Chapter 18 – Isshin Dojo and the Price of Resurrection
Shimotsuki Village!
A village that barely appeared in the original story, yet left an extremely deep impression.
Decades ago, it had been no different from any other East Blue hamlet: ordinary, peaceful on the surface, and regularly plundered by passing pirates.
Everything changed when a certain group of outsiders settled here.
The seeds of swordsmanship took root.
Slowly but surely, the villagers gained the power to fight back.
The village became one of the few places in the East Blue that managed to stay truly peaceful.
At the same time, many famous swordsmen of the East Blue were born here.
Because of that, the village earned a new name, Frost Moon Village (Shimotsuki Village).
"This is the place you said has a hidden master living in seclusion?"
After disembarking, Carina looked around curiously.
"It's… really ordinary. Looks exactly like Nami's village."
The moment those words left her mouth, Nami and Nojiko both felt personally attacked.
"Sorry our villages are so plain," Nami deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
Aike laughed and patted Carina's head with a chuckle.
"Whether a village looks impressive has nothing to do with whether a monster lives there."
"Didn't the newspaper mention a certain swordsman a couple days ago?"
"You mean that suddenly-famous pirate hunter?" Carina immediately recalled the article.
"Yep. He walked out of this very village."
Aike nodded.
Two days earlier, when he saw the news about Zoro setting sail, he'd been genuinely surprised.
He had assumed Zoro would still be training here, and that this trip would let him earn a nice side income.
Instead, the moment they left Cocoyasi, the side income evaporated.
"His teacher is a legit Great Swordsman, and he's still on the island right now."
Aike smiled as he explained to the girls.
In the original story, Koushirou received almost no panel time, only a few lines in Zoro's flashbacks.
Yet his casual mention of "cutting steel" had sparked endless debates about his true strength. Aike had been one of those debaters back on the old forums.
So this visit was also about settling a personal obsession.
The instant they set foot on the island, Aike's reiatsu had swept the entire village.
And just as he'd guessed, there was one presence radiating an extremely powerful fluctuation.
Since crossing over, he had never encountered a sharper, more concentrated aura.
It was perfectly concealed, but that razor-edge intent couldn't hide from his spiritual pressure.
A Great Swordsman.
And not just any Great Swordsman, one of the stronger ones among them.
"Descendant of the Blade God. No wonder."
Aike wasn't surprised.
The Shimotsuki bloodline seemed to have an absurd natural gift for swordsmanship.
Four hundred years ago: Ryuma, the Blade God.
Twenty-odd years ago: Shimotsuki Ushimaru.
Now: Koushirou.
And in the future: Roronoa Zoro.
A literal dynasty of sword saints.
A clan like that obviously had deep foundations.
Just thinking about the massive harvest waiting for him put Aike in an excellent mood.
"A Great Swordsman?!"
Nami, Nojiko, Carina, Kaya, Izumi, and Hikari all widened their eyes in shock.
Even Tom looked like his worldview had been shaken.
Thanks to Aike's previous strength-tier lectures, they knew exactly how heavy those three words were.
A monster who could stand at the very top even in the Grand Line.
One swing capable of splitting mountains and cleaving oceans.
A walking natural disaster.
"So the new crewmate you mentioned is connected to this Great Swordsman?" Carina asked, eyes sparkling.
Everyone else stared at him expectantly.
Aike gave them only a mysterious smile.
"You'll find out soon enough."
They walked through the village and quickly arrived at the gates of a dojo.
Isshin Dojo.
Someone was already waiting at the entrance.
From his uniform, he looked like one of the dojo's apprentices.
When Aike's group approached, the boy bowed respectfully and led them inside.
Clearly, when Aike had swept the island with his perception earlier, Koushirou had noticed something unusual and sent someone to wait.
"Observation Haki, huh."
"Perfect timing. The girls are just about ready to start learning Haki anyway."
Aike's lips curved as he led the crew into the dojo.
Inside, a dozen young apprentices were seriously swinging bamboo shinai under their instructor supervision.
The arrival of strangers immediately distracted them.
"What are you looking at? Eyes forward and train!"
A single sharp bark from the instructor snapped them back into line.
Aike was curious about Koushirou's teaching level.
"Foundations are solid, but that's about it."
No surprise there.
Swordsmanship required talent. Zoro-level freaks were rare.
They crossed the noisy training ground and soon met the master of the dojo.
"My apologies for the unannounced visit. I hope Master Koushirou doesn't mind."
Aike greeted him with a relaxed smile.
Koushirou hadn't expected the stranger to know his name.
He kept his expression calm and returned the courtesy politely.
"Not at all. For a powerhouse like yourself to grace my humble dojo is an honor."
The two men exchanged pleasantries.
But between the lines, Koushirou kept probing, trying to figure out why this group had come.
Meanwhile, the girls openly studied the mild-mannered middle-aged man in front of them.
This is a Great Swordsman?
He looked nothing like the image in their heads.
Shouldn't a legendary swordsman be a stern, sharp-eyed warrior straight out of the newspapers?
The man in front of them looked more like a gentle neighborhood uncle.
Nami, Carina, Nojiko, and Kaya all felt slightly let down.
Only Izumi and Hikari remained deadly serious.
Having already stepped onto the Six Paths, they could clearly feel the terrifying, blade-like aura hidden inside that unassuming body.
If their strength hadn't skyrocketed recently, even their Mangekyō would have been at a massive disadvantage in the prolonged battles typical of the One Piece world.
While the girls were lost in their own thoughts, the conversation between Aike and Koushirou reached its climax.
Koushirou played the perfect host: invited them into the living room, served his treasured tea.
"About the 'trade' you mentioned earlier, Aike-san… what exactly did you have in mind?"
He finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
He couldn't think of anything in his dojo, or the entire village, that would interest a monster of this caliber.
He couldn't gauge Aike's strength at all.
But the two black-haired girls alone gave him an intense sense of danger.
For a middle-aged swordsman who had seen plenty of monsters, this was shocking.
Young girls, yet already this powerful?
With those two as examples, Koushirou naturally didn't doubt that their leader was even stronger.
"Is he using some kind of advanced Observation kill? Or is the gap so huge I can't even sense him?"
Koushirou leaned toward the latter, which was frankly terrifying.
Either way, Aike was stronger than him.
So he remained cautious about this mysterious "trade."
Aike didn
't keep him guessing.
He set down his teacup slowly, smiled, and spoke in the most tempting tone possible:
"If I told you I could bring your daughter back to life…
what price would you be willing to pay?"
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