Inside the tea room.
An elder and a young man sat facing each other, sipping tea and drinking wine, enjoying a peaceful moment.
However, just as Lin Mo finished a cup of wine, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
A sharp sword intent surged in the tea room. A powerful, invisible sword qi spread out from Lin Mo, vibrating and filling the small space before disappearing in an instant.
Koushiro, who had been smiling, suddenly felt a slight pressure from this unexpected sword energy. His expression froze, and his fingers, which had been holding the tea cup, tightened. Even his gaze toward Lin Mo changed.
Koushiro, surprised, said, "Your swordsmanship... just now, it seemed to have improved..."
Although he didn't know what had happened, Koushiro could tell that Lin Mo, compared to the Lin Mo who had just sparred with Kuina, had experienced a significant change. His understanding of the sword way and his skill in it were now on a completely different level!
This child truly was a swordsmanship prodigy.
After some thought, Koushiro couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell me, who taught you swordsmanship?"
"Self-taught."
"Self-taught? So, you have no teacher?"
"Mm."
"No guidance at all? How did you practice swordsmanship?"
"Can't tell you."
Koushiro wasn't the type to press further, so he smiled and said, "Since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask more. I have a suggestion. How about you stay at the dojo? Not only will you have wine to drink, but I can also teach you swordsmanship."
In truth, when Lin Mo had mentioned he didn't have a teacher, Koushiro had been tempted.
A talented child like Lin Mo was rare, and Koushiro didn't want to let him slip away easily.
"I'll pass," Lin Mo rejected, "I'm a traveler, and I don't stay in one place for too long."
"A traveler?" Koushiro was momentarily stunned. "With your talent, to only be a traveler? That would be a waste. If you stay, I'll teach you everything I know. I'm confident that with your talent, you could master the sword in no time, and then you could return to your travels afterward."
"No, I appreciate the offer," Lin Mo maintained his usual calm, using the same words he had rejected Shanks with. "I'm not interested in swordsmanship traditions, or in becoming a respected swordsman. For me, my only dream is to be a free traveler, unbound by anything."
Koushiro, unwilling to give up, asked again, "You really won't stay?"
Lin Mo nodded firmly. "Mm."
Seeing that there was no changing his mind, Koushiro had no choice but to accept. "Alright, then. How long do you plan to stay in Frostmoon Village?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment. The sign-in progress was only 30%, and based on his experience in Windmill Village, he knew it would probably take at least ten to fifteen days to finish. "About half a month."
Hearing this, Koushiro took a sip of his tea and continued, "There are no inns in the village, so before you leave, you should stay here at the dojo."
"Alright," Lin Mo agreed without objection.
After a few more casual words, Koushiro arranged a guest room for Lin Mo and sent the wine he had promised earlier to him as well.
After storing the fifteen jars of wine in his system space, Lin Mo felt it was still early, so he decided to take a walk around the village.
As he stepped into the courtyard, he suddenly sensed a murderous intent coming from behind him.
He swiftly dodged the incoming attack.
Under the moonlight, he saw the person who had attacked him—a person with distinctive green short hair. It was Zoro, holding two bamboo swords.
With a quick motion, Lin Mo easily struck Zoro to the ground with a hand strike.
"Damn!" Zoro shouted as he picked himself up. "I bet you only won against Kuina by cheating! If you're a man, pick up your sword and fight me! If I win, you'll return Wado Ichimonji to Kuina!"
Lin Mo: "..."
What was this?
Lin Mo couldn't help but feel speechless.
He didn't want to deal with Zoro.
But as he turned to leave, Zoro attacked again, rushing toward him with both bamboo swords. "Ha! Take this!"
Just like before, even without directly facing Zoro, Lin Mo easily dodged all of his attacks and, in the end, struck Zoro to the ground with a single blow.
As Lin Mo turned to leave for the third time, Zoro got back up and charged at him once more.
Lin Mo was starting to get annoyed.
Was this guy always this annoying as a kid?
"You want me to beat you with my sword so you'll stop pestering me, right?" Lin Mo unsheathed Toya Lake and blocked a few of Zoro's attacks with ease. He could tell that, in terms of raw strength, Zoro, using the dual-sword style, was indeed stronger than Kuina. But in terms of technique and insight, there was a huge gap between the two.
No wonder this guy had never beaten Kuina.
Lin Mo didn't think much further and, just like when Kuina sparred with Zoro, he swung his sword down at Zoro's head with a single strike.
