Clang… Clang…

Tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk

Rapid sounds of wooden swords colliding echoed in the forest as Ban and Koushirou fought each other purely relying on their wooden swords and swordsmanship.

There was no use of Haki and no use of super strength, just pure swordsmanship skills. Although the two only relied on their Swordsmanship, considering their skills, the battle was still a sight to behold as their figures traversed at extreme speed.

The battle between the two continued for the next two hours before Ban and Koushirou finally distanced themselves from each other. Ban took his stance and prepared for their final move, as he warned Koushirou, “Koushirou-san, I am going to go all out in this move, be careful!”

“Give it your all Ban-kun, let me see the results of your past two months of training at my Dojo!” stated Koushirou as he too prepared to meet the attack using everything he got.

With that, the two Swordsman looked at each other with sharp gazes and dashed forward.

Whoosh! Bang!

The sound of a loud crash echoed in the forest as the ground caved in and a sharp aura enveloped the forest. At the same time, Koushirou’s wooden sword couldn’t bear the brunt of the clash, it broke off from the middle and fell to the ground with a muffled sound.

On the other hand, after breaking Koushirou’s sword, Ban’s sword went forward uninterrupted and only stopped after it touched Koushirou’s neck.

With the blade of Ban’s sword resting on his neck, Koushirou raised his hands in the air and said, “That’s my defeat.”

“And that’s match… The winner is Master Ban.” As soon as Koushirou accepted defeat, Medusa’s voice sounded from the side as she announced the result of the battle.

With Medusa’s announcement, Ban lowered the Sword that was placed on Koushirou’s neck and stepped back, then the two people bowed to each other as per tradition and thanked each other, “Thank you for the battle.”

After that, they started to recover their breaths as Koushirou said, “Shall we stop here?”

“Yes.” Ban nodded lightly as all the injuries that he had suffered in this battle started to disappear in the form of white vapors.

Looking at the Ban as all his injuries healed themselves and his body returned to normal at a speed visible to the naked eye, Koushirou couldn’t help but admire, “To this day, your healing factor still amazes me. I have never seen or heard of anyone with such a healing ability, answer me Ban, are you a Devil Fruit user?”

Ban dried up the sweat using the towel handed to him by Medusa, as he vaguely answered Koushirou’s doubts, “I guess you can say that.”

Hearing Ban’s answer, Koushirou muttered with an amazed expression, “It’s really an amazing ability.”

Ban had no intention of revealing the secret of his immortality to anyone he doesn’t trust completely. Don’t get him wrong, this is for his own safety and he has no plan to take any unwanted risks for now.

Of course, it’s not that he doubts Koushirou or anything, in fact, Ban highly respects Koushirou because the man has been guiding him and helping him polish his Swordsmanship for the past two months, however, this doesn’t mean Ban will openly reveal everything about himself to anyone.

Moreover, there is also some kind of inexplicable relationship between Koushirou and the Revolutionary Army, if by chance, unintentionally or intentionally, Koushirou reveals his immortality to Dragon, then there is a good chance Ban would attract Dragon’s attention.

Monkey D. Dragon’s exact character and intentions are unknown to Ban, from what is known about Dragon, he seems to be a good guy as he seems to be fighting against the World Government, but who is to say that Dragon wouldn’t harm him to achieve his purpose of bringing down the World Government? Of course, Ban doesn’t think that Dragon would hurt him unless Ban does something against Dragon, but there is no harm in being cautious.

Besides, Ban has no intention of getting the unwanted attention of any major faction because of the secrets of his immortality. If people mistook his immortality for a Devil Fruit ability, then let them continue to think that; he has no plans to change this misconception.

Anyway, after that little episode and recovering their breath, the two men along with Medusa went back to the Isshin Dojo.

…

At the Isshin Dojo

As the three people entered the courtyard of Koushirou’s house, a maid named Brylee greeted the three of them, and said, “Welcome back Koushirou-sama, Ban-sama, and Medusa-sama the dinner has been prepared, would you like to take a bath before dinner?”

