Young Zoro has a fierce fighting style. Facing Kuina, who has defeated him many times, he did not show any caution. Instead, he took the initiative to attack Kuina.
Under the gaze of many students in the dojo, Zoro kicked off his feet and rushed towards Kuina at a rapid speed.
"Haha, Zoro, haven't you learned your lesson after all this time?"
"Why did you rush up so rashly again?"
"This time, I'm afraid Kuina will be defeated in less than five moves!"
Although Zoro's charge speed seemed fast to the students, it hadn't improved much since his last fight with Kuina. Furthermore, Zoro's "opening move" was also very conventional, and in the students' opinion, Zoro hadn't made much progress compared to before.
Just as the students beside the dojo were laughing at Zoro, Zoro, holding a sword in both hands, had already rushed in front of Kuina, holding the wooden sword tightly in his right hand and raised it high, and chopped it directly at Kuina.
"clatter!"
Kuina stood upright with the sword in both hands, and facing Zoro's attack, she quickly raised the sword horizontally. As the blades of the two wooden swords collided, a crisp sound was heard in the dojo.
"Hmm?" Kuina was just about to block Zoro's wooden sword and fight back when she suddenly discovered that Zoro was cutting her lower abdomen with a knife in his left hand. By the time Kuina noticed it, Zoro's wooden sword was already approaching.
The opponent's attacks from both ends almost came one after the other, and the timing was very good.
With her sword defense hopeless, Kuina could only jump back quickly and narrowly avoided Zoro's second attack.
After just one round of fighting, Zoro had a slight advantage. The students who were watching the fight fell silent when they saw this scene, and no one laughed at Zoro anymore.
Everyone present were children who had received a period of orthodox kendo education. Many of the children who were willing to follow Koshiro to leave home and come to Bankuo had entered the dojo to learn swordsmanship since childhood, and their eyesight had been cultivated to some extent.
They vaguely felt that Sauron seemed a little different from before.
Zoro's attack missed, but his body did not pause at all, as if Kuina's reaction was within his expectations. While Kuina jumped back to dodge, Zoro thrust his sword forward with both hands, merged the two swords, and chopped down together.
Kuina had just landed and was forced to raise her sword to block again. This time, the power of Zoro's double slash was much stronger than the previous attack. Kuina had just stood firm, and the power coming from her arms made her frown slightly.
And just the next second after Zoro's two swords were blocked, Zoro drew his sword with his right hand and stabbed it straight into Kuina's abdomen. He added a little force with his left hand again, making it impossible for Kuina to retract her sword to block.
In the first encounter, Zoro launched another second attack. Kuina had no way to defend herself with her sword, so she chose to dodge sideways in the face of the stab.
Zoro seemed to have noticed it long ago. He put away his sword with his left hand and picked up the wooden sword in Kuina's hand, and the stab with his right hand quickly turned into a horizontal slash.
With continuous attacks and provocations, he instantly formed a killing momentum against Kuina, and the surrounding students opened their mouths in shock.
Even Shimotsuki Koshiro, who had been watching the sparring on the field with a smile on his face, couldn't help but open his eyes. After a brief surprise, he looked at Zoro with some surprise in his eyes.
“Bang!”
Zoro's wooden sword successfully draped over Kuina's body, but Zoro was young, and the power of his single-arm slash was not great when he was distracted using both swords. The wooden sword draped over Kuina's body did not cause her much pain.
After a successful attack, Zoro retreated quickly with a look of joy on his face.
"Success"
"I succeeded?!"
Zoro himself didn't seem to expect that his attack would actually successfully hit Kuina. He was confused and stunned at first, but then his expression turned into deep joy.
In front of him, Kuina's face fell slightly, and she reached out and gently stroked her belly.
Although the pain was not severe, the feeling from her abdomen was so real. She was really hit by Sauron's attack.
Obviously, I am much stronger than Zoro in terms of strength and speed.
Kuina slowly raised her head and looked at Zoro. The hand holding the knife tightened involuntarily. She bit her lip lightly, her face full of unwillingness:
“Come again!!!”
Kuina has never been the kind of person who would admit defeat. She growled and did not give Zoro a chance to refuse. She raised her sword in both hands and rushed towards Zoro.
"good!"
Zoro was also in an excited state at this time. Looking at the aggressive Kuina, he had no intention of retreating and also let out a low growl.
Kuina grabbed the sword with both hands, quickly approached Zoro, and slashed directly downwards towards him. It was a bright attack, without any so-called moves.
Zoro raised his arms with all his strength and held both swords in front of him.
"clatter!!"
Two crisp sounds merged into one, and Kuina's wooden sword slashed fiercely on Zoro's sword. Zoro only felt a terrifying force coming from his hands, and he could no longer hold the sword. The long sword in his hand was directly knocked out by Kuina.
