Bamboo swords scattered all over the floor as Zoro scrambled to pick them up.
Of course Ozz knew this was Zoro's first time in his life actually holding a sword. If the kid somehow won, that would be the real miracle.
At best he was just a slightly stronger than average brat with some brute force.
Facing Kuina, who had been systematically trained in swordsmanship from a young age and was a bit older than him, this was basically a one strike fight.
But still…
Ozz watched Kuina with genuine interest.
Female swordsmen were rare enough on this sea. Strong female fighters in general were not exactly common.
If you wanted to talk about genuinely powerful female swordsmen, Big Mom did not count in that sense. Off the top of his head, there was Smoothie and maybe Gion. Their ceiling was probably limited.
But Kuina carried the role of Zoro's lifelong rival. With that kind of narrative blessing, Ozz felt that somewhere in the dark, her future might not be so simple.
In One Piece's world, strength really did have a lot to do with destiny.
Thinking that, Ozz crooked a finger slightly and briefly took over Zoro's body.
It was not direct control.
It was more like… micro control.
For example, Zoro's strikes would now naturally appear at the theoretically best angles, whether he was attacking or defending.
Zoro picked up a bamboo sword with each hand. Out of nowhere he felt that his grip on the swords was unbelievably comfortable, as if he had been born to hold swords this way. His stance was textbook perfect.
Kuina had been training since she was little and actually knew what she was looking at. When she saw Zoro's dual wield stance, her brows drew together.
"You… have you trained in Two Sword Style before?"
Zoro just gritted his teeth.
"Of course not. This is my first day holding a bamboo sword."
First day?
And yet his posture was this standard, his presence this sharp?
As expected of Ozz-sensei's disciple.
Koushirou thought so to himself.
Ozz did not respond. He simply watched the chick fight with amused eyes, his fingers moving slightly.
He was not especially good at Two Sword Style himself, but he had copied Shiki the Golden Lion's swordsmanship before.
"Pa"
"Pa pa pa"
Fierce strikes poured out from Zoro's hands. His attacks were sharp and oppressive. Even though Ozz was only letting a fraction of that skill leak through, Kuina still started to look serious.
After a round, both of them were panting hard.
Zoro's confidence soared. So he could fight like this with a sword. He could block such fast, ferocious strikes.
In that case…
That Great Grade blade would be his.
Zoro threw a provocative glance at Ozz and saw the man still sipping tea unhurriedly. His lips curled in disdain.
We will see if you can still look that relaxed after I win.
In the very next moment, just as he raised his swords, ready to bring the fight to an end, a strange stiffness flooded his entire body.
It suddenly felt like…
His hands were not his. The sword in his grip was not his.
"What is going on…"
"Pa"
Kuina, completely unaware of any of this, thought she had finally caught Zoro's opening. She swung her sword straight down and struck him on the forehead.
The blow knocked him clean out.
As he fell, his consciousness fading, Zoro vaguely thought he saw Ozz's…
Smile?
…
"Shrimpo, shrimpo, you are not going to beat Kuina any time soon."
Ozz ended up staying on the little island for several days. During that time, as long as Zoro was conscious, he was either training or challenging Kuina.
Or running back and forth between those two things.
As Zoro's nominal master, Ozz spent his days in lazy comfort, occasionally tossing out a few pointers when he felt like it.
Under guidance from the "World's Number One Swordsman," Zoro's swordsmanship did not skyrocket overnight, but his fundamentals became rock solid.
"Ozz-sensei is a very excellent sword instructor as well."
Koushirou watched all of this and found himself genuinely impressed with Ozz's teaching.
Ozz simply smiled.
If he only trained like this, he would have been cursed out as a trash teacher ages ago. He just did not want to drag the kid up by force. Zoro was still a little brat, after all.
Once again.
Zoro was defeated by Kuina and sprawled on his back on the floor.
When he tilted his head back, he saw the faintly mocking smile tugging at the corner of Ozz's mouth.
"That is enough Stop laughing already"
"Sure, I lost to Kuina, but that does not mean I will lose to you"
The furious Zoro immediately grabbed his bamboo sword and pointed one end straight at his "master."
He had finally realized one thing.
He could accept owing Ozz a favor. After all, he really had not beaten Kuina.
But the title of "Master" was something he could still revoke.
"Oh?"
"You want to defeat me?"
Ozz looked down at the pint sized Zoro, who was not even half as tall as his leg yet, and wondered where this child got all that courage.
Kuina, on the other hand, swallowed hard. Her eyes stared straight at Ozz.
So this was…
The sword master Father spoke of?
In private, Koushirou had already told Kuina that Zoro's master was a swordsman of terrifying strength.
"Is he stronger than you, Father"
Kuina had asked him that once.
The answer had been heavy.
"Yes. That may be the kind of existence I can never surpass in my entire life."
Ever since then, she had paid special attention to that idiot Zoro's master.
So when she saw Zoro yelling and charging forward, she tightened her grip on her bamboo sword, then walked up to stand beside him, bowing deeply.
"Please teach me as well"
One of them was loud and brash. The other was polite and earnest.
Looking at this little duo, Ozz's hands were starting to itch.
He casually reached up and snapped a thin branch from a nearby tree.
"Come on then."
"What do you think you are doing" Zoro gritted his teeth, twin bamboo swords in hand.
"To deal with two frog in the well brats like you…"
"One stick is plenty."
"Damn you"
Zoro yelled and charged at him wildly. Kuina was more cautious. She watched his movements carefully, trying to find an opening.
"Donk"
"Donk donk donk donk"
The sound of bamboo and wood clashing rang out again and again in the clearing Ozz had cleared near the seaside for practice.
Two little kids were trying to take down the strongest man in the world.
"Hmm. I wonder what I should eat tonight."
Ozz covered his mouth and yawned, using the little wooden stick in one hand to block all of Zoro's wild swings.
The sight made Zoro's eyes bulge. He poured even more strength into his arms, but the little wooden branch in Ozz's hand was like an endless abyss that swallowed every strike before it could land.
The very moment Ozz yawned, Kuina, who had been patiently waiting for a chance, suddenly moved. She swung with precise, practiced form, slashing straight toward Ozz's side.
"You are aiming for my opening too?"
Ozz only turned his body slightly.
Kuina's fierce strike landed squarely on…
Zoro's head.
Zoro went down.
Kuina stepped forward to take his place, focusing completely on her offense, but Ozz still blocked every strike without the slightest urgency.
"This is impossible…"
Lying on the ground, Zoro clenched his teeth. He watched, horrified, as Kuina, who had always seemed so undefeatable to him, was toyed with like a child's plaything in Ozz's hands.
Between me and that old man…
"There should not be such a huge gap in this world"
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