Konoha: I have a clone in One Piece.

East Sea, Frostmoon Village.

As the sun sets, the evening glow resembles red frost.

On the beach, a little boy with green hair is running back and forth along the shore, carrying a sword on his back.

Not long after.

Two small metal boats slowly sailed from the distant sea and docked at the shore.

"..."

Suzuki, looking at the anxious and sweaty young Zoro ahead with a puzzled expression, couldn't help but ask:

"Hey buddy, you're not lost, are you?"

"!!!"

Zoro immediately stopped running and turned around to look.

A man in a black trench coat and a swordsman carrying a long, sharp sword were looking at him intently.

Zoro, caught red-faced, shouted back:

"No! How could I be lost?"

"This is my hometown, I'm just doing a run!"

"..."

Suzuki and Hawkeye Mihawk beside him exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with speechlessness.

Then Suzuki walked towards Zoro with a gentle smile, looked down at his flushed face and said:

"Hmm... alright then. Seeing that you're carrying a sword, you must be a disciple of Mr. Koushirou of the Shimotsuki Kendo Dojo, right? Mr. Koushirou and I are old friends, so I've come to pay you a visit."

"We're heading to the kendo dojo, would you like to come with us?"

What a kind person...

Upon hearing Suzuki's gentle words, Zoro breathed a sigh of relief and secretly thought to himself: I'm finally going to make it in time for dinner!

"Alright, then I'll take you there!"

Although he was secretly pleased, Zoro, not wanting anyone to know that he had no sense of direction, still spoke up in a haughty manner.

Suzuki patted Zoro's green head and chuckled happily:

"Hehe, okay, let's go then."

Soon, the three of them headed towards the Shimotsuki Kendo Dojo.

Along the way, Zoro couldn't contain his curiosity and started talking to Hawkeye.

"So, you're a swordsman, right? Carrying such a big sword, you must be very skilled?"

"...So-so."

"My dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman!"

"...Then good luck."

"I……"

With Zoro's lively curiosity and Mihawk's perfunctory response, Suzuki and his two companions quickly arrived at the Shimotsuki Kendo Dojo.

"ha!"

"Hey!"

"Push harder! Yes, that's it! Treat the wooden stakes in front of you as your enemies, and give it your all in every strike!"

"Yes, I know, Senior Sister~"

"My senior sister is even stricter than Professor Koushirou!"

"My senior sister is really amazing. Zoro has challenged her so many times but has never succeeded."

"What are you whispering about? Hurry up and practice!"

"yes!"

Inside the kendo dojo, Shimotsuki Koshiro's daughter, Shimotsuki Kuina, is teaching a group of students around her age in place of her father. Her serious personality and strict teaching make the students miss the gentle and kind Koshiro.

Upon arriving at their destination, Zoro rushed into the kendo dojo, shouting:

"Kuina, where's Koushirou-sensei?"

"We have guests!"

Upon hearing Zoro's call, the beautiful girl in the kendo uniform quickly stopped her training, turned her head, and looked towards the door with a puzzled expression.

After seeing Suzuki and Hawkeye Mihawk's slightly disguised faces, Kuina's doubts deepened. Who are they?

However, she still nodded seriously and said:

"Okay, Father is in the backyard, I'll go and call him over."

"Keep training! No slacking off!"

After warning the many curious students who had come to watch, Kuina quickly ran towards the backyard of the kendo dojo.

Soon, it was evening.

As the sun completely set, the frost-like sunset gradually disappeared.

Inside the Shimotsuki Kendo Dojo, in a dimly lit room, the aroma of food wafted out along with lively conversation.

Zoro stuffed large mouthfuls of grilled meat into his mouth while looking at Suzuki and Mihawk with a shocked expression:

"Ugh...you...you're actually Monster Traveler and the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

"monster?"

Suzuki was a little confused. When did he get such a strange nickname?

Shimotsuki Koshiro, standing to the side, elegantly took a bite of his food and smiled:

"yes."

"Because the place where you first appeared on the bounty poster was Loguetown, many people in the East Blue thought you were a local. After your bounty became an unprecedented 10 billion Berries, the people here started calling you the monster that came out of the East Blue."

"……All right."

Suzuki chuckled softly, then stopped caring about such a trivial matter.

Before long, everyone finished their meal.

