"Smack!"
A crisp sound.
Zoro's wooden sword spun into the air, flipped seven or eight times, and then stuck straight into the mud at the other end of the yard, its hilt pointing upwards and trembling slightly.
Meanwhile, Roy's thin bamboo stick had already firmly touched Zoro's forehead.
The entire process took less than a second.
Zoro remained in his charging stance, sword in hand, feet planted firmly on the ground, eyes wide open, mouth agape, looking like a cat stunned by a hammer blow.
He didn't see Roy's movements at all.
He only remembered rushing forward with the knife in hand, then feeling a sharp, crisp force on his wrist, causing his fingers to involuntarily loosen.
Then my forehead felt cool—a bamboo twig had touched it, the force so light it was like a brush.
"You, you just now--"
Zoro's voice was trembling.
"What kind of move was that?!"
"Nothing can be done."
Roy retrieved the bamboo branch and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can.
"I just destroyed your point of leverage. You're strong enough, but your grip on the knife is too stiff—if I were using a real knife, your hand would be gone by now."
Zoro looked down at his empty palm, as if he had been frozen in place.
He lost to Kuina for the 2001st time, and although he was unwilling to accept it, at least he knew where he went wrong.
Kuina's swordsmanship was faster, more accurate, and more stable than his; it was a genuine suppression of strength, he acknowledged.
But just now, this man used only a bamboo stick and, in less than a second, defeated him before he even saw what happened.
This feeling can no longer be described simply as "strong".
A deathly silence fell over the backyard.
The boys perched on the wall stood there, mouths agape, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
They had witnessed countless sword duels and seen Master Koshiro occasionally display his profound sword techniques.
But no one expected that this smiling stranger would casually deflect Zoro's full-force slash with a flick of his wrist.
Kuina stood to the side, a bright light flashing in her eyes.
She had been practicing swordsmanship with Koshiro since she was a child, and her understanding of swordsmanship far surpassed that of her peers.
Her father had taught her to maintain a steady pace, to be accurate with her sword, and to keep her mind calm. But that flick from the man just now gave her a completely different feeling.
That was no ordinary swordsmanship.
That's an understanding of the essence of swordsmanship—as long as you destroy the point of force, any attack will crumble on its own.
But how sharp of eyesight would someone need to be able to pinpoint Zoro's point of attack?
How terrifyingly skilled would a swordsman need to be to strike the point of force with pinpoint accuracy in a fraction of a second?
What's more, he was using a bamboo stick.
Kuina took a deep breath and bowed slightly to Roy:
Who are you?
Before Roy could speak, Koshiro had already put down the tea tray and strode over. His fingers trembled slightly on the edge of the tray, but he managed to maintain his usual gentle expression.
"This is Mr. Roy, a friend of Mr. Long."
When Koshiro said this, he tried to keep his tone calm, but every word carried a hint of barely perceptible reluctance.
"By the way— Kuina, Zoro, it's one thing for you to fool around, but this Mr. Roy is a guest, and it's extremely rude to lay a hand on a guest."
Koshiro was about to scold Zoro when Roy raised his hand, his tone casual.
"No need to scold him. He's just straightforward, I like that."
When Koshiro heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched again, but he really couldn't tell whether Roy's "like" meant he truly liked the person or if there was some other meaning behind it.
Zoro was still reeling from the shock he had just experienced.
He stood there, looking down at his empty hands, the image of that flick replaying in his mind.
"Who... who exactly are you?"
Zoro raised his head, his voice no longer carrying the arrogance of before, but instead filled with an unusual seriousness.
How can you be so strong?
Didn't I just say that?
Roy crouched down to be at Zoro's eye level.
"Just a swordsman passing by."
Zoro bit his lip and remained silent.
He certainly didn't believe it.
Although he was young, he had spent several years in the dojo and had a knack for recognizing strong individuals.
This man's strength was absolutely the strongest he had ever seen.
Even his own teacher, Koshiro, would probably be no match for him.
"You --"
Roy stood up and patted Zoro's Moss Head.
"First, practice your most basic knife-holding posture to be correct."
Mr. Long will be staying in Shimotsuki Village for a few more days. If you can master your sword stance in the next few days, I'll give you another pointer.
Zoro's eyes lit up instantly, like two newly charged light bulbs.
"You said it! You can't go back on your word!"
"What's there to regret?
Roy smiled and waved his hand, his gaze passing over Zoro and landing on Kuina beside him.
The girl had been very quiet since the beginning.
She didn't rush up to challenge him like Zoro, nor did she chatter like the other boys; she simply watched him quietly, her eyes gleaming with contemplation.
Roy recognized what was in those eyes.
It is a yearning for what is "desirable but unattainable," and a silence that comes after recognizing the gap.
But more than anything, it was curiosity.
"Your name is Kuina?"
Kuina paused for a moment, then nodded. She looked up at Roy's eyes, hesitated for a second, and then spoke:
"My father's swordsmanship was the strongest I had ever seen."
In the kendo dojo in the East Blue, my father's skill level has always been among the top.
But that move you just made wasn't swordsmanship—swordsmanship doesn't involve that kind of technique."
Roy raised an eyebrow and waited for her to finish speaking.
"So I'd like to know, was what you just used pure 'kendo'?"
Roy didn't answer directly, but just smiled, "You could tell?"
"Just a guess."
Kuina tried hard to keep her eyes calm, but a slight fluctuation in her tone betrayed her.
My father once said that the way of the sword is above swordsmanship.
Only those who can comprehend the way of the sword are true masters.
But he never taught me kendo—he said I couldn't learn it.
Upon hearing this, a knowing glint flashed in Roy's eyes.
He didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly to Kuina, then turned and walked towards the reception room.
He took a few steps, then stopped, tossing out a sentence without turning his head:
"Kendo transcends gender. It's all about one's own will."
Kuina's body trembled slightly.
She watched Roy's figure disappear at the end of the porch, then lowered her head to look at the wooden knife in her hand.
Kendo is not gender-specific.
It is will.
Her father had never said this to her.
wrong.
Koshiro found an excuse to dismiss the boys early, and that was the end of today's training.
Zoro didn't pester Kuina for another match as usual.
Instead, he ran to a corner of the yard, picked up a wooden knife,
He practiced the angle at which he held the knife repeatedly, muttering to himself the question Roy had just asked.
Kuina sat on the veranda, a wooden sword lying across her lap, gazing at the bamboo grove outside the dojo, remaining silent for a long time.