Shimotsuki Village: Dragon's Visit

The teahouse suddenly filled with sword intent. A powerful, invisible Sword Aura spread out from Lin Mo, surging through the small space before vanishing in an instant.

The smile on Koshiro's face froze slightly under the pressure of the Sword Aura that had appeared out of nowhere.

His fingers tightened involuntarily around the teacup, and even his gaze toward Lin Mo changed.

Koshiro said in surprise, "Your Swordsmanship seems to have improved just now..."

Although he had no idea what had happened, Koshiro could be certain that the current Lin Mo was on an entirely different level from the Lin Mo who had sparred with Kuina earlier, whether in his understanding of the sword or his mastery of Swordsmanship!

This child really was a genius at swordsmanship.

After thinking for a moment, Koshiro could not help asking, "Can you tell me who taught you your Swordsmanship?"

"Self-taught."

"Self-taught? So you don't have a master or school?"

"Yeah."

"With no one guiding you, how did you practice swordsmanship?"

"No comment."

Koshiro was not the type to pry into everything. He smiled and said, "Since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask any more. I have a suggestion. Why don't you stay at the dojo? Not only will you have Wine to drink, I can also teach you Swordsmanship."

Actually, when Lin Mo said he had no master or school, Koshiro had already been tempted.

A child as talented as Lin Mo was extraordinarily rare, so naturally, he did not want to let him go easily.

"No." Lin Mo refused. "I'm a traveler. I won't stay in one place for too long."

"A traveler?" Koshiro was stunned. "With your talent, becoming merely a traveler would be a terrible waste. If you're willing to stay, I can pass on everything I've learned in my life. I believe that with your talent, you could graduate in the shortest possible time. After that, you could continue traveling."

"No, but I appreciate your kindness." Lin Mo maintained his original attitude. Using the same words with which he had rejected Red-Hair, he rejected Koshiro as well. "I have no interest in inheriting a swordsmanship tradition or becoming a Great Swordsman admired by everyone. My dream is simply to be a free traveler, unbound by anything. That's all."

Koshiro asked once more, unwilling to give up. "Are you really unwilling to stay?"

Lin Mo nodded firmly. "Yeah."

Seeing that he truly could not change Lin Mo's mind, Koshiro had no choice. "All right. Since that's the case, I won't try to persuade you further. How long do you plan to stay in Shimotsuki Village this time?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment. His current sign-in progress was only at thirty percent. Based on his previous experience in Windmill Village, it would probably be impossible to finish smoothly without ten days to half a month. "About half a month."

Upon hearing that, Koshiro raised his teacup and took a sip before continuing, "There are no inns in the village. Until you leave, stay at the dojo."

"Okay." Lin Mo had no objections.

After chatting a little longer, Koshiro arranged a guest room for Lin Mo and had someone deliver all the Wine he had promised him.

After putting the fifteen jars of Wine, each half a person tall, into the System Space, Lin Mo saw that it was still early and decided to take a stroll around the village.

He had just walked into the courtyard.

He immediately sensed killing intent coming at him from behind.

He sidestepped and avoided a wave of attacks.

Bathed in moonlight, Lin Mo saw the person attacking him—a boy with distinctive short green hair. With a single hand chop, he easily knocked Zoro, who was wielding two bamboo swords, to the ground.

"Damn it!" Zoro climbed to his feet. "Kuina must have lost to you because you used some cheap trick! If you're a man, pick up a sword! I challenge you! If I win, return Wado Ichimonji to Kuina!"

Lin Mo: "..."

What was this supposed to be?

Lin Mo was speechless inside.

He had no intention of paying Zoro any attention.

But just as he turned to leave,

Zoro charged at him again with both bamboo swords raised. "Ha—take this!"

Just like before, even without facing Zoro, Lin Mo easily dodged all of his attacks. In the end, he sent him crashing to the ground with another hand chop.

When Lin Mo tried to leave for the third time, Zoro once again got up and charged at him.

Lin Mo was getting annoyed.

