Over the days that followed, Zoro came to challenge Meow Jūshirō whenever he had free time. Meow Jūshirō was also very conscientious, handling Zoro's challenges while constantly offering him pointers.
Zoro might have been reckless and hopeless with directions, but he still knew when someone was doing him a favor. His attitude toward Meow Jūshirō gradually shifted from defiant competitiveness to respect, and even his form of address changed from "Seijūrō" to "Master Seijūrō."
And as the One Piece world's famous little naming genius, Zoro developed quite a few moves named after cats. Borrowing Meow Jūshirō's Cat Claws and Cat Pounce went without saying, but even his original Tiger Hunt and Leopard String Jade became Cat Hunt and Cat String Jade. Even Blade Wolf Style became Blade Cat Style...
Xie Wen had no fucking words for this.
Although the cats' influence seemed to have sent Zoro's move names astray, his swordsmanship was genuinely improving at a tremendous pace.
Koshiro understood this very clearly. Zoro already had a solid foundation, and what he needed most now was exposure to more sword techniques and more actual combat experience. Had Zoro not still been underage, Koshiro would have sent him out to sea to broaden his horizons long ago.
So, besides Meow Jūshirō, Xie Wen occasionally sparred with Zoro too. Although his mastery of swordsmanship fell short of Meow Jūshirō's, he knew more techniques. Besides the Monster Hunter Style derived from the various weapons in Monster Hunter, he also knew Brook's Rapier Technique and some sword techniques he had cobbled together himself based on anime he had watched in the past.
Sparring with Zoro both broadened Zoro's horizons and helped refine these improvised sword techniques. Koshiro and Meow Jūshirō also offered plenty of suggestions for improvements.
Additionally, Koshiro thought very highly of Scarlet