The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 178 Zoro: I'll lead the way for you
“Let’s go, let’s visit Isshin Dojo first, then you’re free to do as you please. If you’re not interested, you can stay on the ship or go explore other parts of the island,” Himeko said.

Yan chose to act alone, preferring to observe silently in the clouds rather than interact with ordinary people.

This is a habit she has developed over thousands of years as an angel.

However, she has already tried to change, at least she no longer uses the Eye of Insight all the time.

When Yan calmed down and observed people's lives with her own eyes, she felt many things that she couldn't get from the information in the Eye of Insight.

No matter how detailed the information is, it is still lifeless, while the world is vibrant.

The train crew's spotless clothes and demeanor caused the dockworkers and fishermen to instinctively keep their distance, afraid to approach for fear of offending them.

"Shouldn't we do as the Romans do and change into some local clothes?" March 7th couldn't help but ask.

The train crew is always approachable, but they were rejected in this world.

How can you integrate into the local community and understand the local customs and culture if you do this?
Well, blending in with the nobility doesn't feel out of place at all.

"You think changing your clothes will make a difference? Let me tell you, it won't. You're all too beautiful, with unique charm. No matter where you are, you're like fireflies in the dark, so bright and outstanding," Meng Huaifeng said.

“That makes sense,” Xing nodded in agreement.

“It’s not that exaggerated.” March 7th blushed slightly, then said, “But at least it looks more approachable, so people won’t be afraid to hide from it.”

“Little March is right. Let’s buy some clothes while we’re shopping,” Himeko said.

In a technologically advanced world, the train crew's distinctive attire, while a bit unconventional, has little impact and is generally acceptable to people.

However, in the backward ancient world, especially in a world with clear class distinctions, it was indeed too glamorous and ostentatious, making most people afraid to approach it.

Or is it a difference in art style?

"Brother, could you please tell me how to get to the Yixin Dojo?" Meng Huaifeng asked a fisherman casually.

The fisherman forced a fawning smile and said, "Sir, the Isshin Dojo is in Shimotsuki Village. Shimotsuki Village is on the northeast side of the island. Go that way."

"Thank you," Meng Huaifeng said.

The train set headed northeast.

"Huh? They said to me... thank you?" The fisherman looked at the departing train crew in disbelief.

"Aren't they nobles?"

"Who knows? It doesn't seem like a pirate at all."

The people on the dock were talking about it.

As Meng Huaifeng passed through a bamboo forest, he saw a little guy with green algae-like hair running wildly, waving a bamboo knife in his hands, causing the grass blades, which were more than half a meter tall, to bow down in his wake.

What's even more peculiar is that he also has a bamboo knife in his mouth. Whenever there's a blade of grass or leaf on the road that's more than a meter long, he rushes over as if he's seen a treasure, flicks his head, and hits it on the head with the bamboo knife in his mouth.

Then, with a double slash, he broke the remaining part into several pieces before continuing to run, satisfied.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Upon seeing the train crew, the little guy ran up to them and mumbled incoherently.

"Uh, little brother, what are you talking about?" March 7 asked, confused.

"You... hiss... who are you? I haven't seen you." The little guy slowed down his speech, emphasizing each word. This time, he finally understood what the little guy was saying.

It's not that the little guy is bragging, but he basically remembers everyone on the island.

Many people from each village escorted him home.

“We are adventurers who are passing through this island and would like to visit the Isshin Dojo,” Himeko said.

People who say "Nameless Guest" or "Pioneer" don't understand this world would have to be explained, which is too troublesome. So Himeko used the similar concept of "Adventurer" to make it easier for the locals to understand.

"So you've come to visit the dojo. I'm a disciple of the dojo, and I can take you there." As the little guy spoke, perhaps because the sentence was too long, the bamboo knife in his mouth fell out.

"Thank you, little brother. My name is Himeko. What's your name?" Himeko asked.

"Roronoa Zoro." Zoro tucked his bamboo sword into his robes, hesitated for a moment, then began to lead the way.

Meng Huaifeng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not stop him. He was quite curious about how they got lost and wanted to experience it for himself.

"Zoro, why are you carrying a sword in your mouth?" March Seven asked curiously as the train crew followed behind Zoro.

"Because I am a three-sword style swordsman!" Zoro said seriously.

"Three-sword style? Swordsman? Wait, isn't something wrong?" March 7th was a little confused.

“Of course that’s not right, Zoro, what are you holding in your hand?” Meng Huaifeng asked.

“A bamboo sword,” Zoro replied.

"You're using a knife?" Meng Huaifeng confirmed.

"Of course it's a sword." Zoro tilted his head and looked at Meng Huaifeng strangely. This older brother doesn't even recognize a sword. Is he not smart enough?
"Then why are you a swordsman?" Meng Huaifeng asked.