Koushirou turned to Ban and said, “Ban-kun, Medusa-kun, I have to check up on the progress of students at the Dojo, so the two of you can take a bath, I will directly join everyone at the dinner.”

Ban nodded, “All right then, I will see you at Dinner.”

Koushirou smiled and then went towards the training field.

With Koushirou gone, Ban looked at the Brylee and asked, “The two of us would like to take a Bath before dinner.”

Brylee nodded and said, “The hot water has been prepared, please follow me.”

Ban and Medusa nodded and followed Brylee.

…

After the Bath

Ban and Medusa joined Koushirou, Esdeath, Escanor, Genos, and a green-haired kid at the dining hall.

Seeing the three people enter the Dining Hall, everyone greeted each other and proceeded with dinner. After the dinner was completed and the tables were cleared, Ban looked at Koushirou and said, “Koushirou-san, I wish to thank you for all that you have done for me and my crew mates in the past two months. I believe I have learned what I came for, and now it’s time for us to leave.”

Koushirou nodded, “I see.” He didn’t ask anything from Ban. In fact, Koushirou already knew that Ban would be leaving very soon, this is because he knows that Ban has already learned everything, he can teach Ban, and now there is no need for him to stay in this village, therefore, he wasn’t very surprised by Ban’s announcement.

However, unlike Koushirou, the green-haired kid didn’t accept Ban’s decision so readily and said to him, “You can’t leave, you still haven’t accepted my challenge!”

Looking at the green-haired kid, Ban said with a smirk, “I have no interest in accepting the challenge of a greenhorn who can’t even use Flying Slash, at least learn to do that before coming to challenge me.”

The green-haired kid gritted his teeth in frustration and shouted, “Just wait, I will get much stronger and become the Greatest Swordsmen in the world, when that happens, I will definitely take your head!”

Ban snickered, “Sure Roronoa, go ahead and try it if you can.” And added, “However, I suggest that you up your training Zoro, because there is going to be a challenger out there who will also aim for the title of greatest Swordsmen, oh and I am not talking about me, I am talking about someone else. And mark my words, that person isn’t going to be easy to defeat.”

Naturally, the greenhead is Roronoa Zoro, the future Swordsman of the Straw Hats. Hearing Ban’s words, Zoro became curious and asked, “Who is it?!” he knew that Ban and the rest of his crewmates aren’t interested in becoming the Greatest Swordsman, so he was curious as to who is the person Ban is talking about.

For Zoro’s question, Ban decided to remain mysterious and said, “That is something you will only know in the future… But I can guarantee that you will be deeply shocked at that time.”

Zoro was more curious, however, seeing that Ban doesn’t seem to have any intention to tell him, he could only pout in frustration.

Everyone laughed at Zoro’s antics as the topic turned and the conversation continued until midnight when everyone retired for the night.

…

Midnight

Under the white light of the moon, Ban, and Esdeath arrived at the back mountain of Isshin Dojo. While walking through the forest, Esdeath couldn’t help but ask, “Captain, are you sure that you want to leave without even saying goodbye to that man?”

Ban nodded, “Didn’t I already inform him that I will be leaving, there is no need to do anything more than that.”

Esdeath looked at Ban strangely, and said, “Are you sure? Considering what you are about to do…”

Ban answered after a silence, “It will all depend on her… what she wants to do.”

Esdeath nodded and didn’t bring up the matter anymore.

As the two continued to walk in silence, the distance was covered up in a while and they came to the place where a tomb is located.

Esdeath read the name written on the tombstone, “Shimotsuki Kuina, from 1499 to 1510.”

“Yes, that’s her.” Ban nodded, then instructed her, “Esdeath, please keep a watch on the surroundings, I don’t want anyone seeing what I am about to do.”

“Very well, Captain!” Esdeath nodded and disappeared.

With Esdeath gone, Ban looked at the grave with a thoughtful expression.

