บท 14: 14. Shimotsuki Village

East Blue…

A huge dog-headed warship sailed slowly on the calm sea. A few seagulls flew in the sky from time to time. The calm weather made people extremely comfortable. Of course, if you don't take into account his big head and the weird looks of the sailors around him, he will be in a better mood.

"Where is the next island we will pass?"

Atlas grabbed a sailor who was passing by him and asked. After leaving Logue town for so long, he still missed everyone, especially Captain Wright and Smoker. His feelings for Captain Wright Atlas are very complicated. On the one hand, Wright was the first person he met when he came to this world, and he gave him a lot of help when he first joined Marine. To him, Wright was more like a big brother or a father figure, and he was grateful to Wright from the bottom of his heart.

"Huh? We'll be arriving at Shimotsuki Village soon."

Although Marine was a little surprised to be pulled, he still answered honestly. After all, Atlas's hard work and talent made him admire him, even if he looked a bit funny now.

"Shimotsuki Village…Shimotsuki Village"

Atlas felt that the name sounded familiar, and then he realized that this was the place where Zoro learned swordsmanship when he was a child. He immediately frowned again, as if he was thinking about something difficult to decide.

After a while, Atlas's frown relaxed and he strode towards Garp, who was enjoying a meal in the restaurant.

"Vice Admiral Garp, I would like to disembark at Shimotsuki Village later."

Atlas said solemnly to Garp.

"Huh? Why, um... um... don't you go back to Logue town?"

Garp said while chewing the piece of meat.

"I heard that there is a kendo dojo in Shimotsuki Village. The owner of the dojo, Koushirou, is a very powerful swordsman, so I wanted to study there for a while. It just so happened that my swordsmanship has hit a bottleneck."

Atlas explained in detail.

"So, I ask Mr. Garp to tell Colonel Randall when he passes by Logue town. I will return to Logue town in a year at the latest. Please!"

Atlas said as he stood up and bowed heavily to Garp. This bow was not only to ask Garp to send a message, but also to thank Garp for taking him in during this time and teaching him without reservation.

"I know, it's true, you brat..."

Garp muttered impatiently, but there was no dissatisfaction in his eyes. It was obvious that he was very satisfied with Atlas. Garp has brought out countless Marines over the years, and the most famous among them is the current Marine monster Vice Admiral Aokiji Kuzan.

After such a long period of training, Garp can definitely conclude that Atlas's potential is not inferior to Kuzan's, and the justice in his heart is no less than that of other Marines. He will definitely become the mainstay of Marine in the future.

After getting Garp's permission, Atlas returned to his bedroom to prepare some daily necessities and clothes, and then asked Bogart for some money for emergencies.

However, he did not plan to wear a Marine uniform. After all, in his previous life he heard that Koushirou had some connections with the Revolutionary Army. He was not afraid that Koushirou would be unfavorable to him. First of all, he believed that Koushirou had the courage to be a strong man and would not take action against him, secondly, the revolutionary army is different from the pirates. He doesn't want to reveal Marine's identity as he doesn't want to be shut out by Koushirou.

After getting off the boat, Atlas asked the local villagers about the location of Koushirou's dojo, then arranged his clothes and walked towards the dojo.

Koushirou's dojo is located in the center of Shimotsuki Village. Most of these villagers have practiced swordsmanship in the dojo when they were young. It is just that the owner of the dojo at that time may have been Koushirou father. Kozaburo, and the cost of going to the dojo to study is not very high, so most of the villagers are happy to send their children to study here. After all, having power in this world is not a bad thing.

Soon Atlas arrived at the destination of his trip, and saw the legendary Koushirou Dojo. After looking around for a while, he found that the dojo was dominated by a low wall. There were several houses located inside the wall. I guess it was Koushirou and his family use it for daily living.

But what puzzled Atlas was that there was no sound of swordsmanship practicing in the dojo. Instead, it was so quiet that it almost made Atlas wonder if he had gone to the wrong place.

Just as Atlas was about to knock on the door to greet him, a loud cry of a baby broke the silence, and Atlas immediately understood the reason.

What a coincidence!

Atlas sighed in his heart.

It is estimated that now is the time when Kuina was born, no wonder there is no sound in the dojo.

But Atlas knocked on the door of the dojo.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The knock on the door was not loud, but Koushirou should be able to detect his arrival with his five senses.

Soon, the door opened, and a smiling face came into view.

This frightened Atlas, and he thought he was going to get a droopy face, because according to his memories in his previous life, Koushirou probably disliked his daughter because he wanted a boy who would inherit his dojo.

It seems that the rumors are wrong. Koushirou is not a patriarchal guy. I guess Koushirou just wanted Kuina to live in peace and stability, so he deliberately said those words to hurt Kuina, but he didn't expect Kuina to be so stubborn, and those words became counterproductive.

"Hello, Mr. Koushirou , I have heard about you for a long time, and I came here to learn swordsmanship from you!"

Atlas went straight to the point and stated his purpose.

"Let's talk about it first..."

Koushirou did not express his position, but instead invited Atlas to come in with a smile.

After following Koushirou in, Atlas looked around carefully. It was similar to what he saw outside. The entry point was a medium-sized playground. It was estimated that the disciples usually practiced here.

After arriving in the lobby, Koushirou and Atlas found a futon to sit down respectively, and then they had time to look at both sides.

Just as Atlas imagined, Koushirou is a middle-aged man with a very gentle appearance. He always has a smile on his face. I don't know if his daughter was born today or it is just like this normally. His glasses are not too thick and hang on the bridge of his nose. The eyes that are always squinting make it impossible to see through his inner thoughts...

"My daughter was born today. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Koushirou said slightly apologetically.

Koushirou speaks in a slightly formal manner, a bit like Wanokuni's way of speaking.

"I already know the purpose of your visit. If you don't mind the humble abode, I would like to exchange my kendo experience with you." Koushirou said with a smile.

Atlas also understood that he didn't want to accept him as his disciple, but he also didn't want to offend Marine, so he agreed to let him stay and learn swordsmanship.

It seems that there is no point in being careful in front of such a strong man. Koushirou probably discovered it as early as when the Garp ship docked based on his knowledge and skills.

"Okay, then I'll bother you Mr. Koushirou."

Now that everything has been said, this is the only way to go to Atlas. Anyway, it doesn't mean that you get nothing.