**The Mountain Bandit Higuma had never been so humiliated.**
Every slash of his sword was filled with immense rage and killing intent.
Even so...
Lin Mo easily dodged every one of his attacks.
When Higuma realized that he couldn't land a hit on Lin Mo, his focus shifted to Zoro and Kuina, who were holding onto the wine barrels.
Without saying a word, Higuma immediately changed his target, swinging his sword towards Zoro, who was the closest.
Zoro instinctively took two steps back but was still within Higuma's range.
"This is bad." Zoro's face darkened. He wanted to draw his sword, but with both hands clutching the wine barrel, he couldn't draw it in time to defend.
"Die!" Higuma's energy surged.
Kuina wanted to help Zoro, but she too was holding a wine barrel, unable to move freely.
Just as Higuma's sword was about to strike Zoro...
Lin Mo suddenly appeared in front of him, drawing his sword *Wado Ichimonji * and effortlessly slicing Higuma's sword in half with a single strike.
Zoro didn't really care about getting injured.
He just didn't want his wine barrel to be smashed.
But for Zoro and Kuina, the situation seemed entirely different.
Zoro excitedly said, "I knew it! You wouldn't just leave me in danger! You really are the person I admire!"
Lin Mo: "..."
Higuma's eyes locked onto Lin Mo's *Wado Ichimonji * that had sliced through his sword.
That blade felt extraordinary to him.
Higuma suddenly changed his attitude. "Kid, I've had a change of heart. Give me your sword, and I'll let you go."
"No way!" Kuina was the first to refuse, "You can't trust mountain bandits. Lin Mo, don't give them *Wado Ichimonji *!"
"Oh, so it's *Wado Ichimonji *," Higuma's eyes gleamed with greed. "What a waste, a kid like you using such a fine sword. Hand it over! If you don't, I won't be so merciful."
As he spoke, Higuma threw his broken sword toward the cart of Sakamoto and smashed several wine barrels in the process.
At the same time, his subordinates surrounded Lin Mo and the others.
Lin Mo furrowed his brow slightly.
He was feeling a bit sorry for the limited-edition wines that were being destroyed.
**Meanwhile, at the isshin Dojo:**
Koushirou was having tea in the tea room with a friend.
They were chatting happily when a villager rushed in, looking worried.
"Koushirou, sir, please come with me. A group of mountain bandits has shown up in the village, causing trouble!"
"Mountain bandits?" Koushirou placed his teacup down and immediately stood up. "Where are they?"
The villager quickly responded, "They're at Sakamoto's side."
"Sakamoto?" Koushirou paused, then asked, "Is Lin Mo, Kuina, and Zoro with them?"
The villager nodded. "Yes, they are, but they're just kids. They're too weak to face these vicious bandits. Koushirou, please hurry!"
"Don't worry, don't worry." Koushirou smiled and sat back down. "If Lin Mo's there, there's no need to worry."
"Huh?" The villager looked confused.
Even Koushirou's friend looked worried. "Are you sure you don't need to go?"
"It's fine." Koushirou smiled as he picked up his teacup again. "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
**Back with Lin Mo and the others:**
Facing the mountain bandit Higuma's threats, Lin Mo didn't feel a thing.
In fact, he found it quite boring.
But the villagers around him weren't thinking the same.
Everyone was anxious.
"Lin Mo, give him the sword! There's no need to risk your life over a sword!"
"Yeah, you're still kids. You can't beat all these bandits. Just give them the sword, and at least you'll stay alive."
"Don't hesitate, kid! Mountain bandits aren't good people. They'll really kill you!"
"Damn it!" Zoro grew increasingly angry and shouted at the villagers, "Don't underestimate Lin Mo! He's amazing!"
The bandits laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Just because you dodged a few of our leader's attacks doesn't make you special. Pathetic!"
"Cutting through the leader's sword just means you've got a famous blade. Kid, if you don't want to die, hand over the sword!"
Lin Mo remained silent as he scanned the area. There were over forty of Higuma's men surrounding them.
It seemed like they wouldn't be able to leave until they dealt with them.
How troublesome... he didn't even want to fight.
Well, at least he got the wine. Maybe he could go back to the dojo now.
Lin Mo didn't respond.
Higuma thought he was afraid and smugly said, "You're good, kid. If you obey me, I might consider letting you join my Higuma's bandit group."
Lin Mo wasn't interested in wasting time on him.
His eyes flickered.
A powerful sword intent radiated from him, centered on Lin Mo.
At the very moment Higuma arrogantly finished speaking...
Lin Mo vanished from his spot and appeared behind Higuma.
Without a care, he slowly sheathed *Wado Ichimonji *.
Higuma turned in disbelief.
As soon as the sword was fully sheathed, two long, deep gashes appeared on Higuma's body, and blood began to pour uncontrollably.
The surrounding villagers were stunned.
"You..." Higuma widened his eyes, but before he could say anything, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Boss!"
"Boss, are you okay?"
Higuma's subordinates quickly surrounded him to check on his injuries.
"Damn it, how could that kid hurt the boss so badly?"
"Kid, you're done for!"
"Die!"
Higuma's men screamed and rushed toward Lin Mo.
Lin Mo gave them a single look.
They all stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground in an instant.
"Useless." Lin Mo held the wine barrel and called out to Zoro and Kuina, who were frozen in shock. "Let's go."
"Huh, right." Zoro snapped out of it and turned to Kuina. "Hey, Kuina, snap out of it. Let's go."
"Ah, oh!" Kuina shook her head to clear her mind. As she looked at Lin Mo's retreating back, her body slightly trembled.
She knew how strong Lin Mo was.
But she never imagined he was this strong.
She even felt a fear that she might never be able to surpass him.
"Hey, Kuina!" Zoro called again, clearly seeing what was on her mind.
Though he too was amazed by Lin Mo's strength.
"Don't overthink it." Zoro continued, "Let's just get back to the dojo."
Kuina nodded slightly.
The two of them grabbed the wine and immediately ran after Lin Mo.
As they passed, the villagers instinctively made way for them.
Once Lin Mo and the others left, the villagers slowly began to relax.
"My God! Who exactly is Lin Mo?"
"He wiped out the whole bandit group by himself? Is he really just a kid?"
"Scary, this kid might even surpass Koushirou-sensei one day."
"Don't even talk about the future; I think in just a year or two, he could surpass Koushirou-sensei!"
"Anyway, we're lucky to have Lin Mo around. Otherwise, our losses would've been huge."
"Yeah, but what about these bandits?"
"What else can we do? Everyone throw them out of the village!"
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