One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

[Ding! You've changed Kuina's fate, increasing the progress to 80%. Swordsmanship level +1, current swordsmanship level: Lv5.]

Takumi was sitting inside, enjoying a drink when the system's notification suddenly popped into his mind, causing him to pause for a moment.

Immediately after, a more powerful sword aura radiated from him, filling the small room with its intensity.

He could even calm his mind enough to feel the breath of everything around him!

His power had grown again!

Takumi's gaze drifted over to where Wado Ichimonji rested.

In the original story, Kuina had gone looking for a whetstone for Wado Ichimonji when she fell down the stairs and died.

But now, with that sword in his possession, Kuina had no reason to go looking for a whetstone, and so avoided that deadly fall.

"Looks like I'm close to finishing the tasks in Shimotsuki Village," Takumi thought, feeling quite pleased as he continued sipping his drink. There's something nice about sitting around and having good things just fall into your lap.

Now, let's rewind to about half an hour earlier.

Kuina had narrowly defeated Zoro.

Lying on the grass, Zoro covered his face with his hands, frustrated. "Damn it! I was so close... I can't stand this..."

Kuina, staring at him with a serious expression, replied, "I'm the one who can't stand it."

Zoro lowered his hands and looked at Kuina.

"You're catching up to me," she continued. "Girls get weaker as they grow older, and soon you'll beat me. You keep saying you're going to become the world's greatest swordsman, and Father says a girl can't do that. I've known that for a long time, but I hate it, Zoro. You're so lucky, just because you're a boy. I want to be the world's greatest swordsman too. If only... if only I were born a boy..."

Zoro sat up, his frustration growing as he listened. "You just beat me, so stop complaining. It's not fair! You're the one I've always wanted to defeat, so don't talk about men and women. Are you going to say the same thing when I finally beat you? Like it wasn't my skill that won? What about all this training I'm doing? What's the point if you're going to say something like that? Don't talk like that again!"

Kuina's eyes welled up with tears as she stared at him.

Zoro stepped closer, his jaw clenched. "Promise me, one of us—either you or me—will become the world's greatest swordsman!"

Kuina was startled by the determination in his eyes, but then she smiled. "Idiot, you're still weaker than me..."

"Then it's settled!" Zoro insisted, holding out his hand. "But before we become the greatest, let's see who can beat Takumi first."

Kuina's eyes lit up as she took his hand with a smile. "Alright, it's a deal! But you better watch out because I'm going to beat him first!"

The next day.

Takumi, as usual, woke up early to go hunting in the valley.

But this time, instead of one little shadow following him, there were two...

And, as if they had planned it, those two kept challenging him to duels, one after the other. When he refused, they even tried to ambush him.

Of course, Takumi knocked them both down every time.

This went on for several days, no matter how many times Takumi defeated them.

Their enthusiasm was unshakeable, and they continued their daily routine of challenges and sneak attacks with undying persistence.

Koushirou, watching from the sidelines, always smiled, never once stopping his daughter and disciple from their relentless pursuit.

He clearly didn't mind them pestering Takumi like this.

One evening, after Takumi had knocked Zoro and Kuina down for the umpteenth time in the dojo's backyard, Koushirou smiled and waved him over from the corridor. "Takumi, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Takumi glanced over at him.

Dragon was there too.

It looked like Dragon was getting ready to leave.

Takumi walked over.

Dragon smiled. "I've stayed here too long. It's time for me to go."

"Okay," Takumi replied nonchalantly.

Dragon continued, "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider coming with me?"

"Nope," Takumi replied bluntly.

Seeing that Takumi was truly uninterested, Dragon sighed and gave up—for now. "Alright then, if you ever run into trouble, you can find me in Baltigo."

Baltigo was the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.

Takumi nodded absentmindedly.

Dragon smiled, then turned to Koushirou. "Thanks for helping with the food supplies."

Koushirou smiled back. "It's no problem. So, what's next for you? The Kingdom of Goa and Windmill Village aren't far from here. It's been a while since you've been back. Aren't you going to visit?"

"No," Dragon shook his head. "It's not the right time yet. Maybe later."

Koushirou nodded. "Alright, just let me know when you plan to visit again."

"Will do," Dragon replied, and without further conversation, he left Shimotsuki Village before nightfall.

In the original story, Luffy didn't know who his father was until after the events at Water 7 in the Grand Line.

Dragon was a cautious man who never revealed his weaknesses easily. Very few people knew about his background. Even within the Revolutionary Army, his most trusted subordinates were unaware that he had a son.

From the conversation just now, though Koushirou didn't spell it out, it was clear he was one of the few who knew Dragon's full story.

This showed just how close these two were.

But Takumi wasn't interested in that. What he cared about was completing his task and finding some good sake.

"Alright, I'm heading back," Takumi said, ready to return to his room for a drink.

Koushirou called after him, "There's a festival in the village tonight. Want to check it out?"

"Nope," Takumi replied, not missing a beat.

Just then, Zoro and Kuina came running over.

Zoro, excited, said, "Shimotsuki Village has a big festival at the end of every month. It's a lot of fun, Takumi! Come with us!"

Kuina, with a touch of pride, added, "I'm not really into festivals, but if you're going, I suppose I can tag along."

Takumi sighed. "..."

Takumi refused again. "Not interested."

Koushirou smiled, "You know, a lot of villagers bring out their homemade sake for these festivals. Each one has its own unique flavor. You can't buy these at the tavern, you know."

Takumi paused mid-step as he was heading back to his room.

Koushirou looked at Zoro and Kuina. "Well? What are you two waiting for?"

The two of them grinned at each other, then grabbed Takumi by the arms, one on each side, and started dragging him toward the village.

"Mrs. Sugimoto's sake is supposed to be really good," Kuina suggested. "Whenever Dragon's friend— the one with the really big face who's kind of scary—comes to the village, he always buys sake from her. Normally, she doesn't sell her sake to just anyone, but since Dragon and my dad are close, she makes an exception for them even when it's not festival time."

"Is sake really that good?" Zoro wondered. "I tried some once, but I thought juice was better."

Takumi slipped his arms free from their grasp, exasperated. "You two sure are persistent..."

Zoro laughed. "Not really! Are you misunderstanding us or something?"

Takumi just sighed again.

Kuina giggled. "You know, Takumi, you keep ignoring us and knocking us down with one hit, but I think you're actually training us, right?"

Takumi blinked. "..."

No, that's really not what I'm doing...

Zoro continued, "My reflexes and toughness have improved a lot since I started hanging around you. It's all thanks to your training."

Takumi was even more puzzled. "..."

Uh, when did I ever train you?

Kuina chimed in, "I've been meaning to ask—when Zoro and I ambush you at the same time, you never even see us coming, but you always dodge our attacks. How do you do that?"

"Yeah!" Zoro agreed, nodding eagerly. "I've been dying to know. Takumi, can you teach us how you do it?"

************

Support me on Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/gered to read up to chapter 28!