"I'm Luffy, the man who'll become the King of Pirates!!!"
"What?!!!"
Looking at the grinning boy before him, Zoro felt a headache coming on.
With a bandanna tied around his head and his eyes shrouded in shadow, he looked like a ferocious beast ready to devour someone, yet here he was, tied to a wooden post.
It all began when he and Kuina parted ways and set sail, competing to see who would claim the title of World's Greatest Swordsman first.
"Zoro, let's meet again on the seas in the future and see who can become the world's strongest Great Swordsman!!!"
With Wado Ichimonji at her waist, Kuina waved to Zoro and sailed away.
"Don't talk so big. I'm not weaker than you at all now!!"
Zoro curled his lips into a smile. Watching the departing sailboat, he too embarked on his own journey.
Ever since five years ago, after he had made up for the deficiencies in his swordsmanship fundamentals, he had rarely lost to Kuina.
After all, in the world of the King of Pirates, aside from certain special races and physiques, men were indeed generally stronger than women in terms of physical strength and combat talent, especially a swordsmanship genius like Zoro.
By then, Zoro had actually pulled slightly ahead of Kuina in combat.
This had dealt a heavy blow to Kuina, who had suppressed Zoro ever since they were children.
Then she recalled the method Austin had once taught them when they were young, about how to grow stronger:
"The way to become stronger is actually very simple. Constantly temper your body and fundamentals, then challenge strong opponents. Only through battle can you grow into a true powerhouse of the seas."
Training plus battle.
That was the method the two of them had realized and summarized.