Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

Just as Kitahara Shin was being ambushed and about to be hacked to death by gangsters in an alley, Kanbaru Shuichi appeared with a half-smoked cigar, walking with a composed gait.

The way he loosened the tie on his black suit was as swift and dashing as that of a suit-wearing thug.

The atmosphere froze the moment the man entered. As he calmly took out a pistol from his pocket and quietly released the safety, his powerful aura reached its peak.

"Either die or get out," he said calmly, like a tyrant who held the power of life and death.

Then the group obediently left, as well as children being scolded by their parents, not daring to show even the slightest rebellious expression.

When the man said those words, Kitahara Shin thought he was incredibly handsome and awesome. What else could he be but a savior of light?

At the very least, this was a gangster boss who had chased someone for ten blocks to kill them. Just as he was so certain, the man unceremoniously plopped down next to him, laughing and saying, "This is a model gun I bought. These idiots really don't have smarts."

Kitahara Shin was dumbfounded. He thought to himself, "With your dazzling entrance, your domineering and unyielding aura, and your indifferent and cold eyes, who wouldn't believe it? But you're telling me that this is not only a model gun but also a lighter. This is completely out of character."

Then the man took a model gun and hit Kitahara Shin on the head, calling him an idiot and saying, "Does someone with your brains even belong in the yakuza? You're so stupid, you might as well join me. I love idiots. I can use my brains. If you trust me, then join me."

Then Kitahara Shin agreed.

Now, ten years later, having witnessed the horror of living dolls, Kitahara Shin's answer is still good.

Everyone thought that Shuichi Kanbara was always serious and solemn, but only Shin Kitahara knew how unserious and prone to swearing he was when he was young.

That's why his current appearance is so worrying, given the weight he carries on his shoulders.

"No matter what, I will fight to the end with Mr. Kambara. This time, I won't be in such a sorry state." Kitahara Shin's words contained a firm determination.

Do you know what it means to die for someone who understands you?

For Kitahara Shin, the man before him was the answer.

23.Kannahara Yu

Kanbara Yu is a girl as beautiful as a cherry blossom.

There's a Japanese proverb that describes cherry blossoms.

Seven days of cherry blossoms.

The meaning is that the cherry blossoms fall so quickly, as if in only seven days, as if implying that such a beautiful scene is often difficult to last long.

Beautiful, fragile, and naive.

This was Su Qing'an's first impression of Shen Yuanxi.

That adorable little girl in the old photo, who looked like a snowball, has grown into a graceful and elegant young woman.

Even though it hardly snows in Kanagawa in winter, the chill of being deep in the mountains made her choose a thicker, warmer black kimono instead of a light yukata, yet her figure still appeared exceptionally slender.

The girl smiled happily the moment she saw Shuichi Kambara. As she ran over, she noticed Su Qing'an and Yuno Sato behind her. She then timidly hid behind the man's broad back, like a frightened young deer in the forest.

"Xiao Xi, come and greet the guests." Shuichi Kanbara affectionately ruffled the girl's hair, saying helplessly.

"This is Su Qing'an, a native of Shenzhou. Don't you really like Shenzhou poetry? You can ask him about it later."

Su Qing'an was speechless. He thought to himself, "Uncle, do you think everyone from China knows classical Chinese poetry? Most people can't even recite all three hundred Tang poems."

Some ignorant and incompetent slackers can at most say, "Goose, goose, goose, with its neck bent, it sings to the sky."

He couldn't even finish the sentence.

Even Su Qing'an herself only remembered one line: "Two orioles sing in the green willows, a line of egrets flies up to the blue sky."

I memorized this when I was in elementary school and my Chinese teacher forced me to do it as homework. He thought about it for a moment and said, "Your soul is so amazing now. You can remember everything you see and learn it in no time. So what?"

I've completely forgotten all the ancient poems I used to memorize.

So what if you've accomplished something amazing now? You can never make up for the regrets of the past anyway.

For some reason, seeing the expression on Shenyuan Xiuyi's face when he looked at Shenyuan Xi, Su Qing'an suddenly felt a little sad. He thought that Su Jinyan had also shown him that same expression, but no matter which world he was in, he would never see it again.

So the boy suddenly became a little sentimental and sad, but at the same time he was also a little happy.

Lonely people might feel happy involuntarily when they see others happy, right? So Su Qing'an thought he would memorize the Three Hundred Tang Poems and the annotations of ancient poems later.

When the time comes, whatever you ask, he will be able to answer calmly and composedly.

"This lady next to you is Ms. Sato Yuno. They're here to help Xiaoyu, so please be polite."

Kanbara Yu, clutching the man's sleeve, peeked out, her fair skin, as white as fresh snow, flushed pink. The girl looked up at the two of them, somewhat shyly, and said:

"Hello, my name is Kanbara Yu, thank you for your help."

Her voice was soft and sweet, and her answers had a touch of naivety and confusion.

Su Qing'an didn't know if Shenyuan Shuichi had told her about the living doll, but in any case, the two of them couldn't bring it up directly.

"Hello." Sato Yuno smiled at Kanbara Yu.

Actually, she doesn't smile easily anymore, but seeing this girl's cute appearance, Sato Yuno can smile naturally.

