Pirate's Rescue

From that day on, Kuina moved out of the dojo and lived in the wooden house next to Itachi. She repeated the boring action of drawing the sword every day until her arm was so heavy that she could no longer lift it.

In order to increase Kuina's sword-drawing speed and strength, Itachi asked Kuina to wear a weight. At first, Kuina could only awkwardly draw the sword and sheath it. After getting used to the weight, Itachi began to make constant corrections. Guina's movements made Guina's sword use more standardized.

When Kuina was too tired to lift her arms, Itachi asked Kuina to sit cross-legged and meditate to establish contact with the sword in her hand. Other than that, he made no other arrangements for Kuina.

"Teacher, why has Kuina disappeared these days?"

Zoro asked when he came to the sword room after training and saw Koushiro alone.

"Guina has moved out these days. She said that she met a swordsman master and she became her teacher. She wanted to learn different swordsmanship. That person's teachings were completely different from mine. But for Guina It’s an opportunity to get rid of a woman’s shortcomings.”

Koushiro looked at Zoro and said.

"A different swordsmanship? What kind of swordsmanship is it? Is it better than the teacher's?"

"There is no level of swordsmanship, but the strength of the person who uses it is different. Therefore, the strength of swordsmanship lies in the person, not in the swordsmanship itself. Therefore, I cannot say who is stronger or weaker in swordsmanship between me and that person."

Koushiro explained.

"Has the teacher ever seen that person's swordsmanship?"

Zoro asked curiously.

"No, but I know that person is a strong man, a stronger man than me!"

Koushiro had seen Itachi from a distance. Although he had never fought against Itachi, judging from Itachi's momentum and movements, he was a top-notch master. Even if he was a great swordsman, he might not be able to defeat the opponent, and Koushiro felt that, You are more likely to lose.

"A swordsman who is better than the teacher? I really want to see it!"

Zoro said to himself.

"Then teacher, where are Guina and the master?"

Zoro asked, looking at Koushiro.

"In the woods next to the dojo, Kuina also practices swordsmanship there."

Koushiro said.

"In the woods? I understand, teacher, I'll go take a look."

Zoro then ran out of the sword room with great energy and ran towards the woods.

At this time, Kuina was practicing drawing her sword, and she was strict and disciplined.

"Guina, stop for a moment, your friend is here to find you."

Itachi, who was watching Kuina, spotted Zoro running into the woods.

"Zoron, why are you here?"

After Kuina stopped, she turned around and looked at Zoro who was running towards her.

"The teacher said you were practicing swordplay with others here, so I came over to take a look."

Zoro stopped in front of Kuina and said.

"Guina, take a rest and talk to your friend."

"is teacher."

After Itachi finished speaking, he turned around and entered the house. Kuina and Zoro came to the side and sat down to chat.

"Guina, is that person strong?"

Zoro asked as he looked at Kuina.

"Well, the teacher is very strong. I feel he is stronger than my father. Moreover, the teacher's swordsmanship is completely different from my father's. It makes me see a different swordsmanship."

Kuina nodded and said.

"Then have you seen him take action?"

"The teacher demonstrated it to me. It was very powerful. Look at the hole in the stone over there."

Kuina pointed to the stone not far away and said.

"Hole? What's wrong with the hole?"

Zoro asked, looking at the hole in the stone.

"The teacher did it."

"Isn't it just a hole? Isn't it difficult? Does this mean he is very strong?"

Zoro asked in confusion.

"It's different. This is the teacher who pulled out a blade of grass and threw it out. After cutting off a row of trees, he inserted it into the stone, and the stone did not break apart."

"Grass?"

Zoro immediately stood up and ran over to take a look. He saw faintly visible blades of grass in the cave, and then looked at the fallen tree in front of him. He was so surprised that he was speechless. Is there such a kind of swordsmanship in the world?

"How about it? It's awesome. The teacher just threw it casually without using any force. I can't imagine what it would be like if the teacher threw it with force!"

Kuina said with admiration.

"Guina, what did your teacher teach you?"

Zoro asked after being silent for a while.

"Now the teacher has only taught me how to draw the sword, but not the other things. Only after I can meet the teacher's standards can I start learning the next step."

Kuina said.

"You only learned how to draw a sword? Why?"

Zoro wondered.

"Because the teacher said that for me to train to the extreme speed, I have to be one step ahead of others from the moment I draw the sword. My strength and stamina are not as good as those of the boys, so I will defeat you in terms of speed."

Kuina said firmly.

"Is that so? Kuina, let's compete with me! I want to see what's the difference between us!"

Zoro looked at Kuina and said seriously.

"But, I haven't learned much from the teacher yet."

Guina hesitated. She had been practicing the sword-drawing technique for a while and had not learned anything else.

"Kuina, let's compete with Sauron. You should also understand why I asked you to practice like this. It's best to compete with people of similar strength."

At this time Itachi came out of the house and said.

"is teacher!"

"Take off the weight first!"

After listening to Itachi's words, Kuina took off the weight and suddenly felt as light as a swallow.

"Kid, just use this sword!"

Itachi casually threw his sword to Zoro.

"Thank you, uncle."

Zoro caught the sword and thanked him.

"Remember, Kuina, the moment you hold the sword, you are the sword, and the sword is you. Regardless of each other, draw the sword and stab it out to hit the enemy's weak point."

Itachi ordered while standing in front of the house.

"Yes, teacher, I understand!"

Kuina stood attentively, holding the hilt of the sword with her right hand, staring at Zoro in front of her. At this time, Zoro felt that he was being stared at by a tiger, and suddenly felt a great increase in pressure. This was completely different from the Kuina she had known before. .

"Get ready, start!"

Itachi shouted.

"ah!"

Zoro raised his sword and rushed towards Kuina, but Kuina did not move, staring at Zoro who was getting closer and closer, waiting for the opportunity to draw the sword.

"It's now!"

Guina found the most suitable time.

"Qiang!"

There was a crisp sound of drawing a sword, and Sauron stopped while holding up his sword. He felt a cold light flash, and Kuina's sword appeared at his throat before he could react.

"Why, how could this happen?"

Zoro stood there blankly, unable to believe that he was defeated in one move. You must know that he could fight Kuina for a while before losing, but now it is like the first time he challenged Kuina. In this situation, he lost before he even drew his sword.

"..."

Even Kuina herself was stunned. Just now, her whole body and mind were integrated with the sword. The moment the opportunity appeared, her body spontaneously drew the sword and stabbed it out, so fast that she didn't even react. This is what the teacher called the integration of human and sword. One?