"I lost again."
Koshiro sheathed his sword and stood there. He bore no obvious injuries, only a tear in the clothing over his chest. Clearly, that was why he had conceded.
"You've already improved greatly. Look!"
Mo Xingchen smiled and turned slightly, showing Koshiro the faint little tear in the clothing beneath his ribs.
Over the past few days, since Kozaburo needed to research how to forge swords using the materials, Koshiro had invited Mo Xingchen and William to stay at his home. Every day, he would seek Mo Xingchen out for a practical sparring session.
Mo Xingchen could only go along with his host's arrangements. Of course, he also wanted to see just how far a Great Swordsman was from the top experts of this world.
On their first day of full-force sparring by the sea, Mo Xingchen discovered that an ordinary Great Swordsman was roughly on par with a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters. With further improvements in swordsmanship and technique, they should eventually be comparable to an Admiral, using Hawk Eyes in the later stages as a reference.
However, something puzzled Mo Xingchen. The swordsmen of this world seemed to have especially crude techniques, and their strength was relatively scattered. They always loved slashing out massive yet useless Sword Qi. He did not know whether it was simply because he had not seen enough Great Swordsmen.
Why did he say that? Because Sword Qi flew far too slowly against opponents of equal strength! He could not understand why attacks that could clearly be avoided with a quick dodge had to be blocked head-on in Oda's drawings, as though that somehow looked cooler.
So, over the following days, Mo Xingchen was effectively teaching Koshiro the proper techniques of swordsmanship. First, he marked out a five-meter-by-five-meter square in the courtyard and forbade Flying Slashes. Any injury to a vital area or stepping outside the boundary meant defeat.
Such sparring required them to focus their strength on their blades as much as possible, while Mo Xingchen also demanded that they stop short of causing real harm. Usually, being able to stop at will was only possible when the strong fought the weak. But for two people of roughly equal strength, winning while still holding back was a double test of one's control over strength and technique.
Koshiro truly was a gifted swordsman. After all, changing habits built up over decades was no easy matter. At first, he could only last a few minutes before stepping out of the boundary to avoid an attack and losing. Now, he had reached the point where he could cut Mo Xingchen.
His swordsmanship had improved at a remarkable pace. Mo Xingchen believed that before long, once Koshiro corrected the flaws in his swordsmanship, he would be able to close the gap between them indefinitely.
"Sir, your guidance these past few days has benefited me greatly. However, I have a question that I hope you can answer."
"Go ahead."
"You know that I have a daughter. My wife has always been frail, and I do not wish for her to bear another child. But the swordsmanship inheritance of the Shimotsuki family... Sir, do you think a girl can become a Great Swordsman, or even surpass one?"
Mo Xingchen put away his swords, walked over to the entrance, and sat down. He drank the tea that had been prepared beforehand, waved Koshiro over to rest, and said with a smile while holding his teacup:
"First, whether one can surpass a Great Swordsman has nothing to do with being male or female. It depends on talent and aptitude. Second, there are countless female masters of swordsmanship in my homeland. Setting distant examples aside, even out on the seas, there is no shortage of powerful women. Why do you have such doubts?"
Koshiro sat across from him at the tea table, poured himself a cup of tea, drained it in one gulp, and said:
"Without exceptional talent, women are naturally weaker than men. In swordsmanship, strength and technique are both indispensable. Without strength, one can only become all style and no substance."
"Koshiro, you need not worry too much. Even if your child is a girl, she will still carry the bloodline of your Shimotsuki family. Her talent should not be weak. Strength can be trained from childhood. And even if she is lacking somewhat in strength, so what?
"As long as she cultivates according to your family's inheritance and studies according to my theories, putting more effort into the Soft Sword Realm, becoming a Great Swordsman should not be too difficult. Surely you are not expecting your child to become the world's greatest swordsman?
"I mean, you cannot even accomplish it yourself, yet you expect your child to do so. That is not the way a responsible father should think."
Koshiro pondered for a moment, and his furrowed brow relaxed. Mo Xingchen was right. With his own abilities, even if she was a girl, it would only take a little longer. Raising her into a Great Swordsman would not be difficult. As for surpassing a Great Swordsman, even he might not be able to do that! He smiled and sighed.
"Your lesson is well taken, sir. I was too stubborn and fixated."
Mo Xingchen smiled and shook his head without saying anything more. He merely raised his cup, inviting Koshiro to drink tea.
Just as the two were chatting over tea, Kozaburo came over holding a sheet of paper.
"Mr. Mo, these are the materials needed for forging the swords. I have marked quite a few rare ores and metals that we do not have enough of in stock. You may have to find a way to obtain those yourself."
Mo Xingchen took the list of materials and glanced over it. He had never even heard of most of them, and many were marked in red.
"Don't worry about that. I'll contact Headquarters and have them gather the materials and send them over as soon as possible. I'll have to trouble you with the sword forging."
Mo Xingchen then pulled a Den Den Mushi from his clothes, handed it to Koshiro, and instructed him:
"Keep this. If you encounter any difficulties or have questions about swordsmanship, it will make it easier to contact me. My subordinates and I have troubled you greatly these past few days. Please forgive me, but I still have duties to attend to, so I cannot stay any longer. Farewell!"
"May your martial fortunes prosper!"
Koshiro and his father rose and bowed. Mo Xingchen clasped his hands in return, flicked his coat, and turned to leave with William in a carefree manner.
Watching the two leave, Koshiro could not help but sigh.
"Sir truly is a hero!"
"Boy, work hard! Follow in his footsteps and cultivate toward surpassing a Great Swordsman!"
After leaving Koshiro's home, William asked on the way back to the warship:
"Colonel, what mission are we carrying out next?"
"We're going to Windmill Village to see my little sister."
"..."
You really aren't afraid that Mr. Koshiro will come charging out with a sword to hack you down! William rolled his eyes and thought to himself.
The warship slowly set off, leaving the dock and heading toward Windmill Village.
Along the way, Mo Xingchen called Vice Admiral Tsuru. By acting cute and pleading shamelessly, he asked her to help collect the sword-forging materials. Even Marine Headquarters had no stock of some rare metals. After all, the Marines were not pirates; they would not keep useless things in their warehouses as treasure.
Fleet Admiral Kong would have to swallow his pride and ask the Gorosei to get some from the Celestial Dragons. Otherwise, if Mo Xingchen had to search the entire world for materials, who knew when his swords would finally be forged.
Thanks to the warship's mobility, they arrived at Windmill Village in less than a day.
Since Makino's tavern was right by the harbor, there was no need to leave anyone behind to guard the warship. Mo Xingchen waved his hand grandly.
"Brothers, let's go! Drinks are on me today!"
"Roar!"
The group charged toward the tavern in grand fashion.
Before you continue