To Me, He Was That Kind of Person

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"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo's mouth twitched. He had never expected Bai Ina to come out with something like that.

At her words, a flicker of astonishment crossed Zongcilang's eyes, but then he suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha—" His laughter was loud, almost crazed. The moment it died away, his expression changed. His lazy air vanished completely, and a hint of red seemed to appear in his pupils.

"But I still want to try..."

Clang—

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the scabbard of the long sword in Zongcilang's arms shot out, hurtling straight at Bai Ina.

Bai Ina, with his back to Zongcilang, darkened his expression. A terrifying, icy killing intent surged from him, making Hijikata Yoshitoyo in front of him shudder and instinctively take a step back.

At some point, Bai Ina had drawn the long sword at his waist and held it in reverse. Without even turning around, he swung it behind him. With a crisp clang, the oncoming scabbard was knocked flying.

Whoosh—

Almost as soon as the scabbard was knocked away, Zongcilang appeared behind Bai Ina, wearing a frenzied, bloodthirsty grin. The long sword in his hand shot toward Bai Ina like a dragon.

Bai Ina's long sword was only halfway out of its scabbard. He held the hilt in his right hand and the scabbard in his left. Though he hadn't turned around, the half-drawn blade accurately blocked Zongcilang's sword tip. The blade bent at once, and in that instant Bai Ina shifted his body to the side and slipped past the sword.

Amid the grating squeal of metal scraping against metal, sparks flew. Bai Ina drew his sword all the way, catching Zongcilang's blade at the guard. In the next moment, the scabbard in his left hand struck Zongcilang's Adam's apple.

Crack—

A sharp sound rang out. Zongcilang staggered back several steps, clutching his throat and retching.

"Zongcilang—"

Hijikata Yoshitoyo hurried over and caught Zongcilang, asking with concern, "How are you? Are you all right?"

Zongcilang retched for a while before waving a hand at Hijikata Yoshitoyo. "Cough, cough... I'm fine... cough..." Then he looked up at Bai Ina, his expression once again turning lazy. As if speaking to Bai Ina—or perhaps talking to himself—he said, "As I thought, I'm no match for you..."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo blinked in confusion. He didn't understand what Zongcilang meant.

"Can you keep leading the way?"

Bai Ina's cold voice carried a note of impatience.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo's mouth twitched again. He realized this kid really was... in need of a lesson. He was far too rude.

But considering the kid's strength, Hijikata Yoshitoyo wisely chose to keep leading the way... Otherwise, it might be hard to say who would be teaching whom a lesson.

The dojo wasn't very large. After passing through a small courtyard filled with children playing noisily, Hijikata Yoshitoyo led Bai Ina to a room in the back and knocked on the door. "Teacher Kubo, the boy with the sword has woken up. He wants to check on his companion."

"Hehe, come right in!"

Teacher Kubo's warm voice came from inside the room. Hijikata Yoshitoyo answered, then pushed open the door and went in. Bai Ina instinctively tightened his grip on the sword at his waist before following him.

A swordsman's instincts told Bai Ina that the man in the room was powerful. Those instincts were intangible, but they had never lied to him. Just as he had sensed the two Sea King Beasts approaching earlier, and Zongcilang had sensed his strength, these were instincts unique to those who had practiced swordsmanship for a long time.

For example, in the original story, Zoro often served as the lookout. Even when he was resting with his eyes closed, he would sense an approaching ship.

But back to the point, it was precisely because he trusted those instincts that Bai Ina had unconsciously tightened his grip on his scabbard before entering.

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

Teacher Kubo gave Bai Ina a warm smile and asked.

A trace of surprise crossed Bai Ina's eyes. He hadn't expected someone so powerful to have such a gentle temperament. He didn't dwell on it, though, and nodded. "I'm much better, thanks to your care." After answering Teacher Kubo's question briefly, Bai Ina went straight to the bedside and looked at Loxi.

Loxi's complexion had returned to normal. Only a little exhaustion remained in his flushed cheeks. Bai Ina reached out and felt his forehead. His temperature had returned to normal, too. The discovery finally eased the tension that had kept Bai Ina on edge.

"Thank you!"

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

"It was nothing. Just a small favor."

There was a hint of sympathy in Teacher Kubo's gaze as he looked at Bai Ina. He didn't know what the child before him had been through, but the heavy stench of blood on him—far beyond what someone his age should carry—along with the cold aura he unconsciously gave off and his distrust of strangers, made it clear that his childhood had probably been a hard one.

Seeing the sympathy in Teacher Kubo's eyes, Bai Ina felt a little warmth rise in his heart. But his expression soon turned cold as he said, "I'll find a way to pay you back for the door, medical expenses, and food. Once Loxi gets better, I'll take him and leave..." There was no such thing as kindness without a reason in this world. That had been true in his original world.

It was even truer in this pirate world, where the strong ruled. So from the day he arrived, Bai Ina had told himself never to trust anyone too easily. One wrong decision could plunge him into danger.

Back then, it had been because he hadn't tasted juice in a long, long time and couldn't resist his craving that he drank the beverage Kudri had given Eiffel. That experience had made Bai Ina realize just how cruel the world was. If he didn't want to die unnoticed in this brutal world, then he had to become even more ruthless than it...

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

The sudden movement made Bai Ina tense at once. He instinctively started to pull away, his hand snapping to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

"Would you like to stay here?"

Teacher Kubo's gentle voice reached Bai Ina's ears, bringing his movement to a halt.

"Humans are social creatures. We're only truly alive when we exist in someone else's memories. And if no one remembers you, how is that any different from being dead? If you stay here, you'll experience a life you've never known before. There may be setbacks and hardships, but you'll have plenty of companions to face them with. That's what a truly happy life is..."

Bai Ina said nothing. He raised a hand and moved Teacher Kubo's palm away, then looked him in the eye and replied slowly, "I've never envied anyone else's life. To me, that's happiness. Besides, I don't need companions. That kind of half-hearted relationship is only a nuisance."

Teacher Kubo's smile remained unchanged. "In that case, what is he to you?" He didn't say who he meant by "he," but everyone present knew he meant Loxi, lying on the bed.

Bai Ina fell silent. His gaze settled on Loxi's face. After a long, long while, he spoke, his voice a little hoarse. "If there's someone by my side, even if we don't say a word, just having him there feels like happiness. Even if I lose everything the next moment, when I look around, there'll still be someone somewhere I can see... Then I won't be sad or despair. No matter what happens, I'll know I'm... not alone."

Bai Ina paused, then looked away from Loxi and at Teacher Kubo. "And Loxi, to me, is just that kind of person. Nothing more." With that, Bai Ina turned and left the room without looking back.

Teacher Kubo watched Bai Ina's retreating figure, his expression growing gentler.

"That was a very roundabout way of putting it. But haven't you noticed? What you're describing is a companion. Don't you think so, Loxi...?"

The moment his words fell, tears poured from Loxi's eyes like water bursting through a dam. They were... tears of joy!!!