One Piece: Start by Rebuilding Kuri

At this moment, Yukiko had already set down the luggage she was carrying on her back, along with Dan's sword. Instead, she drew her own sword and gripped it tightly.

For this trip, Dan and Yukiko had brought two swords. Dan's was slightly more valuable, a decent sword by most standards. However, in the Land of Wano, where high-quality weapons were commonplace, Dan's sword wasn't particularly remarkable. As for Yukiko's sword, it was just an ordinary sword.

Now, Yukiko stood with both hands gripping the hilt, the sword held vertically in front of her. Dan noticed her hands trembling slightly, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She was clearly both nervous and scared.

But fear was natural. This was her first real confrontation with a desperate criminal, and feeling afraid was to be expected. Dan's lack of fear stemmed from his own strength, which gave him confidence. To him, the approaching figure was no different from a stray dog on the side of the road.

The fact that Yukiko had picked up her sword without hesitation when he told her to face the enemy was already enough to satisfy Dan.

Fear was normal. As long as she didn't let it overwhelm her, that was enough.

For Yukiko's first life-and-death battle, Dan didn't have high expectations for her performance.

In fact, he was already thinking about other things.

'This girl has grown a bit over the past six months,' Dan thought, referring to the slight development in her figure.

Half a year ago, her chest had been as flat as a small hill, but now there was a bit more curvature. According to her, before she was bought by Orochi, she had been even flatter than a washboard—at least a washboard had some ridges.

This was likely due to malnutrition in the past, combined with her young age. After being taken in by Orochi, she at least didn't have to go hungry anymore, and her body had gradually begun to develop. However, she still wasn't particularly well-endowed.

Yukiko was only sixteen years old, so there was still room for growth.

While Dan's mind wandered to thoughts of buns and cherries, the bloodstained samurai had already closed the distance.

Dan glanced at the man's attire.

His kimono looked like it hadn't been washed in ages, the bloodstains long since turned black. The fabric was riddled with cuts and holes, likely from enemy swords.

Although his face was covered in unkempt stubble and grime, Dan estimated the man to be around thirty years old. His hairstyle, however, was a balding patch in the middle, suggesting he had once worn a traditional chonmage topknot.

The man's clothes bore numerous slash marks, and his body was covered in old scars, evidence of the many battles he had fought since ending up in this place. The fact that he was still alive was proof of his skill.

Dan figured Yukiko probably wasn't a match for him and prepared to step in if necessary.

"Well, well, it's rare to see people dressed like you two in Kuri," the man sneered, his wolf-like eyes scanning Dan and Yukiko. When his gaze landed on Yukiko, it turned lecherous.

"I must be in luck today—a clueless rich boy and a tender little girl," he said, not immediately attacking. In his mind, Dan and Yukiko were already his prey, with no chance of escape.

His eyes hadn't left Yukiko since he first saw her, and he kept swallowing saliva. Even before becoming a fugitive, he had never had the chance to taste someone of her caliber. Who would have thought that after becoming a criminal, he'd stumble upon such a prize?

"Heh heh heh, today's my lucky day. Food and a woman!" he exclaimed excitedly, raising his sword and pointing it first at Dan, then at Yukiko.

"Did you just call me... food?"

Dan had initially planned to ignore the man, but his words struck a chord. For someone to so casually refer to him as food, it was clear the man had resorted to cannibalism before.

"Food? What's wrong with that?" the man sneered, tilting his head. But then he quickly shook his head. "No, no, my apologies. With a face like yours, even as a man, you'd be in high demand. If I handed you over to the bandits on Mount Atama, I could probably trade you for a lot of food."

While he had eaten human flesh out of desperation, he still preferred normal food if it was available.

And he wasn't wrong. In a place like this, women were as valuable as food. But not just women—good-looking men were also in demand. Honestly, if he hadn't noticed Yukiko first, he might have had some thoughts about Dan too.

"Shut up!" Yukiko couldn't take it anymore. Her nervousness and fear had been completely replaced by rage.

"How dare you speak such filth about Dan-sama! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

The audacity of this man to say such things about Dan—he deserved to die ten times over. Dismembering him wouldn't be enough to quell the fury burning in her chest.

"Big talk for a little girl," the man sneered, then lunged at Yukiko without warning, his swords slashing down.

He had no intention of holding back. Even if Yukiko was a woman he fancied, she was nothing more than a disposable tool to him. If he was lucky, he might get a few days of use out of her. But that was the limit—he had no plans to keep her around and share his already scarce food.

In fact, in his mind, once he was done with her, her body would become his next meal.

With that in mind, he had no reservations about attacking. Even if his opponent was a woman, anyone holding a sword in a place like this couldn't be taken lightly. There were no doctors here, and even a minor cut could lead to infection, potentially fatal in severe cases.

Although the ronin had launched a sneak attack, Yukiko's Observation Haki allowed her to clearly track his movements. Her Observation Haki was stronger than her Armament Haki. During her training, Orochi had no qualms about throwing rocks at her while she was blindfolded, and he forbade her from using Armament Haki to defend herself.

As a result, the moment the man moved, Yukiko had already anticipated his attack and struck first.

*Clang!*

The two swords collided, sparks flying.

Yukiko's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the hilt, the force of the man's strike pushing her back.

"Not bad reflexes," the man chuckled, his breath reeking of decay.

Yukiko frowned, gritting her teeth and holding her breath—not just because of the man's foul stench, but because the strength behind his strike was overwhelming.

This ronin didn't seem to possess Haki, but that didn't mean Yukiko was stronger than him.

While Haki could enhance a person's abilities, some were born with extraordinary physical strength. Having Haki didn't automatically make someone stronger than those without it.