The Involution King! Kuina's Unwillingness

So, why does learning swordsmanship at a dojo cost so much money?

Selling oneself wouldn't even be worth this much, right?

This was what Zoro was thinking right now.

He followed Kuina, who was carrying the money bag, with a chaotic mind, and then he met Shimotsuki Koshiro.

Upon seeing Kuina place the bag filled with Beli in front of him, Shimotsuki Koshiro also wore a look of surprise.

"I don't have any money!"

Watching Koshiro count the Beli, Zoro struggled with his expression for a few moments before speaking in a dejected tone.

These words drew surprised gazes from both Kuina and the man.

"You are different from him; you don't need to pay!"

Shimotsuki Koshiro naturally saw through Zoro's thoughts immediately and shook his head as he spoke.

In fact, when he proposed the tuition fee, his purpose had already been made clear, and the boy named Dunn had actually seen through his intentions as well.

That was, this instruction was merely instruction—it was a transaction.

The other party pays the tuition, and he teaches them swordsmanship.

Nothing more would be involved.

His gaze couldn't see through this boy at all; the temperament he carried was contradictory.

As for what the boy was planning, he had no way of knowing.

Zoro wanted to say more, but Kuina beckoned him and led him out.

"9 million Beli, that really is a huge sum!"

A moment later, Shimotsuki Koshiro looked at the neatly stacked Beli in front of him and sighed.

This was not something just anyone could casually pull out.

"A strange temperament, and the ability to produce so much money directly—it really is quite interesting."

The next day.

Dunn rose early and performed his warm-up according to his own training methods, after which he met the other students in the dojo.

Ninety-nine percent of the students in the dojo were from Shimotsuki Village, most of them around the same age as Kuina and Zoro, with only a few around Dunn's age, and two young men who looked to be in their twenties.

The group was clearly very curious about the sudden appearance of Dunn.

Especially during breakfast, when they saw Dunn's astonishing appetite, everyone's eyes widened.

He didn't appear to be eating quickly, but the food in front of Dunn was disappearing at a rapid pace.

This kind of appetite had already exceeded the scope of an ordinary person.

Shimotsuki Koshiro, who was also eating breakfast, saw Dunn's situation and had a thoughtful look on his face.

Compared to these youngsters, his experience was naturally much greater.

Sure enough, this boy named Dunn was very special.

"Plop!"

Zoro stared at Dunn with shocked eyes; the meat he was holding in his hand dropped, and he didn't even realize that drool was leaking from his mouth.

"No wonder he had to pay so much money—is this for the food expenses?"

Zoro muttered to himself.

Dunn naturally didn't care about the gazes of the people around him.

After all, to him, being able to eat would provide enough energy, and perhaps the effects of his training would be even better.

Of course, he didn't want to practice on an empty stomach either.

The episode during breakfast made everyone aware of this new disciple who had just joined the dojo.

And shortly after breakfast, the formal swordsmanship training began.

Everyone was practicing the basic moves of swordsmanship with wooden swords, following every rule to the letter.

Dunn didn't show any impatience either.

Kuina was right by his side, teaching Dunn the basic swordsmanship movements, correcting him as she taught.

Not far away, Shimotsuki Koshiro's gaze remained fixed on Dunn.

He had practiced some swordsmanship, but it looked like self-taught work; he hadn't even used swordsmanship to fight before, and many of his moves were somewhat distorted.

Of course, that didn't mean the distorted moves were useless.

It was just that they weren't very efficient.

But from this, one could also see the foundation Dunn possessed.

After watching for a short while, Shimotsuki Koshiro turned and left.

Kuina, on the other hand, was tireless; she seemed to take her role as a temporary instructor very seriously, patiently explaining the purpose of each move and how to exert force correctly.

Dunn, naturally, did not feel the slightest bit of impatience.

He now understood why his own sword techniques had felt so unnatural when he practiced them before.

It was safe to say that he still had quite a lot to learn.

The morning was dedicated to basic training, while the afternoon was reserved for free practice.

The sparring between Kuina and Zoro continued unabated.

Most of the other disciples had left the dojo, though a few remained to train, and Dunn was naturally among them.

He continued to practice his sword forms with a standard, disciplined posture.

Eventually, everyone else left, leaving him all alone.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The rhythmic sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air echoed steadily. Dunn's expression remained calm; even after a full day of training, his breathing had not changed in the slightest.

This level of intensity posed no pressure for him at all.

However, after the adjustments Kuina had made, he could feel that there was real substance to the way he was exerting his strength.

Since it was helping him improve, Dunn was extremely patient.

When the sky darkened and Kuina came to call Dunn for dinner, she caught sight of him still practicing his standard sword forms, and an unreadable expression crossed her face.

"Training requires a balance of work and rest!"

That evening, with the other students gone, only four people sat down to eat. During a lull, Shimotsuki Koshiro spoke calmly, offering a reminder.

"This is very easy for me, and I can feel my control over my strength improving."

Dunn understood, of course, that the remark was directed at him.

Shimotsuki Koshiro was taken aback. He glanced at Dunn, then shifted his gaze toward Kuina and Zoro, who appeared to be eating but were actually listening with their ears pricked up.

"In that case, if you can meet my requirements within a month, I will teach you personally."

"Alright."

Dunn nodded and then buried his head back into his meal.

In the time that followed, Dunn entered a mode of intense, self-driven competition.

It reached the point where Shimotsuki Koshiro had to ask Dunn to go elsewhere to train on his own.

Otherwise, he worried that the other students would become demoralized.

Of course, even so, Kuina and Zoro also entered a state of frantic, competitive training.

In the woods behind the dojo, Dunn kept his eyes closed, holding a wooden sword in his right hand to parry the attacks coming from all sides.

Kuina and Zoro were both attacking him, their four wooden swords striking at him without pause.

Dunn paid no mind to the pain of the wooden swords hitting his body, focusing his mind instead on sensing the incoming blades.

He did not know if this method of training Observation Haki was correct.

But it seemed that Monkey D. Luffy had been taught Observation Haki by Rayleigh using a similar approach.

Whether it would work or not, there was no harm in trying; he could just consider it sparring practice for Kuina and Zoro.

Hah, hah, hah!

The two of them panted heavily, exchanging a glance, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Of course, there was even more frustration in Kuina's eyes.

As she grew older, she felt the gap between people becoming more and more apparent.

Or rather, the gap between men and women.

She had sensed it earlier from the rapid improvement in Zoro's strength.

And now, this situation was even more obvious with Dunn.

She could clearly feel that Dunn was holding back at least ninety percent of his strength when he swung his sword, yet even so, she and Zoro were unable to withstand his strikes head-on.

This was the gap.

The innate gap.

"There are countless powerful women on the seas, and even among the pirate emperors who stand at the pinnacle of the ocean, one of them is a woman."

Just as the frustration in Kuina's eyes grew more intense, Dunn's voice suddenly rang out.