Zoro fell back hard, landing on the ground, lying flat on his back.
Lin Mo sheathed Toya Lake and was about to leave.
Zoro stared at the sky, clenching his fists, unwilling to accept the situation. "Damn it! We're the same age, why is he so strong? Why?"
At first, he had thought it was just luck that Lin Mo had defeated Kuina, but now he realized he had been wrong.
Lin Mo was truly powerful!
After getting up again, Zoro stared at Lin Mo's retreating back, wanting to speak but unable to find the right words. He clenched his fists tightly, finally unable to hold back anymore, and chased after him. "Hey, wait a second."
"Hm?" Lin Mo turned his head and looked at him.
Zoro asked directly, "How long have you been practicing swordsmanship?"
"Less than half a day."
"Half... half a day?" Zoro swallowed hard, "How could someone have such strong swordsmanship in just half a day?"
At first, he thought Lin Mo was just making things up, but for some reason, Zoro didn't feel like Lin Mo was the type to lie.
Lin Mo didn't really care whether Zoro believed him or not. "Believe it or not, I'm leaving now."
Seeing Lin Mo turn to leave, Zoro immediately blocked his path. "I didn't say I don't believe you, I'm just surprised. Uh... Can you tell me how you practiced swordsmanship? I want to become as strong as you!"
Lin Mo hadn't expected Zoro to ask for swordsmanship advice.
But considering Zoro's persistent attitude earlier, if Lin Mo just ignored him and walked away, Zoro probably wouldn't let it go so easily.
Since that was the case, Lin Mo thought it might be better to give him a few pointers and let him figure it out on his own, so that his future days could remain peaceful.
With that in mind, Lin Mo said, "How long have you been training at the dojo?"
"Almost a year!"
"After a year of training, all you do is recklessly charge forward and defeat your opponent with brute strength?"
"Ah...?" Zoro was caught off guard.
Lin Mo continued, "Do you know why you've never beaten Kuina?"
"I... I don't know. I've been working really hard, but I just can't beat her... Do you know why?"
"Your fighting has no technique," Lin Mo said bluntly. "In terms of strength, with your dual-sword style, you're on par with Kuina. Even if your strength surpasses hers in the future, she'll still be able to beat you with superior technique. From the start, you've been headed in the wrong direction."
"Wrong direction?" Zoro quickly asked, "So what should I do to beat Kuina?"
"While practicing the basics, you also need to improve your sword technique. Don't just blindly charge forward with brute strength. You need to think about your opponent's attack patterns and react accordingly. As long as you're strong enough, you'll be able to find flaws in even the most perfect sword techniques."
Just as he finished speaking, the system notification sounded.
Ding! Guiding Zoro's swordsmanship. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 50%. Reward: Swordsmanship Level +1. Current Swordsmanship Level: Lv4.
At that moment, Lin Mo felt a surge of power within him. His presence grew more intense, and a terrifying aura radiated from him.
As expected...
To complete the sign-in progress, it really was necessary to interact with key characters. Just from guiding Zoro in swordsmanship, he had gained 20% of the sign-in progress.
"What was that just now?" Zoro asked, sensing something strange. "Was it just my imagination? I felt... some kind of overwhelming pressure..."
Lin Mo glanced at Zoro.
It seemed this guy was destined to become one of the greatest swordsmen and the right-hand man to the Pirate King, Luffy.
Shifting the topic back, Lin Mo asked, "Do you understand what I said just now?"
Zoro scratched his head, a bit confused. "So... I need to think about and analyze my opponent's moves and then find their flaws to beat them, right?"
"In a real fight, your opponent won't give you much time to analyze their moves."
"Huh? Then what should I do?"
"Figure it out yourself." Lin Mo then suddenly asked, "Do you believe there's a sword in this world that can cut through anything?"
Zoro froze for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "Is there really such a sword?"
Lin Mo smiled faintly, casually picking up one of Zoro's bamboo swords. "Watch closely."
A gust of wind blew, and a leaf floated down.
Lin Mo slashed the bamboo sword at the leaf.
The leaf floated down to the ground completely unharmed.
Zoro couldn't help but scoff, "How can a bamboo sword cut a leaf? That's impossible..."
Lin Mo smiled faintly, not offering an explanation.
At that moment, there was a cracking sound.
Not far from the leaf, a large stone suddenly shattered, its pieces scattering everywhere.
"Eh?" Zoro was stunned. "What... what just happened? Why did the stone break?"