Kuina Couldn't Get Motivated

This is probably a very rare situation for Kuina.

Even Lin Yan was momentarily stunned.

Fortunately, Kuina seemed to realize her mistake quickly, blushing as she stepped back and stammered an explanation.

"I... I'm just so happy... I didn't mean anything else..."

Lin Yan couldn't help but chuckle.

Is the little girl shy?

Lin Yan shook her head, pretending nothing had happened, gracefully ignoring Kuina's slightly resentful glare, and waved to the girl.

"In short, Kuina, lie down first. I need to talk to you about the key points of this sword technique training. You can't practice right now because of your current condition."

"I see."

Although she was quite indignant about Lin Yan's calm demeanor, the swordsmanship was still impressive, so Kuina quickly and obediently lay down.

Then she felt Lin Yan grab her foot.

"..."

Kuina's expression immediately turned unnatural.

Her face flushed instantly, and after hesitating for a long time, Kuina asked in a low voice.

"Um, um... teacher, what is this?"

"Ah, don't worry about it, this is necessary correction."

However, Kuina quickly forgot about being shy, because Lin Yan revealed a devilishly cheerful smile on her face.

"Before you start practicing, let me stretch your ligaments first!"

"??!!"

Before Kuina could even react to what was happening, she was instantly struck by an unimaginable, excruciating pain.

Then, very soon, a girl's pitiful screams echoed from the back of the mountain.

"Aaaaaaah?! It's broken! It's going to break!! Aaaaaah!!!"

Time flew by, and another week passed in the blink of an eye.

Recently.

Everyone in the dojo noticed the anomaly.

Their senior sister, Kuina, whom they hadn't seen for some time, finally reappeared at the dojo to participate in morning practice.

However, the anomalies began to occur at this time.

I don't know why...

Everyone felt that Kuina seemed a bit listless.

She always looked sickly, and when she wielded her sword, she seemed listless and weak, like an old lady taking a walk in the park, but her expression was very serious.

And every morning when I first arrive...

Kuina's pretty face was always filled with apprehension, as if she had just experienced something terrible.

Such a strange situation.

The disciples in the dojo were naturally completely bewildered.

Many people speculated that their senior sister might be sick or feeling unwell, which is why they rarely spoke to Kuina during this period.

Apart from one person.

"Kuina! I'm here to challenge you! This is the tenth time you've rejected me!"

It was no different from any other time.

As soon as Zoro saw Kuina appear in the dojo, he jumped out without saying a word.

Despite being kicked by Lin Yan and forced to lie down for an entire afternoon, this incident did not deter Zoro's desire to continue becoming stronger.

Kuina is the strongest swordsman here besides Koushirou.

Zoro, of course, wouldn't let any opportunity for a challenge slip by.

"In a few days."

However, Kuina only glanced at him indifferently.

"In a few days, I'll beat you to a pulp."

Kuina said this with great confidence, as if she no longer took Zoro seriously at all.

"Okay! You said it!"

Then, as usual, Zoro was clearly fooled and turned to leave, satisfied.

"..."

Everyone in the dojo fell silent.

Something's not right!

Something's definitely not right!

You should know that Kuina used to never refuse anyone's challenge. Although she was ruthless, she never refused.

What's going on lately?

The disciples at the dojo were filled with questions.

In fact, the reason why Kuina refused was quite simple.

Because Lin Yan said that he wasn't skilled enough, especially since the initial training wasn't finished, and now was not the time for actual combat.

Kuina is a very obedient girl.

Naturally, they listened to Lin Yan's every word.

Moreover...

She really couldn't muster any enthusiasm!

Lately, even Kuina has been finding it hard to bear being subjected to all sorts of strange actions by Lin Yan every morning.

But Lin Yan insisted that it was necessary.

Kuina felt like she was falling apart!

This is why she has looked sickly every day recently.

It was precisely because Lin Yan said that these training sessions should be conducted step by step that Kuina would reappear in the dojo to familiarize herself with swordsmanship after finishing her morning practice.

and...

Perhaps she was thinking of something interesting, because Kuina's pretty face unconsciously turned a little red.

After all, she is a girl.

During her time with Lin Yan, Kuina has also been slowly changing.

Especially after the flexibility training that Lin Yan mentioned began.

Kuina became increasingly unable to look Lin Yan in the eye.

Of course, she wouldn't tell anyone this.

He wouldn't tell Lin Yan that he'd actually been having a lot of strange ideas lately.

They wouldn't say that what they look forward to most now is their weekly day off.

The saying "a young girl's heart is always poetic" probably refers to this.

Of course, more importantly...

Kuina finally saw hope!

The hope of becoming stronger!

Although the daily training was very difficult, and she felt listless all day after each session, Kuina could clearly feel it.

I am becoming stronger.

The speed she was unleashing was slowly exceeding her limits, and there was no sign of its upper limit. At least until the training ended, Kuina couldn't imagine what she would become.

This expectation is for the young girl.

This is something I haven't tasted in a long time.

And all of this was brought about by that man.

Recalling Lin Yan's mysterious yet gentle figure.

As a result, Kuina's smile became much more frequent.

Change is always a gradual process.

At least in the eyes of everyone at the dojo, their usually extremely serious senior sister has indeed become much gentler recently.

So although everyone found it strange, they ultimately didn't ask any further questions.

Life continued peacefully like this.

Then one day...

Kuina suddenly appeared in the dojo, looking radiant.

This time, facing Zoro's challenge again, Kuina did not refuse, but instead gave him a confident smile.

"Perfect timing, I'd like to see how much you've improved lately!"