In the early morning of a mountain forest.
While Ron and Kuina were training their basic strength, Ron suddenly said, "Kuina, do you want to leave this island and go out to see the world?"
Kuina was taken aback.
"Leave this island..."
She hadn't really thought about it yet, or rather, she hadn't even left this village until now.
Upon hearing Ron's words, she lowered her head and thought seriously for a moment. Then she looked at Ron and nodded firmly, saying, "I want to fight strong people and become even stronger. If I don't leave this small island, I'll never become the strongest swordsman."
"I understand your thoughts."
Ron smiled and said no more.
Although he wasn't sure if his presence had already altered her fate, she definitely shouldn't die the way she did originally.
"Ron, are you planning to leave this island?"
Kuina couldn't help but ask.
Ron shook his head, "Not yet."
"Not yet..." Kuina muttered.
"Are you going to miss me?"
Ron's teasing remark immediately made Kuina's face flush red.
"Idiot! Of course not! I'm just worried if I'll manage to defeat you before you leave!"
Furious and embarrassed, Kuina hurled a stone bell at him.
Ron dodged it effortlessly without even looking and casually said, "Why don't you come to sea with me?"
Kuina's eyes flickered with a hint of excitement, but Ron didn't notice.
After some more training, the sun rose high, and the summer heat was intense.
The two of them sat under a tree to cool off.
Ron lay down while Kuina sat upright.
From Ron's perspective.
The short blue-haired girl in front of him was gradually showing her figure, no longer looking like a tomboy.
Feeling a sudden impulse, Ron asked, "By the way, Kuina, does the dojo have a whetstone? I want to use one."
Kuina looked at him curiously but nodded, "Yeah, it's in the warehouse. I'll take you to get it."
They headed to the warehouse together.
Kuina went upstairs to retrieve the heavy whetstone.
Just as she picked it up and was about to come downstairs, her foot inexplicably slipped, and she suddenly tumbled down the stairs.
As Kuina flew through the air, a sudden thought crossed her mind.
"Am I...going to die?"
Just as she was about to hit the ground, Ron caught her firmly.
Ron's serious voice echoed in her ears.
Kuina instantly snapped back to reality.
Realizing that she had been caught by Ron, lying in his arms, a cold sweat broke out on her back as she turned pale, still feeling scared.
Ron gently put her down.
Neither of them knew what to say.
The warehouse fell into silence.
"Th-thank you for saving me."
Kuina was the first to break the silence, her voice full of lingering fear.
It was the first time she had been so close to death.
Ron didn't know what to say at that moment.
After putting down the whetstone, Kuina hurriedly left the warehouse.
After she left, Ron glanced at the whetstone and thought to himself:
"Did my suggestion cause her to face her accident earlier, altering her fate? Or did it lead to this incident, and her fate remains unchanged? I'll have to observe further."
In the following two months.
While honing his swordsmanship and training his body, Ron kept an eye on Kuina.
Since that accident, she hadn't encountered any more danger.
Moreover, that near-death experience seemed to give her a new insight into her swordsmanship, and she appeared to be on the verge of mastering the concept of "momentum" in her blade, just one step away from the "sword momentum" state.
Kuina was having a real sword duel with Zoro.
After defeating Zoro.
Kuina grinned and said, "Using two swords is heavy, right? That makes it 2002 victories for me."
Zoro was utterly frustrated.
Ron walked away without drawing attention, his steps feeling a bit lighter.
Ron sat cross-legged in the dark warehouse, with the renowned sword Raikiri and a whetstone in front of him.
In the darkness, his eyes shone brightly.
"System, show me my current stats."
Sun Breathing Technique Mastery: 24%.
Swordsmanship: Sword Momentum (Initial Mastery).
Weapon: One of the Great Grade Swords – Raikiri.]
"I've been at the dojo for almost half a year now. My swordsmanship may not improve much further without real combat training. Once I fully master the other breathing techniques' companion sword skills and the Ichitoryu techniques taught by the master, I'll need to think about heading to the next place."
Ron thought to himself.
With the system in hand, he was destined to be a traveler in this world, never staying in one place for too long...
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