To Me, That's the Kind of Person He Is

PS: New book, seeking collections, recommendations, and clicks.

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PS2: Thanks to "Fleeting Years Sing a Sad Song" and "Wen Shu He Wei" for the tips!

"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo's mouth twitched. He never expected Bai Ina to utter such a sentence.

Upon hearing this, a flash of astonishment crossed Zongcilang's eyes, but then he suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha—" His laughter was loud, even bordering on manic, and the moment the laughter ceased, his gaze shifted. The lazy aura vanished completely, and a blood-red hue seemed to appear within his pupils.

"But I still want to try..."

Clang—

Almost the moment the words fell, the scabbard of the long sword at Zongcilang's waist flew out, striking directly at Bai Ina.

With his back to Zongcilang, Bai Ina's expression darkened. A terrifying and icy killing intent surged from his body, causing Hijikata Yoshitoyo, who stood before him, to shiver and instinctively take a step back.

Bai Ina's long sword was already in his hand, gripped in a reverse hold, before anyone could notice. Without even turning his head, he swung behind him. Accompanied by a crisp "clang," the incoming scabbard was knocked away.

Whoosh—

Almost the instant the scabbard was deflected, Zongcilang's figure appeared behind Bai Ina, a fanatical and bloodthirsty smile on his face, his long sword striking at Bai Ina like a long dragon.

Bai Ina's long sword was half-drawn; his right hand held the hilt, while his left hand held the scabbard. Despite not turning around, the half-drawn blade blocked Zongcilang's sword tip with pinpoint accuracy. The blade bent instantly, and in that moment, Bai Ina shifted his body slightly, bypassing the long sword.

Accompanied by a harsh, grating sound of metal on metal and a spray of sparks, Bai Ina's long sword fully unsheathed, locking onto the crossguard of Zongcilang's blade. In the blink of an eye, the scabbard in his left hand slammed into Zongcilang's Adam's apple.

Crack—

A crisp sound rang out. Zongcilang's body stumbled back several steps, clutching his throat as he dry-heaved.

"Zongcilang—"

Hijikata Yoshitoyo hurriedly stepped forward to support him, asking with concern: "Are you alright? How are you feeling!"

Zongcilang dry-heaved for a long while before waving a hand at Hijikata Yoshitoyo: "Cough, cough... I'm fine... cough..." After saying this, he looked up at Bai Ina, his expression returning to that lazy look, as if speaking to Bai Ina... or perhaps to himself: "As expected, I'm no match for you..."

With those words, he turned and walked away.

"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo blinked in confusion, not understanding what Zongcilang meant.

"Can you continue leading the way?"

Bai Ina's icy voice carried a hint of impatience.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo's mouth twitched again. He found that this brat was truly... in need of some discipline; he was just too impolite.

However, considering the brat's strength, Hijikata Yoshitoyo wisely chose to continue leading the way... otherwise, it was hard to say who would end up disciplining whom.

The dojo was not large. After passing through a small courtyard filled with playing children, Hijikata Yoshitoyo brought Bai Ina to a room in the back and knocked on the door: "Teacher Kubo, the... boy with the sword is awake. He wants to see how his companion is doing."

"Hehe, come right in!"

Teacher Kubo's gentle voice came from inside the room. Hijikata Yoshitoyo replied and pushed the door open to enter, while Bai Ina instinctively tightened his grip on his sword before following.

A swordsman's intuition allowed Bai Ina to sense that the man in the room was very strong. Though this intuition was ethereal, it never lied. Just as he had previously sensed two Sea King Beasts approaching, or Zongcilang sensing his strength—these were the unique intuitions of those who had practiced the sword for a long time.

Much like in the original story, where Zoro always took on the duty of a lookout; often, when Zoro was resting with his eyes closed, he would detect approaching ships.

Back to the point, it was precisely because he trusted this intuition that Bai Ina had instinctively tightened his grip on his scabbard at the door.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Teacher Kubo asked after giving Bai Ina a gentle smile.

A flash of surprise crossed Bai Ina's eyes; he hadn't expected someone with such great strength to have such a gentle personality. However, he didn't dwell on it and nodded: "Thanks to your care, I am no longer in any danger!" After answering Teacher Kubo's question concisely, Bai Ina walked straight to the bedside to look at Loxi.

Loxi's complexion had returned to normal, with only a hint of fatigue remaining on his rosy cheeks. Reaching out to touch his forehead, he found the body temperature had also normalized, which caused the tightly wound string in Bai Ina's heart to finally loosen.

"Thank you!"

Bai Ina's expression softened, and his tone became much gentler than before.

"It's nothing, just a small favor."

Teacher Kubo looked at Bai Ina with a trace of pity. Although he didn't know what this child had been through, the heavy scent of blood on him—far beyond what someone his age should have—along with the icy aura he instinctively radiated and his distrust of strangers, told him that this child's childhood must have been very difficult.

Bai Ina saw the pity in Teacher Kubo's eyes, and a warmth rose in his heart. However, he immediately turned cold and said: "The gate, the medical expenses, and the food costs—I will find a way to pay them back! Once Loxi's condition improves, I will take him and leave..." In this world, there was never any concern without a reason; it was like that in his original world.

It was even more so in this One Piece world where the strong were respected. Therefore, from the day he arrived in this world, Bai Ina had told himself never to trust anyone easily. Because any wrong decision could plunge him into a crisis.

Back then, it was because he hadn't tasted fruit juice in a very long time that he couldn't resist the temptation and drank the beverage Kudri had given to Eiffel. That experience made Bai Ina realize the cruelty of the world. If he didn't want to die silently in this cruel world, he had to become even more cruel than the world itself...

Teacher Kubo looked at Bai Ina for a long time, then suddenly reached out and placed his hand on Bai Ina's head.

This sudden movement made Bai Ina's body tense up instantly. He instinctively prepared to retreat, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment.

"Do you want to stay here?"

Teacher Kubo's gentle voice reached Bai Ina's ears, causing his movements to pause.

"Humans are social creatures; only when one exists in the memories of others can they truly be considered alive. When no one else remembers you, how is that any different from being dead? Stay here, and you will experience a life you have never known before. There may be bumps in the road, there may be hardships, but you will have many companions to face them with you. That is what a truly happy life is."

Bai Ina did not speak upon hearing this. He raised his hand to brush away Kubo Yamato's palm, looked directly into Kubo Yamato's gentle gaze, and said slowly, "I have never envied the lives of others; to me, that is happiness in itself. Furthermore, I have no need for the troublesome and incomplete relationships known as companions."

Kubo Yamato's smile remained unchanged at these words. "If that is the case, then what is he in your eyes?" Although he did not specify who this 'he' was, everyone present knew that 'he' referred to Loxi, who lay on the bed.

Bai Ina fell silent. His gaze drifted to Loxi's face on the bed, and after a long, long time, he said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "If there is someone by my side, even if there are no words exchanged, just having them there is a form of happiness to me. Even if I were to lose everything the very next second, as long as I look around and see someone within my sight... then I would not be sad, nor would I despair. No matter when, I would know that I... am not alone."

At this point, Bai Ina paused. He shifted his gaze from Loxi's face to Kubo Yamato. "And Loxi is simply that kind of person to me, nothing more!" Having said this, Bai Ina turned and walked out of the room without looking back.

Inside the room, Kubo Yamato watched Bai Ina's retreating figure, his expression growing even gentler.

"A very roundabout way of expressing yourself, but haven't you realized it? Isn't what you just described exactly what a companion is? What do you think, Loxi..."

The moment his words fell, tears gushed from Loxi's eyes like a collapsed dam. These were... tears of joy!!!