Zoro leaned forward. He had not anticipated this situation and in order to avoid the flying wooden sword, he sat down on the ground, staring blankly at the girl standing in front of him with a knife.
"Kuina! That's it!"
And just at the moment when Kuina knocked the long sword out of Zoro's hand, Shimotsuki Koshiro, who had been watching the fight on the side, suddenly shouted to stop him.
"Damn it." As a swordsman, even the weapon in his hand was knocked away. Isn't this a complete defeat?!
Zoro pounded his hands on the ground unwillingly, lowered his head and looked annoyed.
In front of him, Kuina, who had won the duel, didn't look much better. Ignoring Koshiro at the main seat, she cast a long glance at Zoro, who sat on the ground with a look of resentment on his face, then left the dojo without a word, carrying her wooden sword.
The atmosphere in the gym was a bit depressing.
Koshiro stood up, clapped his hands lightly, and said to the students with a smile:
"Okay, that's all for today, let's all go back."
"After you go back, digest today's training content well."
"Zoro, your performance today was outstanding, great."
Koshiro waved his hand to dismiss the students, then walked to Zoro, patted Zoro's head gently, and praised him with a smile.
However, Zoro did not respond to Koshiro's praise. He was still immersed in the defeat in the fight. Koshiro's comfort made Zoro feel even more aggrieved.
Why.
He had tried so hard, even receiving instruction from the world's greatest swordsman, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, so why couldn't he defeat Kuina? Why was he defeated by Kuina in a single blow?
The young Zoro couldn't understand what was going on, so he got up and picked up the two wooden swords that were knocked away without saying a word. Zoro bowed slightly to Koshiro, turned around and left the dojo.
In the evening, the setting sun shines into the temple through the gate.
Koshiro looked at the gate where his daughter and Zoro left one after another, and remained silent for a long time.
The young girl and the ambitious boy each have different worries in their hearts.
Koshiro was thinking about how to enlighten the two children.
Dusk falls.
The night is clear tonight and the moon is high in the sky.
Kuina sat at the desk, her head tilted up with lifeless eyes, looking at the bright moon above, her heart filled with sorrow.
Swordsman
She received kendo education from Koshiro since she was a child. Growing up in the new navy, she had heard various stories about Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Mihawk and others since she was a child.
Influenced by her family since childhood, she has a lofty goal in her heart, she wants to become the most powerful swordsman in the world!
However, girls always mature earlier than their peers. The longer they practice kendo and the more they understand, the greater the pressure they feel.
As he grew older, Koshiro told his daughter that a female swordsman could never become the best swordsman in the world.
Because women are not as good as men in terms of physical fitness, strength, etc.
The cruel reality has become a thick dark cloud that shrouds Guina's life, and her dreams and goals are also covered tightly by this dark cloud.
She works very hard and is very talented. In order to prove to her father that girls can also become the best swordsman in the world, she puts all her energy into practicing kendo.
Her practice was fruitful. Kuina was well known by the teachers and students of the Naval Academy. Her abilities surpassed those of all her peers, and were even stronger than some older youths.
Kuina feels that she can succeed, she can realize her dream and become the strongest!
However.
Everything was shattered by Sauron today.
Zoro, who was two years younger than her, successfully attacked her. Her reaction and sword skills were actually overwhelmed by Zoro. She was able to defeat the young Zoro because she relied on the strength that girls develop earlier than boys.
Kuina deeply understood this, and she also knew that this so-called power advantage would disappear without a trace as she and Zoro grew older.
After all, women's strength is no match for men's. This thought was deeply rooted in Kuina's mind.
She knew that one day, Zoro would far surpass her.
In the dim room, the girl looked up at the bright moon in the sky, two lines of clear tears flowed from her eyes and dripped onto the desk.
"Why am I not a boy?"
Kuina clenched her fists, and her murmurs echoed in her boudoir.
“Knock knock.”
There was a knock on the door outside Tsugumi Yuichi's office. Tsugumi Yuichi was sitting behind his desk, his chin resting on one hand, carefully flipping through the documents in his hand.
As the new navy's business grew, his workload also increased, and he often had to work until late at night.
Hearing the knock on the door, Ji Guoyuan closed the documents on the table and turned his head to look at the sky outside the window.
The cold moonlight shines over the windowsill and into the room.
Ji Guoyuan withdrew his gaze, leaned back in his chair, and said loudly: "Come in!"
The office door was pushed open, and a young lieutenant led Zoro into Yoriichi Tsugakuni's office.
"Sir, this child wants to see you."
"Well, he said he knew you."
The lieutenant stuttered a bit, as if he was afraid of being blamed by Tsugakuni Yoriichi. After all, Tsugakuni Yoriichi was not someone these kids could see whenever they wanted. He had only brought Zoro to see Tsugakuni Yoriichi after hearing Zoro say he knew him.
