One Piece: Starting with Breathing Techniques

Kiro narrowed his eyes and, sure enough, saw a large group of people huddled in the corner of an iron cage in the warehouse, captured and enslaved.

From a distance, there were at least two or three hundred people.

Among them are the Mink Tribe, the Merfolk Tribe, and even the rare Giants and Dwarfs.

Upon seeing Kilo's arrival, a flicker of surprise and doubt appeared in their numb eyes.

At least from his appearance, Kiro clearly doesn't belong to the Navy, but he doesn't seem like a notorious pirate either.

Looking around, Kiro was slightly moved; he had never seen so many slaves before.

And this is only a small part of what the Celestial Dragons use for amusement.

The sins on this vast sea are probably far more serious than he imagined.

The next moment, Kiro raised his sword and slashed horizontally, unleashing several sword energies in the horrified gazes of the crowd.

Are we going to kill them?

Everyone closed their eyes in fear, heard several loud noises, and felt a gust of wind on their faces.

But I don't seem to be experiencing the excruciating pain I expected.

They opened their eyes in bewilderment, only to find that the shackles on their hands and the iron cage in front of them had all been severed by the sword energy.

However, with precise control down to the millimeter, they were completely unharmed.

They stared blankly at Kiro, moving their newly freed limbs in disbelief.

Kiro casually tossed the bag forward, scattering the Bailey's treasures all over the ground.

Amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Kiro slowly spoke, "You are free."

"Before the navy's reinforcements arrive, you should quickly take enough funds to escape and leave this island."

An old man slowly walked forward, his face full of disbelief, as if he could hardly believe what he had just heard.

After observing the certainty and seriousness on Kilo's face, he finally realized that Kilo was not joking.

"Thank you, unknown swordsman!"

"We will always remember your kindness!"

With tears welling in his eyes, he bowed deeply to Kilo, shakily picked up enough pelies to escape, and left along the path Kilo had carved out.

Seeing this, the other slaves followed suit, tears of emotion streaming down their faces. They bowed solemnly to Kiro and fled outside under the cover of night.

Moments later, all the slaves in the warehouse escaped, leaving only Kiro in the vast warehouse.

Kiro looked at the empty warehouse with a sigh.

Suddenly, Kiro looked to the corner on his right and said in a deep voice.

"Come out, let's talk."

The warehouse was completely silent.

A few seconds later, a tall figure emerged from the left corner, looking somewhat speechless.

Kilo coughed twice, somewhat embarrassed, realizing he had guessed the wrong location.

"I'm curious, how did you guess I was here?"

Aokiji removed his blindfold, his eyes filled with curiosity as he stared at Kiro, who had a head of white hair.

"You've changed a lot in just a few days!"

"Kilo".

Kiro looked at the familiar man and frowned slightly.

"You intervened when I was fighting Onigumo, right?"

During the battle just now, Kiro, who had access to the Transparent World, was fully aware of Onigumo's changes in state.

If it weren't for the sudden freezing that slowed Onigumo's movements for a moment, he probably wouldn't have been able to end the battle so quickly.

As far as I know, the only person who could possess this ability is Aokiji, whom I have only recently met.

Aokiji neither admitted nor denied it, but silently observed Kiro.

Two days ago, the skinny boy struggled to even deal with a few ordinary naval soldiers, but now he seems to have undergone a transformation and is able to fight head-on with a naval vice admiral.

Despite his assistance, this shift in strength secretly alarmed him.

Why should you help me?

Kiro made no attempt to hide his doubts, staring intently at Aokiji.

Frost spread and covered the area, concealing Aokiji's gaze behind his sunglasses. "You're right."

"I don't consider this kind of person who disregards life to be my colleague."

"Justice shouldn't be like this."

Aokiji nodded, then changed the subject, "However, this was just something I did on the side."

"I came to you because I want an answer."

Aokiji narrowed his eyes, his gaze complex. "I want to know whether letting you and Robin go was the right thing to do or the wrong thing."

Can you tell me the answer?

If Aokiji had previously spared Kiro because of the truth Kiro possessed, now he was somewhat wary of Kiro's rapid growth.

Just two days ago, Kilo was completely vulnerable, but now it has grown to an exaggerated level.

In his normal state, he was able to defeat a Marine Rear Admiral head-on, and after activating that strange state, he was able to suppress Onigumo, the Marine Vice Admiral.

This exaggerated growth rate was something that Aokiji had almost never heard of before.

On what grounds?

As far as Aokiji knew, there were no renowned teachers on Ryuga Island who could train a monstrous newcomer in just two days.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the world where the strong are few and far between, Kilo has almost no rivals.

This made it difficult for Aokiji to see through the boy in front of him.

Upon hearing this, Kilo's heart sank, knowing that he would eventually have to face this step.

A few days ago, in order to escape from Aokiji's clutches, he had no choice but to tell Aokiji some information.

But now, the information he has given could very well influence Aokiji's future actions.

If it affects the main storyline of the world, who knows how many butterfly effects it will create.

This could very well negate his advantage of being familiar with the main storyline.

You must be careful with your next words.

Gathering his thoughts, Kiro stared at Aokiji and slowly spoke, "Aokiji, do you know?"

"Long ago, the world was a single continent. The islands we see today are just fragments of the continent after it sank."

Aokiji's pupils contracted; Kiro's words somewhat overturned his understanding.

Mainland China?! How is that possible?!

Before Aokiji could speak, Kiro continued calmly and steadily.

"Long ago, a great war was waged between a vast kingdom and a united army of 20 kingdoms."

"This happened during the blank century."

"This war ended with the victory of 20 kingdoms."

"Don't you find the number 20 familiar?"

"That's right, it is..."

Aokiji's eyes widened, his previous composure completely gone, and he preemptively answered, "You mean... a Celestial Dragon!?"

Kiro did not deny it, and continued, "What is the truth of history? Why is the World Government afraid of history? Where do the ancient weapons still exist?"

Upon hearing this, Aokiji held his breath and waited for Kiro's answers to these questions.

He had a premonition that the answers to these questions would reveal the truth of the world.

However, after a moment, he did not hear Kiro's reply.

He looked up, staring blankly at Kiro, only to see Kiro staring at him with a look of astonishment.

"Why are you looking at me? Do you think I know?"

Kiro said irritably.

Only Oda could probably answer that question; his question was simply a summary of Vegapunk's broadcast.

"We in Ohara have only been able to study these issues for now. As for the specific answers, I'm afraid only the Roger Pirates know the true history."

"but......"

Kiro stared intently at Aokiji, trying to read his mind. "With all this information, you probably already have the answer in your heart."

"The justice I uphold... and the justice the Navy upholds..."

Kilo took a step forward, a meaningful smile on his face.

"Aokiji, what kind of justice do you seek?"