“A swordsman is a swordsman, what’s the problem?” Zoro said.

"Of course there's a problem! You use a knife, why are you a swordsman?" March 7th said frantically.

"What else could they be but swordsmen?" Zoro asked, puzzled. What were these people trying to say? It was all so strange.

“Of course, it’s the swordsman,” said March 7th.

"A swordsman? Never heard of him." Zoro shook his head.

"You say you're a swordsman, so where's your sword?" March 7th asked.

"This is it." Zoro raised the bamboo sword in his hand.

"Isn't this a knife?"

"It's a knife."

"Where's the sword?"

"This is it."

"..."

"Ah~!!!"

March 7th, clutching his hair, let out a groundhog-like popping sound. As a true swordsman, March 7th could not accept this practice of blurring the lines between swords and blades.

"That's ridiculous." Zoro scratched his head and continued leading the way.

"Alright, don't argue with a child," Himeko comforted him.

"That's just how the world is, swords and blades are indistinguishable, don't dwell on it." Although Meng Huaifeng also had something to complain about, he had already accepted it since he already knew it.

On March 7th, he lowered his hands, his face blank.

"Three-sword style, is the third sword the one you're holding in your mouth?" Xing accepted it well and asked Zoro.

"Mm." Zoro nodded.

"Isn't it inconvenient to bite it with your mouth? Why do you want to practice with three knives?" Xing asked.

"Of course, the more swords you have, the stronger you are, but unfortunately I can only use three at most," Zoro said with some regret.

"So that's how it is," Xing said, suddenly realizing.

"Hey, you don't think the more swords you have, the more powerful you are, do you?" March 7th had already accepted the sword and blade setting of this world, and rolled his eyes at Xing.

“Others use at most two swords, but I use three. I block one sword with each hand, so how can others block the third one?” Zoro gestured with his bamboo sword.

“That makes sense,” Xing agreed. “So, according to you, you must be invincible throughout the dojo?” Meng Huaifeng asked.

Zoro paused in his bamboo sword gesture, then said, "With one person gone, no one else in the dojo is a match for me."

"Why eliminate one person? Is it because you can't win?" Meng Huaifeng directly attacked the weakness.

“She’s older than me and has been training for longer…” Zoro tried to explain.

"Oh, so I knew we couldn't beat them." Meng Huaifeng said knowingly.

"Stop talking nonsense! That's because I haven't mastered my Three-Sword Style yet. I'll be able to defeat her soon!" Zoro broke through his defenses and glared at Meng Huaifeng, shouting loudly.

"Huaifeng," Ji Zi called softly to Meng Huaifeng.

Meng Huaifeng shrugged and let the vulnerable Zoro off the hook.

“I know a guy who knows the Seven Swords Style. I’ll introduce him to you sometime,” Hoshi said.

"Seven-Sword Style? How do you wield seven swords?" Now it was Zoro's turn to be shocked.

Zoro imagined holding one in each hand, one in each hand, making four in total. He also gritted his teeth and bit into two of them. What was he going to do with the last one?
Armpits? No, that won't work, it'll interfere with using your hands.

Shall I squeeze your butt?
That seems feasible! That way, we won't have to worry about enemies behind us!
"Flying swords, one in hand, six flying behind, move at will," Xing said.

"How could a sword fly? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Zoro rolled his eyes at Hoshino, thinking she was teasing him, and ignored her.

Zoro continued to lead the way, making several turns.

“No, this is the direction we came from.” Dan Heng suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? I've walked this road thousands of times, how could I be wrong?" Zoro said confidently.

"How much longer until we reach the Yixin Dojo?" Danheng asked.

"Two or three hours, I guess," Zoro said, not entirely sure.

"Two or three hours? Is this island that big?" March 7th asked in disbelief.

“This island is huge; sometimes you can walk all day and still not reach the beach,” Zoro affirmed.

Dan Heng's lips twitched slightly. When viewed from the distance at sea, the island didn't look very big. Even a child wouldn't be able to reach the beach in a day.

And sometimes, what the heck is it?

The island can change size unexpectedly?

"You don't think we're bad guys, do you? You think we're here to cause trouble for the Isshin Dojo and you're deliberately leading us astray?" Danheng asked suspiciously.

Zoro belatedly became wary: "You guys aren't really bad people, are you, going to cause trouble for the dojo?"

"Hey, we don't look like bad guys at all, do we?" March 7 said indignantly.

“Hehehe, since you’ve found out, then stay…” March 7th pushed away the laughing Meng Huaifeng.

“…I can’t believe it.” Star Monster added with a laugh, but it was too late for March 7 to stop him.

"I'm not afraid of you! Come on!" Zoro quickly put a bamboo sword in his mouth and assumed a fighting stance.

