Forging

The next day, in the courtyard of the Isshin Dojo.

Koshiro, with a belatedly aware Kuina, once again came to the courtyard where Louis was staying to express his gratitude.

"Thank you very much for saving Kuina's life!!"

In front of the courtyard, Koshiro and Kuina bowed to Louis and the others, their eyes filled with deep gratitude.

Louis smiled and helped them up again, "It's nothing, didn't you also host us?"

"That's different," Koshiro gently shook his head, his face filled with lingering fear.

His mind had been almost blank at the time, only thinking about taking Kuina for treatment. It wasn't until Kuina was treated and his reason returned that he realized how serious Kuina's condition was.

With the medical conditions at the Isshin Dojo or Frost Moon Village, it was impossible to treat Kuina. In other words, without Louis, Kuina would not have been saved.

At that time, he would have experienced the pain of losing his daughter, after losing his wife and father.

Compared to that, his act of hosting Louis and the others was insignificant compared to Louis's kindness.

Behind Louis, Uta watched the scene unfold with a bewildered and confused expression.

She quietly tugged on Yelena's sleeve, who was sitting beside her, and whispered, "Were pirates attacking here last night while I was asleep?"

Yelena shook her head and leaned over to briefly explain the events.

"Kuina fell down the stairs last night, and Louis saved her..."

"Louis is so amazing!" That was Uta's first reaction.

The next moment, she seemed to think of something and looked up to meet Yelena's red eyes, "Yelena, you must have been scared and in pain when you fell off the cliff with prey when you were little!"

Yelena smiled and said, "It was too long ago, I've already forgotten."

"..."

Just then, a short man with green hair, wearing a shirt with the Shimotsuki Family Crest, pushed open the courtyard gate.

He carried two well-made katanas, his eyes wide, and he shouted urgently, "Kuina! I heard you fell down the stairs, are you okay?"

Everyone turned their heads at the sound, looking towards the source of the voice.

Koshiro was slightly stunned when he saw Zoro.

Kuina's eyes widened, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

Saying that, he spotted Kuina and rushed forward, grabbing Kuina's shoulders and shaking her back and forth, sweating profusely in his anxiety.

"How is it, are you injured?"

"You still have to become the World's Greatest Swordsman with me!"

However, Kuina's face was filled with shock, "Zoro, how did you find me here!"

Kuina didn't understand. Zoro, who usually took half a day to find his way home when he went out, had found her so quickly today. She knew that she and her father had only arrived here a few minutes ago!

Upon hearing this, Zoro immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "That's great, you're alright!"

"I just heard that last night you were all over..."

Suddenly, Zoro realized that Kuina's words were not quite right, and he became furious, "What do you mean by that?!"

Kuina crossed her arms and turned her head away.

Just then, Koshiro smiled and patted Zoro's head, "We have a guest, you mustn't be rude."

Zoro froze, and only then did he notice the three strangers beside them, one man and two women.

The man in the lead had a pair of white wings growing from his back, and the slightly taller white-haired woman had a pair of black horns on her head.

As for the remaining one, he ignored her.

This strange combination left Zoro a bit confused. It was the first time he had encountered someone with extra parts growing on their body.

After calming his disciple, Koshiro smiled and said to Louis, "Lord Louis, regarding the sword-forging materials left behind by my father."

"I have a proposal."

"Please speak!" Louis looked at the smiling Koshiro, and a guess emerged in his heart.

But at the same time, he also felt a considerable amount of doubt.

Koshiro pushed up his transparent glasses and replied unhurriedly, "How about I forge a weapon for Miss Yelena?"

"Father can also forge swords?!" Louis and the others didn't have much of a reaction, but Kuina's face was already filled with astonishment.

As far as she could remember, she had only heard that her grandfather Kozaburo was a top swordsmith, and that the Great Grade Swords and First Generation were made by him.

But after Kuina was born, she had rarely seen her grandfather forge swords. The two swords Zoro held were among his few works.

But in over ten years, she had never heard that her father could also forge swords.

And today, she actually heard from her father that he was also a swordsmith, which greatly astonished Kuina.

Louis heard this and thought, as expected. The proposal he was referring to was for him to forge it himself.

Koshiro looked down at his daughter, his eyes filled with a touch of nostalgia.

"Before you were born, I also followed my father to learn sword forging. However, my talent for sword forging, like my talent for swordsmanship, was not outstanding."

"For many years, I couldn't forge a decent blade, and was eventually kicked out of the forge by my father."

"Then I'll have to trouble you..." Louis smiled.

Hearing this, Kuina's face showed some embarrassment, and she quietly reminded Koshiro, "You yourself said your skill isn't good, so how can you take on this task?"

In response, Koshiro's face showed a hint of seriousness, "A sword is different from heavy weapons like hammers. I can still forge heavy weapons."

Then, Koshiro explained that the forging process for a typical katana is more complex, involving the geometry of the blade's edge, sharpness, the toughness of the blade, its curvature, and inscriptions.

And even more complex fittings...

For heavy weapons like hammers and kanabos, they just need to be repeatedly forged into shape, molded according to the user's needs.

Heavy weapons don't need to consider the weapon's curves or sharpness; they only require weight.

Simply put, as long as the material quality is good, even a factory that can make anchors could produce a decent heavy weapon.

Kuina listened with doubt, then looked at Koshiro's somewhat thin body with suspicion, and said nothing.

Seeing this, Koshiro guessed Kuina's thoughts and said with a smile.

"Kuina, don't judge a swordsman's strength by his physique!"

"The pure steel barbells I used during my training back then were far beyond your imagination in size and weight..." Koshiro's eyes were very serious, without a trace of falsehood.

After speaking, he turned to Louis and his group again, "Please, Lord Louis, stay for a few more days. I will forge a satisfactory weapon for Miss Yelena."