Pirates: Invincible from the Start

The senior disciple serving as referee immediately shouted, "One point. That's enough."

Kuina looked down coldly at Zoro on the ground. "This kid is like a wild beast. All he knows is brute force."

"Hey! Kuina." Koshiro looked at his daughter helplessly.

"You're clearly an amateur, yet you want to use Two-Sword Style? You're still ten years too early." Kuina's face was full of disdain.

Kuta suddenly Teleported to Kuina's side and patted her on the head. "All right, Kuina."

"There it is—Kuta's Teleportation."

"Yeah! Every time I see it, I think it's so cool."

Seeing Kuta, who had been beside them just moments ago, suddenly appear next to Kuina on the other side, the bespectacled, chubby Ahua excitedly jumped up. He then ran toward the center of the dojo, and the others slowly gathered around as well.

The moment Kuina saw Kuta, a smile immediately appeared on her face.

During these five years of being together day and night, she had grown very dependent on Kuta. Although he was only a year older than her, he acted exceptionally mature, almost like an adult. He was both her older brother and the person she admired and strove to catch up with.

"Kuta, this kid doesn't understand anything! All he knows is brute force."

Kuta looked at her with amusement. "You'll know how persistent this guy is later. By then, you'll have a headache."

He then turned toward Zoro lying on the ground, squatted down, and pressed his middle and index fingers against Zoro's forehead. In a somewhat chuunibyou voice, he said, "Young man, work hard and keep chasing after Kuina from now on!"

After saying that, he stood up and smiled at Koshiro. "Master, this junior disciple of ours has quite a talent!"

"Damn it! Stop talking as if I'm not here! I'll definitely defeat you!" Zoro shouted defiantly, his voice echoing throughout the entire dojo.

How had this Silver Hair appeared just now? He had no idea at all. And when those fingers touched him, he had been completely unable to move. What kind of ability was that? Damn it! Just wait, you two!

Kuina poked her head out from behind Kuta and said coldly to Zoro, "What? Since that's the case, do you want another match?"

Zoro forced himself to stay alert and shakily stood up. He first dusted himself off, then loudly replied, "A loss is a loss."

Koshiro walked over and stared at him with a beaming smile. "Very straightforward. Not bad. Then..."

"Ha! I'll become your disciple. Any objections?" Zoro roared.

"None." Koshiro narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

Zoro turned around and stared wide-eyed at Kuina. "I'll train desperately, desperately, desperately, and then I'll definitely defeat you!" Then he raised his head and glared at Kuta.

"And you, Silver Hair. Just wait. Once I beat this woman, I'll deal with you. Remember that!"

"Is this guy an idiot? He can't even beat Kuina, yet he dares to make such a bold claim and challenge Kuta." A-Luo couldn't help exclaiming to the other children nearby.

Koshiro looked at Zoro with a face full of smiles. "Hmm... You've got ambition."

Seeing Zoro's adorable appearance, Kuta couldn't help pinching his cheek. "Kowaii. But you have to call me senior disciple from now on. You can call me big brother too, hahaha..."

Kuta said "how scary" with his mouth, but wore a thoroughly smug grin.

"What's your name?"

Although he had known Zoro's name for a long time, he still couldn't resist teasing him.

When Kuta pinched his cheek, Zoro discovered that, unlike before, he could move this time.

He hurriedly slapped Kuta's hand away and glared at him stubbornly. "Damn it! Don't treat me like a little kid and keep touching me whenever you feel like it. Remember this: my name is Roronoa Zoro!"

"Hmm... I'll call you Little Zoro from now on!"

"Damn it! I already told you not to treat me like a little kid!" Zoro shouted in exasperation.

If he hadn't still been recovering, he would have rushed over and slashed that smug face of Kuta's. Don't think that being handsome meant he wouldn't dare hit him.

"Kuta, let's go train! We've already wasted so much time today." At that moment, Kuina's proud voice came from behind him.