Zoro, standing to the side, couldn't wait to look at the elegantly seated Hawkeye Mihawk, his face full of excitement and fighting spirit as he shouted:

"World's greatest swordsman, I challenge you!"

Zoro's fighting spirit comes from the bottom of his heart.

Although he knew he was unlikely to beat Hawkeye right now, he just wanted to give it a try!

Challenging the strong requires courage, and fearlessness itself is a powerful talent!

Seeing Zoro, who dared to challenge him even after knowing his identity, Hawkeye Mihawk's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise and admiration before he calmly replied:

"Sorry, I don't fight with children."

Upon hearing Hawkeye's refusal, Zoro's eyes widened, and he quickly added his own explanation:

"I'm not a child anymore, I've grown up! Look, my muscles are really strong, many adults in the kendo dojo can't beat me, you..."

However, Hawkeye Mihawk ignored it.

Seeing this, Shimotsuki Koushirou looked at Suzuki helplessly and said:

"My disciple is just so stubborn."

Suzuki glanced at Zoro, who was trying to provoke Hawkeye's fighting spirit, and Kuina, who was sitting quietly on the stool, and said with a light laugh:

"To be able to stand up when facing strong opponents and to remain focused in the face of anything, Mr. Koushirou, your disciple and daughter are sure to have extraordinary futures."

"Haha... You flatter me, you flatter me."

Shimotsuki Koushirou responded modestly, then looked at Suzuki with a puzzled expression and asked:

"Why did you decide to come here?"

"Me?"

Suzuki smiled, looked at Zoro, and suddenly asked:

"Zoro, I overheard some trainees outside saying you were always challenging Kuina. How many times have you fought her so far?"

"what?"

Interrupted from his provocation, Zoro scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled, and quickly replied:

"1996 times."

"Yeah?"

Suzuki lowered his head slightly and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and smiled at Shimotsuki Koshiro:

"Since I had nothing else to do, I thought I'd come and pay you a visit."

"But I probably won't be able to stay for long."

"Then I'll have to cook a lot of good food and feed you all well! Hahahaha."

Shigetsuki Koushiro laughed.

Inside the room, laughter and cheerful chatter filled the air.

……

after a while.

Suzuki, who had successfully saved the life of Kuina, the daughter of Shimotsuki Koshiro and Zoro's childhood friend, was saying goodbye to the group.

Shimotsuki Village, on the coast.

A slightly fishy sea breeze blew gently by, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Suzuki!" Shimotsuki Koshiro, still shaken by what happened last night, looked at Suzuki with eyes full of gratitude: "If you hadn't discovered it in time, Kuina would probably be in danger!"

As he spoke, the usually elegant father muttered a curse under his breath:

"That whetstone... I'll throw it away when I get back!"

"What an ominous thing!"

"Just don't put it in a place that's hard to reach."

Suzuki smiled calmly.

These past few days he had been silently calculating the number of challenges Zoro and Kuina had taken, and finally, with the help of his Observation Haki, he managed to save Kuina from being crushed to death by the whetstone as she was originally going to fall down the stairs in the future.

Since Shimotsuki Koshiro had once taught him swordsmanship, it was only right that he saved his daughter.

"No matter what, if it weren't for you, I probably would be dead already. Thank you so much!"

Kuina walked over and bowed deeply to Suzuki.

Then, with a bitter expression, she said:

"Even if I survive, can a girl like me really become the world's greatest swordsman?"

"I feel like I'm finding it increasingly difficult to defeat Zoro..."

"Heh." Suzuki chuckled and looked at Hawkeye Mihawk beside him: "Let the current world's greatest swordsman answer that question for you."

Hawkeye Mihawk nodded, then looked at Kuina, whose head was slightly bowed and whose expression showed initial signs of dejection, and said seriously:

"OK!"

"Female swordsmen are no less skilled than men. On the high seas, there are many powerful female swordsmen, such as Vice Admiral Momousagi of the Navy, who can be called a great swordsman."

"Really? Thank you!"

With the words of the world's greatest swordsman, Kuina quickly regained her spirits.

Seeing his friend's expression, Zoro immediately felt relieved. He then looked at Hawkeye Mihawk, who had been ignoring his challenges for days under the pretext of "not fighting brats," his little face full of resentment as he gritted his teeth and shouted:

"Mihawk, when I grow up and graduate from Koushirou-sensei's school, the first thing I'll do is defeat you!"

