Chapter 70 The Player's Swordsmanship
"Floating Restaurant - A Must-Try Dish at Sea"
Sabo read aloud from a local East China Sea tabloid: "What exactly is a floating restaurant? Everyone's familiar with restaurants, but what's a floating restaurant? Let me explain. A floating restaurant is simply a restaurant that floats on the sea. You might be surprised that there could be a restaurant on the sea, but it's true, and I was quite surprised myself..."
Realizing something was wrong, Sabo shut up and flipped through the so-called report about the floating restaurant several times in disbelief.
After finishing watching, Sabo raised his head blankly.
Luo, who had just caught a habitual thief of vegetable cocktails, walked over.
Feeling like she was about to evaporate from the heat, Vera clung to Luo like a ghost, pleading, "Please, Luo, let me have one more drink, just one more drink, I'm going to die!"
The sun was so strong that Violet felt like she was about to be dried into a fish jerky!
"Bear with it for a bit, you've already had four drinks this morning." Those were drinks straight from the fridge, still with ice crystals. "Be careful not to get a stomachache if you drink any more."
Luo looked at Sabo: "Finished looking? Did you find any clues?"
Restaurants on the water move within a certain range as the ship moves, which means their location is not fixed.
I finished watching it, but all I can say is that it was a waste of time, and I didn't get any useful information.
Violet: "The floating restaurant is quite famous in the East China Sea, right? Let's find a small tavern and gather some information... Speaking of alcohol, may I have a vegetable cocktail?"
Luo: "No. But Vera is right, where's the nearest island again...?"
Sabo recalled the East China Sea map he had seen with the Revolutionary Army, and after wetting his finger, he began to draw on the deck.
Sabo: "We are currently in this position. Based on the current ocean currents and wind direction, we will pass a medium-sized island in a little over an hour."
"Wow!" Violet exclaimed, "Sabo, I never expected you to be able to recite the map so fluently."
"By the way, speaking of backs, may I have a vegetable cocktail?"
"No way," Luo said, rubbing his forehead. "And how did the conversation even shift to this topic?"
"Never mind, I'm so hot. If I stay on the boat any longer, I'm going to spontaneously combust. I don't care which island it is, let's find a cool place to spend the day."
"By the way, speaking of cold, can I have a little ice-cold drink?"
"Can't!!!"
——
"Frost Moon Village?"
After mooring the boat at the shore, the three followed the directions of the fishermen on the beach to the location of the village on the island.
The name is quite unique.
The East China Sea truly lives up to its reputation as the most peaceful sea area. When three unfamiliar children appeared at the entrance of the village, people's first reaction was not to be wary or probe, but to walk up to them with great enthusiasm and kindness, bend down and ask if they had gotten lost from their parents.
After the old woman finished speaking, she glanced at Vera's clothes with some trepidation.
This island is not very prosperous, and the village is mostly inhabited by farmers and fishermen. When have you ever seen a child dressed so elegantly as Vera?
Vera's outfit was personally styled by Yizang. From the fabric of the clothes to the various jewelry, everything was a treasure that even Yizang, with his discerning eye, would appreciate.
Frostmoon Village is located in a remote area and has no special products. The old woman has never seen any so-called nobles in her family for generations.
However, even the most clueless outsider could see the preciousness and beauty of the fabrics and jewelry that Izang had his eye on.
However, the East China Sea truly lives up to its reputation as the most peaceful sea. Even so, the villagers who saw Violet and her group did not harbor any ill intentions. Instead, they were worried about how anxious Violet's family must be if they couldn't find her.
Violet: "No, we came here on our own."
"Yourse?" The old woman was surprised for a moment, then quickly seemed to realize something and said, "Oh, I know, you're here to take the swordsmanship student selection exam too, right?"
The villagers of Shimotsuki Village, located in the most peaceful sea area, possess the wonderful qualities of being simple, warm, and hospitable.
...Isn't that a bit too hospitable?
In the blink of an eye, the three people who had filled out the registration forms were standing in the queue, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Next up, Violet!"
Shimotsuki Koshiro adjusted his glasses and read, "Please take the wooden sword over there and stand within the white lines on the field."
Violet walked to the center of the circle with her wooden sword, looking at the man in front of her with a blank expression.
Who is she? Where is she? What is she doing? Why did she suddenly start sparring?
Shimotsuki Koshiro looked up at Violet, and paused for a moment when his gaze fell on her hair. This hairstyle vaguely resembled the traditional hairstyle of his father's hometown.
But soon, Shimotsuki Koshiro's gaze fell on Vera's untrained sword-wielding posture, and he couldn't help but frown.
He looked back at his disciples who were standing behind him, peering curiously: "Who among you will spar with her?"
"Me! Me! Me! Me!" A round, green, algae-like head pushed past the senior students. "Let me do it! I'll definitely beat her to a pulp!"
"..." Shimotsuki Koshiro was silent for a moment, then looked at his daughter who was standing quietly beside him with her sword, "Kuina, you should do it."
"Ah, why, teacher? I can easily take care of someone like that without Kuina even lifting a finger!"
Amid Zoro's disgruntled complaints, Kuina silently stepped forward and nodded, "Okay."
Shimotsuki Koshiro looked at Kuina with a worried expression.