Was this guy really this troublesome when he was a child?

"If I beat you with a sword, you won't bother me anymore, right?" Lin Mo drew Toyako and effortlessly blocked several of Zoro's attacks. At the same time, he noticed that in terms of pure strength, Zoro was indeed a little stronger than Kuina. But when it came to technique and comprehension, the gap between them was rather large.

No wonder this guy could never beat Kuina.

Lin Mo did not think about it any longer. Just as Kuina usually fought Zoro, he brought his sword down directly onto Zoro's face.

Zoro's entire body toppled backward and slammed heavily onto the ground, staring up at the sky.

Lin Mo sheathed Toyako and prepared to leave.

Looking up at the star-filled sky, Zoro clenched his fists, unwilling to accept it. "Damn it! We're about the same age, so why is he this strong? Why?"

The lucky hope he had held at the beginning vanished completely.

He had thought Lin Mo had beaten Kuina through some cheap trick, but now it seemed that he had been wrong.

Lin Mo was genuinely powerful!

Zoro got to his feet once more.

Watching Lin Mo's back as it grew farther away, Zoro hesitated, clenching his fists tightly. In the end, he could not stop himself from chasing after him. "Hey, wait."

"Hm?" Lin Mo turned and glanced at him.

Zoro asked directly, "How long have you been practicing the sword?"

"Less than half a day."

"Half, half a day?" Zoro secretly swallowed. "How could you possibly have such incredible Swordsmanship after only half a day?"

His first thought was that Lin Mo was messing with him. Yet for some reason, Lin Mo did not feel like the kind of person who was full of lies.

Lin Mo did not care whether anyone believed him. "Believe it or not, that's up to you. I'm leaving."

Seeing Lin Mo about to go, Zoro immediately caught up and blocked his path. "I didn't say I didn't believe you. I'm just surprised. Um... can you tell me how you practice swordsmanship? I want to become as strong as you!"

Lin Mo had not expected Zoro to ask him for advice on Swordsmanship.

But remembering how relentlessly Zoro had pestered him just now, he knew that if he left without saying anything, the boy would definitely not give up easily.

Since that was the case, he might as well give the boy some pointers and let him figure things out for himself. That way, he could spend the days ahead in peace.

With that thought, Lin Mo asked, "How long have you been at Isshin Dojo?"

"Almost a year!"

"After a year of study, all you've learned is to charge forward recklessly and knock down your opponent with brute force?"

"Ah, this..." Zoro panicked a little.

Lin Mo continued, "Do you know why you've never been able to beat Kuina?"

"I—I don't know. I've already worked so hard, but I still can't beat her... Do you know why?"

"Your fighting has no technique whatsoever." Lin Mo did not hold back. "In terms of strength, you and Kuina, who currently uses Two-Sword Style, are evenly matched. Even if you become far stronger than her in the future, she will still be able to defeat you with superior sword techniques. Your direction has been half wrong from the very beginning."

"Half wrong?" Zoro hurriedly asked, "Then what should I do to defeat Kuina?"

"While continuing to strengthen your basics, you also need to improve your sword techniques. Don't just charge forward recklessly with brute force. You need to think about your opponent's attack patterns and counter each move as it comes. As long as you're strong enough, you'll be able to find openings even in the most perfect sword techniques."

Just as he finished speaking,

'Beep beep! Guiding Zoro in Swordsmanship. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 50%. Swordsmanship level reward +1. Current Swordsmanship level: Lv4.'

When he heard that, Lin Mo immediately felt a change in the strength within his body. An even more powerful and terrifying aura spread out from him.

As expected...

To complete the sign-in progress, he still had to be with key characters. The fact that merely guiding Zoro in Swordsmanship had increased the sign-in progress by twenty percent made that clear.

"What was that just now?" Zoro's voice came from nearby. "Was it an illusion? I feel like I sensed a kind of oppressive feeling that I can't describe..."

Lin Mo glanced at Zoro.

As expected of the Great Swordsman who would one day become the right-hand man of Luffy, the Pirate King.

