov looked at Haku and said, "I'll leave this to you."
Without saying a word, Haku jumped into the sea.
Before long, chaos erupted on the pirate ship as Haku single-handedly subdued the crew.
Moments later, Haku returned to the ship, sitting on the deck while wringing out his soaked clothes.
"Good job," Ivankov said, walking over to him.
"I misjudged him," Haku said suddenly.
Ivankov looked at him, confused. "Huh?"
"That boy named Ron is stronger than I thought. He was the first to sense the incoming cannonball, and his slash hit it before my punch," Haku said gravely.
"What?!" Ivankov was shocked. "That boy? You mean that boy shattered the cannonball midair with a slash?! How is that possible? He's just a ten-year-old kid!"
"I know it sounds unbelievable, but... it's true," Haku said seriously. "That boy, Ron, is really strong."
Ivankov stood there, speechless.
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T/N:
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