As Cyrus's words fell, the room fell silent.
Kuina turned to look at Koshiro, then lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
Zoro, however, stared intently at Cyrus and then abruptly stood up.
"Cyrus, wait for me on the sea! The next time we meet, I will definitely defeat you."
"Good!"
Hearing this, Cyrus smiled, revealing his white teeth, and gave Zoro a thumbs-up.
"Hehe!"
Hearing Cyrus praise him, Zoro scratched his head in embarrassment.
Kuina and Koshiro, seeing this, both shook their heads.
This kid, is there something a little wrong with his head?
"Are you planning to leave on a merchant ship?"
Shifting his gaze from Zoro, Koshiro stood up and asked, though he felt a sense of relief inwardly.
Today's exchange had shown Koshiro the power Cyrus had been hiding. Thinking back on all their spars during this time, he could finally get some rest.
"I don't know any navigation technology, nor can I read a sea chart, so I'll have to rely on a merchant ship for now."
Cyrus nodded.
Since arriving in Shimotsuki Village, he had been grinding away at his training almost every day; otherwise, Zoro and Kuina's strength wouldn't have improved so quickly.
He had no time to learn any navigation skills, and frankly, no interest either.
"That won't do. Whether in the Four Blues or the Grand Line, if you want to travel this sea, you must know navigation skills," Koshiro advised.
Although with Cyrus's strength, he wouldn't encounter any real danger—and besides certain areas, the rest of the sea was full of fish, so he wouldn't starve—he could still get lost at sea for a long time.
"You're right. I need a navigator!"
Reminded by Koshiro, Cyrus nodded after a moment of thought.
But how old is Nami now? Younger than Zoro, right?
If so, at this point, she would have at most just developed the idea of wanting to draw sea charts.
"I'll keep that in mind and look out for one later. After all, there are plenty of merchant ships on the sea. For now, I'll just use them to get around."
"That's for the best. I don't recommend you enter the Grand Line until you have a decent navigator. You should understand why."
Koshiro offered the reminder, but then, remembering that Cyrus seemed to know a lot, he hesitated before continuing.
"The weather in the Grand Line and the New World is far more violent than in the Four Blues. Even if you're powerful, you could still run into danger on the sea."
"I won't be careless."
Cyrus nodded.
He thought of the great battle between Shiki and Roger.
Those two and their crews were among the strongest on the sea, yet Shiki's grand fleet was completely wiped out by a storm in the New World.
"As long as you understand. Go and get ready. The merchant ship usually arrives in the afternoon or at dusk and departs the next morning. I'll have a word with the ship's captain."
After speaking, Koshiro left directly.
Cyrus glanced at Kuina and Zoro, then also turned to leave.
"He didn't clean up!"
After Cyrus left, the two stared at the pile of leftover bones and dishes from the meal, feeling numb.
Despite their grumbling, they both got to work quickly.
However, as they were cleaning, Zoro clearly noticed that Kuina was distracted.
"Kuina, are you thinking about Cyrus?"
Kuina froze at his words.
"Don't worry. Once we can set sail, we'll definitely meet him again on the sea," Zoro said, patting his chest with a confident look.
"I was thinking about what I might encounter on the sea if I were to set sail too," Kuina said, shaking her head.
"That would definitely be the countless master swordsmen who roam the seas! You'd fight them and eventually become the world's greatest master swordsman!"
At the mention of this, Zoro shouted, waving his fists, which was followed by the sound of shattering dishes.
"Damn it, Zoro, be more careful!"
Kuina, whose personality had already changed quite a bit, couldn't stop herself from yelling.
In his room, Cyrus's Observation Haki picked up on their conversation and what had happened.
He chuckled softly and shook his head.
He lay on his bed, arms pillowed behind his head, his eyes full of anticipation.
Before, he had always felt his strength wasn't enough to guarantee his safety if he encountered certain people or dangers on the sea, so he had suppressed such thoughts.
But men are always drawn to unknown adventures.
Cyrus considered himself to be a relatively calm person, but now he too was looking forward to what he might encounter.
Of course, he also wanted to see the characters from the story in person.