Redirecting the conversation, Lin Mo asked, "Do you understand what I just told you?"

Zoro came back to his senses and scratched his head. "So I have to think about and analyze my opponent's moves, then find an opening and defeat him?"

"In a real battle, your enemy won't give you much time to analyze his techniques."

"Huh? Then what should I do?"

"Figure it out yourself." At that, Lin Mo suddenly asked, "Do you believe that there is a sword in this world that can cut through anything?"

Zoro was stunned, and his eyes lit up. "Does such a sword really exist?"

The corners of Lin Mo's lips curved up slightly. He casually picked up one of Zoro's bamboo swords. "Watch closely."

At that moment, a gust of wind rose.

A leaf drifted over.

Lin Mo swung the bamboo sword at the leaf.

When the leaf drifted to the ground completely intact, Zoro could not help complaining, "You want to cut through a leaf with a bamboo sword? How could that possibly..."

Lin Mo chuckled softly and did not explain.

Just then, there was a sharp cracking sound. A person-tall stone not far from the leaf instantly shattered and scattered across the ground.

"Huh?" Zoro was shocked. "W-what exactly happened? Why did the stone break?"

Shimotsuki Village: Dragon's Visit

In the quiet courtyard,

the bright moonlight stretched the two small figures standing there.

Lin Mo tossed the bamboo sword back to Zoro.

Zoro hurriedly caught it, his eyes filled with shock. "Could it be... could it be that you cut the stone apart? But you clearly didn't strike the stone! What happened just now?"

Lin Mo glanced at Zoro, the corners of his lips curving slightly. He said, "Listen carefully, Zoro. In this world, there are swordsmen who cannot cut anything, yet those swordsmen can use the same blade to cut through all things under heaven. A truly powerful swordsman can protect whatever he wishes to protect, and can likewise cut apart anything he wishes to cut. You still have a long road ahead of you. Keep working hard."

With that, Lin Mo lightly patted Zoro on the shoulder, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.

The evening breeze swept past, stirring the clothes and hair of the person walking away.

Zoro stared blankly at his back, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

To be unable to cut anything, yet also be able to cut through everything under heaven?

If it had been in the past, he definitely would not have believed that such a person existed.

But just now, Lin Mo had shown him through his actions that a truly powerful swordsman could indeed accomplish such a thing.

He had done it with nothing more than an ordinary bamboo sword.

They were clearly about the same age...

That guy really was a monster.

"Hey! What are you doing alone in the courtyard?" Kuina's slightly aloof voice came from nearby.

Coming back to himself, Zoro did not look at Kuina. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the shattered stone Lin Mo had cut apart. With a solemn expression and determined eyes, he said, "Kuina, that Lin Mo guy is really strong!"

Kuina followed Zoro's gaze and saw the shattered stone covering the ground. She immediately guessed that Lin Mo had done it, yet she was not surprised in the slightest. "Tsk! Using Wado Ichimonji to cut a stone is such a waste."

"No!" Zoro picked up the bamboo sword Lin Mo had just used. "He used this sword."

"What?" Kuina glanced at the bamboo sword in Zoro's hand. A trace of astonishment flashed through her eyes as she said incredulously, "A bamboo sword? He cut a stone apart with a bamboo sword? How is that possible?"

"It really happened!" Zoro said seriously. "Kuina, I think I understand why the teacher said those things to you."

Meanwhile,

after leaving Isshin Dojo, Lin Mo planned to visit the village tavern and sample the flavor of the local Wine.

Although the Wine Koshiro had given him truly had a unique flavor and was enough to last him for a while, that could not stop him from continuing his search for fine Wine.

However, when he arrived at the entrance of the only tavern in Shimotsuki Village, he happened to run into the Tavern Owner closing up for the night.

The Tavern Owner finished closing and locking the door, wiped away his sweat, and prepared to go home. But when he turned around and saw Lin Mo, he jumped in fright. After realizing that the person before him was only a child, he asked gruffly, "Hey, kid, why aren't you home this late? What are you doing here?"