"Zoro..."
"Yes, I know him."
"Lieutenant Mick, go and rest. I'll call you if anything happens."
The second lieutenant is Tsugakuni Yuichiro's aide-de-camp. Tsugakuni Yuichiro set up a system of aide-de-camps, in which the aide-de-camps are responsible for delivering documents to Tsugakuni Yuichiro, issuing orders and collecting feedback.
The sailors who serve as aides-de-camp are the best young sailors in the new navy and are the focus of future training.
"Yes!" Mick lowered his head and glanced at Zoro, memorized Zoro's appearance in his mind, and then quietly left the office.
Zoro didn't even change out of his training clothes. He held a wooden sword in each hand and his little face was covered in sweat. It looked like he had just finished high-intensity training.
Jiguo Yuanyi took a quick look at Zoro, then asked with a smile: "Zoro, have you eaten?"
The silent Zoro was a little surprised that Jigokuyuan suddenly said this.
"without"
"I'm not hungry."
"Mr. Yuichiro Tsugikoku, I'm here to..."
Before Zoro could finish, Jiguo Yuanyi smiled and waved his hand, interrupting:
"For a swordsman, eating is very important."
"Or, in other words, for anyone who aspires to become a strong person, eating is a very important thing."
"Please sit down for a while."
Ji Guoyuan said this and stood up and left the office.
After Yoshikazu Tsugakuni left, Zoro also looked around Yoshikazu Tsugakuni's office. His eyes lingered on the knife rack opposite the desk for a long time. He suppressed his curiosity, sat down on the sofa, and waited quietly.
In less than half an hour, the office door was pushed open again, and Ji Guoyuan returned to the office holding a tray.
After coming to Zoro, he placed a large bowl of noodles in front of Zoro.
"Let's eat together. If you have anything to say, we can talk while we eat."
As Yunyi spoke, he took out a bowl of noodles from the tray and placed it in front of himself. Then, without paying any attention to Zoro beside him, he picked up the chopsticks.
The noodles look very good.
But after Zoro picked up the chopsticks, he didn't feel like eating.
"I lost"
"I lost to Kuina again."
"Just one blow and I was defeated."
"I've tried so hard, why can't I beat Kuina?"
"I can feel my sword skills improving, but..."
Zoro's little face was full of unwillingness.
In fact, his strong self-esteem made him feel deeply humiliated, and his eyes were filled with tears.
While eating his noodles, Jiguo Yuanyi glanced at Zoro and a faint smile appeared on his face:
"Zoro, isn't your goal to become the world's greatest swordsman?"
"You're crying over such a small setback. You have no spine."
Ji Guoyuan ate his noodles and joked with a smile.
Zoro's loss did not surprise Yoriichi Tsugikuni at all. From the information he knew, Kuina was almost able to learn the Six Styles, so it was only natural that she could defeat Zoro.
Under his guidance, Zoro is indeed on the verge of mastering the dual-wielding style, but the most basic thing for a swordsman is physical fitness.
Speed, strength, reaction, only when these things are almost the same, the level of sword skills can bring some variables to the battle situation.
Breathing techniques, domineering power, life return, all of these are designed to enable the body's basic abilities to reach the peak.
Zoro and Kuina
There is still a long way to go.
The current victory or defeat doesn’t mean anything.
However, what seemed like a small matter to Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a huge deal to a child of Zoro's age.
In Zoro's eyes, the two or three years of training since he started learning kendo seemed like a long time.
After training for such a long time without any results, it is inevitable that he would feel disappointed.
"I"
"I just want to know why I lost!"
"Obviously, I've tried so hard."
Zoro clenched his fists and lowered his head.
“Try hard—”
“There are many things in this world that cannot be overcome by hard work alone.”
“Hard work pays off”
"This is the biggest scam in the world."
"Zoro, if you want to become a truly strong man, you must first recognize this."
“To surpass others, hard work alone is not enough”
"You need to have a longer-term vision and more reasonable planning."
"You lose, not because you don't work hard enough."
"Becoming stronger is not something that can be achieved overnight."
"Just as a young person is not as strong as a young person, an adult woman is not as strong as an adult man, and an elderly person is not as strong as a middle-aged man."
"This is the law of nature. Most people have no way to transcend the shackles they are born into."
"If you want to become stronger, you need to move forward step by step, and then constantly break through these shackles."
"Zoro, put aside your thoughts about victory and defeat for the moment. You just need to move forward steadily on the right path."
“One day when you look back, you will find that you are at the top of the world.”
While eating noodles, Ji Guoyuan said to Zoro with a smile. Zoro was probably unable to accept all of what he said at the moment.
But Sauron heard a hidden meaning.
All he can do now is to proceed steadily and firmly towards his goal.
(End of this chapter)
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