Time slipped away quietly, so silently it disturbed no one.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten months had passed.
Inside the Isshin Dojo, a group of junior disciples sat in two rows with their hands resting on their knees, staring dumbfounded at the two figures engaged in a fierce battle in the center of the room.
Needless to say, the two currently dueling were Zoro and Kuina.
Ian was also sitting to the side, watching their spar.
Calculating the time, it had been a year since Zoro arrived at the Isshin Dojo.
Compared to when he first joined, the wild brat who only knew how to use brute force like a wild boar was gone.
In his place stood a highly capable Two-Sword Style swordsman.
No one in the dojo made a sound; only the sharp clatter of their clashing bamboo swords echoed through the room.
Zoro and Kuina had already exchanged over a hundred blows, both giving it their all in this duel.
Having trained alongside Zoro every day, Ian was well aware of his progress.
From being defeated by Kuina in just two or three strikes at the very beginning, to now fighting for so long without a clear victor, Ian couldn’t help but nod inwardly in approval of Zoro.
Unfortunately, although Zoro had grown stronger, Kuina had grown even stronger.
Just when everyone thought the match would drag on for a while longer, Kuina suddenly ducked and thrust her bamboo sword toward Zoro with both hands!
Seeing Kuina’s movement, Zoro hastily swung his swords to block.
However, Kuina’s straight thrust was nothing but a feint.
After baiting Zoro into changing his stance and exposing an opening, Kuina seamlessly transitioned into a high overhead strike, viciously smacking Zoro right in the face!
Another red mark appeared on Zoro’s face.
Kuina’s attack packed a serious punch, and this wasn’t the first time Zoro had taken that exact strike to the face…
“One point!
That’s it!
Kuina wins!” the instructor, Sasuke, called out.
“Two thousand wins, zero losses!”
Seeing the match decided, Ian couldn’t help but sigh.
Over the past year, Zoro had frequently challenged Kuina.
After every training session, whenever he felt he had made even the slightest bit of progress, he would demand a duel.
Two thousand matches in a single year averaged out to five or six times a day.
Ian truly had no idea where the boy got such relentless tenacity.
With so many challenges, it would be one thing if he had won a few times, but he hadn’t secured a single victory.
Ian was starting to understand Zoro’s mindset.
Losing to a girl was embarrassing enough for him, let alone losing so many times.
Only a single-minded idiot like Zoro could handle it; anyone else would have been crushed by the sheer demoralization long ago.
“D-Damn it!” Zoro shakily picked himself up from the floor.
Pointing her bamboo sword at Zoro, Kuina teased playfully, “You really are weak, Zoro.
How can you be so useless?
Even though you’re a boy…”
The junior disciples in the dojo broke into a flurry of whispers.
“Zoro isn’t weak at all!
Aside from Senior Ian, he’s the strongest among the boys.
He’s even beaten adults…”
Perhaps they had spoken a bit too loudly, as Kuina overheard them.
She turned to look at the boys and said, “But he’s still weaker than me, isn’t he?
Even using two swords, a weakling is still a weakling!”
With that, Kuina left the crowd behind and walked out of the dojo.
Ian smiled faintly at the scene.
Kuina was as competitive as ever.
Every time she defeated Zoro, she just had to provoke him like this…
Who knew what Zoro was thinking.
After standing up in silence, he dusted himself off.
Master Koushirou walked up to him and said, “You lost again, Zoro, even though you really have grown stronger…”
Before Zoro could reply, Master Koushirou was swarmed by a group of junior disciples shouting, “Master!
Are you giving her secret special training just because she’s your daughter?” “Yeah, that’s totally unfair!”
Master Koushirou quickly waved his hands.
“No, no, I wouldn’t do such a thing.
Zoro has indeed grown stronger, but Kuina is also getting stronger and stronger.”
Meanwhile, sporting a bright red mark on his face, Zoro walked toward the door without a word.
The crowd watched his back.
Master Koushirou called out to him, but Zoro simply replied calmly, “I’m going to wash my face!” before walking straight out.
Koushirou sighed and turned to Ian.
“Go check on him.”
Ian nodded and stepped outside.
Approaching the water well in the courtyard, he found Zoro desperately splashing water over his head.
“Damn it, why can’t I beat Kuina!” Zoro muttered to himself, before suddenly roaring, “Why!?
Why!?
I’m going to become the strongest man in the world, so why is this happening!?”
Seeing how agitated he was, Ian didn’t approach.
