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445 Roger Pirates Apprentice
🕑 Added 2026-01-09 06:10:01 +0000 UTCAmidst the sky-filling snow and ice, two figures—one large, one small—moved forward together. The tall figure wore long black hair, while the smaller figure was wrapped in a black cloak, holding a white sword. The raging wind and snow could not come close to her.
Orin had his hands tucked into his sleeves, walking forward calmly, with Kuina following close by his side.
Kuina's face was flushed red—whether from the freezing cold or from her overly excited emotions, it was hard to tell.
Ever since entering the Grand Line, and then venturing deeper into it, she had heard Orin's legendary stories more times than she could count.
When she was young, she only thought Orin was an exceptionally strong swordsman.
Only after growing up did she realize that what she had once thought "strong" was actually the very pinnacle of this world.
From a young age, Kuina had always wanted her father's recognition.
And when someone like Orin became her teacher, it ignited even more fiercely the fighting spirit within her—the refusal to bow to fate.
So when Orin asked that question,
"Do you want to become stronger, Kuina?" she clenched her fists and nodded solemnly toward him.
"Yes!!!"
"For the sake of reaching the pinnacle, even if I must face death head-on, I will not retreat!!!"
Those words rang out like thunder. Even Orin rarely kept his gaze fixed for so long on Kuina's resolute face.
Orin pinched his chin, his expression turning serious as he stared straight at her.
"Kuina."
"Yes!!!"
Hearing Orin call her name, Kuina immediately responded loudly, as if making a declaration of resolve.
"Your nose is running."
"Yes, Orin-sen—eh???!"
Her face instantly turned beet red as Kuina hurriedly wiped it, flustered.
Embarrassing herself in front of Orin—and having it pointed out—made her feel extremely awkward.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
Orin laughed heartily, finding it quite amusing. Even at his age, teasing little girls was still something he thoroughly enjoyed.
Age had not aged his heart.
After the joke, Orin—one of the best among famed teachers—spoke seriously with Kuina, both as a mentor and as an elder.
"Kuina, where do you think the gap between you and Zoro really lies?"
A faint smile rested on Orin's face, like that of a patient teacher.
"Between Zoro and me..."
Hearing the question, Kuina began to think seriously.
After all, Orin had just told her that with her current strength, it was impossible for her to defeat Zoro as he was now.
"Is it because of... gender?"
After a moment of thought, Kuina spoke hesitantly.
Her father had always told her that women could never reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship—that once women matured, their bodies developed in ways that left them naturally weaker than men.
This had once driven her, in her childhood, to the brink of giving up on herself.
"Well... that's partly right, but not entirely."
Orin looked at Kuina—her appearance almost identical to Tashigi two years later: narrow shoulders, an impressive chest, a slender waist, and long legs...
She could be said to have the standard beauty figure of the Pirate world.
Beautiful, yes—but in combat, such a physique was completely unsuited to the way a swordsman needed to exert force and move.
In the Pirate world, there are two fundamental conditions to becoming a top-tier powerhouse—both indispensable.
One is a body strong enough to endure brutal training.
The other is a firm and far-reaching dream—or will.
Kuina clearly lacked neither in spirit. In her pursuit of swordsmanship, she didn't fall behind Zoro or Hawk-Eye in the slightest.
With such pitiful strength, she still dared to come alone to the New World.
The fact that she hadn't been captured by powerful New World pirates and subjected to a series of unspeakable horrors was nothing short of a miracle.
Based on courage and persistence alone, she should at least have been Vice Yonko level.
Her weakness lay solely in this body.
"Your body is far too weak. To be blunt, your strength isn't even as great as mine was when I was ten."
Orin waved his hand and spoke very directly.
Kuina's heart felt as though it had been stabbed. She looked deeply shaken.
"Then... then does that mean I really..."
Her spirits fell, and tears welled up in Kuina's eyes.
But Orin's next words let her see hope.
"However, this isn't something that can't be made up for—for example, with a Devil Fruit."
"A Devil Fruit?"
"That's right. Among Devil Fruits, the [Zoan-type] can grant the user an extremely powerful physique. Though you might end up looking..."
Orin's expression turned a little strange.
In his memory, there were very few half-beast users who didn't look odd.
"It doesn't matter, as long as I can become stronger!!!"
Kuina clenched her fists, her face showing a resolve far beyond that of an ordinary little girl.
"What do I have to fear from becoming some kind of monster?!"
"Alright."
Seeing her earnest expression, Orin couldn't help but smile in approval.
Such pure will was something that always inspired respect, no matter the era.
"Then follow me."
Ruffling Kuina's hair, Orin smiled as he headed toward the laboratory. Kuina quickly followed after him.
...
On the other side,
The Straw Hat crew had also arrived at Punk Hazard. Even after being beaten badly on Fish-Man Island, their spirit of adventure remained undiminished.
"What a shame—we didn't get to meet Jinbe on Fish-Man Island."
Luffy said with some regret.
"I heard Jinbe received some news and went to look for a Fish-Man. He's been in the New World ever since and hasn't returned."
The Thousand Sunny sailed onward, and by sheer coincidence, they arrived at Punk Hazard.
Afterward, they split into two groups—one to investigate the matter of the captured children, and incidentally, they encountered Kin'emon, who had been cut into three pieces.
Sanji, Nami, and the others began escorting the children captured by Caesar, attempting to escape toward the outskirts.
At the same time, Smoker and other Marines arrived at Punk Hazard, encountering Law, who had recently been nominated as one of the [Shichibukai], and the two sides entered a standoff.
"Trafalgar Law, I really didn't expect you to become a Shichibukai!"
"I already had dealings with Orin-san before. There's nothing surprising about that, is there?"
"If there's nothing else, then leave this place, Marines. Aside from me, there's no one else here."
However, the appearance of Sanji and the others seemed to ruin Law's plans—he had just said there was no one else here.
Feeling irritated, he instantly expanded his Room, enveloping Sanji and the others within it.
With a few rapid thrusts of his blade, the power of soul-swapping surged forward.
And at that very moment, two figures instantly appeared between the opposing sides, emerging from the void.
"Teleportation really is more convenient..."
The black-haired figure rolled his neck, then seemed to sense something and looked toward the direction the power came from, surprise flashing briefly in his eyes.
In the next instant,
"Kuina" raised her hand and looked at it. This frail, powerless sensation...
"Swapping bodies? Kind of interesting."