Kanbara Yu is indeed a girl like cherry blossoms.

At this moment, Sato Yuno couldn't help but marvel at the precision with which the master who created the Kyo Yuzen for Kanbara Yu had interpreted it.

In the future, Kanbara Yuu will definitely be a rare beauty with unique charm. Right now, Sato Yuno thinks that the cuteness of this little girl accounts for the majority of her appeal.

It's strange, really. The two of them aren't that much older than Shinbara Yu, but they unconsciously place themselves in the position of more mature elders.

Besides their own experiences leading to a maturity far beyond their peers, Kanbara Yuu's blank-slate-like innocence is also a major reason.

Su Qing'an, who was standing to the side, nodded to indicate that he had already greeted them.

Although she appeared somewhat aloof, this was simply due to a slightly awkward aspect of Su Qing'an's personality.

He is the kind of person who can remain calm and collected on the surface even when a huge tsunami is raging inside him.

The habit of suppressing one's emotions is an unconscious development after coming into this world, in order to avoid losing composure and paying the price with one's life.

As a result, Sato Yuno gave him a somewhat speechless look, as if blaming him for not showing a gentler side.

After speaking, Yuu Kambara hid behind Shuichi Kambara again. It seemed that it was too difficult for the girl to get used to the arrival of two strangers all at once.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoxi hasn't left the ancestral home since she was five years old. Lacking social interaction, she's a bit shy."

Shuichi Kanbara said guiltily, "I'm the one who wronged her."

As a man, how could he not feel guilty for not being able to give his daughter freedom and forcing her to spend ten years in this cage?

But Shinohara Yu didn't think so. Instead of hiding behind the man any longer, she chose to face him directly and speak earnestly:

"My dad has been good enough to me."

"I feel very happy with this."

That naive and shy child vanished in that instant, and she spoke with mature and sincere frankness.

Kanbara Yu has always been very well-behaved.

Yet this child was so sensitive and unhappy when facing Shuichi Kanbara's negative emotions because of her.

What exactly is freedom?

Did the girl develop a longing for the outside world during these ten years?

There must be someone who really, really wants to be.

She would want to see the azure sea, the snow of China, the Great Wall of China, watch the aurora borealis in a glass igloo in Finland, and visit the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, known as the Mirror of the Sky.

I want to see many, many places, travel across mountains and rivers, and appreciate the beautiful scenery that I, Shinbara Yu, have seen in books over the past ten years.

Or even just to catch a glimpse of the cherry blossoms at Kiyomizu-dera Temple would be fine.

The girl, who had been imprisoned here by a living doll for ten years, should have been more willful and unreasonable, but she said earnestly that she was already very happy.

In the girl's eyes, none of the scenery in the book, her favorite ancient poems, or the beautiful kimono were as important as Shuichi Kambara in front of her.

As long as I stay with Shuichi Shinbara, it doesn't matter if I can't see the cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle and Kiyomizu-dera Temple, or if I spend my whole life in this ancestral home and this shrine.

But that's how it is, that's why.

Shuichi Kanbara would never allow a living doll to touch a single hair of Kanbara Yu's head. Just imagining his daughter being drained of blood and gradually withering away filled him with rage and fear that overwhelmed everything in his soul.

In the end, Shuichi Kanbara simply patted the girl's head to comfort her.

The flames in his eyes burned quietly, like lava slowly flowing in the deep sea.

The divine sword in the man's hand will eventually cut through all obstacles in his path.

Even if it is a god.

24. I prefer Oda Nobunaga to Yu Xuanji.

The boy was sitting on a stone bench in the woods, surrounded by cherry blossom trees that Shuichi Kambara had specially planted for Yu Kambara.

A breeze stirred a corner of the books on the stone table, and pink and white petals fluttered down.

After discussing some details of the ritual yesterday, Shuichi Kanbara asked the two of them to spend some time talking with Yu Kanbara when they had free time.

"Xiaoxi is a child who is used to being alone. Even if you leave her alone, she can look at a cherry blossom or a leaf for a very long time. But I know she will still feel lonely."

"If possible, please spend some time chatting with her occasionally. She is very curious about the outside world, and she will be happy to hear different answers from different people."

Faced with the expression on Kanbaru Shuichi's face when he uttered those words, the two had absolutely no room to refuse.

That was a father's concern for his daughter.

Both Su Qing'an and Sato Yuno's experiences and personalities determined that they would not refuse.

So the current situation is that Sato Yuno went to the shrine where the ritual was held to use her powers to arrange some things, while Su Qing'an, who was free, was talking to Shinbara Yu.

"Who is Ms. Kanbara's favorite poet from China?" he asked.

Actually, he could roughly guess Shenyuan Xi's answer when he asked the question. Generally, girls only like a few Chinese poets.

Because the stories that exist in the past are more moving than poems.

The girl sat upright, seemingly still somewhat uneasy in front of Su Qing'an even after a day together. But upon hearing his question, Shen Yuanxi's eyes seemed to brighten, and after a moment's hesitation, she replied:

"...Yu Xuanji."

That expression is so easy to understand.

She has a personality that isn't overly shy when it comes to things she likes.