Intercepting Kuina, Even King Yama Can't Take Her Away, I Said So

The little girl who rushed out was none other than Shimotsuki Koushirou's only daughter, Kuina.

Her pretty face, which still carried a hint of baby fat, was filled with unconcealed rebellion at that moment.

As the universally recognized top genius of the One-Heart Dojo, she could easily defeat even grown adults, yet she had never seen a monster like Lei En, who was younger than her yet overwhelmingly, absurdly stronger.

This dealt an unprecedented blow to her proud swordsman's heart.

"Kuina, do not be rude!"

Shimotsuki Koushirou's expression shifted, and he hurriedly raised his voice in scolding.

Are you kidding me? The five-year-old child in front of him was a peerless monster who could insta-kill Kawashima with a single move. Wasn't his own daughter walking straight up to throw away her life?

However, Lei En looked at Kuina with keen interest, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Kuina.

This was the lifelong obsession and goal of the future greatest swordsman in the world, Roronoa Zoro.

Thinking of her frustrating fate in the original story of dying because she "fell down the stairs," Lei En couldn't help but want to smile.

"Since I've come, then the regrets of this East Blue shall be wiped away by my own hands."

Lei En made up his mind internally and waved a hand at Koushirou.

"It's fine, Master. She's just a child, sparring is completely normal."

As he spoke, he returned the wooden sword in his hand to the weapon rack, and then extended a fair, tender index finger toward the pouting Kuina.

"Come on, I'll fight you with just this one finger. If you can make me take half a step back, you win."

"You... who are you looking down on!"

Kuina's little face turned red with anger from Lei En's extremely insulting gesture, and her entire body trembled.

Hesistating no longer, she let out a sharp cry, put strength into her feet, and the bamboo sword in her hand transformed into an afterimage, carrying a fierce whistling wind as it thrust straight for Lei En's throat!

This sword strike was fast and accurate, already possessing a fair bit of a great swordsman's bearing.

The surrounding apprentices saw this strike and emitted cries of shock one after another, as if they had already witnessed the scene of Lei En's throat being pierced by a single sword.

However, Lei En merely stood in place, not even blinking an eyelid.

At the very instant the tip of the bamboo sword was about to touch his skin, his upright index finger moved.

"Clang!"

An extremely crisp sound rang out.

Lei En's fingertip landed right on the tip of Kuina's bamboo sword, dead on and with extreme precision.

In an instant, Kuina felt a terrifying, irresistible force transmit over from the tip of the sword, jarring the web of her hand until it went numb and almost causing her to lose her grip on the sword entirely.

Her pride-and-joy full-strength blow had been blocked so casually by a single finger!

"How... is this possible?!"

Kuina widened her eyes in sheer disbelief.

Refusing to believe it, she pulled back the bamboo sword and unleashed every single sword technique she had learned like a raging storm!

Slash, chop, sweep, thrust!

For a time, the entire dojo was filled with the sound of her fierce, whistling wind of swords.

Yet no matter how swift or tricky her attacks were, Lei En remained standing in the exact same spot, dissolving all of her offensive moves with just that one finger.

He was like an unshakeable mountain; no matter how hard Kuina tried, she could not move him a single bit.

After a dozen-odd moves, Kuina was already out of breath, covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

Lei En looked into her eyes, which had turned red from sheer frustration, and suddenly spoke.

"Your sword is far too hesitant."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it struck Kuina's heart like a heavy hammer.

"You're afraid, aren't you? Afraid that because you were born a female, you will never be able to become the greatest swordsman in the world?"

"You're jealous, aren't you? Jealous of your fellow disciples whose talent falls short of yours, yet who possess stronger physiques simply because they are male?"

"You're lost, aren't you? Lost as to whether the path of the sword you're stubbornly walking will ultimately become completely meaningless because of the ceiling imposed by gender?"

Every single word from Lei En was like a sharp blade, precisely dissecting the deepest, most vulnerable secret within Kuina's heart.

"I... I didn't!"

Kuina shrieked in denial like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, but her gaze darted about wildly.

At that moment, her psychological defenses were ruthlessly shattered by Lei En.

"Waa—!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Kuina dropped the bamboo sword in her hand, covered her face, and ran out of the dojo while sobbing loudly.

"Kuina!"

Seeing this, Shimotsuki Koushirou called out anxiously, but upon catching sight of Lei En's unfathomable gaze, it ultimately turned into a helpless sigh.

He knew that Lei En was right.

As a father, how could he possibly be unaware of his daughter's inner knot?

That night, deep in the quiet hours.

Lei En silently left the guest room arranged for him by Koushirou, moving like a phantom as he flashed a few times to appear right on the roof of the dojo's loft.

He concealed all of his presence and waited quietly.

Sure enough, not long after, a petite figure carrying a famous blade crept beneath the loft.

It was none other than Kuina, who had taken such a heavy mental blow during the day.

Unable to sleep, she had probably come to grab the whetstone to maintain her beloved blade, the Wado Ichimonji.

She was seen skillfully climbing up into the loft, locating the cyan whetstone, and then turning around to head back down via the old wooden stairs.

Perhaps she was weighed down by heavy thoughts, or perhaps it was simply the will of heaven.

Right as she reached the middle of the stairs, the wooden board beneath her foot grew somewhat slick from the dampness.

"Ah!"

Kuina let out a cry of surprise as her footing gave out. She instantly lost her balance, and clutching the whetstone and the famous blade, she tumbled headfirst down the stairs from a height of several meters!

Landing in that posture, even if it didn't kill her, she would surely suffer a severe concussion and lifelong disability!

At this very moment of imminent peril!

Lei En, up on the roof, moved!

His feet stomped fiercely against the eaves, executing an explosive movement technique far exceeding common sense—Shave!

Whoosh!

His figure vanished from the spot instantly, trailing an almost invisible afterimage.

The next second, he had already appeared mid-air, stretching out his arms with absolute precision.

A soft sensation washed over him.

Lei En steadily caught Kuina, who was on the verge of crashing down, along with the famous blade and the whetstone, right into his embrace.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, reaching the absolute limit of speed!

"You..."

Still shaken from the scare, Kuina felt the warm, powerful embrace and caught the faint scent of soap radiating from Lei En, causing her pretty face to flush red instantly like a ripe apple.

She even forgot to struggle, simply staring in a daze at Lei En's sharply defined profile in the moonlight.

At that very moment, the system's prompt tone rang out in Lei En's mind right on schedule!

[Ding! Successfully altered the fatal destiny of the important plot character "Kuina"! Check-in successful!]

[Issuing special rewards...]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Twenty-One Great Grade Blades—Famous Blade: Yubashiri (Advanced Issuance)!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Rare Item—Marrow-Cleansing Pill!]

Holding the warm, fragrant maiden in his arms, Lei En curved the corners of his mouth slightly upward.

Looking into Kuina's deer-like, panicked eyes, he intentionally leaned close to her ear, lowered his voice, and spoke in an overwhelmingly domineering tone.

"Remember, without my permission, even if King Yama himself comes, he isn't taking your life—I said so!"