Luo Xing walked to the villa where Hiyori (the woman known as Komurasaki / "Kozuki Hiyori" in the originals) was held. The two female attendants assigned to guard her around the clock bowed as he approached.
"Good evening, Consort!" they said.
Luo Xing waved them up and asked, "How is Hiyori?"
They exchanged a glance and giggled. "You were impressive, sir. Miss Hiyori only managed to recover by the following day."
A prick of guilt rose in Luo Xing's chest — he'd been harsher than necessary the last time. He dismissed the attendants, smoothed his appearance, and softened his expression so he wouldn't seem too intimidating. Then he knocked.
No answer.
Luo Xing's smile vanished; he raised an eyebrow. Had she run off? That seemed unlikely. Hiyori couldn't have escaped under the eyes of the two guards he'd stationed, and after his recent changes in Wano, no one would dare help her anyway. He pushed the door open.
A clear ring of steel filled the room — a sword's note — and a cold flash of metal cut across the air.
"Die, you demon!" a woman's voice screamed with grief and fury.
Luo Xing instinctively stepped aside, ready to teleport away, but instead he stayed.
Steel clashed. A blade struck Luo Xing's clothing but did not pierce him.
"You wanted to kill me?" he asked calmly.
Standing there, Hiyori — still beautiful but full of hatred — spat, "You are a monster. You deserve to be killed!"
Luo Xing's tone remained level. "Then why didn't you try last time I visited?"
A flicker of panic crossed Hiyori's eyes before she ground her teeth and replied through clenched jaw, "That only means any time is the right time to kill a monster like you!"
"Is that so?" Luo Xing smiled.
"All right," he said. "I'll grant you your chance."
To Hiyori's shock, Luo Xing intentionally withdrew the Coating Haki that had been layered on his clothing, exposing himself. The swordpoint slid through the cloth and drew a drop of blood.
"Ah!" Hiyori cried and flinched, dropping her sword.
"You're mad!" she accused.
"You wanted to kill me," Luo Xing replied with a teasing edge. "You chose not to. That was your mistake."
Hiyori glared at him — equal parts horror, anger, and confusion. He had killed the man Transjiro, then kept her here; he'd been ruthless, yet he'd also overturned Lord Kurozumi's harsh laws and personally bought and distributed grain to the starving people. Everything about him contradicted itself.
Luo Xing picked up Hiyori's discarded sword. It was unusual: a slender blade with a three-lobed guard and an exceptionally sharp edge. When he took the hilt, a strange pull came from the weapon, as if it were a living thing.
"So this is Enma," he murmured. "Your father, Kozuki Oden's blade. No wonder it's extraordinary."
Hiyori stiffened, startled that he recognized the weapon. She snapped, "What business is that of yours?" and reached to take Enma back.
Luo Xing turned the sword to his left hand and, in the same motion, caught Hiyori's reaching hand with his right. She struggled, flushed with anger.
"Let go of me!" she cried.
Her struggles made little difference. Luo Xing said, "I already gave you a chance to kill me and you didn't take it. Opportunities like that won't come again. Besides, I need a reliable weapon — Enma will be mine."
Hiyori shouted, "No! Enma belonged to my father. You cannot take it — you cannot control it!"
Luo Xing smiled faintly. "Is that so?"
He channeled a thread of Haki into Enma. The moment he did, the blade shivered and began to drink in his Haki as if awakened. The sword seemed to suck in the flow of power like a bottomless maw.
Hiyori froze in disbelief. He was trying to tame Enma with only one hand? That was impossible — Enma was a hellish blade. Aside from Oden, no one should be able to command it. The rate at which it devoured Haki was alarming; at that speed, even Luo Xing's reserves would be drained.
"Put down the sword!" Hiyori cried.
Luo Xing glanced at her, amused. "Concerned for me?"
"Who's worried about you?" she spat.
He turned his attention fully to Enma. The sword's hunger for Haki was intense — it explained the permanent wound it once inflicted on Kaido. Luo Xing inhaled, fixed his deep gaze on the blade, and let a quiet, sovereign pressure roll off him.
Then he snapped, his voice like a royal order: "Stop."
Boom.
A shock rolled through the room. Black lightning wove through the air. Hiyori watched, stunned: this was not ordinary Haki — it was the Conqueror's Haki of Oden's line. Luo Xing's aura had suddenly flared into that same imperious dominance.
Under that pressure, Enma seemed to whine, and at last the blade stopped consuming Haki so ravenously.
Hiyori pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief. This man — with only his left hand — had subdued Enma.
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