Blood gushed from her head as Koushirou's tears fell—her soul seemed to slip away.
I placed my palm over her hand.
"Summon."
Nothing.
[SYSTEM] Summoning failed.
"Why isn't it working?!" I yelled.
"What are you trying to do to my daughter?" Koushirou asked, voice shaking.
"I'm going to bring back her soul—but it isn't working!"
[SYSTEM] Summoning failed: Target was not slain by the Monarch; current Monarch abilities cannot summon this target.
[Attempts remaining: 2]
"I don't care about your damn restrictions—override them!"
I drew a deep breath and shouted, "Summon!"
Nothing.
[SYSTEM] Summoning failed. Attempts remaining: 1.
"Damn it, Kuina—don't you still want to be the world's greatest swordsman? Are you giving up just because you died?!" My chest heaved.
"Fuuuuuck—"
[SYSTEM LIMIT] Spirit tether expires in: 10 seconds.
"Fight, Kuina! I want to see you become the strongest swordsman in the world—I want to see your dream. Summon!"
Koushirou looked up at me. "It's okay, Sora. She's passed."
"What happened?" one of the other sensei gasped from the doorway. People rushed in and froze at the sight.
I stood there, stunned—
[SYSTEM] Soul wishes to be summoned. Higher-level soul detected.
[Summoning successful.]
A small blue orb drifted from above and slipped into my chest—like a glowing snowflake. No one else seemed to see it. Word spread through the dojo like wildfire; students ran to tell Zoro training by the river.
Time crawled that week. It rained hard the day of the funeral. Adults filed through muddy paths between water‑filled rice paddies under bamboo umbrellas. Incense smoke braided with the smell of wet earth; rain drummed on paper canopies; sandals squelched. Eyes were dull, as if the light had gone out of the world.
They laid a bouquet of white flowers atop her coffin.
The dojo fell quiet for weeks. I kept quiet too, rereading the system notice.
[SPIRIT ACQUIRED] Rank SSS — Name: Kuina
Spirits: 2/15
Note: Due to high spirit rank, awakening time ≈ 1 year. It can be accelerated by feeding high‑grade souls of the dead.
"Feeding souls… that sounds a bit demonic. What is this a devil fruit I guess?"
Only the sounds of training remained. Zoro barely spoke after Kuina's passing. He trained nonstop, pushing himself to the edge; his eyes had a wild shine.
We dueled often. Fighting him felt like facing a desperate beast; his three‑sword strength was no joke. I won some bouts with clean timing; other times he overwhelmed me with relentless, forceful strikes.
Soon after, Koushirou entrusted Zoro with Wado Ichimonji—to carry Kuina's spirit and dream. I heard his muffled sobs that night.
Three more months slid by. Autumn arrived.
"I'm heading out to sea, sensei."
"Where to?"
"North—maybe back to Dawn Island to see my dear brothers. Or farther, to Yotsuba Island; I've heard the forests there breed strong beasts. For now, I need to get stronger."
"I see. Then don't slack on your swordsmanship."
"Yes, sensei."
I packed my things and headed for the fishing boat. Footsteps pounded behind me.
"You're leaving, Sora?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah. I want an adventure—to explore the sea. Take care of that sword, and make Kuina proud."
"You know I will," he said, lifting Wado.
I pushed off and turned the bow north, waving to everyone on the pier. "Clear skies—back to Dawn Island!"
Dark clouds massed on the horizon.
"Did I jinx myself?"
Rain poured. Waves rose—higher and higher.
"There's no way this is how I go out." I ducked into the cabin, then into a wooden barrel. "Worst case, the barrel floats, the Luffy method."
A washed‑up fishing boat later lay at the edge of the island.
"Oy, look—it's a fishing boat. Think there's a survivor?"
"We always need more slaves. Let's take a look."
A group of five men in red coats trudged toward the wreck.