He turned around and saw that Kuina looked ready to explode, so he could only clasp his hands behind his head and walk toward the back courtyard.

"All right, all right... Let's go! Our little Kuina is jealous."

Kuina hurried after him, turned her head, and spoke with a faint blush on her face. "Who's jealous? I just think we shouldn't waste so much time."

When they reached the doorway, Kuta stopped.

He turned around and looked at Zoro.

"Hey! Zoro."

Hearing Kuta's voice, Zoro looked up at him in confusion. "What is it?"

"If you want to grow stronger quickly, follow us."

After saying that, Kuta turned and walked out through the rear door. The thought that he could bully—no, train Zoro in the future made him feel comfortable all over.

Kuina turned back and shot Zoro a fierce, disdainful glare before hurriedly following Kuta.

At that moment, the children in the dojo erupted into an uproar. A-Tao looked at Zoro in amazement. "You're way too lucky! You actually get to train with Kuta."

Hearing the voices around him, Zoro looked at them in confusion. "Is the Silver Hair really that strong?"

A-Hua pushed up her glasses and said excitedly, "Of course! Kuta had only been at the dojo for a few days when he defeated everyone except Master."

After a two-second pause, A-Tao loudly added, "Kuina only trained with Kuta for about a year before she could defeat the adults in the dojo. It's been almost four years now, right? I wonder how strong Kuta and Kuina are by now."

They then looked at Zoro with envy.

After all this time, Kuina was the only one in the dojo who could train alongside Kuta. What had this newly arrived green-haired brat done to deserve it?

Of course, they knew their own talents were insufficient. But could this green-haired brat really do it?

"All right, all right. Why are you all crowding around here? Hurry up and go train."

Koshiro walked over and said, "It's not that Kuta won't take you with him. His training methods require talent too. If your talent doesn't meet the requirements, you wouldn't be able to endure it even if you went."

"Yes, Master."

Only then did they return one after another, pick up their bamboo swords, and begin practicing.

Those two are really that strong? I have to become stronger at all costs too.

Zoro looked at Koshiro with eyes full of fighting spirit and spoke up. "Hey, old man, since I've become your disciple, do you have any techniques to teach me?"

The corner of Koshiro's mouth twitched at Zoro's form of address. Another little brat. He raised his hand and tapped Zoro on the head. "You're to call me Master from now on. Understood?"

"Ah... That hurts, that hurts!"

Zoro clutched his head in pain and crouched on the ground. His sword wounds from earlier still hurt!

When he looked up and saw Koshiro raising his hand again, he hurriedly shouted, "Yes, Master!"

Koshiro withdrew his right hand in satisfaction and looked down at Zoro. "I'll only teach you the fundamentals of swordsmanship. As for your training, that will depend on you. From now on, aside from learning swordsmanship from me, train with Kuta during the rest of your time. Don't be fooled by the fact that he's only eleven. He's already extremely powerful."

"Is he really that strong?" Zoro muttered doubtfully.

"Hmm... Very strong."

A trace of reminiscence flashed through Koshiro's eyes. He's a genuine monster.

I wonder whether that ability of his is a Devil Fruit. If it is a Devil Fruit, then why isn't he afraid of seawater? Strange.

And his physical abilities have improved far too quickly over the past few years. I wonder how far he'll go in the future.

He lowered his head and looked at Zoro. This one is a monster too. With that fighting spirit and physical ability, it would be difficult for him not to become strong—especially with Kuta around.

Koshiro narrowed his eyes and gently shook his head with a smile. These two monsters were both his disciples.

"Go find Kuta."

As he spoke, he gave Zoro a meaningful glance, walked past him, and returned to the cushion at the front of the dojo.

After hearing Koshiro's words, Zoro paused before picking up the bamboo sword from the ground and running toward the back courtyard with a face full of fighting spirit.

Damn it! I'll see whether your training method can really make me stronger quickly. If it can't, I'll cut you down!

