One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 44: Forging

The next day, in the courtyard of the Isshin Dojo.

Koshiro, along with a belatedly realizing Kuina, came to the courtyard where Louis was temporarily staying to thank him again.

"Thank you so much for saving Kuina's life!!"

In front of the courtyard, Koshiro and Kuina bowed deeply to Louis and his group, their eyes filled with immense gratitude.

Louis smiled and once again helped them up. "It's nothing. Didn't you also host us?"

"That's different." Koshiro shook his head gently, his face filled with lingering fear. At the time, his mind had been almost completely blank, with the sole thought of getting Kuina medical treatment. It was only after she was saved and his senses returned that he realized just how serious her situation had been.

With the medical capabilities of the Isshin Dojo or Shimotsuki Village, there was no way to save Kuina. In other words, without Louis, Kuina would not have been saved. At that moment, he would have experienced the pain of losing his daughter, after having already lost his wife and father. In comparison, his hospitality towards Louis's group was nothing compared to the debt of gratitude he owed.

Behind Louis, Uta watched the scene unfold, her face full of confusion. She quietly tugged on the sleeve of Yelena, who was sitting next to her, and asked in a low voice, "Did pirates attack last night while I was sleeping?"

Yelena shook her head, leaned over, and briefly explained what had happened. "Kuina fell down the stairs last night. Louis saved her..."

"Louis is so amazing!" was Uta's first reaction.

The next moment, she seemed to think of something and looked up, meeting Yelena's red eyes. "Yelena, when you fell from the cliff with your prey as a child, you must have been very scared and in a lot of pain!"

Yelena heard this and said with a smile, "It was too long ago. I've already forgotten."

"..."

Just then, a short boy with green hair, wearing clothes with the Shimotsuki family crest, burst through the courtyard gate. He was carrying two well-made katanas and his eyes were wide as he shouted frantically, "Kuina! I heard you fell down the stairs! Are you okay?"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.

Koshiro was momentarily dazed when he saw Zoro. Kuina's eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.

As he spoke, he caught sight of Kuina and rushed forward, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth, sweating with anxiety. "How are you? Are you hurt?"

"You still have to become the world's greatest swordsman with me!"

However, Kuina's face was filled with shock. "Zoro, how did you find this place?!"

Kuina didn't understand. Zoro, who usually took half a day to find his way back after simply stepping out, had actually found this place so quickly today. She and her father had only been here for a few minutes!

Hearing her, Zoro breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, you're okay!"

"I just heard that last night you were covered in..."

Suddenly, Zoro realized something was off about Kuina's words, and he flew into a rage. "What do you mean by that?!"

Kuina crossed her arms and turned her head away.

Just then, Koshiro smiled and patted Zoro's head. "We have guests now. You can't be rude."

Zoro was taken aback. Only then did he notice the three strangers on the other side—a boy and two girls. The man in the lead had a pair of white wings on his back, and the slightly taller, white-haired woman had a pair of black horns on her head. As for the last one, he ignored her.

This strange combination left Zoro a bit confused. It was the first time he had met people with extra parts growing on their bodies.

After calming his student, Koshiro smiled at Louis and said, "Lord Louis, regarding the forging materials left behind by my father."

"I have a proposal."

"Please, speak!" Louis looked at the smiling Koshiro, a guess forming in his mind. But at the same time, a great deal of doubt also arose.

Koshiro pushed up the transparent glasses on his face and answered unhurriedly, "How about I forge the weapon for Miss Yelena?"

"Father can forge weapons too?!" Before Louis and the others could react much, Kuina's face was already full of astonishment.

Ever since she could remember, she had only heard that her grandfather, Kozaburo, was a top-tier swordsmith, and that the Great Grade sword Wado Ichimonji was his creation. But after Kuina was born, she had rarely seen her grandfather forge. The two swords in Zoro's hands were among his few works. But in over ten years, she had never heard that her father could also forge. And today, she had heard from her own father's mouth that he was also a smith. This left Kuina utterly astonished.

Louis heard this and thought, As I expected. The proposal he was referring to was that he would do the forging himself.

Koshiro looked down at his daughter, a nostalgic look in his eyes. "Before you were born, I also learned forging from my father. It's just that my talent for forging is like my talent for swordsmanship—not outstanding."

"For many years, I couldn't forge a decent sword, and in the end, my father kicked me out of the forge."

"Then I'll be in your care..." Louis smiled.

Kuina heard this and looked a bit embarrassed. She reminded Koshiro in a low voice, "You said yourself that your skills aren't good. How can you take on this task?"

To this, Koshiro's face became serious. "A sword and a heavy weapon like a hammer are different. I can still forge a heavy weapon."

Then, Koshiro explained that the forging process for a typical katana was more complex, involving the geometry of the blade edge, the sharpness, the toughness and curvature of the blade body, and the inscription. There was also the even more complex matter of the sword's fittings...

Heavy weapons like hammers and maces just needed to be beaten into shape and formed according to the user's needs. A heavy weapon didn't need to consider the weapon's curve or sharpness; all it needed was weight. Simply put, as long as the materials were high-grade, you could make a decent heavy weapon at a factory that could produce ship anchors.

Kuina was half-convinced. She then looked skeptically at Koshiro's slightly thin frame and said nothing.

Koshiro saw this, guessed what was on Kuina's mind, and said with a smile, "Kuina, don't judge a swordsman's strength by his physique!"

"The pure steel barbells I used when I trained back in the day were far beyond your imagination in terms of size and weight..." Koshiro's gaze was very serious, without a hint of a lie.

With that, he turned back to Louis and his group. "Please, Lord Louis, stay a few more days. I will forge a satisfactory weapon for Miss Yelena."