Kuina still played a little trick. Mousse had not said when the run would begin, so instead of returning to the dojo, she set off overnight. Although the mountain's location meant the distance was not much shorter, she had far more time available, naturally giving her a better chance of completing the task.
Mousse did not stop this opportunistic behavior. Though being too clever could sometimes backfire, making a habit of using one's brain was a good thing, and a flexible mind was a talent worth praising—especially when one could still uphold their principles and bottom line.
However, Kuina's cleverness ultimately did not gain her much of an advantage this time, because the key to Mousse's "test" was not time, but stamina.
Setting out overnight did indeed give Kuina more time, but she had just run here from the dojo and fought Zoro fiercely. She had already expended a great deal of strength. With neither sleep nor food afterward, her stamina would only run out faster.
She might actually have performed better if she had gone back to sleep first, eaten breakfast in the morning, and then taken the test with plenty of energy and reserves.
Still, being exhausted and hungry better demonstrated Kuina's tenacious nature. Even after realizing that completing the goal was impossible, she gritted her teeth and kept dragging herself forward step by step. Mousse was very pleased by that.
Judging that Kuina had reached her limit and might seriously harm herself if she kept going, Mousse finally appeared and called a halt with a smile. "This is enough. You pass. I deliberately set an impossible goal in the first place to see how determined you were."
The tension in Kuina's heart loosened at those words, and her vision immediately went black as she fainted.
Mousse caught