This guy certainly made himself at home.
Kuina picked up some rice with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth without even looking at him.
“Yours is in the kitchen.
Go get it yourself!”
Zoro dashed to the back kitchen and soon came out carrying a large tray.
On it was a bowl of rice piled high into a mountain, along with a massive fish.
He placed the tray next to the two of them, sat cross-legged on the floor, lifted his bowl, and shouted, “Thanks for the food!”
Then he began to wolf down the food desperately…
From the looks of it, he was starving.
“Hmph!” Seeing Zoro like this, Kuina couldn’t help but scoff.
“A freeloader, yet you still dare to eat so much!”
The children who came to the dojo to learn kendo paid tuition.
Although it wasn’t much, it was still a source of income for the dojo.
Among the disciples, the only two who hadn’t paid tuition were Ian and the newly joined Zoro.
However, the dojo’s property also included a field used for growing crops.
Since Ian usually helped out with the farming, he wasn’t considered a freeloader.
Hearing Kuina’s words, Zoro froze for a long moment.
Then he scrambled to his feet, grains of rice still stuck to the corner of his mouth, and suddenly bowed deeply on the spot.
He said to Kuina with utmost seriousness, “I’m sorry!
I’ll help out around the dojo from now on!”
After saying that, the guy sat back down with a clear conscience and continued to stuff his face, seemingly completely unbothered by Kuina’s previous remark.
Ian watched in speechless disbelief.
This green-haired idiot was oblivious on a whole other level…
Kuina’s sarcasm had completely missed its mark.
Frustrated, she could only stab her rice a few times, making Ian want to laugh.
After finishing his meal, Zoro lay on the floor without a care for his image, patting his belly and laughing.
“I’m stuffed!
I’m stuffed!”
Kuina stood up to clear the trays, but right at that moment, Zoro jumped to his feet and pointed at her.
“Now that I’m full, let’s settle this with a duel!”
Kuina originally wanted to ignore him, but Ian spoke up.
“I’ll clear the plates, you clear him!”
Without giving Kuina a chance to reply, he stood up, gathered the three trays, and walked toward the kitchen with a wicked smirk.
He knew exactly what was about to happen.
If he remembered correctly, this idiot Zoro would live under Kuina’s shadow for a long time, racking up a miserable record of zero wins and two thousand and one losses!
So, what followed would be Zoro getting absolutely demolished by Kuina.
How could Ian let a few dirty dishes make him miss such a good show?
Sure enough, by the time Ian walked back out, Zoro and Kuina were already clashing swords, the sharp clacks of bamboo echoing through the room.
Compared to yesterday’s fight, Zoro’s attacks today were no longer a chaotic mess.
He had perfectly mimicked the stance Ian had taught him that morning.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
His timing and power control were still flawed.
After a flurry of aggressive strikes, Kuina seized an opening.
With a swift forward thrust of her bamboo sword, she struck Zoro squarely in the stomach, sending him flying backward.
Ian saw it clearly; Zoro’s eyes practically bulged out of his head…
“Cough!
Cough!” Sprawled on the ground, Zoro looked like he was about to throw up bile.
Yet, even as he coughed violently, his eyes remained filled with unyielding defiance.
Ian had originally intended to treat it as a joke, but upon seeing the look in Zoro’s eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
Yes, that was the look.
The look of someone who would never give up!
With that thought, Ian stood up and walked over to Kuina.
“Kuina, do you still have some energy left?”
Having taught Zoro a minor lesson, Kuina had been about to leave.
Caught off guard by Ian stepping forward, she paused for a moment before answering, “Of course!”
“Then, spar with me!” Ian said seriously.
“How rare.
To think you would actively challenge me, Brother Ian!” Kuina suddenly smiled.
Hearing this, Ian felt a bit embarrassed.
He had never initiated a challenge against Kuina before.
It couldn’t be helped; who would willingly ask for a beating when they knew they couldn’t win?
However, ever since drawing the card, he wanted to see just how much of a boost it could give him!
Seeing the two about to duel, Zoro stopped coughing.
He quickly scrambled to the side to clear the floor and sat down to watch.
In the center of the room, Ian and Kuina stood face to face, gripping their bamboo swords and staring intently at each other.
They sensed every minute movement of the other’s body.
When Ian saw Kuina’s shoulder twitch slightly, he immediately thought to himself, ‘Here she comes!’
The next second, Kuina charged at him.
Her footwork was incredibly fast, but unfortunately for her, Ian’s reaction was even faster.
Without a second thought, he thrust his sword directly toward her incoming path.
The speed of this strike exceeded Kuina’s expectations.
She hastily shifted her stance and swept her bamboo sword horizontally, blocking Ian’s attack!