"Don't lose to anyone before then!"

"..."

Suzuki was speechless. "You're going to take on Hawkeye right from the start? Are you trying to reach your peak right from the beginning?"

Despite his complaints, Suzuki still felt a surge of admiration for Zoro as he looked at Zoro's indignant puffed-up face.

"Okay, I'll wait for you!"

Hawkeye Mihawk, who had previously ignored Zoro, looked at him and gave a serious reply just before leaving.

"Hehehe... Okay, it's a deal!"

Zoro grinned excitedly.

After a while.

"goodbye--"

"Kuina and I will go out to sea to find you later, Suzuki, Mihawk!"

Zoro shouted at the small black dot on the sea, then looked at Kuina beside him, his little face scrunched up, and said:

"What a pity, there can only be one world's greatest swordsman. Kuina, how about I become the male greatest swordsman and you become the female greatest swordsman? That would be a perfect pair."

Kuina's pretty face suddenly turned red, and she silently pulled out the wooden sword while biting her teeth.

"...Die, Zoro!"

"Hey? What's wrong? Why are you suddenly angry?"

Two small metal boats slowly sailed into the distance.

On the beach, a beautiful girl in a kendo uniform chases after the back of a green-haired boy.

……

……

The sea is not always calm.

After slicing down several pirate ships along the way, Suzuki and Hawkeye Mihawk encountered pirates blocking their path once again.

Not far ahead of two small metal boats, one silver-white and one pure black, two groups of pirates were engaged in fierce combat.

The sounds of gunfire and slaughter rang out loudly.

Hawkeye glanced at Suzuki, who was lounging lazily on the small silver boat beside him, sighed helplessly, then stood up and drew the black sword, Night, from his back.

It was just a couple of light waving motions.

Two pure black sword energies, each hundreds of meters long, instantly ripped through the sky, easily tearing apart the two pirate ships in front of them!

However, this time, Hawkeye suddenly stopped as he was sheathing his sword.

"what?"

"Someone from the mere East Sea actually survived my attack?"

Seeing the pirate ship broken in two on the sea not far away, Hawkeye, who sensed the abnormality through his Observation Haki, couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Immediately, a smile appeared on the face of the world's greatest swordsman, and he swung the Black Blade Night once more.

Dozens of terrifying sword energies cleaved the already shattered pirate ship in front into tiny fragments. With such sharp strikes, there should have been no survivors.

Can……

What happened? How is that guy still alive?

Hawkeye frowned and raised his Black Blade Night once more.

His arm muscles bulged, his face serious, and he stared at the sea in front of him with sharp, eagle-like eyes before suddenly slashing down.

The nearly kilometer-long black sword energy cracked the clouds in the sky, and the azure sea, the target of the attack, was cleaved open, revealing a deep trench of muddy seabed!

but……

"???"

Hawkeye looked astonished. How could his Observation Haki still detect the presence of living people?

Just as he was stubbornly preparing to swing the Black Blade Night again, a sharp cry of alarm rang out.

"Waaaaah..."

"No...don't kill him!"

"I was clearly pretending to be dead, why are you still attacking?"

"My treasure map has been torn to shreds!"

There are still people alive...

Hawkeye frowned, preparing to eliminate the source of the voice completely.

"No, that's someone I know."

Just then, Suzuki, who heard a familiar voice, opened his eyes and interrupted Hawkeye's actions.

"Bucky?"

"I didn't expect to run into you! It's been so long!"

Suzuki laughed and shouted at the red-nosed clown floating in mid-air ahead.

Buggy, who thought he was about to die, was instantly revived. He was so excited that snot and tears streamed down his face as he charged halfway toward Suzuki.

"Waaaaah... Suzuki, that's great!"

Not long after.

After bringing out Bagina along with the shattered ship planks and his lower body, which were about to sink to the bottom of the sea, Suzuki looked at his fearful appearance, where he dared not look at Hawkeye, and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing:

"Don't worry, he's my friend and he's on good terms with Shanks. He won't cut you again."

"..."

Bucky glanced furtively at Hawkeye, who was stroking the hilt of his knife, his mind filled with skepticism.

"By the way, Suzuki, where are you guys headed?"

"Windmill Village." (End of Chapter)