Revised Chapters 23–24

Revised Chapters 23–24

Seeing Kuina clutching a Bamboo Sword, looking ready to defend the dojo's signboard to the death, Terukawa immediately revealed a mocking smile.

"If you want to protect the dojo's signboard, that's fine. You just need to defeat one of my subordinates."

Hope immediately rose in Kuina's heart. If it wasn't Terukawa himself, then perhaps... there was hope!

"It's a deal."

Kuina gripped her Bamboo Sword, her face filled with resolve.

Against an adult, it wasn't as though she had no chance of winning. They absolutely could not take the dojo's signboard away just like that.

Terukawa looked mockingly at his subordinates. "This young lady is my master's daughter. Strictly speaking, she should be my junior martial sister. Which of you is interested in playing with her?"

"Me, me, me! Boss, leave her to me!"

"Fighting such a little girl is a bit embarrassing, but I like it! Hahahaha!"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost! Aren't you ashamed, a bunch of hulking men fighting a little girl? Leave her to me!"

"..."

Seeing a group of burly desperadoes scrambling to fight her, Kuina's heart immediately tightened.

She could keenly sense that these people were different from the Instructors at the dojo.

They had all truly killed people!

After a round of fighting over it, the winner was a bald man carrying a Monk's Knife.

The bald man looked like a monk, but he was currently wolfing down a chunk of meat still on the bone, grease all over his mouth.

The bald pirate stared at Kuina, his eyes gleaming. "She's a little old, but she's trained. She should have more chew to her!"

Kuina froze. Looking at the bald man, then at the meat on the bone he was devouring, she immediately felt nauseous.

Isshin-ryu swordsmanship prized offense. Kuina raised her Bamboo Sword and sprinted toward the bald brute.

She used a basic footwork technique called Triangle Step, constantly shifting positions to create blind spots in her opponent's vision, waiting for chances to close in and attack.

Smack!

Kuina struck from above, her Bamboo Sword smashing heavily into the bald man's face.

But to Kuina's complete surprise, the bald man did not care about the heavy strike at all.

The moment she realized something was wrong, the bald brute's fist struck her abdomen.

In an instant, Kuina's body involuntarily rolled across the ground several times.

Pfft!

A mouthful of blood spurted out, and Kuina's vision became blurry.

So strong!

Terukawa's subordinate was far too strong. The Bamboo Sword was completely useless.

Panic flooded her mind, and thoughts of giving up and running away washed over her again and again.

But when she thought of the dojo's signboard, and of Mu Yu, who had always persevered no matter how badly Father beat him...

Kuina staggered to her feet again, only to be met with even more merciless blows.

The bald brute did not even use his Monk's Knife. He was completely treating her like a cat playing with a mouse.

The gap between them was simply too great!

Kuina was indeed a genius, but unlike Mu Yu, she did not have a system, and she was truly too young.

Most of her combat experience came from sparring with the dojo's disciples and Instructors. It was completely incomparable to the pirates who lived with blades at their throats.

Knocked down once again, Kuina lay in a pool of blood. She felt as though she was about to die. She did not know whether any bones had broken, but her entire body hurt unbearably.

He was only a minor pirate from the crew. How could he be this strong?

At the height of her despair, Kuina could not help recalling the "battle" that had once nearly made Mu Yu cry.

It did not really count as a battle. It had only been an accident.

But that accident had made Mu Yu "howl" for quite some time.

Aah~~~~ Oww~~~~

The bald brute collapsed to the ground, clutching his crotch with both hands as he rolled around and wailed.

All the male pirates around them felt a chill between their legs.

As expected of Captain Terukawa's junior martial sister. She was truly fierce!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Seizing the opportunity, Kuina struck the bald man's head more than ten times in succession with her Bamboo Sword, knocking him unconscious.

Kuina breathed heavily, her chest heaving. "I won. You can't take Isshin Dojo's signboard!"

Terukawa's ugly face, like a shriveled octopus, reached a whole new level of ugliness.

"Fine. After all, I'm not someone who likes breaking promises."

A brilliant smile immediately appeared on Kuina's face.

She had protected it. She had finally protected the dojo's signboard!

Though covered in wounds, she had ultimately succeeded!

The next second, Kuina discovered in shock that Isshin Dojo's signboard had somehow appeared in Terukawa's hands.

So fast!

Kuina could not see Terukawa's movements at all.

What she found even more unacceptable was that Terukawa, who had promised not to take the dojo's signboard, had actually removed it.

"What are you doing? You promised me! You promised me!"

Kuina panicked.

It was her first time encountering someone as shameless as Terukawa!

"Who said I was going to take the dojo's signboard?"

Terukawa shook his hand, and the signboard shattered into four pieces.

"You... you..."

Already severely injured, Kuina's vision darkened, and her body swayed.

I hate this!

Unfortunately, she was too weak. She was no match for Terukawa at all.

Terukawa said, "Back then, I was truly well cared for by Master Koshiro. To make sure Master Koshiro doesn't dare refuse the challenge, I'll have to trouble my junior martial sister to come with us!"

Kuina looked at him with contempt, but she had no way to resist.

Ten minutes after Kuina was abducted, a figure as fast as lightning flew back to the dojo.