"I, Roronoa Zoro, will never be weaker than anyone!"
"Kuina is one thing… but there's no way—NO WAY—this guy is stronger than me!"
"I must've underestimated him earlier. That's the only reason he got the advantage!"
"This time, I'll fight with everything I have—absolutely no carelessness. His swordsmanship is definitely not 'ordinary'…"
Zoro's face tightened with determination, his eyes burning with battle intent.
His unyielding will surged through his aura like a rising flame.
One defeat?
He could chalk that up to carelessness.
But a second defeat?
Impossible.
Unacceptable.
Unthinkable.
Boom!
Zoro launched himself forward like a fired arrow, feet pounding against the dojo floor. With all three swords ready, he unleashed a violent storm of strikes as he shot toward Ryukawa.
His attacks came like a tidal wave—
Fast.
Aggressive.
Relentless.
Clack! Clack!
Ryukawa met every strike with calm, effortless movements.
Even against the Three-Sword Style, he didn't falter—not even for a heartbeat.
"Three swords give Zoro tremendous attack frequency," Koushirou observed quietly, eyes narrowing.
"But at the same time… they expose many openings."
"And every one of these openings is precisely why he will be one-shot again."
The gap between them was far too big.
Koushirou could see clearly—
Ryukawa had already secured victory.
Zoro's frantic aggression was impressive, but meaningless in the face of overwhelming difference.
"A terrifying genius indeed…"
"Just half an hour of training… and he completely surpassed Zoro's years of doubled effort."
Koushirou had never been one to berryeve blindly in "genius."
But today—
He believed.
Because he was witnessing one being born before his eyes.
Crack!
A streak of lightning.
A wooden sword descending like thunder.
It struck Zoro square on the forehead.
Again.
"You lost," Ryukawa said gently, smiling as he lowered his sword.
"This… this can't be real!"
Zoro's eyes bulged, his attacks freezing mid-motion. His entire body stiffened.
He had been serious.
He had given his all.
He had fought with absolute concentration.
And still—
He lost.
Completely.
Devastatingly.
From the very first exchange, he had been unable to even fight back.
This wasn't just defeat.
It was domination.
Zoro suddenly realized—
Even Kuina had never suppressed him this brutally.
But Ryukawa…
Ryukawa made him feel something he'd never experienced before—
Hopelessness.
"In this dojo… how could I lose to anyone besides Kuina?!"
Zoro gritted his teeth, raising his head to glare stubbornly at Ryukawa.
Then—
He pushed away the wooden sword touching his forehead and attacked again.
"You won't accept it?"
"You really are stubborn," Ryukawa chuckled.
He sidestepped with ease.
Then—
His sword tapped down lightly.
Pa!
The wooden blade struck Zoro's back.
Pain exploded across Zoro's spine, his face flushing red as if seared by fire.
He turned, eyes burning with unwillingness.
"I told you—aside from Kuina, I won't lose to ANYONE!"
Even now, Zoro's spirit refused to break.
"In that case," Ryukawa said, eyes sharpening, "I'll help you lose completely. That way you'll stop throwing yourself at me."
He got serious.
A terrifying aura burst from him—
Invisible yet razor-sharp, like thousands of blades hanging in the air around them, cutting into Zoro's skin.
"T-this aura…"
Zoro froze.
His hair stood on end.
His instincts screamed danger.
It felt like a wild beast had locked onto him—fangs bared, ready to tear him apart.
For a moment, his legs trembled—
He wanted to retreat.
But he clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay.
"S-So terrifying…"
Before Zoro could recover—
Ryukawa vanished.
Gone.
Disappeared from sight.
"W-Where did he go?!"
Zoro panicked, head darting around as he desperately searched for Ryukawa's silhouette.
And then—
Pa!
Another sharp crack echoed.
Zoro's forehead was struck again, swelling further.
Ryukawa stood behind him, wooden sword resting atop his head.
"So fast!" Zoro trembled, teeth chattering.
"When did he get behind me?! I tried to track him—I really tried—but I couldn't see a thing!"
I lost again. Completely.
Both times were instant.
If this weren't a dojo match—
If they had been wielding real blades—
How many times would he have died by now?
"Not even Kuina… has ever crushed me like this…"
Zoro could hardly berryeve it.
A light tap from Ryukawa brought him back to reality.
"You've lost again, Zoro."
"I…"
"…lost again."
Zoro's grip weakened. The wooden swords slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor. His expression hollowed out completely.
After a long silence—
Zoro raised his head, eyes determined yet confused.
"Senior Brother… have you been holding back all this time?"
He couldn't fathom Ryukawa's transformation.
There was only one explanation his mind could accept—
That Ryukawa had always been hiding his true strength, humoring them, playing along as the "ordinary" Senior Brother.
And Zoro—
Zoro had even acted superior to him.
How laughable that seemed now.