Let's just say, being directionally challenged is an unstoppable force.
Following Zoro around the village for half an hour, Shano's head was spinning. He was about to lose his mind, and in the end, they had to ask a local uncle for directions to finally find the entrance to the Ichiryu Dojo.
To Shano's surprise, Kyoshiro was already waiting at the entrance.
"Why so late?"
The middle-aged man, dressed in a kimono and wearing black-framed glasses, looked at Zoro with a smile.
"Must be your fault, huh? You led Shano-dono around in circles, huh?"
Zoro's face turned red.
He could lie in front of Shano, but he couldn't do that in front of his teacher.
Muttering under his breath, Zoro turned away, "Geez, it's so annoying. Anyway, I brought him here, so that's good enough! I'm off—don't call me for dinner, I still have extra practice to finish!"
Kyoshiro watched Zoro leave, then turned and walked into the dojo.
"Dinner's almost ready, Shano-dono. I'm sure you haven't eaten yet, so please join us."
"Sure, I am a bit hungry. Thank you for the invitation."
Shano followed him, curious, "Kyoshiro-dono, how do you know my name? Did Purei come back from the clinic already?"
"Purei?"
Kyoshiro raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "No, I only heard that he's back but haven't seen him yet. By the way, I need to thank you for him. His trip to Shallow Cherry Island turned out much more dangerous than expected. If it weren't for you, he might not have made it back alive."
"Then, how do you know so much…"
Kyoshiro smiled and replied, "Well, Shano-dono, you've been quite famous recently."
He took a few newspapers from a shelf and handed them to Shano, still grinning. "After you see this, you'll understand."
Newspapers?
Shano took them, having been on the sea for the past few days, so he hadn't come across any news birds.
Or maybe the news birds hadn't noticed their little ship as it flew overhead.
"Here, have some tea." Kyoshiro poured a cup of green tea and handed it to Shano.
"Thanks."
Both sat on tatami mats across from each other, with a low table between them. Shano spread out the newspapers and began reading.
The papers were all from local East Sea presses, and the headlines were unmistakable. Every single one was about the Shallow Cherry Island incident.
"Frost Moon Village is isolated from the world, so aside from me, who subscribes to the newspapers, not many know about your deeds here." Kyoshiro chuckled, "But it's different on the other islands. You've become the focus of many places nearby. To say you're the brightest rising star of the East Sea wouldn't be an exaggeration."
Kyoshiro wasn't exaggerating in the least.
From Shano's dominating performance on his way to the finals to the series of unexpected events in the dojo;
Then there were the Seven Dojo Masters being completely turned into puppets, and the mastermind behind it all—Sakurazuka, the deceased president…
This bizarre story was enough to catch anyone's attention. In this desperate situation, a young swordsman stepped forward, single-handedly destroying the conspiracy.
After finding the secret treasure room of the mastermind, he took nothing for himself, instead distributing the massive fortune to all the victims.
Before dawn, the young swordsman quietly left, taking no credit for his actions.
This was the classic mold of a heroic young man from traditional folk tales, so it was no surprise the story blew up.
Several East Sea local papers had reported on it non-stop for several days, with sales skyrocketing.
Even the World Economic News was stirred up, and although it wasn't on the front page, it took up a sizable portion of the second page.
The result?
The title of "The Strongest Young Swordsman of the East Sea" had already quietly spread across much of the East Sea.
"This… this is too much praise…"
Shano held the paper, his face reddening.
Most of the time, the reporters weren't present, so the articles were written based on testimonies afterward, which meant many details were a bit off.
For example, he had left behind two million beri in the secret room, but the four million beri from the Roguetown vault was still in his possession—no way he was that noble!
Purei's involvement was completely ignored, but that was more of a protective measure, which was a good thing in a way.
After all, as the son of the deceased mastermind, Sakurazuka, his identity was sensitive.
But the most glaring issue was…
"I'm being called the strongest swordsman?!!"
Swordsman?
Are you kidding me?
His sword skills were barely passable, and he'd won the final victory with his brute strength, punching through everything!
"Ugh…"
Shano scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
What if people start challenging him to sword fights now, or want his advice?
But, in a way, this outcome wasn't surprising.
After all, when the real battle began, most people had fled the dojo. The entire process of his rise through the sword tournament had been recorded.
A genius swordsman who made it to the finals with a perfect record, only to defeat a terrifying Devil Fruit user…
If not by sword skills, what else could it have been?
Very logical.
Even the front-page photos of the newspapers showed him holding a bamboo sword, standing proudly on a wooden platform, victorious, surrounded by astonished spectators.
At a glance, he did look a bit like that unbeatable young swordsman who'd just come down from the mountains.
"Geez."
Shano sighed heavily.
Kyoshiro, however, misunderstood. He chuckled, "Fame has its price, huh? Looks like you're the humble type, Shano-dono. Otherwise, why would you have quietly left after everything was over?"
He didn't hide his admiration, which made Shano feel even more awkward.
He feared the next words would be something like, "I'd like to see your sword skills" or "Dinner's almost ready, how about we have a friendly spar?"
Fortunately, the door opened, and someone came in, saving him from his discomfort.
"Father."
A girl with short black hair and a cold expression stood at the door, speaking calmly, "Granny said dinner's ready, and she asked me to call you. We should go now… huh?!"
She suddenly shrieked, her eyes landing on Shano, and her face lit up with joy. "Shano-dono! How did you end up here?!"
Before Shano could react, she ran over and grabbed his arm, checking him over, "Is this a dream? No! It's really you!"
Shano's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Kyoshiro.
"This is my daughter, Kuina. Apologies, she doesn't usually act this way."
Kyoshiro laughed. "She's like this because she finally got to see you in person. By the way, she's a big fan of yours. She often reads the newspapers I subscribe to, and she's been obsessed with your story lately, reading it over and over."