The One-Slash Superman of the One Piece World

"Kuzan, the Marines must pay pretty well, huh?"

"You didn't even blink an eye buying all this food."

"For you, this kind of money is probably just pocket change."

On the bustling street lined with food stalls, Yorichi Tsugikuni was carrying a drink in his left hand and balancing a massive food box in his right, chewing on some locally made soft candy and speaking indistinctly to Kuzan beside him.

At that moment, Kuzan was in much the same state as Yorichi. He also carried a food box in one hand, but in the other, he was holding a bottle of red wine, rumored to be made from a grape variety unique to the Kingdom of Neil.

The New World's climate was wildly unpredictable. Yet the Kingdom of Neil enjoyed ample sunlight, and its special climate yielded some truly unusual fruits and vegetables. Even grapes, a fruit commonly found elsewhere, took on a distinctive flavor when grown here, producing a red wine with a taste all its own.

Though Kuzan wasn't a heavy drinker, he did enjoy a glass from time to time when he had nothing else to do. He quite liked the gentle warmth of a slight buzz.

"How could it possibly be that high?!"

"Buying all this stuff hurt my wallet plenty, okay?"

"But it's fine. If it's you, I'm sure I'll get to eat my money's worth back from you one of these days, ha ha."

Rarely enjoying such a leisurely day, Kuzan was in a very good mood, joking around with Yorichi.

"Eat your money's worth back from me? Well, you'll be waiting a while for that," Yorichi shot back with a grin. "Master Zepha told me to join the Marines after I'm an adult. So just wait for me, Kuzan."

Yorichi was smiling as he spoke. Just then, a sudden commotion broke out up ahead on the street. People all around them turned their heads to look toward the source of the noise, where a crowd was gathering.

Amid the hubbub, Yorichi thought he heard someone calling for help.

"Hey, Kuzan, sounds like something's going on."

"I think I heard someone shouting for help. Should we go check it out?"

Kuzan nodded, confirming, "I heard it too. Let's go take a look."

As they spoke, both of them quickened their pace.

"Excuse me, coming through, please!" Kuzan called out as he pushed his way through the crowd toward the center, with Yorichi following closely behind. Finally, the two of them were able to see the scene at the heart of the gathering.

In the middle of the crowd was a young woman, perhaps in her late teens. Her elegant dress had been torn to shreds, leaving the ragged fabric barely clinging to her body, unable to cover her exposed skin. Her beauty shone through even in her disheveled state.

The girl's eyes were vacant and brimming with terror. A kind-hearted middle-aged woman quickly took off her own apron and draped it around the trembling girl's shoulders. Then, crouching down beside her, the woman asked urgently:

"Child, what happened?!"

"What on earth has happened to you, looking like this?!"

But faced with the woman's questions, the girl merely choked out a faint "Help me," unwilling or perhaps unable to say anything more.

Yorichi and Kuzan exchanged a grave look, their expressions growing dark.

Kuzan stepped forward, gently parting the people crowding in on either side, and crouched down in front of the girl. The kind-hearted woman started in surprise at his sudden approach. She instantly wrapped her arms protectively around the girl, glaring up at Kuzan with wary eyes full of distrust.

Seeing this, Kuzan backed off slightly, then spoke in a softer, gentler voice:

"Miss, can you tell me what happened?"

"Don't be afraid. I'm with the Marines. I'm here to help you."

As he spoke, Kuzan gestured to the Marine insignia on his chest, hoping to earn the girl's trust.

Sure enough, the moment she heard the word "Marines," a faint glimmer of hope appeared in the girl's eyes. She lifted her head, looked at him searchingly, and then tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Marines… Are you really with the Marines?!"

"Please save me. Please save my family."

"Pirates… pirates attacked the palace. My father was killed by them!"

Her words stunned the onlookers into silence. Moments later, a wave of shocked cries rippled through the crowd. Kuzan, too, froze for a moment, utterly astonished.

"The palace?!"

"Pirates?!"

Kuzan knew perfectly well the hidden dealings of the Kingdom of Neil. Though he disapproved of the kingdom's shady methods, he had to admit that the king was a very capable ruler. King Nikola McCartney had reigned for over a decade, and nothing like this had ever happened before.