Chapter 3: Completely Integrating into This World

After walking along the courtyard path, the first thing Zoro saw was a gigantic cherry tree.

After passing the cherry tree, he saw the rear gate. Outside it, in the open ground, stood a row of black barbell plates arranged from largest to smallest. Even the smallest was as large as a basin, while the largest was three or four times his height.

After passing through the iron mountain before him, he saw Kuina swinging an iron bar over and over, drenched in sweat. A barbell plate nearly as tall as Zoro was hanging from the front of the bar.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!..."

The veins bulging from her arms made the weight of the barbell obvious.

Farther inside, Kuta was bare-chested, supporting himself on the ground with both hands while doing handstand push-ups.

Above his feet was a barbell with plates hanging from both ends.

"Hey! So this is how you train? There's nothing special about it."

Watching the two train, Zoro strode forward confidently.

What's the big deal? This is just normal training, isn't it?

If this is enough to become stronger, then I'll definitely be able to defeat Kuina very soon.

But when he reached a point roughly five meters from Kuta, it suddenly felt as though he had fallen into the deep sea. Pressure surged toward him from every direction.

The pressure on his back was especially intense, as if a thousand-kilogram burden had suddenly been placed on him and was slowly trying to crush him to the ground.

This little bit of pressure is supposed to stop me? No chance.

He roared inwardly, eyes opened wide, a thread of blood appearing in them. He stared fixedly at Kuina ahead, gritted his teeth, and moved his trembling legs forward one step at a time.

It took him more than ten minutes to cover those few meters.

Kuina cast a cold glance at Zoro as he approached, then continued practicing her sword swings.

She thought about what Kuta had told her. Although women were naturally inferior to men in physical strength, strength was not necessarily the deciding factor in victory. Sometimes technique and speed were the keys to winning. As long as she defeated her enemy before her stamina ran out, that was victory.

That single glance from Kuina deeply stimulated Zoro. He raised his head and glared at her, his fighting spirit soaring. I'll definitely surpass her.

I don't know what this place is about, but if I can train in an environment like this, I should become stronger very quickly!

He relaxed and took a deep breath. Then he slowly crouched down, put both hands on the ground, and began doing push-ups. Since even standing was difficult, he would train on the ground instead.

Seeing Zoro's face twist from exerting too much force, Kuta could only marvel at his astonishing willpower. As expected of Zoro.

This space was actually his Space Domain. At present, he could extend the domain outward to a radius of five meters.

Within this spatial range, the farther outward he extended it, the stronger his control became. He could compress space to increase the pressure, or reduce the pressure enough to make things fly.

Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine... ten thousand. Kuta silently counted the numbers and stopped.

Bang!

He bent his legs slightly and tossed the barbell aside, sending dust flying across the ground.

He then pushed off hard with both hands, flipped backward, and landed steadily beside the barbell.

Seeing that Zoro had passed out from exhaustion, he picked up the sweat towel from the weight plate. As he wiped the sweat from his face, he dispersed the domain.

Kuina, who had been resting with her eyes closed nearby, suddenly felt her whole body lighten. She knew that Kuta had finished training.

She hurriedly picked up the bamboo sword from her legs, stood up, and spoke to Kuta.

"Kuta, let's begin today's sparring session!"

"Wait. Wake Zoro up first."

Watching the domain disappear and Zoro's breathing gradually stabilize, Kuta suddenly became interested.

He casually draped the sweat towel around his neck, walked over to Zoro, bent down, grabbed the back of his collar, and lifted him up like a sleeping green-haired cat.

Seeing Kuta carrying Zoro toward the stream in the distance, Kuina jogged after him.

"Kuta, he'll definitely challenge you later."

"No, I'll tell him you did it." Kuta turned his head to look at Kuina beside him and deliberately teased her.

"It doesn't matter. There's no way he can beat me anyway."

Kuina's face was filled with confidence.

She had good reason to be confident. In the village, her swordsmanship had been acknowledged by everyone except her father.