The two then launched into a fierce exchange of blows.
The sharp clacks of bamboo swords rang out incessantly.
Block, counterattack—they exchanged over a dozen moves in the blink of an eye!
There weren’t many flashy movements in their offense and defense.
The kendo taught by Koushirou didn’t have any specialized sword techniques.
In fact, over the years, both Kuina and Ian had only learned fundamental movements.
Yet, it was precisely these most basic movements that made their duel exceptionally intense, so much so that Zoro, watching from the sidelines, was practically dumbfounded.
Evenly matched!
Ian could feel it; for the first time, he was fighting Kuina to a draw…
He noticed the massive changes in his body.
His attack speed and reaction time had both increased, and every swing of his sword carried more power.
Although the sudden surge in strength made it a bit difficult for him to control his strikes perfectly, there was no denying that the boost in power was causing Kuina a lot of trouble.
However, the intense movements brought about a massive drain on stamina.
After fighting for a good while, Ian and Kuina stopped simultaneously.
Both panted heavily, gripping their swords and staring at each other as beads of sweat rolled down their faces.
“B-Brother Ian, your progress is amazing!” Kuina took the opportunity to ask him curiously.
“You lost to me just yesterday.
How did you do it?
Have you been holding back against me this whole time?”
“No!” Ian shook his head.
He wouldn’t dare admit to that.
Given Kuina’s pride, if he claimed he had been letting her win, she might turn around and never speak to him again.
So, he explained, “It’s because I’ve been practicing more seriously than before, which is why I’ve improved!”
“Is that so?” Kuina immediately recalled the sight of Ian’s morning training.
That level of focus couldn’t be faked, so she readily accepted his explanation.
“Shall we call it a draw?” Ian wiped away his sweat.
“I’m out of stamina!”
Kuina was initially a bit reluctant.
Like Zoro, she was actually a very competitive child.
Having been undefeated in the village since she was little, she wouldn’t willingly accept defeat.
But seeing Ian say this, she had no choice but to stop.
Thankfully, a draw didn’t count as a loss…
right?
Kuina left, and Ian stood in place, panting.
He looked down at his sweat-drenched palms, thinking that perhaps he needed to put stamina and strength training on his schedule.
Although his clash with Kuina was brief, he could sense his lack of endurance.
Since the strength and speed bonuses from the card were so direct, he had to adapt to these changes as quickly as possible.
His current attributes showed that his strength and speed were both at 20, and his Doriki had also increased slightly to 14 points.
In other words, if he could fully utilize his stats, he would already be slightly stronger than a standard Marine soldier.
But, he was still trash…
As he was thinking this, Ian suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
Looking down, he saw it was Zoro.
Currently, Ian was a ten-year-old child, and Zoro was even younger, making Ian a full head taller than him.
He looked down at Zoro, while Zoro looked up at him.
“What is it?” Ian asked him.
“Brother Ian, will you teach me?
I want to beat that woman!” Zoro blurted out.
This was the first time he had heard Zoro call him that.
It was probably because of his duel with Kuina just now.
Inexplicably, Ian felt a thrill of excitement at the title.
Hearing Zoro’s proposal, Ian was also tempted.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Zoro’s appearance had truly motivated him.
If they could train together, given Zoro’s desperate, all-out approach to practice, it should be a great driving force for him, right?
“Alright!
Starting tomorrow, you’ll train with me!” Ian quickly agreed.
The master of the Isshin Dojo, Master Koushirou, didn’t actually personally instruct his disciples very often.
Most of the time, his junior brothers handled it.
Even Ian, an official inner disciple, rarely saw him make a move.
To Ian, Koushirou’s true strength had always been a mystery.
Therefore, having Zoro follow him and teaching the boy himself didn’t seem like a big deal.
Thus, the next day, when Ian got up for his morning training, he had a little shadow following behind him.
“…Let’s start with running!” Seeing Zoro staring at him, Ian could only brace himself and begin teaching.
“Follow me, we’ll run a lap around the village first!”
“Mhm, mhm!” Zoro nodded vigorously.
Ian turned around and started jogging.
However, after only a few steps, he realized Zoro hadn’t kept up.
Looking back, he found that the idiot Zoro had actually run off in the exact opposite direction…
“Come back!!
You massive idiot!” Veins popped on Ian’s forehead as he roared, “How can you get lost when I’m right here?!”
Hearing the shout, Zoro quickly turned around, trying to catch up.
However, right under Ian’s watchful gaze, the guy took two steps and suddenly made an inexplicable turn…
“…” Ian didn’t even know where to begin roasting him.
Seeing it firsthand from childhood, the greatest directionally challenged person in history truly lived up to his reputation…