Zoro was in the middle of his usual brutal training.
Three wooden swords hammered against the wooden post in front of him. Each impact made the post shake violently, lines of cracks spreading across its surface like a spider web.
"Zoro!"
A voice came from the distance.
Zoro's movements stopped abruptly.
"Huff… huff…"
He took a deep breath, steadying his breathing, then raised an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Turning toward the voice, he saw who it was.
It was the dojo master—Koushirou.
"Master."
Zoro frowned slightly, confusion showing on his young face.
"Ryukawa."
Ignoring Zoro's question, Koushirou shifted his gaze and fixed it on Ryukawa instead.
Feeling that gaze, Ryukawa more or less understood.
So… his earlier growth in swordsmanship had been noticed by Koushirou.
"That works for me. Saves me the trouble of challenging Zoro myself."
Ryukawa could basically guess what Koushirou was thinking.
Coincidentally—
It lined up perfectly with what he wanted to do.
Challenge Zoro.
Use Zoro as the benchmark—
To see exactly what level he'd reached now.
"You two, come to the center of the dojo," Koushirou said calmly. "Everyone else, stop training for now and clear the middle area."
The disciples exchanged puzzled looks, but no one disobeyed. One after another they backed away, leaving an open space in the center.
Even Kuina, who almost never paused her own training, stopped and looked over. Her large eyes were full of confusion, her brows furrowing as she glanced between her father and Ryukawa—this senior brother who usually had nearly zero presence.
"This is…"
She had a vague guess.
She looked at Zoro—
Then at Ryukawa.
Her pretty yet still childish features showed a rare hint of surprise.
She had an idea what was coming.
Gradually—
Ryukawa walked into the center, wooden sword in hand.
Facing him was the moss-head brat with Three-Sword Style—Zoro. His face was still patched with bandages, but his eyes were filled with stubborn tenacity.
He was still just a boy, his features soft with youth. No matter how hard he tried to look fierce, there was a lingering sense of childishness he couldn't shake off.
Around them—
The disciples started catching on to Koushirou's intent.
They were stunned.
"Is Master… going to have Senior Brother fight Zoro?"
"Judging from the setup, looks like it."
"But can Senior Brother even beat Zoro?"
"No way. Zoro's annoying as hell, but you have to admit—his swordsmanship is way beyond Senior Brother's."
Voices rose and overlapped.
"Quiet."
Koushirou's calm voice cut through the noise.
The dojo fell silent almost instantly.
The whispers died down, leaving only rows of curious eyes fixed on Ryukawa—
Not Zoro.
No one could understand.
Why would Koushirou suddenly have Ryukawa fight Zoro?
It didn't make sense.
Everyone knew that while Ryukawa held the title of senior brother—
In terms of swordsmanship, not only was he below Zoro, he wasn't even as strong as some of the more outstanding disciples.
So why?
Why make Zoro fight him?
The gap between them was obvious.
"Father, what are you doing?" Kuina stood at the edge of the group, brows knotted. "Senior Brother's swordsmanship clearly can't compare to Zoro's. Why would Father arrange a match like this?"
She might act dismissive toward Zoro, but in reality, she understood better than anyone—
Among all the disciples, only Zoro posed a real threat to her.
Everyone else, including Senior Brother Ryukawa, couldn't pressure her at all.
From her perspective, this was a completely lopsided match.
By all logic—
Given her understanding of her father, Koushirou shouldn't have arranged something like this.
"Master, you want me to duel this guy?" Zoro asked, pointing his wooden sword toward Ryukawa.
"You guessed right."
Koushirou smiled faintly.
"I refuse."
Zoro tilted his head back with a proud snort.
"And why is that?" Koushirou's tone was as placid as ever.
"He's too weak. I don't fight weaklings. Otherwise people will say I'm bullying him."
Zoro didn't bother sugarcoating his words. He just said what he really thought.
And in his mind—
Ryukawa was a weakling.
Even if the guy was technically the dojo's senior brother, Zoro wasn't the type to respect someone just because of a title—especially not a "senior brother" weaker than him.
"If you haven't fought, how do you know the result?"
Koushirou's smile didn't fade.
"Huh?"
Zoro's brows jumped.
He clearly hadn't expected Koushirou to insist like this.
But he didn't overthink it either.
After a short pause—
He turned and stared at Ryukawa. "Hey, you seriously wanna fight me? I'll tell you now—I never hold back in a duel."
Looking at that proud little moss-head—
What a cocky little brat.
But Ryukawa couldn't deny it: for this age, Zoro was strong enough to be arrogant.
"If you go all out, that'd be best for me," Ryukawa replied with a smile, lifting his wooden sword. "Otherwise, I'm afraid the fight might end the moment it starts."
Zoro's childish face twisted slightly, clearly annoyed by Ryukawa's tone.
"Hmph!"
He snorted heavily, his eyes full of disdain. "Fine, but don't come crying later. If you lose, don't say I bullied you."
"I'm not bragging or anything, but in this entire dojo, only Kuina can be called my opponent. No one else is qualified."
Annoying as he was—
He wasn't wrong.
Aside from Kuina, there really wasn't another disciple in the dojo who could stand against Zoro.
"Are you both ready?"
Koushirou stepped in at just the right time.
"Anytime," Ryukawa answered, right hand gripping the wooden sword as he gave a small nod.
"Same here!"
Zoro had already taken his stance—Three-Sword Style, fully drawn.
In his youthful eyes, fighting spirit burned like fire.