Kuina

Because I have been training with a sword since I was a child and have developed sharp hearing and perception. As a result, I could hear the explosion that took place in the middle of the city even before the black smoke had a chance to appear. I can also feel the vibrations in the air from the explosion, which caused my heart to be in sync with them.

"Let go of my hand, Kuina! I want to go," It made me feel helpless when I saw this girl continue to hold onto my arm. Even though she was being overly vigilant, her face showing discomfort was very unusual.

"You didn't see that marine ship. It's better if we don't deal with them," Alongside their small boat was parked a ship with a marine flag, and we even saw a girl who was sitting on the edge of the ramp, looking at us with a cold gaze.

I actually wanted to go anyway, but somehow, I didn't want to make her mad at me, so I got on the boat to prepare for our trip, but just as I shifted my focus to other things, Kuina's displeased voice could be heard.

"What are you doing? Let go of my hand!" Suddenly, something within me stirred to move and protect Kuina, so I swiftly approached her after listening to and acting on my instincts.

A young man was seen holding her hand firmly, and he looked at Kuina closely with a hint of surprise visible in his eyes. Despite his slightly taller stature, he continued to shadow her, and the only time he looked at me was when my katana was around his neck.

"hahaha... I'm confused now. What should I do?"

"I don't know what you want. Let her go right now!" My hands were trembling uncertainly as my katana was ready to sever his head at any moment, but somehow, I felt like he would be okay. Perhaps it was because I noticed his relaxed attitude and the smile on his face.

"Ughkk... You two, don't be reckless. You better get away from here, Ma-Ma-Ma... *cough..."

Hearing that familiar voice, I just now realized that Igaram was lying on the ground behind this young man. His appearance was so pitiful, but the warm smile he gave me before didn't disappear at all.

"I'll leave you guys alone for now because I'm sure we'll meet again... until then, don't die, okay, especially you," This man then smiled at Kuina before letting go of her hand and stepping aboard his ship.

My blood began to boil as soon as I saw the red mark on her hand, and all of a sudden, my mind was engulfed in a fog that was even denser than the one that covered this island. "That bastard, I'm going to cut him to pieces!"

"Don't..." Kuina's worried voice entered my ear, but I still didn't stop before suddenly the chill of her hands enveloped my body. This caused me to snort in annoyance and sheath my sword again.

"They are stronger than you think, and even the two of us together may not be able to win against that man and also that pink-haired woman."

After observing the marine ship sail away, I subsequently opened my mouth and said, "I don't care. Uncle told me to look after you so I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Ehh, really? You haven't changed, Zoro... but thanks for your concern," My stomach lurched when I caught Kuina smiling at me, so I quickly averted my gaze, which resulted in her having a good laugh.

"Come on, we have to work harder from now on," We then got on our small boat before letting go of the rope, and the fairly strong current of the river immediately took us to the end of the island.

"Ohh, I forgot... looks like we have to travel this Grand Line without Log Pose again."

While Kuina concentrated on the map, my attention wandered upwards. The dense fog made it difficult for me to determine whether it was day or night, but I suddenly recalled the young man from earlier.

'What's wrong with him... his smile is really sickening, especially the look he gives to Kuina. I don't like it.'

-

"Makino, can you treat his wound? I don't want him to die because of his misunderstanding."

"I know... You should also be careful next time, Luffy. You beat him too hard."

I was able to overhear Luffy and Makino's conversation in front of a room occupied by Igaram, and even though I did not know their true purpose in kidnapping this uncle, in the end, my more significant problem prevented me from worrying about others.

I continued walking until I reached a room seldom visited by other people. As soon as I opened the door, my sense of smell immediately reacted unpleasantly to the overpowering smell of oil.

My arrival doesn't seem to be noticed by the girl inside, and as soon as that realization hits me, my mischievous side immediately emerges. I inched my way closer to Nojiko, who was busily putting together parts of the contraption that I would never know,

*thud

"What are you doing!" It seemed as though I was being too forceful with my pat on her shoulder because Nojiko's reaction was more extreme than I had anticipated as she crawled away from me while covering her chest.

Her behavior caused me to sigh because I had long suspected that she was keeping something from me, something that might be related to Luffy, but her stubbornness as an older sister caused her to keep her mouth shut tight.

"Nami! You already know I don't like it when you do that, right?... What is it you want from me?"

I was aware that provoking the wrath of the one and only person aboard this ship in whom I placed my trust was not the best course of action, so I made my intentions known as quickly as possible by saying, "Look at this, do you think this thing is broken?"

I took the short stick that was tied around my waist, and using my hands, I skillfully twisted and played with it until I pressed something, which caused this iron stick to immediately extend to almost two meters.

"You have no right to complain if my Clima Tact is broken again... it is all because of you, who can't use it."