As a father, how could Shimotsuki Koshiro not notice Kuina's anxiety and pain during this time?
Kuina was his and his wife's only child, a precious gift from heaven that they cherished dearly. This child was hardworking, brave, persevering, and determined... Whenever Shimotsuki Koshiro thought that such a child was his daughter, he felt even more grateful for the kindness of fate.
But at the same time, as a father, Shimotsuki Koshiro is also worried about Kuina's future.
This child is too stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat. She wants to inherit her dojo and become a swordsman. To this end, Kuina never relaxes her swordsmanship training and even practices extra after completing the tasks assigned to her.
But the more Shimotsuki Koshiro saw the sweat on Kuina's arduous training and the thick calluses on her hands, the more heartbroken he felt.
Because what Kuina was pursuing was a dream that was almost impossible to achieve.
Due to innate physiological factors and developmental issues, women are almost never able to become sword masters.
Guina is 11 years old.
As her body gradually grew and developed, it became difficult for her to wield the wooden sword with the same agility as when she was a child. The effects of hormones also made the increase in Kuina's strength increasingly slow... This was a congenital deficiency that no amount of sweat and pain could make up for.
Bang!
Just as Shimotsuki Koshiro was worrying about how to persuade Kuina, Kuina's body suddenly flew backward from the field!
Shimotsuki Koshiro quickly caught her, and after feeling the numbing force coming from his arm, he looked at the girl in the center of the field in surprise.
ah.
Vera smiled awkwardly at the two of them, using the wooden sword like a baseball bat.
Previously, Vera's sparring partners were either dragons, Cracker, or Izou. Suddenly sparring with Kuina, Vera couldn't control her strength at all.
Fortunately, Shimotsuki Koshiro reacted quickly enough and skillfully neutralized the force on Kuina. Apart from feeling a slight numbness in her back, Kuina was not injured.
Zoro, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but take a half step back, but he quickly gritted his teeth and stepped forward, standing in the frontmost position in the dojo, apart from Kuina who was still being supported by Koushirou.
Koushirou scrutinized Vera, whose attire and strength were both extraordinary. Was she really here to study at the dojo? To have such strength at such a young age, besides the special talent of her race, it must be because she had been taught by a famous teacher since childhood.
And her hairstyle definitely has a resemblance to Wano Country.
Koushirou's father, Kousaburo, was a famous swordsmith in Wano Country, but after Wano Country entered a state of isolation and prohibited all exchanges with the outside world, he escaped from it illegally.
Could it be the legendary ninja assassination squad?
With a childlike heart and a rich imagination, Koushirou couldn't help but recall the bedtime stories his father used to tell him.
After hearing that bedtime story, he was so frightened that he didn't dare close his eyes for three whole days, and Kozaburo was beaten by his wife for three days straight. It wasn't until Kozaburo could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep that his father was finally able to escape from his mother's clutches.
Koushirou's attention wandered, and he loosened his grip on Kuina's hand slightly. Kuina suddenly rushed towards Violet.
“You…” Guina looked at Vera with a complicated expression.
She's about the same age as me, so why is she so strong? Has she not been affected by puberty at all?
Kuina: "Can we go over there and talk?"
ah?
Koushirou frowned: "Kuina, that's incredibly rude."
"I'm sorry, I..." Kuina gritted her teeth, finding it hard to imagine how this strong-willed girl felt as she gradually experienced the devastating impact of physical development on her beloved path of kendo. "Is it okay?"
Kuina didn't want to appear vulnerable and pleading, but through her eyes, Violet could still see a snowman slowly melting away in the summer.
Okay.
Violet gave Law and Sabo a reassuring look and followed Kuina into the woods behind the dojo.
"How did you do that? I, I mean your..."
"strength?"
“Yes.” Perhaps it was because there was no one else in the woods, or perhaps the pressure that had been weighing on her all this time had finally exceeded the limit that a child could bear, but Guina opened her heart to Vera, whom she had only met once.
"Didn't you feel the strain? It's just..." Kuina said dejectedly, "You should have seen that green-haired guy who wanted to fight you at the beginning, right?"
"From the first day he came to the dojo, he has been constantly challenging me." Kuina slowly recounted Zoro's challenges to her, his undefeated record, and the increasingly difficult battles recently.
“Zoro is working very hard, so I think the day he defeats me will come soon.” Kuina gripped her wooden sword, her shoulders trembling slightly. “Perhaps Father is right, women cannot become swordsmen.”
"But, but why? I'm so unwilling to accept this, so unwilling to accept this!"
"I train harder than all of them, I can work even harder!" But no matter how much Guina increased her training until she reached her limit, the door to her dream gradually closed in front of her.
Kuina sometimes even despairs and thinks, if women are destined not to become swordsmen, then why give them such talent before the age of ten?
Was what fate bestowed upon her not a gift, but a cruel joke?
“I…I…” Kuina choked out, “But, but I’m still so unwilling, I don’t want to be left far behind by Zoro, I don’t want to see my father’s disappointed expression, I don’t want to give up my sword…and I don’t want to succumb to so-called destiny!”
"So, whatever it may be, I'll do whatever you ask."
Please tell me how to keep going!
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Author's Note: Vera: What is swordsmanship? Watch me use my brute force to create miracles!
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