Besides, the Kingdom of Neil possessed a sizeable army, and its military strength was no joke. Ordinary pirate crews wouldn't stand a chance against the royal guard.

Even more unbelievable it was broad daylight!

What kind of idiot would attack a World Government member nation in the middle of the day, especially one under the protection of Whitebeard, and on the Kingdom of Neil's own territory, no less? Were they completely out of their minds?

But Kuzan couldn't bring himself to doubt the girl's words. After all, it was a claim that could easily be proven true or false. There was no point in lying about something like this.

"Kuzan, what do we do?" Yorichi asked from behind him. He'd heard the girl's words as well. His thinking was simple enough: now that they knew exactly where the pirates were and had a victim right in front of them, the only thing left was to go and eliminate them.

Still, when it came to dealing with pirates, Kuzan, who was soon to be promoted to Vice Admiral, clearly carried more authority. Yorichi was willing to hear him out first.

"Is that even a question?!"

"Miss, where's the palace? I'm heading there right now!"

Hearing his words, the girl's face lit up with a spark of hope, as though she'd found her savior. But when she came back to her senses, she didn't immediately point the way. Instead, she said anxiously:

"The palace is surrounded."

"There are so many pirates… so, so many."

"And they're very strong. The royal guards were all killed. I only managed to escape through a hidden tunnel. Sir, you shouldn't go alone. You should gather more comrades to help!"

Yorichi stepped up beside Kuzan, scratching his head as he said:

"I don't think he's exactly alone. I may not be all that strong, but I'm still his comrade."

"The two of us can go together. If the enemy really is that powerful, we'll call for reinforcements."

"Miss, let's not waste time. Where's the palace?"

This time, before the girl could respond, the kind-hearted woman who'd been helping her pointed quickly toward the street running north and said:

"Just keep going straight down this road, and you'll see a very, very wide avenue paved with blue stone."

"That's the Royal Avenue. Once you reach it, you'll be able to see the palace."

No sooner had the woman finished speaking than Kuzan and Yorichi exchanged a look, then immediately dashed off in the direction she'd indicated.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the broad, blue-stone-paved Royal Avenue. But as they scanned their surroundings, they saw no sign of the palace. Instead, far off in the distance, a massive fortress of mud, dozens of meters tall and hundreds of meters wide, caught their eyes and drew their attention.

People on the streets were also staring in shock and confusion at the towering mud fortress.

"That's probably it…" Kuzan murmured.

"Looks like a Devil Fruit power. It might even be a Logia-type." Kuzan stared at the distant fortress, his expression growing grave.

He'd originally thought they were dealing with some hot-headed small-time pirates. But one look at this monstrous mud structure wiped that notion from his mind completely. Logia-type Devil Fruits were exceedingly rare. And every Logia user was extraordinarily powerful.

Of that, Kuzan was well aware.

"Yorichi, go back to the branch and inform Vice Admiral Garp and Rear Admiral Roca. I'll go ahead and check it out."

Realizing the situation might turn dangerous, Kuzan intended to have Yorichi return for reinforcements. But Yorichi merely shook his head and replied:

"With this much commotion, I'm sure someone else has already gone to notify the branch."

"Whether I go back or not won't make much difference."

"Let's go together. From the look of it, that has to be a Logia Devil Fruit ability, right?"

"I can't promise I'll be of much help, but I won't be dragging you down either."

As he spoke, Yorichi drew the long katana from his waist. Seeing the determination blazing in Yorichi's eyes, Kuzan said no more and sprinted toward the mud fortress.

Arriving at the fortress, Kuzan quickly examined it but found no sign of a doorway. Just as he was about to unleash his powers to blast open an entrance, he noticed Yorichi already moving.

Breath of the Sun — First Form — Dance of the Fire Wheel!

With a swift, powerful swing of his blade, Yorichi sent a flying slash surging from the edge of his sword. An invisible blade of wind and force slammed into the mud fortress. In an instant, mud flew in all directions, and a narrow vertical gash was carved into the fortress from bottom to top, slicing clean through its entire height.

In a blur of motion, both Kuzan and Yorichi vanished from where they stood, darting into the fortress through the opening.

Moments later, the mud surrounding the gash flowed inward once again, sealing the breach completely. In mere seconds, the fortress returned to its original form, once more cloaking the royal palace within its muddy walls.