Kuina felt her breathing grow heavy. This was the first time she had ever heard her father say something like that, and she felt tears welling in her eyes.
As she thought about it, two glistening tears rolled down her cheeks, and she hurriedly raised a hand to wipe them away.
Seeing Kuina's emotional expression, Shimotsuki Koshiro sighed inwardly and wondered if he had been wrong. He only wanted her to live a happy life.
Shimotsuki Koshiro knew full well how difficult the road to becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman was. Even he would have to be prepared to die if he wanted to achieve it.
"Don't worry, Kuina. From now on, you can just focus on pursuing that goal. As for everything else, your big brother will take care of it for you."
Lin Yuan ruffled Kuina's dark blue hair and comforted her with a smile.
"Mm, I definitely won't let you down, big brother!"
"Hahaha, remember, you're doing this for yourself, not for me. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters!"
The two chatted back and forth as though they had known each other for a long time.
Seeing this, Shimotsuki Koshiro's mouth twitched again, but he soon let out another sigh.
"Maybe this kid really can help Kuina find a different path. Oh well, at worst, I'll risk my life to protect her one day."
Shimotsuki Koshiro thought in silence for a while, then looked at Lin Yuan and spoke.
"Sir, although I agreed to let you teach my daughter, she's still too young, and her mother is seriously ill. I'd like Kuina to stay at the dojo for the time being."
"No problem. Besides, I have things to do right now and don't have time to teach Kuina yet. By the way, Kuina, how old are you?"
"I'm almost seven?"
Kuina was a little puzzled, but she obediently answered Lin Yuan's question.
If I remember right, Kuina fell from an attic and died when she was eleven in the original story. She isn't seven yet, so there are still four years. There's still time.
No, no, I can't count on that. Now that I've gotten involved, there's no telling what other accidents might happen.
Lin Yuan considered it for a moment, then smiled at Shimotsuki Koshiro.
"Mr. Shimotsuki, now that I'm here, won't you invite me into your home?"
"Hehe, I've been a poor host. Please, come with me!"
The three of them left at once and headed for the Isshin Dojo.
Quite a few apprentices were practicing swordsmanship at the Isshin Dojo. Lin Yuan looked around but didn't spot the green-haired man.
Knowing the man wouldn't arrive for another two years, Lin Yuan paid it no mind.
Because Lin Yuan had come, Shimotsuki Koshiro dismissed his students early and had someone prepare food to entertain him.
"Hehe, Mr. Shimotsuki, there's no rush. How about letting Kuina show me around?"
"If you're interested, of course."
Lin Yuan nodded with a smile, then toured the dojo with Kuina leading the way.
Lin Yuan looked around. The Isshin Dojo had just one large practice hall, with quite a few wooden practice swords inside.
"Kuina, do you have an attic or a room with stairs here? The kind of place where you can store whetstones?"
"Huh? Big brother, how did you know? My home does have an attic. There are lots of wooden swords and whetstones stored in it. It's just ahead."
Lin Yuan was delighted, and an idea came to him.
The two soon arrived, and Lin Yuan carefully examined the attic. It was not far from the dojo, connected to the ground by a long staircase, and stood only about three meters high.
For some reason, Lin Yuan had a feeling that this was the attic he was looking for.
What he couldn't understand, though, was that ordinary people in the pirate world were nothing like the pretty boys from his previous life. Everyone was relatively much stronger physically.
So how exactly had Kuina fallen to her death? Although she had been young at the time, her strength had already been comparable to an adult's.
Lin Yuan thought it over but couldn't make sense of it. Growing irritated, he slammed a fist into the attic stairs under Kuina's shocked gaze.
The terrifying force not only shattered the stairs but also reduced the attic connected to them to rubble with that single punch.
"Ah... Brother Lin Yuan, why did you smash my attic?"
Kuina asked in shock.
"Ahem, well, Kuina, I suddenly thought of something bad and couldn't hold back for a moment. Don't worry, I'll pay for it. And your home doesn't have any other attics with stairs, does it?"
"Uh, apart from our house having two floors, there aren't any others. This was the only attic, and you smashed it."
Lin Yuan resisted the urge to smash the entire Isshin Dojo and spoke with a smile.
"Oh, good. Kuina, make sure you never go up into an attic like this again. And don't touch whetstones or anything like that either. Also, until I come to get you, you can't use a real sword. Can you promise me that?"
Although she didn't understand why Lin Yuan was saying this, Kuina nodded when she saw his serious expression.
"I understand. Before you come to get me to train, I won't touch any of those things. That's my promise to you."
Only then did Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief. He had eliminated every threat, and he would come for Kuina a year early. He refused to believe he still couldn't change her fate.
Just then, a cool voice rang out.
"Sir Lin Yuan, do you have some complaint about my attic?"
Shimotsuki Koshiro's face twitched again. He felt as though Lin Yuan had come here just to mess with him.
"Ahem, well, Shimotsuki Koshiro, why did you build your attic so high? Kuina almost fell from it just now. That's so dangerous!"
"Kuina is so young, so you need to pay more attention! She's my precious disciple, the future World's Greatest Swordsman. What if she got hurt? I got angry and accidentally smashed it!"
"But even though it was your fault, I can still compensate you. After all, I'm Kuina's teacher!"
As he spoke, Lin Yuan produced a large stack of Beli from somewhere. Every bill had a face value of one thousand, and there appeared to be several hundred thousand in all.
"This is my compensation. You must accept it. Also, Kuina is still growing, and she needs to build a strong body now. Give her more Sea King meat to eat."
Lin Yuan slapped the thick stack of Beli into Shimotsuki Koshiro's hand, then led Kuina toward the Isshin Dojo under the man's astonished and aggrieved gaze.
Shimotsuki Koshiro looked at his attic, shattered beyond recognition and scattered across the ground, then at the Beli in his hand. He was completely dumbfounded.
But when he thought about what Lin Yuan had just said, he couldn't help smiling. It seemed Lin Yuan truly wanted to take Kuina as his disciple, and that put his mind at ease.
He could also accept so much Beli without worry. After all, he was in great need of it, and not just for Kuina's sake.
"Brother Lin Yuan, why did you say I fell from the attic just now? I clearly..."
"Shh..."
"Kuina, that was just an excuse. I only wanted your father to accept the Beli, so he could give you better food and get your mother treated too."
"Oh, right. As your teacher, I should give you a little welcoming gift as well!"
With that, Lin Yuan produced another item. It was an enormous gold bar!