Apprenticeship

Watching the wooden sword fly toward her at high speed, Kuina's previously inattentive gaze suddenly turned serious.

She immediately raised her sword in a horizontal block, then, after stopping it, twisted her wrist and controlled her bamboo sword as she slashed at Locke.

The two exchanged more than a dozen bouts like this. In the end, Locke's lack of actual combat experience caused him to be carelessly knocked to the ground by Kuina's strike.

"Alright! That's enough for today." Watching the two finish their spar, Koushirou spoke.

"Locke, your fundamentals are solid, but your practical combat ability is a little weak! For now, I'll have Kuina take you to where you'll be staying. Tomorrow, I'll help you work through your swordsmanship problems. As for the little girl who came with you, she can stay with Kuina!" With that, Koushirou left directly.

"Come with me!" Kuina said to Locke as she watched Koushirou disappear through the doorway.

After speaking, Kuina headed outside, and Locke hurriedly followed. For some reason, Zoro, who was standing behind them, followed as well.

They soon arrived at their destination. Kuina took Carmen to get her settled in her room, leaving Locke and Zoro behind.

When Locke opened the door, he found a fairly spacious room with only two beds. The bedding on one of them was messy, so someone was clearly using it. He had no idea who.

But that was not important. What Locke was curious about now was why little Zoro had been following him the whole time. Had he been captivated by his devastatingly handsome face and fallen for him? That raised a problem. I don't swing that way. What should I do?

As Locke unpacked his luggage, Zoro stood behind him and watched the entire time.

"Brat, what do you want?" Locke finally asked when he could no longer stand being stared at.

"Nothing. I just want to fight you."

"Fine. Once I'm done unpacking, I'll fight you. But could you please stop staring at me like that? It's awkward, okay?" Locke said helplessly.

"Hmph!" Hearing Locke's words, Zoro gave an arrogant snort, turned around, and left the room to stand in the little courtyard outside.

Watching Zoro stand in the courtyard, Locke could only shake his head helplessly. What a battle maniac.

Without Zoro constantly staring at him, Locke quickly made up the obviously unused bed beside his own. Seeing Zoro still waiting outside, he picked up his wooden sword and walked out.

Seeing Locke emerge, Zoro, who had been dozing off outside, immediately perked up. "You done?"

Locke nodded.

"Then let's begin!" Zoro continued when he saw him nod.

After saying that, he walked straight to the middle of the courtyard and took the two bamboo swords he had been holding in his arms into his hands. His eyes fixed directly on Locke.

Seeing Zoro like this, Locke also gripped his wooden sword and took his position opposite him.

The moment Locke was ready, Zoro impatiently attacked. Locke did not fall behind and swung his sword at Zoro as well.

Only after they exchanged blows did Locke realize that this brat's strength was not much weaker than his own. Fighting him felt completely different from fighting Kuina just now.

If swordsmanship could be divided into yin and yang, then Kuina's swordsmanship had been yin. Most of her moves relied on technique to meet her opponent. Zoro, on the other hand, was yang. The two bamboo swords in his hands attacked Locke without pause, making him feel like a wild bull charging recklessly forward.

This yin and yang did not measure the difference in strength; it described the way the two attacked. From his experience fighting them, Locke knew that Kuina's strength was about equal to his, while Zoro's was slightly lower, perhaps because he was still young.

Although he had little real combat experience, dealing with a straightforward swordsman like Zoro was still easy. After all, his strength was greater than Zoro's.

Before long, with one horizontal slash from Locke, the two bamboo swords in Zoro's hands snapped. Their first match ended in Locke's victory.

"Hmph! If the weapons in my hands weren't so bad, I wouldn't have lost!" Zoro said arrogantly, looking at his broken bamboo swords.

"..."

Locke was speechless as he watched Zoro remain so arrogant even after losing.

He ignored Zoro and returned directly to the room to rest. Locke was still very tired. Yesterday, after hearing that they were about to arrive, he had been too excited to sleep. Who knew the ship would not arrive until the following afternoon? Then, after arriving, he fought two matches in a row, making the already exhausted Locke even more tired.

But just after Locke lay down, he saw the door he had only just closed open again, and Zoro appeared before him once more.

"What exactly do you want? Didn't you say we'd fight again next time?"

"Hmph!" Zoro answered Locke with another eye roll.

Ignoring Locke beside him, Zoro went directly to the bed next to him, tossed down his belongings, and lay on it.

Seeing Zoro act like this, Locke finally understood. He had been wondering who his roommate was just now, but it turned out to be this green-haired guy!

Shaking his head, Locke did not think too much about it. Having a character he had liked in his past life as a roommate was not bad at all. Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. There was no use overthinking things.

And so Locke fell into a deep sleep. Even when Carmen came to call him for dinner, he did not get up. He had been far too tired that day. Right now, he did not want to think about anything; he only wanted to sleep.

When Locke woke again, it was already the next day. That day, Locke formally became Koushirou's disciple and became Kuina and Zoro's senior brother. After all, he was almost thirteen, while Kuina and Zoro were only eleven and eight respectively.

If he did not become their senior brother, was he supposed to call that eight-year-old brat his senior brother? Absolutely not. Besides, this world was one where the strong preyed on the weak. He was stronger than Zoro, so there was nothing wrong with becoming his senior brother. As for why Kuina was not the senior sister, that had been Master Koushirou's decision.

After accepting him as a disciple, Koushirou corrected some mistakes in Locke's swordsmanship training and taught him some of his own experience in practicing swordsmanship. Then, after telling Locke to train by himself, he disappeared directly. No one knew where he had gone.

Before long, Locke had been on the island for over a month. During that time, he gradually became familiar with the dojo's students. He was closest to Zoro, since they lived in the same room and sparred every morning after their morning training. Although Zoro lost every time, their friendship gradually deepened through all that fighting and bickering.

As for Carmen, on her first day on the island, she became best friends with Kuina. With Kuina's help, she began practicing her cooking in the dojo kitchen, and every day, she also joined Locke and the others in physical training.

Locke and Kuina also got along well because Carmen was there.