So, why did learning swordsmanship at a dojo cost so much money?
Even if I sold everything I owned, it wouldn't be worth that much, would it?
That was what Zoro was thinking.
He followed Kuina, who was carrying the money bag, his mind in turmoil, and then met Shimotsuki Koshiro.
When he saw Kuina hand over the bag of Beli, Shimotsuki Koshiro looked surprised.
"I don't have any money!"
Watching Koshiro count the Beli, Zoro struggled with himself for a moment before speaking dejectedly.
His words drew surprised looks from Kuina and Koshiro.
"You're different from him. You don't need to pay!"
Shimotsuki Koshiro had immediately understood what Zoro was thinking and shook his head as he replied.
In fact, when he brought up the tuition, he had already made his intentions clear. This boy called Dunn had also understood what he meant.
The lessons were just lessons—a transaction.
The other party paid tuition, and he taught them swordsmanship.
Nothing more would be involved.
He couldn't see through this boy at all. There was something contradictory about his bearing.
As for what the boy had in mind, he had no way of knowing.
Zoro was about to speak again, but Kuina gestured for him to come outside.
"Nine million Beli. That's quite a sum!"
A moment later, Shimotsuki Koshiro looked at the Beli neatly laid out in front of him and sighed.
Not just anyone could come up with that kind of money.
"Such a strange presence, and he can produce that much money right off the bat. He's rather interesting."
The next day.
Dunn got up early and warmed up according to his own training routine. Then he met the other students at the dojo.
Ninety-nine percent of the students at the dojo were from Shimotsuki Village. Most were around the same age as Kuina and Zoro, while only a few were about Dunn's age, along with two young men who looked to be in their twenties.
Naturally, everyone was curious about Dunn's sudden appearance.
Especially at breakfast, when they saw how much Dunn could eat, everyone's eyes widened.
He didn't seem to eat quickly, but the food in front of him disappeared at an astonishing rate.
His appetite was already beyond the bounds of an ordinary person.
Shimotsuki Koshiro, who was also eating breakfast, watched Dunn with a thoughtful expression.
He had seen far more than these youngsters.
As expected, this boy called Dunn was special.
"Clatter!"
Zoro stared at Dunn in shock. The piece of meat in his hand fell, and drool ran from his mouth without him even noticing.
"No wonder he had to pay so much. Was that for food?"
Zoro muttered to himself.
Dunn didn't pay any attention to the looks around him.
After all, he needed to eat enough to get enough energy. That might even make his training more effective.
Of course, he didn't want to train on an empty stomach.
The breakfast incident introduced the dojo's newest student to everyone.
Not long after breakfast, formal swordsmanship training began.
Everyone practiced the basic moves with wooden swords, following each movement to the letter.
Dunn wasn't impatient at all.
Kuina stood beside him, teaching him the basic swordsmanship movements and correcting him as she went.
Not far away, Shimotsuki Koshiro kept his eyes on Dunn.
He had practiced some swordsmanship, but it looked self-taught. He had never even used it in a fight, and many of his movements were a little off.
Of course, that didn't mean the movements were useless.
They just weren't as efficient.
Even so, they revealed a lot about Dunn's fundamentals.
After watching for a while, Shimotsuki Koshiro turned and left.
Kuina, on the other hand, patiently kept at it. She seemed to take her temporary role as Dunn's instructor very seriously, explaining the purpose of each movement and how to apply force.
Dunn, naturally, wasn't impatient in the slightest.
Now he understood why his sword movements had felt awkward when he practiced them before.
He still had a lot to learn.
The morning was for basic training, while the afternoon was set aside for free practice.
Kuina and Zoro continued their fights.
Most of the other students left the dojo. A few stayed behind to train, and Dunn was among them.
He kept training with proper swordsmanship form.
He continued until everyone else had left, leaving him alone.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The wooden sword cut through the air in a steady rhythm. Dunn's expression was calm, and even after a day of training, his breathing hadn't changed at all.
This level of exertion was no strain for him.
But after Kuina corrected his movements, he could feel that there was a real knack to the way he held his stance and applied force.
Since it helped him improve, Dunn was more than willing to be patient.
By the time it grew dark, Kuina came to call Dunn for dinner. Seeing him training with proper swordsmanship form, she wore an unreadable expression.
"Training requires a balance between work and rest!"
That evening, the other students had all left the dojo. Only the four of them were having dinner when Shimotsuki Koshiro calmly reminded him.
"This is easy for me. I can feel my control over my strength improving."
Dunn knew he was talking to him.
Shimotsuki Koshiro paused, glanced at Dunn, then turned his gaze toward Kuina and Zoro, who looked like they were eating but were actually listening with their ears perked up.
"If that's the case, then if you can meet my requirements within a month, I'll teach you personally."
"Okay."
Dunn nodded, then lowered his head and dug into his food.
Over the days that followed, Dunn went into full-on overtraining mode.
Shimotsuki Koshiro even had to send Dunn somewhere else to train by himself.
Otherwise, he worried the other students would be discouraged.
Of course, even so, Kuina and Zoro also went into full-on overtraining mode.
In the woods behind the dojo, Dunn closed his eyes and held a wooden sword in his right hand, fending off attacks coming at him from all around.
Kuina and Zoro attacked Dunn nonstop with four wooden swords between them.
Dunn didn't mind the pain when the wooden swords struck him. He focused his mind on sensing the swords coming at him.
He didn't know whether this method of training Observation Haki was correct.
But it seemed Rayleigh had taught Monkey D. Luffy Observation Haki in much the same way.
Whether it worked or not, there was no harm in trying. He could treat it as sparring practice for Kuina and Zoro.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The two panted heavily and exchanged glances, both seeing the same helplessness in each other's eyes.
Kuina, of course, looked even more resentful.
As she grew older, she became more and more aware of the gap between people.
Or rather, the gap between men and women.
She had already felt it when Zoro's strength improved so quickly.
Now, that difference was even more obvious with Dunn.
She could clearly tell that Dunn was holding back at least ninety percent of his strength as he swung his sword. Even so, neither she nor Zoro could withstand his wooden sword head-on.
That was the difference.
A difference they were born with.
"There are countless powerful women on the seas. Even among the pirate emperors who stand at the very top, one of them is a woman."
Just as the resentment in Kuina's eyes grew stronger, Dunn's voice suddenly rang out.
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