Anxious

One day later.

"Sir, we've arrived!!"

"Mhm, I see it already!"

Shimotsuki Village is a village that doesn't belong to any country. It's only been thirteen years since it was founded. Thirteen years ago, this place had no name; it was only inhabited by some villagers who had settled there to escape hardship.

Later, Koshiro Shimotsuki came here and opened the Shimotsuki Dojo, and thus the village got its name: Shimotsuki Village.

No wonder Smoker didn't know this village. Shimotsuki Village had no contact with the Marines. After all, there was a great Sword Saint in this village; the combined pirates of the East Blue probably weren't enough for him to cut down.

But merchants knew this village because Shimotsuki Village had a large demand for grain and needed to cooperate with many businesses.

As for why Shimotsuki Village needed so much grain...

They were supporting a Revolutionary Army member, so of course they needed grain!

"Just drop us off here!" Seeing the ship was about to dock, Zhou Qi said to the captain, "We'll go the rest of the way ourselves!"

"Yes!" The captain nodded. "Shall I lower the small boat??"

"No need!" Zhou Qi said as he walked to the edge of the deck. Then, with one step, a Space Gate appeared beneath his feet.

On the other side of the gate was a floor covered in colorful little stones.

With another step, another Space Gate opened.

It was the same floor.

Tashigi followed, holding her sword, and looked curiously at the floor beneath her feet. "You can use it like this?"

"Of course..." Zhou Qi smiled. "When I first got this ability, I thought of so many cool ways to use it! I even bought a dry ice machine, I'll turn it on now!"

"Dry ice?" Tashigi blinked. Just then, Zhou Qi reached into the Space Gate, and with a click, cool mist began to drift from the floor beneath their feet.

Walking through it felt like drifting through clouds, as if in a fairyland.

"This..." Tashigi blinked. "Does this dry ice have any special effect?"

"It's cool!" Zhou Qi explained matter-of-factly. "Don't you think it looks like we're flying through the clouds? Being strong is temporary, but being cool is for a lifetime!"

"Uh..." Tashigi scratched her head. How to put it? It did look nice, but it didn't seem to have any practical purpose.

But she was a girl, after all, and she wouldn't refuse beautiful things. She just asked curiously, "But won't we be unable to see the path ahead? What if we miss a step!"

"I've practiced this move for a long time, there won't be any problems!" Zhou Qi said. "Don't worry!"

"Oh!" Even so, Tashigi walked very cautiously, afraid of missing a step.

But as she walked, she gradually got used to it. After all, 12 square meters was quite large.

The two descended from the ship, first landing on the sea surface, and then step by step, they arrived on the beach.

"This is fun..." When her feet finally touched the sand, she realized the cloud effect had ended.

She was a little reluctant. After all, how many people could walk on water?

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future!" Zhou Qi smiled. "Later, I'll buy a motorcycle, and we can race on the sea..."

"Ah, you can do that too?" Tashigi asked excitedly.

"Not yet!" Zhou Qi shook his head. 12 square meters was fine for walking, but for racing, they'd be out of the gate in an instant, and he wouldn't have time to react.

He needed to practice more, or wait until the gate's area expanded.

"Okay!" Tashigi nodded, but her heart had already begun to look forward to it.

"Who are you people!" a voice suddenly rang out from the end of the beach. Then, a young boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, wearing Shimotsuki Dojo attire and holding a bamboo sword, emerged from the woods.

The next second, he saw Tashigi and instantly raised his hand in surprise. "Ku, Kuina?"

"Huh? Are you calling me?" Tashigi blinked. The boy had already rushed over. "Big Sister, where have you been these past two years? I knew you couldn't have died!"

"Huh?" Tashigi quickly hid behind Zhou Qi. "Qi-kun, what is he talking about?"

"It seems you look a lot like someone he knows?" Zhou Qi smiled.

"Look a lot like?" The boy was stunned. He quickly took two steps back and looked at Tashigi again.

She did look very similar, but there were still significant differences, especially in her aura.

Kuina, due to years of sword training, had a sharp aura, but due to her father's lack of faith in her, this sharpness was tinged with a bit of suppression.

As for Tashigi?

Even though she wasn't near-sighted yet and didn't wear glasses, her clumsy nature was innate. She had a somewhat confused aura.

"You're not Kuina?" The boy seemed unable to accept it.

"I really don't know anyone named Kuina. My name is Tashigi, and I'm from Loguetown..."

"We are residents of Loguetown. We heard that someone here teaches swordsmanship, and we are both seekers of the way of the sword, so we've come to become disciples..." Zhou Qi interrupted Tashigi. After all, Koshiro was a Revolutionary Army member, and it would be inconvenient if he knew Tashigi was a Marine.

"Ah, yes..." Tashigi didn't know why Zhou Qi interrupted her, but since Zhou Qi said so, she naturally followed his lead.

"Is that so!" The boy looked a little dejected, as the visitors were not Kuina. "Follow me, I'll take you to see Master..."

He turned and walked away as he spoke.

"Then I'll trouble you!" Zhou Qi nodded and asked, "By the way, I still don't know your name?"

"My name is Boron. I'm a villager from Shimotsuki Village and an apprentice at the Shimotsuki Dojo..." the young man said.

"How long have you been studying swordsmanship?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Uh, about seven years!" Boron replied, "I became a disciple at nine and I'm sixteen this year!"

"Then you must be very strong!" Zhou Qi exclaimed.

"Not at all!" Boron quickly waved his hands. "My strength is nowhere in the dojo. I haven't even completed the most basic suburi training!"

"Ah?" Zhou Qi was surprised. "Suburi, for nine years?"

"Yes!" Boron's tone became a little dejected as he spoke. "Maybe I'm just not suited for swordsmanship. After practicing for so many years, my strength in the dojo is still at the bottom. After the New Year, I'll be going home. This is my last year at the dojo!"

Zhou Qi and Tashigi fell silent, not knowing how to comfort him.

Tashigi was fine, but Zhou Qi knew she had good talent. As for himself...

Could he make a name for himself in swordsmanship?

Even though he had Space Threads that could cut through anything, his love for swordsmanship was also genuine.

What if, like this Boron, he couldn't achieve anything after eight or nine years...

"I believe in you!" Tashigi seemed to sense something and gently took Zhou Qi's hand.

Zhou Qi's heart fluttered slightly. He didn't even believe in himself!

At that moment, he didn't have the mood to appreciate how soft the girl's hand was. He was more worried about his uncertain future.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them could already see the Shimotsuki Dojo.

"You wait here for a moment, I'll go tell my master!"

"Thank you!" Seeing Zhou Qi still looking down and not speaking, Tashigi had to speak up and thank him.

"N-no problem!" The country boy blushed instantly and quickly ran into the dojo.

Soon, Koshiro emerged from the dojo. He wore glasses, had his hair in a ponytail, and was dressed in a simple, unadorned robe. He had an ordinary aura, like a village teacher.

Ignoring the unremarkable Zhou Qi, he looked directly at Tashigi, his eyes trembling slightly.

She looked so much like Kuina grown up!

Unfortunately, he knew Kuina was truly dead. He had buried her with his own hands.

She was just a similar flower.

Sighing, Koshiro calmed himself and said, "Are you here to become my disciple? Come in!"