In the past two months, aside from training Swordsmanship, Ban has also searched for the location of Kuina’s grave, of course, he didn’t do this personally, rather, Genos was made responsible to complete this task which he completed in less than a week.

As it is quite well known, Shimotsuki Kuina was the daughter of Shimotsuki Koushirou, a talented girl who had a winning streak of two thousand matches against Zoro and ended up dying young because of a misstep.

Ichirou Oda really didn’t do justice to this girl, she aimed to become the greatest swordsman in the world, yet she didn’t die while fighting or on the battlefield, rather, she died because of falling from stairs at the tender age of eleven… such a pity!

Although there was the factor of curse involved, it’s really a pity that a talented young girl such as Kuina didn’t even have the chance to leave a mark on this World.

Looking at Kuina’s grave, Ban muttered, “If there was a way to listen to her feeling, I can definitely say that she must be very unwilling… Although Roronoa Zoro promised to fulfill both of their dreams, this is only a compromise for her, and she must feel really empty accepting that compromise.

Let me change that today… Let me give you a second chance to pursue your dream Kuina.”

[System, as per my sixth wish, resurrect Shimotsuki Kuina from the dead.]

[Ding… Wish Acknowledged, resurrecting Shimotsuki Kuina]

As soon as the system acknowledged Ban’s wish, suddenly System Panel appeared in front of his eyes.

[Age at the moment of Resurrection:

• 0 / Newly born
• 11 / Age of Death
• 13 / Natural Age

Please select one of the three options.]

Seeing the two available options, Ban could only sigh and chose option (c), to be honest, he wanted to resurrect Kuina as an adult, however, seeing that System has no intention of permitting that, so he could only proceed with the third option, [Proceed with option (c) 13 Years.]

Ban quickly filled the age at which Kuina should be at the moment of resurrection, then the next choice came.

[Relationship:

• Enemy
• Acquaintance
• Loyal Subordinate

Please select one of the three options.]

There was no need to think about it, Ban immediately went with the third option, [Again proceed with the third option, Loyal Subordinate.]

Then the next choice came,

[Resurrection Benefit:

• Increased Potential
• Increased Beauty
• Devil Fruit Ability

Please select one of the three options.]

For the option of increased beauty, Ban immediately ignored it, considering that she and Tashigi look a lot like each other, so there is no need to be worried about Kuina’s beauty.

Then for the option of Devil Fruit Ability, Ban only thought for a moment, then discarded it too, Kuina wishes to become the Greatest Swordsmen, so Devil Fruit is not that important for her, moreover, there is no telling what kind of Devil Fruit she might obtain.

Finally, there is the option of Increased potential, Kuina’s natural talent itself was very high, I mean maybe not as high as Roronoa Zoro, however, it was still very high, and if Ban were to go with the option of increased potential, then there is a very strong possibility that her potential will become as high as or perhaps even greater than Zoro, hence Ban decided to go with the first option, [Proceed with the first option, Increased Potential.]

[All the preparations are completed, resurrecting Shimotsuki Kuina in 3… 2… 1!]

Silver light appeared on the tombstone as the body buried in the earth disappeared into countless particles, the particles hovered in the air for a while before taking the form of a person glowing in silver light.

As the glow disappeared, the form of a young girl appeared before Ban and Esdeath, she looked at the two people with a confused expression. At this time System’s voice sounded in Ban’s mind, [Synching memories]

Immediately, memories flooded Kuina’s brain and imprinted the name and face of Ban into her mind as her master, “Master Ban!”

Ban blinked his eyes and saw the young girl who called him Captain Ban, she had short blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a fair complexion, then going down, her figure was thin with an ample amount of weight on her chest and butt that made Ban grin.

Seeing Ban grin, Kuina’s eyes widened, and only now did she realize that she could feel the cold wind brush her skin, meaning she is stark naked, “Aaaaahhhhhhhh!” she exclaimed, then covered her boobs and purity with her hands and squatted down on the ground, and asked with a blush, “Why… why am I naked?!”

