Koshiro looked up at Kuina, his usually narrowed eyes showing an unusual seriousness.
It's not that I don't believe in your talent.
I dare not gamble.
I don't want you to one day perish at sea, with no one even able to find your body.
"But Father—"
Kuina's voice finally trembled, tears welling in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back.
When you were afraid of losing me, did you ever think about what the difference would be between losing my dreams and being dead?
Koshiro was struck dumb, his entire body frozen on the tatami mat.
Looking at the tears welling up in his daughter's eyes, and at her hands gripping her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white, he suddenly realized he had done something extremely cruel.
He always thought it was protection.
But they never considered that this kind of protection itself was enough to destroy everything a person had.
Silence spread through the room, and even the air felt thick and heavy.
In the end Koshiro did not give Kuina an answer.
He simply stood up, turned his back to his daughter, walked to the window, and said in a hoarse voice,
"Let Father think about it again."
Kuina watched her father's retreating figure, slowly stood up, bowed, and turned to leave the room.
The door closed very softly, but Koshiro's body visibly swayed.
Late that night.
Before leaving Shimotsuki Village with his fleet laden with grain, the dragon found Roy.
The two men stood side by side on the dock, the moonlight casting long, long shadows.
"You really won't come with me?" the dragon asked.
There are still some things to take care of here.
Roy, hands in his pockets, spoke in a flat tone.
"Go to the Foosha Village first—I know you'll be going home on the way."
"I'll come find you in Foosha Village after I've dealt with things in Shimotsuki Village."
Long didn't ask any more questions. He knew this guy must have his reasons for wanting to stay.
As the sailboat departed the harbor, Ivankov waved dramatically goodbye to Roy from the deck.
The Karasu remained silently standing beside the mast, only nodding slightly to Roy.
The day after the Revolutionary Army's ships disappeared into the night, Shimotsuki Village fell silent.
The boys in the dojo continued practicing swordsmanship day after day.
The argument between Kuina and Koshiro spread throughout the dojo. The boys dared not discuss it openly, but in private they all looked at Kuina with admiration.
However, because of that argument, Koshiro began to pay even closer attention to Roy's movements.
This " Heavenly Dao " emperor refused to leave the dojo, spending his days either drinking tea or watching the young men practice swordsmanship.
He occasionally gives Zoro pointers, and occasionally gets challenged by Zoro; he lives a leisurely life that's hard to understand.
What exactly is he trying to do?
That afternoon, Koshiro finally couldn't hold back any longer.
While Kuina and Zoro were sparring in the backyard, he approached Roy alone.
"Mr. Roy."
Koshiro sat down opposite him, and without even pouring tea, he got straight to the point, the gentle smile on his face completely gone.
"What exactly do you want to do in Shimotsuki Village?"
Roy looked at Koshiro's wary face, reached for the teapot, slowly poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then slowly spoke.
"Master Koshiro, you've been drinking tea with me for so many days now, and you still can't guess?"
Koshiro almost rolled his eyes—if I could guess it, would I be here with you?
"I just think your two apprentices are quite interesting."
Roy put down his teacup, leaned against a pillar, and spoke casually, as if he were discussing the weather.
One person is exceptionally talented but suffocated by gender bias, while the other is exceptionally gifted but lacks guidance and opportunity.
"It's such a waste to leave them in this small village by the East Blue."
Koshiro's pupils contracted slightly.
" Master Shimotsuki!"
Roy looked at him, a playful smile on his lips.
"You've observed me these past two days, haven't you? I mean you no harm. You can't beat me, and you can't drive me away."
Since you can't resist, then come with me.
Koshiro remained silent for a long time.
Then he sighed.
Roy was telling the truth, and right now, all he could do was believe that Roy wouldn't do anything out of line.
That night, a torrential downpour began to fall on the East Blue without warning.
The rain came suddenly and violently, with large raindrops pounding on the roof tiles of the temple.
A series of crackling sounds filled the air as the bamboo grove outside the window swayed violently in the strong wind, rainwater accumulating on the bamboo leaves and cascading down.
The boys in the dojo were already asleep, but Koshiro's room light was still on.
He sat by the window, looking at the bamboo forest swallowed by the rain outside, his mind replaying the conversation from earlier that day, and the expression on Kuina's face when she ran out of the room crying.
Roy sat in the guest room, his Observation Haki subtly spreading out, his senses covering the entire Isshin Dojo.
He sensed Kuina sitting up in bed, getting dressed, leaving the room, and then walking towards the warehouse on the side of the dojo in the rain.
On the second floor of the warehouse, there was a whetstone that Koshiro had treasured for many years.
Roy slowly stood up and walked to the window.
The rain outside the window was reflected in those eyes, and the light in them was brighter than Inazuma.
"It's about to begin!"
"The Grand Staircase Incident!"
The rain was torrential.
The raindrops pounded heavily on the warehouse roof, pattering and splashing like the heavens pouring water onto the ground.
Thunder rumbled from afar, one after another pushing the dark clouds across the East Blue Sea.
Every few breaths, Inazuma of white lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating the entire Shimotsuki Village in a ghastly white light.
Kuina pushed open the wooden door of the warehouse. With a creak, the hinges made a dull, scraping sound in the damp air.
The warehouse was pitch black; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Rainwater poured in through the cracks in the door, wetting the muddy ground inside the threshold.
She was soaked to the bone, her kendo uniform clinging wetly to her body, her pink hair plastered to her cheeks, dripping water droplets.
She didn't wipe it.
My mind was still replaying the argument I had with my father that evening.
"A girl can't become the World's Greatest Swordsman."
She'd heard that phrase far too many times.
From a young age, ever since she could understand human speech, her father had been telling her this "fact" in various ways.
Although she was unwilling before, she could at least endure it.
Whatever her father said, that was it. She was just a child; what could she possibly argue with?
But after Mr. Roy said those things last night, all the resentment she thought she had suppressed deep in her heart and would never resurface came rushing back up like a lid being pried open.
Big Mom is a woman. Hancock is a woman. Momousagi is also a woman.
So many women stand at the top of the sea, how come they all stand so high?
Why should she, Kuina, be confined to this small village in the East Blue, forever weighed down by the phrase "You're a girl"?
Whetstone.
My father's whetstone was on the shelf on the second floor, on the top shelf, in a corner.
That was brought to the East Blue from Wano Country by my father. It's said to be an old artifact passed down from the Shimotsuki Clan, and the blade it's been sharpened to be incredibly razor-sharp.
From a young age, she watched her father use that whetstone to sharpen the slashes.
Today she also wanted to try it herself, to sharpen her sword Wado Ichimonji, to make it even sharper.