The next morning.
Lin Mo left the Isshin Dojo early and made his way into the mountain valleys surrounding Shimotsuki Village for his usual hunting practice.
Only this time, he had a little "tail" trailing behind him a kid whose stealth skills left much to be desired.
Although Zoro wasn't yet on par with Kuina in terms of talent or strength, he was without a doubt the most diligent among the disciples at the dojo, always the first to rise and the last to rest, with the highest volume of training.
On any normal day, this hour would find him grinding away at the basics in the dojo.
But today, he had decided to secretly follow Lin Mo into the mountains to train.
Watching the figure a hundred meters ahead, steadily disappearing deeper into the valley, Zoro's eyes shone with determination. He whispered, "If you won't take me with you, then I'll follow you on my own!"
Yet minutes later, despite running full speed and panting heavily, he still couldn't close the distance. Eventually, he lost sight of the person he was chasing. Even so, he didn't feel the slightest bit discouraged. In fact, he was even more fired up.
"Amazing. Lin Mo's speed is insane. I gave it everything I had and still couldn't catch up. But tomorrow... tomorrow I will!"
Of course, Lin Mo had noticed Zoro tailing him from the beginning. He simply didn't want to be bothered and deliberately lost him.
After finishing his hunt, Lin Mo returned to the dojo with the game he'd brought down.
That afternoon.
Lin Mo, carrying an empty wine gourd, made his way to the village tavern.
The moment he stepped through the door, he was greeted by a clamor of voices.
"Hey, it's the kid who beat Kuina!"
"Hey, little guy, how did you manage to beat her? Come on, spill it!"
"I think his name's Lin Mo, right? Never seen you before what village are you from?"
"Hey! Don't ignore us! Did you come to Shimotsuki all on your own?"
Lin Mo ignored the buzz of voices and walked straight to the bar. He placed a handful of Beli and the empty gourd on the counter.
"Fill it," he said flatly.
The tavern keeper gave an awkward smile. "Sure, just a moment."
After filling the gourd, he handed it back and took the chance to ask, "Hey kid, did you join Koushirou's dojo already?"
"No," Lin Mo replied casually.
Then, with the refilled gourd in hand, he turned and walked out of the tavern, completely unbothered by the annoyed muttering behind him.
The tavern keeper chuckled helplessly. "What a peculiar kid."
Back at the dojo.
As Lin Mo passed the training grounds, Kuina suddenly called out to him.
"Lin Mo. Let's have another match."
The last time they fought, not only had she lost, she'd also had to give up her treasured sword, Wado Ichimonji. The defeat had shaken her deeply.
She hated it truly but the gap in their strength was undeniable.
Still, that didn't mean she had given up.
She refused to believe she would keep losing forever.
Compared to the battle-hungry Kuina, Lin Mo had no interest in wasting his time crossing swords with her again.
He walked past her without a word.
His silence was a clear refusal.
Kuina hurried after him.
"Lin Mo, I'm serious! I'm officially challenging you why are you ignoring me?"
He gave no answer.
Nothing but silence.
He had no intention of entertaining her.
"You jerk!" she snapped, her temper flaring.
At that moment, Zoro appeared and stepped between them before Kuina could do anything rash.
"Kuina," he said, "how about another match with me?"
"I want to fight Lin Mo! Get out of the way!"
"If he wanted to fight you, he would've gone into the dojo already. Chasing after him won't change anything."
Zoro knew that from experience and it gave him the right to say it.
Kuina froze, her face darkened. She gripped her bamboo sword tightly and glared at Lin Mo's retreating figure. But after a long pause, she finally turned and walked away.
Zoro stayed where he was.
Then Kuina snapped, "What are you standing there for? Didn't you want to fight?"
"Yeah! Coming!" Zoro said, quickly catching up.
Their bout ended within minutes.
As always, Kuina emerged the victor.
But this time, Zoro managed to parry several of her strikes and even came close to landing one of his own.
Just two days ago, that would have been unthinkable.
Was it just luck? Or had his swordsmanship truly leveled up in such a short time?
The feeling in Kuina's chest grew more and more complicated.
She had seen firsthand how hard Zoro had been training over the past year. And to keep from falling behind, she'd pushed herself twice as hard in secret, in places where no one could see.
Even so, every time they fought, she could feel it Zoro was inching closer. The gap between them was shrinking.
It used to be a slow and steady advance.
But in just these past two days, his technique had clearly reached a new level.
Could someone be guiding him?
She sheathed her bamboo sword and stared in silence at the boy sprawled out on the floor.
Zoro slowly sat up, brushed the dust from his clothes, and said nothing. In his mind, he was already analyzing Kuina's moves from their match. In the past, he never would've thought to do that.
Koushirou walked over, smiling gently.
"Lost again, Zoro? Still, you've really gotten stronger. You've improved a lot in just the past two days."
No sooner had he said that than the other kids in the dojo ran over.
"Sensei, are you secretly training Kuina just because she's your daughter?"
"Not fair!"
Koushirou laughed awkwardly.
"No, no, I'd never do that. Zoro really has gotten stronger. But Kuina has too, hasn't she?"
"I'm going to wash my face," Zoro said quietly. He didn't linger in the dojo and walked toward the backyard.
After washing up, he made a decision.
Tonight, he would challenge Kuina one last time.
That night, as Kuina passed the tea room her father had hastily repaired, she overheard a conversation that left her feeling crushed.
Her own father Koushirou had said he didn't believe a girl could become the world's greatest swordsman.
Deep down, Kuina had always known that being a girl came with limitations. Certain physical traits just couldn't compare to a boy's when it came to becoming a swordsman.
But she refused to accept it.
She couldn't stand it.
Why couldn't a girl become the strongest?
She sat in silence by a field path near the village, wrestling with her emotions alone.
Then Zoro appeared.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked.
Kuina wiped her nose with a handkerchief and shot back, "I should be asking you that. What are you doing here this late?"
"I'm here to challenge you to our two-thousand-and-first duel. This is our last one," Zoro said seriously. "Let's settle this once and for all with real swords."
Kuina blinked, then a faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"All right."
She'd originally planned to use Wado Ichimonji for their fight, but now she'd have to borrow someone else's blade.
In a wide open field, the two stood facing each other, both ready for battle.
A wind stirred.
Clutching two real swords, Zoro launched the first strike.
They exchanged blow after blow. Every time it seemed Kuina had the upper hand, Zoro would somehow find a clumsy yet effective way to dodge at the last second.
"Ha!" Kuina spotted an opening and lunged, her blade sweeping upward in a bid to knock both swords from Zoro's hands.
But almost as if he had anticipated her move, Zoro instinctively stepped back half a pace.
Real blades were far heavier than bamboo swords. And wielding two of them consumed even more stamina.
Since he couldn't overpower her with strength or endurance, his only path to victory was through technique by reading her moves, spotting weaknesses, and exploiting them.
That slight retreat allowed him to narrowly avoid Kuina's strike.
And in the split-second that followed, he saw it her first real opening.
Without hesitation, Zoro struck with the back of his blade, aiming for her arm.
Kuina's eyes widened in disbelief. She reacted just in time to block, then countered with a rising strike that finally disarmed him.
Zoro collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Though she had won, Kuina felt no joy.
Because for the first time, she knew had she reacted just a fraction of a second slower, she would have lost.
Zoro… had caught up to her.