Zoro, standing nearby, immediately bristled at that. Jumping to his feet, he shouted, "Kuina, you're weak? If you're weak, then what does that make me?"
"Zoro, you're more than two years younger than her. Do you know how big a gap two years can make? And girls develop earlier; their fastest growth period ends earlier too. All things considered, the gap might be more than tenfold. Besides, even now, you're already far stronger than she is. You just don't know how to use that strength properly, which is why you lose to her."
Mousse could not help but laugh. Then Zoro heard a cruel truth for Kuina: "If you can beat Kuina now, then once you're both adults, you'll be able to beat at least a hundred Kuinas. On your path to growth, she's nothing more than an insignificant whetstone."
"Don't talk about her like that! The opponent I've worked so desperately to defeat, the one I've risked my life trying to beat, how could she be just... just..."
Zoro's face turned bright red. He was so furious he wanted to hack Mousse to death with his swords, but he also knew he absolutely could not beat this foul-mouthed older brother. In the end, he could only grip his swords and glare at Mousse furiously, as though his gaze alone could kill him.
But Kuina's crying gradually stopped. Perhaps the blows she had suffered today were too great, leaving her numb. Or perhaps, now that the hidden pain in her heart had been exposed, she had finally come to terms with it. She silently walked up to Zoro and earnestly said, "I'm sorry."
It turned out that from the very first day Zoro had arrived at the dojo, Kuina had known that this little runt would surpass her sooner or