Instead, he hid behind a tree and watched him.
After venting for a while, Zoro finally calmed down.
Wiping the water from his face, he thought to himself, ‘Tonight, I’m going to challenge her to one more duel…’
After dinner that evening, Master Koushirou and his junior brother, Sasuke, sat in a room drinking tea.
Their conversation inevitably turned to the duel between Zoro and Kuina earlier that day.
“It’s only been a year since he joined, but Zoro’s growth is truly staggering!” Sasuke remarked.
“The amount of training he and Ian put in is unmatched by anyone else.
It makes sense that he’s improving so fast, but…
he still can’t beat Kuina.”
Koushirou pondered this for a moment before speaking.
“Female swordsmen face a massive hurdle…
Given the current situation, I still cannot let her inherit the dojo…”
In the past, even if Master Koushirou felt regretful, he had never spoken so bluntly.
Perhaps because it was just him and Sasuke in the room, he finally voiced his true feelings.
However, what he didn’t anticipate was that Kuina, who had come looking for him, overheard those exact words from right outside the door.
“Father!” Kuina violently slid the door open.
“Eavesdropping is not a good habit, Kuina,” Master Koushirou said, looking at her with a stern expression.
Suppressing her agitation, Kuina declared, “Father, I will definitely become the strongest swordsman in the world!”
Much like Koushirou, this was the first time Kuina had formally expressed her dream in front of her father, desperately hoping to finally earn his acknowledgment.
To her dismay, after a brief silence, Master Koushirou replied softly, “Kuina…
a girl cannot become the strongest…”
Kuina stared blankly at her father.
She never imagined he would still be so stubborn.
All her hard work had never once earned his approval!
Without another word, Kuina turned and left.
It wasn’t until her silhouette vanished into the darkness that her tears finally began to fall.
“That…
wasn’t that a bit too harsh?” Sasuke looked at Koushirou in disbelief.
“How could you be so ruthless to Kuina?”
Koushirou sighed, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
“Do you think so too, Ian?”
Ian stepped out from behind a tree.
He had been watching the entire exchange and wasn’t surprised that Koushirou had noticed him.
Approaching the doorway, Ian sat down and asked in confusion, “Master, why are you so adamant that a girl can’t become the strongest?”
The perpetual smile on Koushirou’s face vanished, replaced by a look of deep sorrow.
“Did you know?
Kuina doesn’t just look like her mother; she has the exact same fiercely competitive personality…
I know her dream is to become the world’s strongest swordsman.
But how does one become the strongest?
Aside from the physical limitations, she would have to constantly challenge stronger opponents!
If some accident were to happen, then I…”
“I’ve already lost her mother.
I don’t want to lose my daughter too…” Koushirou looked up at the ceiling.
“I don’t need her to become the strongest in the world.
I just want her to grow up safe and sound…”
Ian watched the faint tears welling up in the corners of Koushirou’s eyes.
These words struck Ian with tremendous impact.
He finally realized that Master Koushirou wasn’t the stubborn traditionalist he had imagined.
Using the excuse that girls couldn’t become the strongest was, deep down, simply his way of keeping Kuina from leaving his side.
It was the profound love of a father for his daughter.
No one could dare say Koushirou was wrong…
Under these circumstances, Ian didn’t know what to say.
He simply stood up and said, “Master, I’ll go check on Kuina…”
Koushirou remained silent, tacitly approving Ian’s actions.
Ian closed the door for the two men and walked out.
He originally intended to search for Kuina, but unexpectedly spotted her running toward the storehouse in the distance.
Driven by curiosity, Ian quietly followed her.
A moment later, Ian saw Kuina emerge from the storehouse, tightly gripping a sword in her hand!
That was the real deal!
Having stayed at the dojo for so long, Ian naturally knew what Kuina was holding.
It was the famous blade, Wado Ichimonji!
The sword was entirely white—both its scabbard and hilt.
Although it had been kept in the storehouse, it was said to be a memento left to Kuina by her mother.
It was a sword that rightfully belonged to Kuina!
For Kuina to take this sword out so late at night, Ian couldn’t help but sigh.
He knew exactly what was about to happen.
He just felt a sense of surreal realization.
He had thought his presence might alter the original course of events, but it seemed that what was meant to happen would happen regardless…
Zoro and Kuina were still going to have their 2,001st duel…
Oh well, he might as well follow them and watch.
At the very least, he could witness the moment the two of them made their sworn promise.