35: Chapter 35 A Life-or-Death Struggle with KoushirouDays passed peacefully and uneventfully during training, without a single unexpected event.However, Wang Lufei was about to break through to the level of Sword Master.
Half a month has passed since Kuina was rescued by Luffy.Thanks to his constant use of Observation Haki to observe Kuina's condition, Luffy's perception has improved by leaps and bounds, and he has even sensed the Breath of All Things.
So now he's just one step away from becoming a swordsman, but regular training can no longer help Wang Luffy improve, so he wants to have a fight with Koushirou.
But Wang Luffy knew that Koushirou hadn't fought in a long time, and this time it couldn't possibly be a simple sparring match just to teach him.So he wanted to discuss a plan with Kuina, after all, a daughter understands her father.
On a dark and windy night, Kuina had just finished her evening training and returned to her room.Just as she was about to close the door, a dark figure appeared.
A dark figure flashed through the crack in the door, saw Kuina trying to scream, circled behind her, reached out and covered her mouth, then whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, it's me."
However, upon hearing that familiar voice, Kuina struggled even more fiercely.In fact, ever since Luffy saved Kuina that day, their overly intimate contact had caused her to become unusually shy whenever she saw him.
After Kuina was rescued, the young girl, filled with romantic feelings, dreamed every night of being held in Wang Luffy's arms, or of the two of them sleeping in the same bed and doing intimate things.
Then tonight, Wang Lufei suddenly appeared in her room, covered her mouth and hugged her, just like in her dream.How could she not be shy?
Seeing the girl in his arms struggling more and more fiercely, Wang Lufei explained, "Don't be afraid.I just want to discuss with you how to get your father to fight me."
I'm just one step away from becoming a swordsman; I need to fight a true swordsman to break through.But your father hasn't fought seriously in a long time.Do you know of any way to do that?
After hearing about the question about swordsmanship, Kuina breathed a sigh of relief and stopped struggling.After thinking for a while, she signaled Wang Lufei to let go, as she had a plan.
Wang Lufei quickly released his grip, and Kuina paused before saying, "It's simple, just hold me hostage like this.If my father is worried about my safety, he'll definitely intervene.However, this is very risky; one wrong move and your life could be in danger.So I recommend."
Before Kuina could finish speaking, Wang Lufei quickly interrupted, "That's a good idea.Only a true life-or-death battle is a good opportunity to improve your strength."
Even if other methods could get my master to fight me, it would be difficult to avoid making concessions, which wouldn't be good.Thank you, Kuina.Um.So I'm sorry to trouble you; I'll apologize to you later."
After hearing what Wang Luffy said, Kuina didn't know what to say next.She actually found the point in what he said.
Besides, it's my junior brother's path to advancement, so I should try to maximize the chances.At worst, I'll step in and explain when the two of them really start fighting.There shouldn't be any major problems.
Then, to Kuina's astonishment, Wang Luffy used his ancestral Life Return technique to change his size and appearance.Noticing Kuina's gaze, Wang Luffy explained:
"This is the seventh of the Six Styles of the Navy, Life Return, which can freely alter cells and skin.Pretty convenient, right?"
Looking at Wang Luffy in front of her, whose physique, appearance, and voice were all different from before, Kuina felt a sense of incongruity and nodded stiffly.
The two then disguised themselves as kidnappers and hostages and slowly made their way to Koushirou's room.Just as they were about to reach the door, Koushirou inside sensed some movement outside.
He activated his Observation Haki and discovered that a strange man was holding his daughter hostage.Terrified, he rushed outside.
Koushirou emerged, looking at the strange man before him with a gloomy expression, and said, "Who are you?If you have something to discuss, you can sit down and talk things over.Why are you holding my daughter hostage?Please release her."
Wang Luffy said in a pretentious manner, "Haha, I have long admired the name of Koushirou, the swordsman of Wano Country.I have come here only to fight you.To determine who is superior and to decide life and death, please grant my request.Otherwise, your daughter will lose her life."
Koushirou replied, "Where did you hear this rumor, sir?I am merely an ordinary kendo dojo owner, not some kind of swordsman.Please."
Seeing that he still wanted to refuse, Wang Lufei threatened, "Stop babbling.I've already poisoned your daughter.If she doesn't use the antidote I have in my arms before dawn, she'll probably die."
Upon hearing Wang Lufei's words, Koushirou immediately drew his sword and unleashed a flurry of slashes at Wang Lufei.
Seeing Koushirou make his move, Wang Luffy shouted, "Good timing!" He casually put Kuina aside, picked up his sword, and began to parry.
However, Koushirou lived up to his reputation as a veteran swordsman of Wano Country, overwhelming Luffy and leaving him with no chance to fight back.Seeing that he was about to be defeated, Luffy actually threw his sword at Koushirou.
Then, using his Devil Fruit power, he conjured a lightning version of the Ame-no-Murakumo no Tsurugi and, while Koushirou was still paying attention to the sword he had thrown, unleashed several lightning slashes at him.
Koushirou's attention was indeed somewhat diverted by Wang Luffy's discarded sword, so he was caught off guard by the sudden lightning attack on the Tenkuun Murakumo, and was even injured in the process.
So Koushirou quickly unleashed a flying slash and jumped back to create distance from Wang Lufei, preparing to reorganize his attack.Unexpectedly, he fell into Wang Lufei's attack rhythm.
Wang Luffy saw through his thoughts and charged straight at his slash.Just before it made contact, he used the Lightning Particle Flash inherited from Kizaru to dodge it, while his speed increased instead of decreasing as he rushed towards Koushirou.
As lightning particles flashed, Wang Lufei secretly moved towards the lightning clouds.The sword was imbued with electricity, and when it was within a body length of Koushirou, it unleashed a horizontal slash, releasing a One Piece world version of Kakashi's Lightning Blade.
Koushirou felt the unavoidable, extremely fast lightning strike in front of him and knew he had to go all out.So he activated his Ryuo Haki to cover the blade and parried the attack with all his might.
The two swords clashed, unleashing immense power.Koushirou's body was jolted back three steps, while Luffy was forced to retreat ten meters by the influx of Ryuo Haki.During his retreat, he used the lightning particles within his body to neutralize the Haki inside.
Seeing that Luffy's face was turning blue and purple from his Ryuo Haki, Koushirou didn't let him off the hook.He increased the Ryuo coverage on the blade and slashed forward quickly.
Wang Luffy hurriedly imbued the lightning particles in the Thunder Cloud Sword with Haki to resist the internal destruction of Koushirou's Ryuo.
The situation reached a stalemate again.However, for Wang Luffy, this weak stalemate of only being able to parry was unbearable.So he kept observing Koushirou's posture while parrying, looking for an opportunity to break through.
The two fought back and forth for 50 rounds, until finally Wang Luffy's Haki energy was running low.After all, for a child of just over nine years old, the strength and reserves of Haki were insufficient compared to those of the middle-aged Koushirou.
Therefore, the next sword strike will either allow Wang Luffy to break through to the Sword Master level or result in his defeat.Understanding this, Wang Luffy took a deep breath, and after a flash of light, he created space, closed his eyes, and prepared for the final decisive sword strike.
Looking at Luffy's posture, Koushirou understood that this was the final and most dangerous move, and he had to use 120% of his strength.So he put his sword back at his waist, bent low, and used the sword-supporting stance of Iaijutsu, preparing for the final clash.
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