After hearing Mo Xingchen's words, Koshiro gave the matter some thought. As a swordsman who had fought his way out of the New World, he knew full well that the pirates of the first half of the Grand Line were far too hellish a challenge for Kuina and Zoro, who were still just children.
Rather than undergoing that kind of sheltered training, they might as well stay here and properly build a solid foundation in swordsmanship under him. Before Koshiro could speak, Mo Xingchen continued:
"Once Kuina is a few years older, you can let her train on her own in the East Blue. If she can make it to Marineford by her own abilities, I'll take her under my wing then. Of course, Zoro can come too if he wants.
"But by then, you must make them prepared for death. You should know that countless geniuses strive toward becoming Great Swordsmen, yet even more fall along that path. After all, reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship is often accompanied by bloodshed and death. Without that resolve, it won't do."
"Yes! I'll remember that, Mr. Mo!
"By the way, may I ask what brings you here this time, sir?"
"It's nothing in particular. I happened to be vacationing in the East Blue, so I thought I'd come visit an old friend. Is old Mr. Kozaburo still in good health?"
"My father is doing quite well. He should be fishing by the river right now and won't be home until later."
Mo Xingchen felt they had chatted enough, so he introduced Bogard to Koshiro.
"Koshiro, this is Vice Admiral Garp's adjutant, Bogard. He is also a swordsman. He came with me this time because he wanted to seek your guidance in swordsmanship."
Bogard rose to his feet and bowed to Koshiro.
"Mr. Koshiro, please guide me!"
Koshiro hurriedly stood as well and asked with some confusion:
"A sparring match in swordsmanship is no problem, but I am curious about one thing. Mr. Mo is a Great Swordsman far stronger than I am. Since you are by his side, wouldn't it be enough to seek his guidance directly? Why did you come all this way specifically to ask me?"
"Uh... Vice Admiral Mo's swordsmanship is too advanced. I wanted to directly experience the gap between myself and a Great Swordsman. I can't feel it when sparring with him."
Bogard spoke with slight embarrassment.
Koshiro understood. So he had been discouraged by Mo Xingchen and wanted to test the waters against another Great Swordsman to regain some confidence.
Heh, as if I'm some pushover. I'm not who I used to be! Kid, you're in for it now!
"Then let's go to the back mountain. There isn't enough room here."
Soon, the group arrived at an open area on the back mountain. The two men stood motionless in the center, swords in hand, each searching for a flaw in the other. Meanwhile, Mo Xingchen stood to the side with the two children, watching the show and serving as commentator.
Kuina was the first to ask:
"Mr. Mo, why are they both just standing there?"
"A duel between swordsmen is extremely dangerous. Unlike when you and Zoro fight with bamboo swords, where being a little reckless is fine because getting hit only hurts, getting cut by a real blade can kill you.
"Before you know your opponent's strength and swordsmanship style, any rash action could become a flaw. And once you reveal a flaw, you can easily be attacked. That is why seizing the initiative is so important."
As Mo Xingchen's explanation to Kuina carried into the field, Bogard's attention was briefly diverted. The instant he blinked, Koshiro seized the opportunity, closing in with an Iaido Slash.
Bogard hastily raised his sword and defended with all his strength. If this had been the Koshiro of old, their blades might have clashed and entered a contest of strength. But Koshiro had also trained under Mo Xingchen.
Iaido was an upward slash that borrowed the force of drawing the blade from its sheath. Thus, Koshiro had not actually used his full strength in that Iaido Slash. He wanted Bogard to commit all his strength to defending.
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Koshiro's Iaido Slash was blocked by Bogard's defensive force, and he used the rebound to twist his wrist. The blade spun one hundred and eighty degrees through the air before coming down in a sweeping overhead strike, leaving Bogard no choice but to continue blocking passively.
At that moment, Zoro asked in confusion:
"Why did Master suddenly move just now?"
"Because my explanation to Kuina distracted Bogard. When he blinked, your master seized that flaw and attacked first.
"After that came the contest of technique. He first used Iaido to trick his opponent into defending with full force, then smoothly changed moves to keep pressing the attack. That completely pulled Bogard into your master's attacking rhythm. If he cannot break free, then the outcome of this match is already decided."
After hearing that, Zoro and Kuina were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped. Since when did blinking count as a flaw? And what was this about Iaido tricking people and seizing the offensive? They did not understand any of it, but they were utterly stunned!
Then what had their past duels even been? Children playing house?
Sure enough, Bogard could not find an opening amid Koshiro's relentless attacks or break out of Koshiro's rhythm. He could only keep defending passively, until after more than thirty exchanges, Koshiro's blade stopped before Bogard's face.
Clap, clap, clap!
Mo Xingchen was the first to applaud. "That was an excellent duel. Koshiro, you've improved a great deal."
Koshiro sheathed his sword and Responded with blazing eyes, "Thank you for the praise, sir. Why don't you come down and have some fun?"
"Sure."
Mo Xingchen slowly walked toward the center of the field. Once Bogard had reached the sidelines, he tilted his head and asked Koshiro:
"Can we begin?"
Koshiro stared fixedly at Mo Xingchen, his lips parting slightly as he did not dare relax in the slightest.
"Of course."
Mo Xingchen drew his sword in an instant. Three pale golden Sword Qi blasts sped toward Koshiro. The horizontal Sword Qi in the middle was the fastest, while the crossing blasts on either side were slightly slower. They completely sealed off Koshiro's paths of evasion, forcing him to take them head-on.
Then Mo Xingchen slowly walked toward Koshiro. With every step, three Sword Qi blasts flew out. When Koshiro received the second wave, he immediately realized something was wrong and thought, This is bad.
Koshiro had blocked the first wave with force and found that although the Sword Qi was extremely fast, it lacked power. Yet when he blocked the second wave, its force nearly knocked his sword from his hand. Before he could think further, the third and fourth waves followed one after another.
Every wave carried different power, or perhaps two waves would be the same before changing again. There was no pattern at all to grasp. If this continued, he could only defend passively until he revealed a fatal flaw.
So Koshiro decided to risk everything and break Mo Xingchen's attacking rhythm. After unleashing several Sword Qi blasts with all his strength, he charged forward without waiting to see the result.
He had intended for his Sword Qi to clear away Mo Xingchen's unending barrage, allowing him to seize the opportunity to close in and attack. But what he had not expected was—
The moment he unleashed his Sword Qi, Mo Xingchen also began moving rapidly toward him. He even calculated the approximate trajectory of the Sword Qi just from the motion of Koshiro's swing. Then, relying on the cover of the Sword Qi, he boldly concealed his approach and finally dodged the attack by a hair's breadth.
When Mo Xingchen appeared in Koshiro's sight again, Mo Xingchen's sword was already resting against his throat, and Koshiro's charging motion came to an abrupt halt.
The scene froze as Koshiro said with slight grievance:
"Sir, didn't you dislike Sword Qi?"
"I merely disdain slow Sword Qi, not Sword Qi itself. Why not train it to be faster and add more variations? Besides, how could you form fixed assumptions about an enemy?"
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