Ban scratched his cheek awkwardly, as he explained, “Uh… about that, I didn’t consider the fact that you might be resurrected in your birthday suit, I apologize…” then Ban took off the shirt he was wearing and gave it to Kuina, “Here, wear this.”

Kuina quickly took Ban’s Shirt and wore it, although the Shirt didn’t cover everything, the parts that should be hidden were hidden.

With that done, Ban looked at Kuina and asked, “Kuina do you understand your situation?”

Kuina nodded slightly, “I do understand to a certain extent… I seemed to have died, and you have resurrected me, is that correct?"

Ban nodded, “Yes, you died two years ago, that means you were eleven years old at that time, now, at the time of your resurrection, you are thirteen years old.”

“So, two years, is it?” Kuina muttered then said with a frustrated expression, “That means Zoro is already two years ahead of me, he must have surpassed me by now!”

Ban didn’t deny Kuina’s words, and nodded, “Yes, Zoro seems to have left you behind… he is walking ahead of you on the path of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world… of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t surpass him, but for that to happen, you must follow me, so how about it?”

Kuina looked down with a saddened expression, and questioned, “But Captain… will I really be able to become the greatest Swordsman? I am a woman and compared to Zoro who is a man, I am at a natural disadvantage… even two years ago, his speed of growth was fighting and he was quickly covering up the gap in our skills… Will I really be able to catch up and surpass him?”

Hearing Kuina’s doubt, Ban chuckled and squatted down in front of her. He lifted her head by the chin to look into his eyes, and said, “Do you have the determination to do anything to achieve your dream?”

Hearing Ban’s words, Kuina looked down, then raised her head with a determined gaze, “Yes!”

Ban said, “Prove it to me.”

Kuina was confused, “How do I prove it?”

Ban smiled as he took out the dagger strapped on his pant and used it to make a cut on his palm causing a lot of blood to flow out, he then raised his hand dripping with blood towards her mouth and said, “Drink my blood.”

Kuina was taken aback by Ban’s order, and couldn’t help but ask, “Master, are you… are you serious?”

Seeing that Ban’s expression was serious with no signs of playing around, Kuina had no choice but to nod as she started to lick off the blood flowing from Ban’s hand.

After about a minute, the injury on Ban’s hand healed as Kuina licked clean all the blood flowing from Ban's hand using her tongue.

Seeing that she completed his order without showing any signs of nausea or disgust, Ban smiled and pulled her up, “Welcome aboard.”

Kuina nodded, “Yes.” Then looked in the direction of Isshin Dojo.

Following her gaze, Ban too looked in that direction, and said, “Do you want to say goodbye to your father?”

Kuina shook her head, “No… I will see him after I fulfill my dream.”

“Since that’s the case.” muttered Ban, and said, “Then let’s immediately leave Shimotsuki Island.”

Kuina nodded, “As you order captain.” With that, she and Ban climbed down the mountain and met with Esdeath, who informed Ban that everything has been taken care of, to which Ban nodded and the three continued forward, when they passed by the Isshin Dojo, Kuina bowed in the direction of her father’s room, “Otou-sama, I am setting on the journey to becoming the Greatest Swordsman in the world, please watch over me.”

Then without waiting for any reply to come she along with Ban and Esdeath went to the Harbour where Wicked Wench was already ready to set sail, three of them came aboard the ship and Ban instructed, “Since everything has been taken care of, so let’s set sail to the next island!”

“Aye aye captain!”

…

Back at Isshin Dojo

As Ban, Esdeath, and Kuina passed the Isshin Dojo, Koushirou opened the window of his room and looked outside, upon finding no one outside, Koushirou adjusted his glasses and muttered. “Seems like Ban-kun and his companions have left.”

 

 

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Translator's Note:

And that's a wrap for Chapter - 6, now Ban and the Crew are on their way to the next Island, any idea where they are going?