At the edge of the crowd—
Kuina's fingers tightened unconsciously around the hilt of her wooden sword. Her youthful, delicate features were filled with a deep, unmistakable shock.
She was stunned.
She never—absolutely never—imagined this would happen.
Zoro… actually lost.
And even more absurd—
Zoro was defeated in a single strike.
Kuina, who had spent years fighting Zoro, knew his swordsmanship better than anyone. Even though she often looked relaxed during their matches, she never truly underestimated him. She always stayed sharp—always took him seriously.
He was an opponent worthy of her respect.
Yet that same opponent—
Was effortlessly defeated in one clean motion by the Senior Brother she had always considered unremarkable.
It was unbelievable.
It shattered her understanding of everything.
"Zoro… was one-shot…"
Kuina drew a deep breath, but her heart refused to calm down.
She lifted her gaze, staring dazedly at the silhouette holding a wooden sword against Zoro's forehead—the Senior Brother she never truly paid attention to.
But at this moment—
That seemingly ordinary Senior Brother radiated a pressure far beyond anything she had expected.
He had ended the battle in one stroke.
That level of swordsmanship…
Even she would have to take seriously.
"Senior Brother's swordsmanship… was this strong all along?"
"Why… why did I never sense it before? Could it be… as everyone said… he was hiding his true strength?"
"Has he been holding back this entire time?"
Kuina found herself having the same thoughts as the others.
She couldn't deny it.
Ryukawa was strong.
Very strong.
Strong enough that even if she gave everything she had, she wasn't certain she could defeat him.
He was older by a few years, yet she had always considered him a peer. And now—for the first time—she felt crushing pressure from someone she saw as being in her generation.
She never believed she could easily suppress all peers in her age group.
But she never expected—
That someone like this would appear so suddenly.
And even more unbelievable—
That person was a Senior Brother she had always brushed aside.
Today's match shattered her perception completely.
In Kuina's eyes—
Ryukawa's swordsmanship was frighteningly strong.
So strong she felt compelled to take him seriously with every fiber of her being.
As for calling him "ordinary"…?
"If Senior Brother is 'ordinary,' then everyone else here must be trash."
Kuina swept her gaze across the rest of the disciples.
She exhaled sharply.
Her grip tightened around her wooden sword, and her eyes lit with blazing fighting intent as she fixed her gaze on Ryukawa.
Now she wanted to know—
Between the two of them…
Who was stronger?
Kuina, despite being a girl, had always been fiercely competitive. Otherwise, she wouldn't keep accepting Zoro's endless challenges.
She wanted—truly wanted—to become the world's strongest swordsman.
And Ryukawa had one-shot Zoro.
That alone made him a target she had to take seriously.
To become the world's strongest swordsman—
She had to be unrivaled among her peers.
If she couldn't even maintain first place among those her age—
How could she aim for the top of the world?
In that moment—
Ryukawa became the opponent Kuina most urgently wanted to surpass.
"Zoro actually got one-shot…"
Koushirou murmured, astonishment flickering across his normally calm face.
He had expected Zoro to lose.
But he never expected Zoro to lose so overwhelmingly.
Just one strike—
And Zoro was down.
If they had been using real steel blades instead of wooden swords, Zoro's head might have already been cleaved open.
Having witnessed the entire duel start to finish, Koushirou, with his experienced eyes, could easily judge the difference between the two.
"The gap is too big. So big that Zoro didn't even have the chance to fight back."
Koushirou came to a firm conclusion.
But when he remembered that Ryukawa achieved this level of swordsmanship in only half an hour…
Even his gentle, composed nature almost cracked.
So basically—
Zoro worked his tail off for years, training desperately with everything he had…
And still achieved less than Ryukawa did in thirty minutes?
That was enough to break a person's spirit.
Seeing how crushed Zoro looked, Koushirou decided this matter must never be spoken of outside the dojo.
Otherwise—
Zoro's worldview might collapse entirely.
No—
The entire dojo's disciples would break down.
Even Kuina wouldn't be spared.
"This world… really does have such terrifying geniuses."
After seeing Ryukawa today—
Koushirou believed it wholeheartedly.
Somewhere in the world, there existed monstrous geniuses beyond imagination.
Zoro stood rigid, still in shock. The stinging pain on his forehead barely registered compared to the blow in his heart.
He lost…
He actually lost to Senior Brother.
The Senior Brother the entire dojo considered average.
And he lost in one hit.
Unacceptable.
It was unacceptable.
"I can't lose!"
"How can I lose to anyone other than Kuina?!"
Zoro snapped his head up, teeth clenched, glaring fiercely at Ryukawa.
He refused to accept this defeat.
Flat-out refused.
Especially because the person he lost to lived under the same roof—and was someone he always thought of as weak.
Being one-shot by someone he looked down on…
Was pure humiliation.
And Zoro's pride burned too deeply for him to swallow it.
"Not satisfied?"
Ryukawa glanced at Zoro with mild amusement.
He slowly withdrew his wooden sword from Zoro's forehead and took a few steps back to put space between them.
Then he smiled.
"In that case… want to go again?"
"Again!"
Zoro gripped his wooden swords tight—no hesitation, no fear.
Only burning resolve.