Back of the dojo.
This is where Zoro challenged Kuina, and so far: 2999 losses, 1 draw, 0 wins.
And that last draw made Kuina have to admit that what her father said was proven true.
Girls' stamina in swordsmanship was indeed not as good as boys'.
Facing Zoro, she didn't seem to have a sure victory anymore…
"Hey! Are you serious!?"
Zoro snarled, his mouth wide open in anger, holding two bamboo swords as if he was going to bite someone: "We agreed to spar, so why are you making the two of us go at it together? Who are you looking down on, you bastard!"
"Zoro!!"
Kuina yelled: "Mr. Jon is already showing us great kindness by being willing to instruct us in swordsmanship, you should be grateful, who allowed you to yell like that?"
"Huh? How come you're always siding with outsiders, you idiot lovesick female swordsman!"
"You, you shut up!"
Kuina's face flushed. She was lovesick, but she wouldn't allow others to keep saying it!
Zoro shrunk his neck and became even angrier, "Fine, then we'll each fight our own way, let's see who defeats him first!"
"Stop bragging, you embarrassing fellow."
Kuina glanced at him, gripping her bamboo sword tightly, and seriously looked at Jon opposite her: "Mr. Jon, we're going to attack, be careful."
Just a moment ago, Kuina had been acting like a fangirl, but her aura suddenly changed. Her back straightened like a cypress, and her eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Hehe, come on."
Jon smiled and swung the scabbard in his hand.
Seeing this, Makino, holding a long sword, chuckled helplessly and turned to leave first.
What was there to see about instructing children? Jon, that bad guy… never mind, she'd just go back to bed and wait for him.
......
As expected.
After Zoro charged over aggressively, the next second he was hit on the head by the scabbard.
He was kicked out and clutched the large lump on his head, glaring at Kuina indignantly: "Didn't we agree to go together? What are you watching the show for, you bastard!"
"Didn't you say we'd each fight our own way?"
Kuina had a teasing look, but in the end, she changed positions and worked together with Zoro to sandwich and charge at Jon.
Both of them were taught swordsmanship by Koushirou, so their teamwork was definitely not a problem.
But unfortunately…
In the face of absolute strength, any fancy swordsmanship was useless.
Jon swung out his scabbard, two regular attacks, directly knocking away both their bamboo swords, and then slammed the scabbard onto Zoro's head.
A lump on top of a lump.
But when it came to Kuina, he retracted his scabbard and gently flicked her nose with his slender finger.
"Good spirit."
Kuina's little face instantly turned crimson, and she lowered her head, stuttering for a long time, unable to say a complete sentence.
"Damn it! Damn it!!" Zoro couldn't accept the reality: "Kishishishi—how can the gap be so huge?!"
Kuina also had a stubborn personality, but after looking at Jon, she suddenly felt it wasn't too difficult to accept.
"It's normal to lose to Mr. Jon, he's a swordsman as strong as my father."
Jon: ?
He felt like he was being praised again, but it didn't matter.
"I know he's strong, but I'm still so unwilling!"
Zoro gritted his teeth.
He actually knew the gap between them, but he never expected to lose so badly.
He hadn't even clearly seen the opponent's sword movements. Had this guy, who didn't seem much older than himself, already reached such a transcendent level in swordsmanship?
Could he be a Sword Master?
Kuina looked at his unwilling expression, shook her head with a mix of amusement and helplessness, and bent down to pick up her bamboo sword.
Zoro felt bitter, and also turned to pick up his own, but then Jon kicked him in the butt.
"What are you doing?" Zoro clutched his butt and glared at Jon.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you: never turn your back on an enemy."
Jon said seriously: "A scar on the back is a swordsman's disgrace. Even if you lose, you should open your chest and let the opponent cut you from the front!"
Zoro: "!!!"
For some reason, he suddenly felt like they were on the same wavelength!
"I understand, thank you for the guidance!"
Zoro bowed deeply, but then suddenly thought of something and tentatively asked: "The first lesson you just mentioned was…"
"I accept you as my crewmate."
A smile appeared on Jon's face: "Work hard and train with Koushirou-sensei for a few years. Prepare a ship in advance, and when I come next time, you'll be my First Division Captain."
"The small East Blue probably won't satisfy your ambition. When you join me, I'll give you this Wumang."
!!!
"Are you serious?!"
Zoro's eyes lit up, and he completely forgot about being kicked.
He had been coveting this Wumang sword for a long time, and the other party was even going to take him out to sea to explore the world.
This promise was too great!
"You promise!"
He suddenly became serious, stepped onto a large stone, and extended his pinky finger towards Jon.
"Pinky promise! In the future, I'll be your First Division Captain, but let's be clear beforehand, I'm a man who's going to be the world's greatest swordsman. If your ship can't carry my ambition, then I'll leave at any time!"
"Haha, you're a little brat."
Jon's smile was bright, but facing the serious green-haired boy, he eventually hooked his finger with his.
"My division captain should at least be world-class! Work hard, and in a few years, prepare your own ship and come out to sea with me!"
"Mhm, it's a deal!"
After the boisterous agreement, Zoro ran off excitedly.
The way he couldn't wait to get stronger clearly showed he was going to do extra training.
'He's just an idiot who's never beaten me, and he gets to join Mr. Jon's crew. What a lucky guy!'
Kuina wasn't envious at all, but her teeth were a little itchy, and she was very unwilling.
Mr. Jon didn't invite me…
Sure enough—
Did he also think that female swordsmen could never become the world's greatest?