Returning to the branch, Dylan happened to meet the oncoming Captain.
He is no longer the tall man he was before. More than ten years have passed, and many things have changed.
The original Captain, including the Marine who led him in, are no longer here.
The current Captain is a strong man named Hans, who was transferred only half a year ago and holds the rank of senior colonel.
"Dylan," Hans looked at Dylan, who was about to walk in, and stopped him: "Did you meet the Red-Haired Pirates?"
Dylan nodded: "I glanced at them from a distance, but there was no contact. After all, they have been very popular in recent years."
Hans agreed. Shanks, this guy, has really been very popular in recent years. Although there is a lot of gap between him and the older generation of strong men in terms of power, it is said that he also has a place in the "New World."
After Roger's death, the pirates' arrogance not only failed to be suppressed, but intensified.
In today's "New World," people call strong men such as Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido the "Emperors of the Sea."
Nonsense!
"By the way, the Grand Line has been under increasing pressure in recent years, and the headquarters has issued a summons order. I heard that you refused before?"
Hans didn't know much about Dylan's past. Only some older veterans vaguely remembered that this guy had been in the branch for a long time.
Even his military rank reached the level of Lieutenant Commander through small accumulations.
A Lieutenant Commander needs to go to the headquarters to be awarded the title.
"Your awarding has not been officially completed yet, this time..."
"I will go there this time. When?"
Dylan looked past Hans and at the Marine flag fluttering in the wind just like before.
Hans breathed a sigh of relief.
This guy has very high prestige in the branch. In many cases, Dylan's orders are even more effective than those of him, the Captain of the base.
"As soon as possible. Considering the distance, I will give you three months. Tell me when you are ready, I will report it to the headquarters."
Hans once studied Dylan's information, and the information left by the Captain at that time showed:
Adams Dylan.
Place of birth unknown.
Orphan.
Joined the Marines at age nine.
Calm personality and exceptional physical fitness.
Advocate justice and peace.
Then there are the past Captain's additions about Dylan's military achievements.
There are dozens of densely packed pages, and although they are all about pirates with small bounties, the volume is too much to handle.
During his tenure, he also personally added nearly four pages of record achievements to Dylan.
What a monster!
Looking at Dylan walking away, Hans muttered.
Shimotsuki Village.
Dylan stretched after stepping onto the island.
Unexpectedly, this place is right on the path.
The people around him gave him strange looks when they saw his long black sword.
"Are you here to challenge Koshiro too?"
Dylan followed the sound and looked over. It was a young man with a sword on his waist.
"No, just came to take a look..."
In the original story, Shimotsuki Village is inextricably linked to Wanokuni and the Revolutionary Army, and the squinty-eyed Koshiro seems to be no simple character either.
Before Dylan could finish speaking, a rough voice suddenly came from behind him: "Hey! You! You sword thief."
Dylan didn't seem to hear anything and continued to walk forward. The voice behind him burst out with anger: "Hey, stop. The guy in white clothes who is leaving after stealing my famous sword."
Dylan paused, turned around, and looked over. A ronin with a shaved head was staring at the black scabbard on Dylan's waist with bright eyes.
The ronin licked his dry lips.
This must be a good sword! He could even feel that even if it was hidden in the scabbard, it couldn't hide its edge.
The onlookers stepped aside when they saw him.
This guy... is a famous ronin in the area, and his Iai skills are as fast as lightning.
But... he is a rogue, and they don't know why the rogue has such a talent for swordsmanship.
"Is this your sword?" Dylan raised his eyelids casually and looked at the man with samurai hair.
This hairstyle disgusts him.
"I'll give you five seconds to get out of my sight." A cold voice sounded in the ronin's ears.
Not only was the ronin not afraid, but he laughed, then leaned forward slightly, holding the handle of the sword on the left side of his body with his right hand: "In that case..."
A flash of red light appeared, and the ronin suddenly felt a cold sensation on his neck.
Then he felt dizzy and saw a scene that was very puzzling to him.
Who is this?
Why is he wearing the same clothes as me? Even holding the same sword?
This time I really encountered a sword thief...
There was an exclamation from the crowd, and Dylan turned away without a care.
"I'm so sorry, it's been the blood of these trash fish all along."
There was a slight vibration from the black scabbard on his waist.
...
Isshin Dojo.
Koshiro slowly stood up when he heard the noise outside and walked to the door.
Dylan was already standing in the yard, and a large group of people stood outside the gate, seemingly waiting for something.
Koshiro, who was wearing glasses, smiled at Dylan and said, "Excuse me, guest..."
Dylan looked at Koshiro's weak look and suddenly thought of something interesting.
"I heard that guys with squinted eyes are very strong?"
The people watching outside the door uniformly said "Oh~~" and showed an expression that was indeed the case.
"The guest is joking." Koshiro didn't seem angry at all and still asked politely: "Excuse me, guest..."
Dylan smiled: "Just kidding, I'm not here to cause trouble, I just want the curator to help me look at the sword."
"Oh?" Koshiro looked at the long sword on Dylan's waist.
"Inside, please, guest."
Seeing that there was no fight, the people outside the door left disappointed.
With a dark scabbard and a dark red handle, Koshiro held Dylan's long sword in both hands and frowned slightly.
With a trace of expectation and a trace of entanglement, Koshiro slowly pulled out the long sword.
A burst of bloody air hit his face from the black-red blade, and there was even a faint streak of blood escaping from the blade.
"Snap!"
Koshiro immediately put away the blade and handed it back to Dylan.
"Shura, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades."
Dylan took Shura and gently touched the scabbard, and the bloody smell in the air disappeared instantly.
"Does it have any characteristics?"
Koshiro looked at Dylan with some surprise: "As for the characteristics...haven't the guest already made full use of its characteristics?"
"Is that so..." Dylan stood up and greeted Koshiro slightly: "Thank you."
After Dylan left, a big bead of sweat dropped from Koshiro's forehead, and he swallowed: "Shura... was actually made into a black sword by him, and it actually surrendered to him..."
After calming down, Koshiro returned to his original smiling face with narrow eyes, waved to the screen next to him, and said, "Come out, were you scared just now?"
Kuina with short hair and Zoro poked their heads out from the side.
"Father...that person just now..."
"Ah... you are still far away from him, but... if you want to become the world's greatest swordsman in the future, I think... he must be one of your biggest obstacles."
Just now, Shura showed a hint of aura, which almost made the two of them faint. Even they, who are usually very strong, couldn't say anything big at this time.
Kuina clenched her fists tightly and turned around to leave without saying a word. Upon seeing this, Zoro gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it!" and then ran out.
Koshiro looked at the two of them with a smile on his face.
"The greatest swordsman in the world..." Koshiro still felt suffocated thinking of that seemingly unknown man.
After verifying Dylan's identity, the patrolman guarding the small port saluted Dylan with a bang and watched him go away.
The people had previously confirmed that it was the ronin who tried to snatch the man's weapon, which triggered the duel.
Although a duel to the death is not allowed by law, if it were an attack on the Marine Major, there would be no problem.
On a medium-sized merchant ship, Dylan was resting on the side of the ship.
The lookout on the mast suddenly shouted: "No, it's a pirate ship."
After careful observation, the tone of the lookout's voice was distorted.
"It's... it's the Krieg Pirates!"
----------
Read 25 chapters in advance in Patr*on: patr*on.com/CosmicKaminari