A few days later, one evening.
Ron, covered in sweat, returned to the dojo after completing a 30-kilometer run.
After taking a refreshing bath, he walked barefoot along the wooden corridor, wearing a thin, white training uniform.
Passing by the dojo, he heard some commotion and glanced inside.
Inside, a boy with green hair was holding a bamboo sword with both hands, charging at Kuina, who effortlessly held her bamboo sword with one hand.
He was struck on the head, his eyes turning into spirals as he staggered back a few steps before falling flat on the ground.
"That looked painful."
"Kuina sure doesn't hold back."
"I thought he'd be stronger if he challenged Kuina, but he's clearly at this level."
The children nearby started chattering.
"Someone like him claiming he'll become the world's strongest swordsman? What a joke."
Kuina glanced at the boy on the ground before turning to leave.
Just as she stepped outside, a voice came from beside her.
"That guy is weak now, but he'll be strong one day."
Kuina turned her head and saw Ron leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
"He was the first person I saw when I arrived in this village," Ron replied with a smile.
Kuina raised an eyebrow. "And you're sure he'll get stronger?"
"Just a feeling," Ron said, stepping past her.
"Tonight, in the backyard. Let's have another match," Kuina said as he walked by.
"Sure, anytime. But if you lose again, that'll make it 364 to 0."
Ron laughed as he walked away.
Kuina clenched her bamboo sword in frustration.
That night, Zoro woke up and formally became a student of Koushirou, joining the dojo.
Koushirou arranged a place for him to stay, and from that night on, Zoro lived at the dojo.
Zoro walked with two other kids, rubbing the bump on his head and grumbling, "That girl's name is Kuina, right? One day, I'm going to beat her! Tomorrow, I'll challenge her again!"
"You shouldn't. You'll just get beaten up again, Zoro," one kid advised.
"Yeah, Kuina's strong enough to beat adults. You can't even hold a sword properly yet. There's no way you can win."
"I don't care!" Zoro clenched his fists. "I'm going to be the world's strongest swordsman! If I can't beat her with two swords, I'll use three!"
"Three swords? What's that?"
"Never heard of a three-sword style. How would you even hold a third sword? In your mouth?"
"That's just a circus trick! Hahaha!"
The two kids laughed.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past.
Zoro seemed to hear something and looked in a particular direction.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?"
"Hear what? There's no sound."
"Maybe it was just the wind. It's getting cold, we should hurry back."
The two kids wrapped their arms around themselves and ran back to their room.
"Did I imagine it?" Zoro wondered, but he followed them.
He hadn't taken more than ten steps when—
He stopped abruptly and turned his head in the direction he'd been looking.
"No, I definitely heard something."
He immediately ran toward the sound.
Under the night sky, the moonlight shone brightly.
When he reached the forest behind the dojo, he saw her immediately—the blue-haired girl, Kuina, who had fought him earlier that day.
Now she was panting, covered in sweat, and her hand holding the bamboo sword was trembling.
She looked completely different from her calm demeanor earlier.
"Who's her opponent?" Zoro quickly looked around.
But from where he stood, he could only see a back.
The person was wearing a white training uniform, had medium-length black hair, and was about the same height as Kuina.
Zoro suddenly found the figure familiar, as if he'd seen them before.
As he struggled to remember—
Kuina charged forward, thrusting her bamboo sword with incredible speed toward the figure facing away from Zoro.
"So fast!" Zoro's eyes widened.
He couldn't even see Kuina's movements.
The sharp sound of bamboo swords clashing echoed in the silent forest.
A bamboo sword spun through the air and fell to the ground.
Kuina stumbled back and fell onto the grass, gasping, her face drenched in sweat.
Did Kuina actually lose?!
"You lasted three strikes this time. Not bad," Ron said, smiling at Kuina.
"That makes it 364 to 0."
Gritting her teeth, Kuina glared at him. "Next time, I'll hit you for sure!"
"Good luck," Ron said nonchalantly.
With that, he slung the bamboo sword over his shoulder and turned to look behind him.
When he saw the familiar green-haired boy, Ron was a bit surprised.
"I thought it was someone else, but it's just you."
Zoro stared at Ron's young but calm and composed face, and suddenly a memory clicked.
He pointed at Ron, his eyes wide in shock, and exclaimed, "That weird stingy guy!"
"Weird stingy guy?" Kuina was momentarily confused by the nickname.
"I told you not to go around giving people weird nicknames!"
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