One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

The revolutionary army's sailboats passed through the Reverse Mountain at dawn.

Seven towering currents surged on both sides of the ship, the water crashing against the hull with a deafening roar like muffled thunder.

Roy stood at the bow, watching the black hull being pushed to the top of the current and then sliding down the East China Sea side, so smoothly that it hardly swayed.

"Every time I cross Upside Down Mountain, it feels like riding a roller coaster."

Ivankov stood next to Roy, hands on his hips, his face slightly damp from the splashes of water.

"But with Roy Boy's abilities this time, it's actually less of a worry."

The ship passed through the Upside-Down Mountain smoothly.

The East China Sea is much calmer than the New World.

There were no undercurrents that could erupt from the seabed at any moment, no sea monsters lurking behind the reefs, and no oppressive, bone-chilling sense of danger permeating the air.

The sea breeze was gentle, carrying a faint salty scent and the fragrance of rice paddies wafting from the fields.

The dragon silently approached Roy's side, and after a moment, he turned his gaze back to the sea, his voice as steady as ever:

"Tell me about yourself. You mentioned to me before that you were going to Shimotsuki Village."

What's so special about that little village that makes you want to make the whole trip around the East China Sea?

Roy didn't intend to hide it from him, and the lazy expression on his face lessened somewhat.

Have you ever heard of the Frostmoon Clan?

"certainly."

The dragon nodded.

"One of the five great lords of Wano Country, the Shimotsuki family."

After Kozuki Oden's death, Wano Country was occupied by Kaido, and most of the remnants of the Shimotsuki family escaped Wano Country and scattered around the world.

What does this have to do with your landing in the East China Sea?

"In Shimotsuki Village, there is a dojo called Isshin Dojo, and the master is Shimotsuki Koshiro."

Roy spoke slowly,

"He is a descendant of the Shimotsuki clan of Wano Country."

After saying this, the dragon didn't seem too surprised.

Of course he knew Koushirou's background. Having cultivated the East China Sea for so many years, he knew this base better than anyone else.

But Roy's next words made him raise an eyebrow slightly.

"You should know about my relationship with Kaido, right?"

Seeing the dragon's changing expression, Roy patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry! I won't do anything to them."

Upon hearing this, Long finally felt a little relieved.

.................................................. .................................................

Roy sailed on the East China Sea with the revolutionary army's sailboat for two whole days, finally arriving at Shimotsuki Village on the evening of the third day.

Roy stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the quiet little village in the distance.

Compared to the islands along the Grand Line that are constantly embroiled in battle, this village seems to have been forgotten by time.

Wooden cottages lined the coastline, wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, and the setting sun casting a pale golden glow on the stone-paved path.

"arrive."

Dragon walked up to Roy, his dark green cloak fluttering slightly in the sea breeze.

He pointed to the village on the riverbank, a rare hint of relaxation in his voice.

"Frostmoon Village. Don't let its small size fool you; this place is on the East China Sea Revolutionary Army's intelligence network."

"Because of Koushirou?"

"Half and half."

The dragon smiled.

"Koushirou provided a lot of convenience for the revolutionary army, but the village itself is not simple either."

"You should be familiar with the surname Shuangyue, right?"

Roy was certainly no stranger to him.

Shimotsuki Koushirou's surname is Shimotsuki, which means that Koushirou's identity is not simple.

The revolutionary army's sailboat slowly approached the shore.

Several villagers on the dock greeted Long and the revolutionary army members warmly.

Shouting "Mr. Long is here," he deftly helped tie the cables and move the springboard.

But when their gazes fell on Roy, all those smiles froze for a moment.

The man's aura was completely out of place in this quiet little village.

Roy was dressed in a well-tailored black casual suit, a long sword with a gleaming sheath hanging at his waist. His expression was lazy and nonchalant, but his eyes—

With just a glance, those eyes caused several villagers to unconsciously take a half-step back.

"And this is...?"

An older villager spoke cautiously, his eyes darting back and forth between Roy and the dragon.

"My friend."

Long said it simply without further explanation, but the word "friend" was enough to dispel the villagers' doubts.

After all, Mr. Long's friend couldn't be a bad person—at least that's what the people of Shimotsuki Village thought.

"Ivan, Raven, you two arrange the loading of the goods here."

Long gave a brief instruction, then turned to look at Roy.

"I'll take you to the dojo."

Roy nodded and followed behind the dragon, walking along the stone path deeper into the village.

Along the way, he could clearly feel the gazes of the surrounding villagers—

Curiosity, awe, and a hint of inexplicable tension.

Clearly, while Frostmoon Village is remote, it is not completely isolated from the world.

At least they could sense that the "friend" Mr. Long brought back this time was no ordinary person.

You scared them.

The dragon head didn't even turn around.

"I didn't do anything," Roy shrugged.

"You don't have to do anything."

For once, Long felt helpless.

"You just need to stand here."

The two walked through several alleys and stopped in front of a large wooden gate.

The plaque above the door is quite old, but the four large characters "一心道场" (Yixin Daochang) are still clear and powerful, with each stroke conveying the strength of a knife and axe.

The courtyard echoed with the shouts of boys practicing swordsmanship, the crisp clash of wooden blades striking each other, interspersed with a particularly loud roar from one of the boys—

"Again! I'm sure I can block it this time!"

Then came a crisp clash of wooden swords, followed by the muffled thud of something hitting the ground, and a group of teenagers trying to suppress their laughter.

As Roy listened to those sounds, a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

interesting.

The dojo door was gently pushed open, and a man dressed in a plain-colored kendo uniform walked out.

He wasn't very tall, wore round-framed glasses, his eyes were slightly narrowed, and a gentle smile played on his lips.

He looked like an ordinary rural dojo owner, unassuming and harmless to people and animals.

But Roy saw something different in this man.

"Mr. Long."

Koushirou bowed slightly, his voice gentle.

"You've come all this way in person again, that's too kind of you."

"Master Koushirou".

Long returned the greeting.

"I need to see the revolutionary army's situation in person to be at ease. The grain we've gathered this time—"

Before Ryu could finish speaking, Koushirou's gaze fell on Roy behind him.

In that instant, Roy clearly saw the change in Koushirou.

Those squinting eyes suddenly opened, revealing a pair of extremely sharp pupils.

The gentle smile in his eyes vanished without a trace, like mist dispersed by the sea breeze, replaced by an extremely calm scrutiny and assessment.

It's like suddenly discovering a variable on the battlefield that could cause the entire battle to collapse.

It was just a fleeting moment.

Koushirou then concealed the sharpness in his eyes, narrowed them again, and resumed his gentle and harmless expression.

It moves so fast that ordinary people can't even detect it.