The Resolve to Transcend Her Shackles

Marineford Gion Swordsmanship Dojo

Kuina's fingertips hovered above the golden box; with just a gentle push, she could touch the fruit that would change her destiny.

But her hand remained still.

The fruit lay quietly in the box, its purplish-black veins undulating like blood vessels, as if whispering, or perhaps tempting.

It was like an abyss, luring her into a situation from which there was no turning back.

"If I eat this... will I still be a 'swordsman'?"

Her lips trembled slightly, and her eyes were filled with conflict and hesitation.

"Kuina." Roy's voice rang out at this moment, his tone calm, yet containing a certain irresistible determination.

"Eating the fruit does not mean you have betrayed your original intention of Swordsmanship."

Kuina suddenly looked up, gazing into those calm, ocean-like eyes, as if searching for answers within them.

"What you pursue is never relying on any power, but rather how to win through your own efforts."

Roy said slowly, "Eating Devil Fruit cannot change this!"

"I'm bringing it to you not because you lack diligence, talent, skill, or willpower—but precisely because you possess these qualities!"

"The only thing you lack is the physical strength to sustain you until your very last moment!"

Gion stood to the side, listening silently, her eyes flickering slightly, but she didn't interrupt.

Roy stared intently at Kuina, his expression extremely serious.

"I had considered other methods as well."

"Scientific transformation? I completely disagree."

"'Life Return'? That's just a method of precisely allocating existing life functions through mental focus."

He slowly raised a finger, "It allows you to use your physical abilities at 150%, but it can't make 'physical abilities themselves' 150%."

"For example, if your maximum physical fitness is 1500."

"And those men who are naturally physically strong, like Zoro, have a potential ceiling of 2000 from the very beginning, or even higher!"

Kuina fell silent, her fingers tightening slightly as that familiar resentment welled up inside her again.

You gave it your all, but only managed a draw against them.

"But the opponent only used less than 70% of their strength."

This unfairness isn't because you 'didn't try hard enough,' but because your body, from birth, 'wasn't allowed to' do it!

He looked down at the fruit. "What you are born with cannot be changed, so I just want to help you reclaim the 'starting line' that rightfully belongs to you."

Kuina's eyes trembled slightly, her lips parted slightly, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't say anything.

She looked at the Devil Fruit in the box, then at Roy, and finally asked in a low voice, "But if... I use this power to defeat someone, will it still count as a victory for me?"

Roy calmly replied, "Of course it counts!"

"Because what I gave you wasn't a cheat code that guarantees instant victory."

"The Vampire Fruit will not enhance your swordsmanship, nor will it automatically fight for you."

"It ensures that in every second of the clash of swords, you won't collapse prematurely due to a natural disparity in physical strength!"

"You still need to hone your swordsmanship step by step, and ultimately achieve victory with your own sword."

"This time, however, there's no need to be forced to stop because of the absurd excuse of 'insufficient stamina' that prevents me from continuing to use my Swordsmanship!"

Roy approached quietly, closed the box, but did not take it away.

He looked into her eyes, his tone softening. "It's not your end, not your answer, it's just the starting point for you to achieve 'fairness'."

"Eat it, and you can still choose not to use the fruit's power; you can still fight using only your swordsmanship."

"But when you truly face those formidable enemies, when you must persevere to the very last moment—"

It will make you qualified to 'persist'!

"The way of the Swordsmanship you must uphold has never been corrupted, because the hand that holds the sword has never let go."

Kuina stared at him, as if she were truly understanding the meaning of the fruit for the first time.

Her fingertips finally touched the lid of the box, her fingertips resting on the cold metal surface, gently caressing it.

"It merely grants me the qualification to 'compete fairly' with male swordsmen..."

She murmured to herself, and in her eyes, the long-suppressed obsession seemed to have finally been loosened a little.

That was not submission, much less surrender.

Instead, it takes a stronger stance to reach heights that "pure swordsmanship" cannot achieve.

Roy didn't urge him, but stood quietly to the side, as if watching for a moment when a new chapter in their destiny was about to begin.

Gion looked at Kuina and said softly, "Kuina, this is your choice."

A gentle evening breeze swept through the temple, ruffling the damp strands of hair on her forehead and stirring the long-held obsession in her heart.

Kuina slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and finally—opened her eyes. At that moment, there was no longer any confusion in them.

"I see."

Her tone was low but firm, as if she had compressed all the obsession she had held for the past decade into a single sentence:

"If this allows me to start on equal footing with them, and truly climb to the top as a 'swordsman'..."

"Then I accept!"

Without further hesitation, she reached out and grabbed the eerie yet serene fruit.

The moment I took a bite, the air seemed to freeze.

The fruit pulp was cold and thick, and an indescribable energy instantly exploded within her body!

Kuina jolted, knelt on one knee, Wado Ichimonji she was gripping into the floor.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, then slowly turned deep red, like cold-blooded eyes under the moon, carrying an extraordinary calmness.

Her pale face, which was originally soaked with sweat, was now even whiter and more translucent, as if bathed in moonlight, exuding a kind of eerie and serene beauty.

A faint throbbing sensation stirred beneath his back, as if some force was stirring within him, yet the complete bat wings never truly materialized.

That restraint was as if even the will of the Devil Fruit had been tamed by her "Will of the Sword"!

Gion instinctively gripped Kompira tightly, but upon seeing Kuina at this moment, her fingers slowly loosened.

"She was not consumed by the will of the fruit..."

Roy simply watched her retreating figure quietly. "Very good... it seems the fruit also acknowledges your 'sword intent'."

Kuina slowly rose, looking down at her fair yet more powerful hands, clearly sensing an unprecedented vitality in her blood—

Physical strength, perception, recovery ability, and even every heartbeat were crystal clear.

It was as if all the heavy shackles had been loosened at that moment.

She suddenly looked up, her bloodshot eyes locking onto Gion, her voice still clear, "Gion, let's do it again!"

Gion was slightly taken aback. In that moment, she seemed to see no longer the confused girl she once was, but a true swordsman about to break through the darkness.

She smiled gently, drew her Kompira, and as the golden light shimmered, her fighting spirit rose again. "As you wish."

The next moment, the two figures crossed paths again!

This time, Kuina's swordplay was no longer just about speed and accuracy.

Rather, within its sharpness lies an enduring fighting spirit and an unwavering conviction!

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