The next day.
Morning.
Warm sunlight pierced the clouds in the sky, dyeing the heavens and earth red, freely shedding its radiance and exuding an astonishing charm.
On the Freedom, everyone had risen early.
In the training room at the top of the mast, Kong Tai lay on a rocking chair, admiring the beautiful sunrise through the glass in front of him.
Although he had seen plenty of sunrises while sailing on the vast ocean, he could never get enough.
He liked it, liked the nascent vitality of the rising sun illuminating the sea.
Gazing out the window, the fingertips of his left hand unconsciously and rhythmically traced the blade of Zankong, which lay across his lap.
A stream of dark, pink-tinged Haki flowed slowly and incessantly over Zankong's blade, like flowing water.
If one were to observe with a magnifying glass, they would see the Haki, like countless iron hammers, ceaselessly tempering Zankong, gradually transforming it towards black.
If one listened closely, they could even hear the numerous hissing and grinding sounds emanating from Zankong's blade.
He had been doing this since he obtained Zankong.
He did it almost every day.
In fact, due to his monstrous physique, he possessed far more Haki than an ordinary person. Therefore, as long as Zankong hung from his waist, the tempering of the blade never ceased.
Yet, even so, after so many years, Zankong had still not become a black blade.
From this, one could understand how difficult it truly was to forge a black blade, and it was no wonder that only two black blades were known in this world.
Picking up the steaming coffee from the side table, Kong Tai brought it to his lips, habitually blew on it, and then took a gentle sip.
The coffee was Brook's. He didn't know if it was Brook's brewing technique or the quality of the beans, but it tasted much better than the coffee they bought themselves.
After tasting Brook's brewed coffee once, Kong Tai gradually grew fond of its flavor.
He used to dislike the taste.
But it was different after Brook combined coffee and tea.
As expected of someone who had brewed coffee his entire life, even after dying and becoming a skeleton, he continued to brew coffee, and he had been doing so for 50 years, reaching a state close to mastery.
It was no wonder that the coffee he brewed tasted better than that of Ah Hua, a professional chef.
Setting down the coffee cup, Kong Tai turned the rocking chair and faced Kuina, who was sitting on the middle cushion, clad in a loose white training uniform.
He saw arcs of blue lightning constantly flickering around her.
These arcs of lightning, as they rubbed against the air, emitted crackling sounds.
The currents, like small snakes, continually swirled around her. Within her body, beneath her skin, more arcs of lightning were entwining around individual cells, discharging repeatedly and stimulating the cells to pulsate, as if the cells were breathing. With the stimulation of the electricity, the cells became stronger and more resilient.
Kuina had possessed the Goro Goro no Mi for nearly two months.
In these two months, her progress had been nothing short of revolutionary.
Setting aside the development of the Goro Goro no Mi, simply by using lightning to refine her body, she had broken through her innate limits. While she couldn't be said to have fully entered the realm of monsters yet, she was very close.
If she were to fight against Kizaru or Aokiji again, she should be able to do so more easily and for a longer duration.
Combined with the unparalleled slashes brought about by the speed of lightning, she might even be able to injure an Admiral.
It was important to note that her swordsmanship talent was actually stronger than Kong Tai's.
With her understanding and dedication to the sword, coupled with the speed provided by lightning and the strength gained from breaking her physical limits.
She could now truly be said to have entered the ranks of the world's elite.
At this point, she could contend not only for the title of the world's strongest female swordswoman but also for the title of the world's strongest swordmaster.
Of course, that was assuming Kong Tai didn't intervene.
After all, in this world, swordsmen primarily relied on talent and strength.
Kong Tai's swordsmanship talent might be slightly weaker compared to Mihawk, Kuina, and Zoro.
However, his strength far surpassed theirs. His spatial physique was constantly and endlessly strengthening. Once he grasped the "Iron Cutting" realm of swordsmanship, becoming the world's strongest swordmaster would merely be a matter of time.
He had known this for a long time.
That was why he had made the promise to Zoro, that he would be waiting for him on the throne of the world's greatest swordsman.
Of course, all of this was predicated on the assumption that there were no other realms above swordsman.
Fortunately, Master Koushirou had never mentioned it to him, and he had not sensed any realm beyond swordsman from Mihawk.
This meant that swordsman was the pinnacle of swordsmanship in this world.
The difference in strength among swordsmen was solely determined by physical condition, combat experience, and Haki.
Among these three aspects, except for combat experience, his Haki should be on par with Mihawk's, and his physical condition was definitely superior to Mihawk's.
Therefore, once his body and Haki had developed further, even if his combat skills and experience couldn't match Mihawk's, he could still completely defeat Mihawk with his strength and Haki, and ascend to the throne of world's number one. He thought of Mihawk, and a smile touched Kong Tai's lips.
That guy might be in Wano Country right now.
After their spar, he had told Mihawk that their next meeting would be in Wano Country, where he would personally take the title of world's strongest from him in the homeland of the legendary swordsman Ryuma.
Mihawk had agreed without much thought.
He was a pure swordsman, dedicating his life to the pursuit of ultimate swordsmanship. He could sense that Kong Tai's body and Haki were not yet at their peak, so he eagerly anticipated another grand battle with him.
He didn't care about being the world's number one; what he cared about was having a swordsmanship partner who could reignite his fighting spirit.
He had been in that position for too long, so long that he could no longer see the path ahead or how to improve. That was why, in the original story, he had searched the world for someone who could surpass him.
And Zoro was merely one of them.
In places unseen by the main protagonists, there were countless other Zoros. However, Zoro was the one with the greatest potential in Mihawk's heart. Coupled with his relationship with Luffy and Shanks, Zoro's own tenacious spirit, and his unyielding will to become the world's greatest, all these factors led to Mihawk's special attention to him.
"What are you thinking about?"
At some point, Kuina had already stood up and was standing in front of Kong Tai.
She didn't mind that Kong Tai had drunk from it; she took the coffee cup from his hand and drank the rest in one gulp.
Kong Tai looked at Kuina, a gentle smile on his face.
He shook his head and said, "Nothing much, just thinking about Mihawk, and then Zoro."
"Zoro."
Kuina put down the coffee cup, reached out to push back her side-swept bangs, and a hint of recollection flashed in her eyes.
"I wonder where that guy is now. With his terrible sense of direction, he might still be lost in some mountain forest."
"Hahaha! Indeed."
Kong Tai laughed heartily, nodding in agreement with Kuina's words.
Then, their eyes met, and they burst into laughter simultaneously.