He would only do what he wanted to do.
His nine years of compulsory education and the worldview he had developed since childhood would prevent him from becoming a villain.
But as for the conflicts between the various factions of this world, like the Revolutionary Army and the World Government, or the Navy and the pirates, Cyrus didn't really want to concern himself with them, let alone get involved.
He was just an outsider and a spectator.
What was that saying again? Respect each other's destiny.
He thought that was how it went.
A jumble of thoughts rose in Cyrus's mind, so much so that even his Observation Haki became a little unsteady.
"Perhaps besides the East Blue, I could visit the other three."
Cyrus murmured to himself.
...
The night passed quickly. In the morning, at the docks of Shimotsuki Village, Cyrus waved goodbye and boarded the merchant ship.
The ship was still waiting for cargo to be loaded, and it looked like they were nearing the end.
Before long, the merchant ship set sail, slowly pulling away from the dock.
"Where's Kuina?"
Zoro watched the ship move away, then realized Kuina didn't seem to have come.
Koshiro didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the merchant ship, his expression unreadable.
"Aaaaaah~"
A girl's drawn-out cry suddenly rang out from the merchant ship, and then a small figure was thrown from the vessel.
"Cyrus, you bastard!"
Kuina's somewhat annoyed voice rang out, but her body was uncontrollably tossed onto the dock.
Cyrus had clearly used a clever bit of force. After landing, Kuina rolled a few times before springing to her feet.
She stared at the departing ship, clenching her fists with a look of displeasure.
Zoro watched all this, dumbfounded.
He was speechless, his finger pointing back and forth between Kuina and the ship several times, unable to form a word.
Koshiro pushed up his glasses.
"Kuina, it's not time for you to set sail yet. Wait until you've become a master swordsman."
Cyrus's voice drifted over from the distant merchant ship.
This only made Kuina more annoyed.
"Let's go back. Since Cyrus doesn't want to take you, then just get stronger."
Koshiro had actually intended to stop Kuina's plan, but considering Cyrus's strength, he had thought that Kuina would be in no great danger if she went with him.
Ever since Kuina's near-fatal accident, Koshiro had become much more open-minded.
But even with all his considerations, he hadn't expected that Cyrus, upon discovering Kuina, would just throw her right back.
Kuina followed dejectedly behind Koshiro.
"You wanted to go to sea with Cyrus?"
Zoro finally understood, his eyes wide as he stared at Kuina.
He couldn't believe it.
They had agreed to get stronger together and see who could become the world's greatest master swordsman, and now Kuina was trying to sneak off?
That girl is too cunning.
Perhaps it was Zoro's tone that annoyed Kuina, or perhaps it was Cyrus's act of throwing her back that made her want to find an excuse to vent.
In any case, after they returned, the duels between the two, which had been suspended for a long time, began once more.
...
On the merchant ship, Cyrus leaned against the railing, holding his sword, Flame, and looked back in the direction of Shimotsuki Village.
"Mr. Cyrus, I'm the captain, Pico. You can call me Captain Pico. The safety of this voyage is all in your hands."
An old sailor with a grog-blossomed nose spoke cheerfully.
"Hmm?"
Cyrus was taken aback and turned to look at the old man who called himself Captain Pico.
"Master Koshiro said that Mr. Cyrus's swordsmanship is extraordinary. Don't worry, once we return safely from this trip, we will definitely pay you a handsome reward," Pico said again, seeing Cyrus's expression.
Cyrus finally understood and shot a speechless glance in the direction of Shimotsuki Village.
That Koshiro...
He had thought Koshiro had paid his passage fee, but it turned out he had found him a job.
Thinking about Koshiro's hidden identity and his likely need to secretly gather supplies for the Revolutionary Army, Cyrus was no longer surprised.
"Leave it to me. You can call me if there's trouble."
Cyrus didn't refuse; it wasn't a difficult task anyway.
"That's great. I've arranged a private room for you, Mr. Cyrus. You can go rest first. I'll have someone bring food to your room."
Seeing Cyrus's relaxed demeanor, Pico was overjoyed.