One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 43: The Supreme Grade Great Staircase

After a long while, Louis hung up the Den Den Mushi.

A moment later, he spread his broad wings, took flight, and slowly flew back to the temporary courtyard Koshiro had arranged for him at the Isshin Dojo. Soon, Louis landed softly and folded his wings.

"You're back?"

As soon as he entered the door, Louis heard Yelena's greeting. She was sitting at a table next to the tatami mat. Under the soft light, her long white hair was loose, falling like strands of silver silk. Her pair of red eyes, deep and bright, quietly watched the just-returned Louis.

Louis pulled out another chair that had been specially selected and delivered for his size and sat down.

"It's so late. Is there something you needed me for?" Louis asked, meeting Yelena's deep red eyes with a puzzled look.

Ever since she began her treatment, Yelena's schedule had been very regular. She would have already been asleep by this time. For her to come looking for him today was a rare occurrence, which made Louis a bit curious.

Yelena reached up and tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, softly stating her purpose.

"Louis, we'll be meeting up with Shanks and the others soon, right?"

"Yes, including the return trip, it's about time."

"Then... will you invite Uta to stay with us?" Under the soft light, Yelena's expression was calm, as if she was unconcerned about anything.

Louis was taken aback for a second, then he smiled and replied, "Of course I will."

"Is that so..." A smile appeared on Yelena's face. "Then when do you plan to formally invite her?"

"In a few days..." Louis replied after some thought.

Yelena heard this and nodded gently. "Then I'll head back first." With that, she stood up, preparing to return to her own temporary room to rest.

However, to her surprise, Louis also slowly stood up and turned his head to look in another direction of the Isshin Dojo. Then, under Yelena's gaze, Louis walked out of the courtyard again, spread his broad wings, took flight, and flew off in a specific direction.

Yelena saw this and followed without the slightest hesitation, leaping up and running across the rooftops. Her height of over 2.8 meters, slightly taller than Louis, combined with her considerable weight, caused quite a commotion as she moved. She attracted the attention of many people, including the master of the Isshin Dojo, Shimotsuki Koshiro.

He put on his glasses, walked out of his room, and watched the two figures with some confusion. He then extended his Observation Haki in the direction they were heading. The next moment, his face turned deathly pale. He subconsciously dropped the katana in his hand, and his entire body erupted with astonishing speed as he too sprinted in that direction. In just an instant, he had already surpassed Yelena and landed directly below an attic.

When Yelena arrived at the scene, the sight that greeted her left her stunned for a moment.

Kuina, dressed in plain clothes, was lying on the ground, stained with mottled patches of blood. Her neck was twisted at a bizarre angle. She was on the verge of death, just a single step away.

The moment Louis arrived, he had used his Devil Fruit ability. Glistening golden particles emerged from his palm and then slowly scattered onto Kuina, who was stained red with her own blood.

Koshiro, arriving a step later, saw his daughter's tragic state, his mind going almost completely blank. He subconsciously wanted to rush forward and take her to get treatment. But when he saw the light particles emanating from Louis and flowing into Kuina's body, and saw her condition gradually improve as she coughed up blood, he restrained his impulse. In this situation, anyone could see that Louis was rescuing Kuina.

On the other side, Yelena, who had just arrived, took in the entire scene. On the attic stairs, there were clear marks of a body tumbling down. Not far away on the ground, a blood-stained whetstone lay carelessly to the side. After connecting all the clues at the scene, Yelena quickly understood the cause of the incident.

"Koshiro, straighten Kuina's neck."

Louis's calm voice came from the front, once again drawing Yelena's attention. The rescue had reached a critical point. Louis needed to heal the broken bones in Kuina's neck. To prevent the bones from healing incorrectly, Kuina's neck needed to be manually reset.

Koshiro, seeing this, also realized the problem. After hearing Louis's call, he suppressed his emotions as much as possible and, with trembling hands, reached out to reset his daughter's bones.

CRACK...

"Ugh... cough, cough..." With a sharp sound, Kuina subconsciously let out pained groans.

Louis saw this and controlled his life energy to quickly repair the broken bones in Kuina's neck. A moment later, when Kuina's injuries were mostly healed, Louis slowly withdrew his life energy. The healing ability of the Life-Life Fruit on external injuries was undeniable. In just a moment, it had pulled the dying Kuina back from the brink of death.

Soon, Kuina's eyes flew open. She sat up instantly, clutching her chest and gasping for breath, as if calming the lingering fear from her near-death experience.

Beside her, Koshiro, covered in blood and terrified, reached out and hugged Kuina tightly, comforting her softly. "It's okay, Kuina... it's okay..."

Just then, Koshiro looked up at Louis, his eyes filled with endless gratitude. His pale lips trembled as he spoke, "For saving her life, the Shimotsuki family is eternally grateful..."

With that, holding Kuina, who was gradually realizing what had happened, he fell to his knees with a thud, his expression respectful as he prepared to kowtow to Louis.

However, Louis didn't care for such things. He reached out and stopped him. "Get up. I'm a guest at the Isshin Dojo. It wouldn't be right for me to ignore something like this."

Since Louis had arrived at the Isshin Dojo, Koshiro had been very polite to him, even offering to give him the forging materials left by Kozaburo and inviting him and his friends to stay as guests. Saving Kuina was not a difficult matter for Louis. And Louis was not a heartless person; he wouldn't turn a blind eye to something he could easily help with.

After doing all this, Louis finally looked up, thoughtfully gazing at the nearby wooden staircase, which bore the marks of her fall.

"The Supreme Grade Great Staircase."

In this ridiculous world where everyone is tough as nails, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks with their bare hands, and can be healed with just a few bandages after being injured, some people can regrow teeth by drinking milk and break the sound barrier with their bodies. And yet, some people can die from falling down the stairs.