"Could it have something to do with these two people?"
Kuina pulled out two copies of the World Economic News from behind her back, looking at the large headshots of the two men on the paper.
"The Shichibukai, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo and Jinbei the Knight of the Sea."
Hearing Kuina's words, Zoro leaned over, curiously looking at the people reported on in the two newspapers.
"You don't think Cyrus has something to do with these two, do you?" Zoro said, rubbing his chin.
"That wouldn't be good. Cyrus is probably no match for these two right now," Kuina said, looking at the newspaper's assessment of the two men.
These were major pirates from the New World.
That Doflamingo had even become the king of a country; he must have very powerful subordinates.
And that Jinbei the Knight of the Sea was a Fish-man.
The paper said that the physique of a Fish-man was generally at least ten times stronger than a human's.
The fact that they were recruited by the Marines to be Shichibukai was a testament to their power.
A hint of worry flashed in Kuina's eyes.
"Definitely not. Didn't Cyrus say he won't be going to the Grand Line anytime soon? Both of these guys are in the Grand Line," Zoro said suddenly.
Although Zoro usually seemed like he had a screw loose, he could always spot the crucial points.
"Oh, right!"
Kuina came to her senses with a start.
Cyrus had indeed said that.
She had just been misled by the fact that Cyrus was looking at the two newspapers earlier.
"Let's go!"
Kuina put down the newspapers and waved at Zoro.
"To do what?" Zoro asked, looking confused.
"To buy things in the village. Did you forget? Father told us to buy groceries. After their fight is over, we're treating Cyrus to a grand farewell feast," Kuina explained, knowing Koshiro's intentions.
...
On the other side.
The island where Cyrus and Koshiro had previously sparred was no longer suitable for battle.
Or rather, it was no longer suitable for this battle.
The small island was not large to begin with, and high tide would sometimes submerge most of it.
After nearly a year of abuse from the two of them, the area of the island above water had shrunk considerably.
As they headed to a more distant island, Cyrus leaned quietly against the ship's railing, looking out at the vast sea, seemingly lost in thought.
Of course, that was what Koshiro saw.
But the truth was, Cyrus was checking his data panel.
[Body Datafication: Your body's vital points have disappeared. Damage taken is converted into HP deduction; panel attributes will change based on your own strength; you will not die until your HP reaches zero.]
[Current Body Age: 15 years old]
[Physique: 83 (Undergoing continuous transformation due to certain influences)]
[Current HP: 100% (Recovering; eating can speed up recovery)]
[Inherent Talent (Indomitable): When HP reaches zero, you enter a brief enhanced state; all your body attributes are increased tenfold; your HP will no longer be deducted; all your negative statuses are cleared; Current Duration: 15 minutes; Cooldown: 1 day]
[Abilities]
[Flame-Flame Fruit (Proficient): A powerful Logia Type fruit ability, granting the power to become and control fire; continuously enhances the body; fruit's drawbacks have been eliminated (weaknesses and parasitic soul); you have a clear understanding of how to improve the fruit's abilities; Current Fruit Development (46%)]
[Swordsmanship (Proficient): You have proficiently mastered the basic moves and training methods of Swordsmanship; you have crossed the threshold of a Master Swordsman; you have comprehended the Flying Slash; you have found a sword style that suits you.]
[Observation Haki (Initial Mastery): You have a clear perception of the energy of all things in the world; your perception range has greatly increased; you can perform special perception in a specific direction, greatly extending the distance.]
[Armament Haki (Initial Mastery): You can proficiently control the energy in your body for attack and defense; you have comprehended Armament Haki Hardening and Infusion techniques.]
[En (Black Blade): Under the influence of your Haki, your sword is evolving into a Black Blade; Evolution (3%); Advanced Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki infusion will accelerate the Black Blade's evolution; experiencing a large number of battles and a greater resonance between the weapon and its master's personality can accelerate the Black Blade's evolution.]
...
The improvement over the past year or so was immense.
Needless to say, his physique had increased significantly again.
The areas where the physique improvement was initially less obvious had now become clear.
The improvement in physique was an all-around enhancement.
Now, for every point his physique increased, his strength would increase by a notch.
At the beginning, an increase of one point might have added the strength or physique of one person, but it was different now.
After all, at his level of physique, every single point of increase was extremely difficult to achieve.
Even for him, the previous prompt of "rapid transformation" had disappeared, replaced by "continuous transformation."
As for the others...
His previously mastered Swordsmanship and Haki had greatly improved, and he naturally hadn't been idle in developing his fruit ability.
In fact, his fruit ability had also been improving while he was training his Swordsmanship.
Coupled with his own development of the fruit, it was now what he had mastered best.
At the very least, he could now easily replicate all the techniques that Ace had mastered and developed.
Not only that, but he could also imitate the form of Old Man Yamamoto's techniques.
But what surprised him the most was that En was evolving into a Black Blade.
Although the evolution progress was still very low, as long as he could see improvement, it was a goal.
Moreover, when Koshiro was teaching him Swordsmanship and Haki, he had repeatedly mentioned that all things in the world have their own breath.
Now, he could faintly perceive his sword En's own pulse or breath.
It was a peculiar feeling.
Similar to the idea that all things have a spirit.
But the feeling was still very vague now; perhaps his Observation Haki needed to improve further.
But the panel had already given him the method to turn a weapon into a Black Blade.
In any case, compared to a year ago when he first arrived in this world, his strength had increased by an unknown number of times.
So, this fight with Koshiro would be to confirm exactly what level his strength had reached.
As Cyrus thought this, he looked at Koshiro and met his calm eyes.
"I will go all out this time. I no longer have the confidence to defeat you."
"Good, that's what I was hoping for. I also want to confirm that I haven't wasted this past year."
Cyrus stood up.
His body, just over two meters tall, didn't look burly.
Instead, it was slender but not frail.
"Haven't wasted?"
Koshiro's expression turned strange.
For anyone, never mind a year, even ten years, to have such an improvement as Cyrus's would be enough to make them wake up laughing.
But he didn't know that Cyrus was benchmarking himself against Monkey D. Luffy.
From a rookie pirate who didn't even know Haki when he set out to sea, in less than three years, he had mastered Conqueror's Haki infusion and even awakened his fruit.
Compared to Monkey D. Luffy, his own progress was too slow.
But the good thing was, Luffy hadn't set out to the sea yet.
And his own rate of progress was fast.
In a few years, it might not be impossible for him to stand at the top of this world.
However, as soon as this thought emerged, Cyrus shook his head.
The improvement of strength was important.
But Cyrus suddenly remembered that Robin seemed to be just in her early twenties this year.
At this age, she was still hiding in the West Blue to evade capture by the Marines and the World Government.
Thinking of this, Cyrus's mind began to wander.
Koshiro quietly steered the small boat, stopping next to a small island farther from Shimotsuki Village.
"Let's begin. Kuina and Zoro are probably already waiting."
Koshiro, gripping Wado Ichimonji, leaped from the boat and landed on the island's sandy beach.