"Mr. Xia Yu… are you a swordsman?"
After the three of them took their seats, Dragon personally poured a bowl of wine for Xia Yu and placed it in front of him.
"Although Koushirou and I didn't witness it directly just now, we clearly felt a powerful Sword Intent. I can say with certainty—there is no such person in the East Blue. So, Mr. Xia Yu must be from another sea, correct?"
Xia Yu casually accepted the bowl and smiled.
"As a traveler, the four seas are my home."
He raised his bowl slightly.
"Come—cheers."
After clinking bowls with Xia Yu, Koushirou and Dragon exchanged a brief, knowing glance before tilting their heads back and draining their drinks in one gulp.
After several rounds of wine, the atmosphere gradually grew more relaxed, and the conversation became livelier.
However, because of his special status, Dragon asked many questions—but revealed very little in return.
Koushirou, on the other hand, kept asking Xia Yu about his swordsmanship. By the end of it, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, he even proposed sparring with Xia Yu.
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing Koushirou's request, Xia Yu fell silent for a moment.
In his memory, Koushirou wasn't the type of person who liked to spar with others. To be precise, although Koushirou didn't appear often in the original story, every appearance gave him the aura of someone detached from worldly affairs.
A person with such a mindset shouldn't be the type to challenge someone to a duel over a few drinks.
That said, Xia Yu had no intention of refusing.
In the original story, Koushirou's strength had always been highly controversial. Especially as the plot progressed and considering his relationship with Dragon, many fans had analyzed his possible background.
Some speculated that he came from the Shimotsuki clan—specifically Shimotsuki Yasuie's lineage—in Wano Country.
According to Kozuki Oden, who once lived among them for a time, the samurai group led by Shimotsuki Yasuie was the strongest samurai faction in Wano.
One defining symbol of this group was the emblem of two crossed swords.
Coincidentally, the dojo Koushirou ran in Shimotsuki Village used that exact same emblem. The clothing worn by the students also carried the mark of two crossed swords—perfectly matching the symbol of that samurai faction.
Because of this, even Xia Yu was fairly certain that Koushirou—the always-smiling man and owner of Wado Ichimonji, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords—likely came from the samurai faction of the Shimotsuki clan in Wano Country.
And as a member of the strongest samurai faction, his strength could not possibly be ordinary.
So Xia Yu wanted to use this opportunity to uncover the mystery of Koushirou's true strength—and also determine just how powerful his own LV6 swordsmanship really was in this world.
Koushirou's request… most likely originated from Dragon.
As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon wouldn't easily trust anyone. Since it wasn't convenient for him to personally test Xia Yu, he used Koushirou—the seemingly honest and gentle man—to probe Xia Yu's strength.
Of course, Dragon's caution was understandable.
After all, the Revolutionary Army might sound noble, but in simpler terms… they were rebels.
But whether it was the Revolutionary Army, rebels, or even the Marines—none of it mattered to Xia Yu.
The moment he obtained the Traveler System, it was already destined—he would never belong to any faction.
After a brief moment of silence, Xia Yu suddenly smiled.
"Since the dojo master is in such high spirits, I would be happy to accompany you."
As he spoke, Xia Yu stood up and walked out of the living room into the courtyard.
Seeing Xia Yu agree so readily, Koushirou glanced at Dragon before standing up as well and following him into the courtyard. Soon the two stood facing each other.
"Wow!"
Just as Koushirou stopped in front of Xia Yu, a surprised voice suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterward, a head with an enormous dark purple afro suddenly popped up over the dojo wall, accompanied by a gigantic face with long thick eyelashes, light blue eyeshadow, and purple lipstick.
The sight was both bizarre… and oddly intimidating.
It was Emporio Ivankov, a user of the Horm-Horm Fruit and a commander of the Revolutionary Army.
"Everyone, come quickly!"
Ivankov blinked those intimidating eyes and laughed in his signature voice.
"This is a rare chance to see the dojo master fight~!"
As Ivankov finished speaking, all the Revolutionary Army commanders and members staying at the dojo immediately rushed over.
Clearly, they were clearly eager to see Koushirou take action.
At the same time, Zoro and Kuina pushed their way to the front of the crowd, staring excitedly at Xia Yu and Koushirou in the courtyard.
"Father is actually going to fight! I'm so excited… but also a little nervous!"
Although Kuina was Koushirou's daughter, this was the first time she had ever seen her father seriously face an opponent.
Naturally, she was both thrilled and anxious.
"What's there to be nervous about? One day, I'll defeat every swordsman and become the strongest!"
Zoro said this confidently, but his eyes never left the figures of Xia Yu and Koushirou.
"Let's begin."
Xia Yu accepted a wooden sword handed to him by one of the students and smiled.
"After the fight, we'll continue drinking."
After speaking, Xia Yu lightly swung the wooden sword once before gripping the hilt with both hands and planting the tip of the sword on the ground.
The moment the tip touched the ground—
Xia Yu's aura changed completely.
Just a moment ago, he had seemed relaxed and carefree. But the instant the sword touched the ground, an invisible yet overwhelming presence of a powerful warrior quietly erupted from his body.
Even though Xia Yu made no additional movements, that intangible surge of pressure alone caused everyone present—including Ivankov and the Revolutionary Army members—to feel an indescribable heaviness deep in their hearts.