"You two, stop making things worse! Sister Himeko, you need to do something about them!" March 7 complained to Himeko helplessly, then turned to Dan Heng and said, "How can you just stand by and watch them cause trouble?"

"Oh, I'm used to it," Dan Heng said expressionlessly.

"Is this what they mean by one thing subduing another? I thought Danheng would be the one in trouble, but it turns out it's Sanyue. Just explain it clearly, why bother?" Himeko said with a smile in her eyes.

March 7th glared at Meng Huaifeng and Xing respectively, and hurriedly explained, "Little Zoro, don't misunderstand, those two are just crazy. We're really good people. Have you ever seen pirates like us?"

"Never seen it before." Zoro put away his bamboo sword with some skepticism.

"At such a young age, you dared to risk your life alone to protect the dojo and lure others away. Kid, you're very good, very brave," Dan Heng praised.

Zoro blushed slightly, while Meng Huaifeng's lips trembled slightly as he tried to suppress his embarrassment.

“Take us to Isshin Dojo, we really aren’t bad people,” March Seven assured him once again.

Zoro changed direction and continued leading the way.

The surrounding scenery began to look familiar; they had obviously walked this path before.

However, since we were deliberately led astray before, it makes sense to see familiar scenes now that we're heading back. Dan Heng thought to himself.

It's reasonable twice, but it becomes a bit unreasonable the third time.

[Yan: What are you doing? Why are you going in circles?]
Hidden in the clouds above, Yan, observing the lives of the people on the island, couldn't help but send a message asking.

[Meng Huaifeng: We're stuck in a maze, wanna come down and play? It's quite interesting.]
[Yan:? ]
[March 7:?]
Dan Heng stopped again, somewhat speechless, and said to Zoro, "You kid aren't a fake Isshin Dojo disciple, are you? You don't know the way, do you?"

“Who’s fake? I’m a real disciple of the dojo!” Zoro said.

"Then why are you leading us in circles? We've already told you, we're really not bad people, we're not trying to cause trouble for the dojo," Danheng emphasized again.

"Where did I lead you in circles?" Zoro denied it.

“We may not know the way, but we're not so clueless as to not even know if we're going in circles.” Seeing that Zoro still denied it, Dan Heng shook his head, feeling a little tired. Why was this kid so stubborn?

"Is it possible that this kid has no sense of direction?" Meng Huaifeng asked.

"I'm not directionally challenged!" Zoro said, blushing.

"Even someone with a terrible sense of direction couldn't not know the way around their own neighborhood." Dan Heng didn't believe it either.

People who aren't bad at directions can't even imagine how bad they really are at navigating.

"Forget it, we'll find it ourselves. We don't need you to lead the way," Dan Heng said helplessly.

The train passed Sauron and headed northeast, as the fisherman had initially indicated.

"Trust me, I'm not bad with directions! I can definitely get you to the dojo!" Zoro said anxiously, following the train crew. He wanted to prove himself!
After walking only a few hundred meters, they turned a corner on a hillside and a Taoist temple appeared before them.

Danheng glanced at Zoro, confirming that at such a close distance, it was absolutely impossible for anyone to get lost.

This kid is deliberately stalling them.

Although it's a bit frustrating, he's a good kid, just a little stubborn.

"Hey, who are you people?" the disciples of the dojo asked when they saw the train group appear.

“A nameless traveler from the Starry Sky Train, an adventurer, has come to pay a visit,” Himeko said, two small gifts appearing in her hands.

For these lawful and benevolent minor groups, the train crew doesn't mind bringing small gifts to express goodwill when they visit.

"Please come in," the disciples of the temple greeted them.

"Master, we have guests!" someone ran into the dojo to announce.

As the train entered the dojo, a bespectacled man with squinty eyes, who looked incredibly peaceful, came out to greet them.

"It's been a long time since we've had any guests at the dojo. Welcome everyone. I am Shimotsuki Koushirou, the master of Isshin Dojo." Koushirou greeted them, trying to figure out their purpose.

Challenging the school, learning swordsmanship, recruiting, or something else?

Himeko introduced the train crew and handed a small gift to Koushirou: "We risked our lives to pass through this place and heard that the Isshin Dojo has protected this place for decades, so we came to visit. We have no other intentions."

The gifts weren't particularly valuable, but considering this was a kendo dojo, one was a set of ordinary sword techniques from a certain planet, and the other was a special food from the train.

"Haha, thank you for your expense. Protecting this island is what we should do." Koushirou's laughter grew even more hearty as he accepted the gift. They even gave him a present, so it seemed they really meant no harm.

"Kuina, quickly pour tea for the guests. Everyone, please have a seat." Koushirou handed the gift to a little girl of about ten years old beside him and greeted her warmly.

(End of this chapter)