At Kozaburo's invitation, Vic stayed at the cabin in the woods. He cooked Kozaburo dinner, and Kozaburo told him a few things about forging swords.
After a night's rest, Vic took Kozaburo's letter and headed for the Isshin Dojo the next morning. As he drew near, shouts rang out from within. Someone was already practicing swordsmanship.
The Isshin Dojo wasn't very large, and its buildings were all in the style of Wano Country. Vic walked in, but found no one in the sparring hall at the front. Continuing farther inside, he discovered that everyone was practicing swordsmanship in the spacious courtyard in the middle.
A slender man with long hair and glasses stood in front of the crowd. He was around thirty, wore a long-sleeved martial arts uniform, and had his hands tucked into his sleeves as he watched the students swing their bamboo swords in formation. A child of two or three sat beside him, watching the crowd swing their swords. The child had short black hair, but Vic couldn't tell whether the child was a boy or a girl from the small figure's back. The students, more than twenty in all, were arranged from shortest in front to tallest in back, and ranged in age.
Hearing footsteps on the wooden boards, Koshiro turned to look at Vic as he stepped onto the corridor. The students all stopped and looked at Vic curiously too.
"Sir, is the master here? I've come to ask to become his student. I have a letter for him." Vic raised the letter in his hand as he asked Koshiro.
Koshiro smiled, his eyes narrowing to slits. "I'm the master here, Koshiro."
Koshiro walked toward Vic. Seeing that the people swinging swords had stopped, the child beside him turned to look as well.
When Koshiro came closer, Vic handed him the letter. Koshiro opened it at once and began to read.
Vic stopped paying attention to Koshiro and turned to look around, his gaze settling on the child. The child was looking at him too, and their eyes met. That's Kuina. She looks so much like she does when she grows up. Is she really this tiny right now? She's so cute! Vic thought.
Kuina stared fixedly at Vic too. Something special about him drew her attention, just as she had been watching the people swing their swords so intently a moment ago, only Vic attracted her even more. She was only a child and understood little.
As Koshiro read the letter, he kept looking up at Vic, growing more and more astonished. In the letter, Kozaburo introduced Vic, described what was unusual about him, and explained the arrangements for the future.
Koshiro put his thoughts aside and smiled at Vic. "Vic, was it? You can study swordsmanship here. I'll instruct you personally. Wait here for now; I'll tell you more once they've finished their morning practice."
"All right. Sorry for the trouble, teacher," Vic said with a slight bow.
Koshiro returned to his spot and clapped his hands. "You have a new fellow student. His name is Vic. Get along with him from now on. For now, finish your morning practice."
The students looked curiously at Vic, then resumed swinging their bamboo swords out of rhythm. It took a while before they fell back into step.
Vic went over and sat down beside Kuina. She stared blankly at him, and he turned to smile at her.
"My name is Vic, Orens Vic. I'll be your senior fellow student from now on." Vic held out his hand to shake hers.
"My name is Kuina." Kuina blankly held out her little hand and placed it on Vic's large one. Vic wrapped his hand around hers and shook it, grinning all the while.
He withdrew his hand, pulled a lollipop out of his pocket, and offered it to Kuina. She didn't take it, so he held it out a little farther. Kuina hesitated for a moment before accepting it. She unwrapped it and put it in her mouth, then took it out and stuck out her tongue to lick it. She looked so adorable.
Vic found it amusing. Kuina had big eyes and short hair like a boy's, which probably reflected Koshiro's feelings too.
Koshiro was somewhat old-fashioned and believed girls couldn't achieve much in swordsmanship. He was probably a little disappointed to have a daughter and had unconsciously raised Kuina like a boy.
Vic, on the other hand, didn't think a female swordsman couldn't reach the top. If someone was constantly discouraged, even if she really was talented, she might come to accept it as fact, and her achievements would be limited. With constant encouragement, even an ordinary person could achieve more than they otherwise would have.
Besides, this was the world of the Pirate King, where anything was possible. Vic wanted to encourage Kuina from an early age and tell her stories about strong women. He was learning swordsmanship from her father and sword forging from her grandfather, so he didn't want Kuina to die so tragically at such a young age.
"Kuina, do you want to become a swordsman?" Vic asked softly.
"Yes!" Kuina turned to him and answered earnestly.
"Then you have to study hard and believe that you can become a powerful female swordsman."
"Mm!" Kuina's little face flushed with excitement.
Vic planned to hunt in the forest every day. He would have food for himself and Kozaburo, and he also wanted to prepare a portion for Kuina, so her body would grow stronger and she wouldn't die from falling down the stairs.
She focused only on swordsmanship, and the other students couldn't withstand more than a few of her moves. That led her to neglect physical training, leaving her body far too weak. If she hadn't later felt threatened by Zoro's rapid progress, she wouldn't even have increased her physical training. But it was too late; something happened to her before she had built up her body. So Vic planned to correct her and help her develop the habit of training from a young age.
Once morning practice was over, Koshiro led Vic behind the courtyard, where there was a large open space with woods beyond it.
"Vic, Father said you taught yourself the basics of swordsmanship. Demonstrate them here and let me take a look." Koshiro wanted to see what level Vic was at so he could determine how to guide him from there.
"All right, teacher," Vic answered with a nod.
Vic drew the sword he had originally worn at his waist and propped it against the wall, leaving Yubashiri as the only blade at his waist. He walked more than ten meters forward and began demonstrating the basics of swordsmanship, incorporating his own insights.
Chops, hacks, thrusts, rising cuts, slashes... iaijutsu. Each basic sword move had its own variations. Chops, for instance, included vertical chops, horizontal chops, diagonal chops, and reverse chops. The other moves had variations too, with many changes in how force was applied and how the moves were chained together.
Vic was fast and strong, and combining those qualities with the moves made him formidable. His blade produced a piercing whistle as it cut through the air. As he moved and pivoted, the shadows of his sword spread before him like a net. Afterimages of Vic filled the area; he was moving so fast that new ones appeared before the earlier ones had faded.
Koshiro was astonished. Vic's foundation was incredibly solid. Even if he learned nothing else, a few more years of refining those basic sword moves could make him a swordmaster. Koshiro marveled at the young man's talent. He was already strong enough to head out to sea and make his way in the world, yet he could still settle down and continue studying. His character was beyond reproach too. He would be easy to teach, but also difficult, and Koshiro needed to give the coming lessons careful thought.
Kuina had also come to the back door and was peeking out from behind it. Her eyes spun from trying to follow Vic, but she still couldn't make out his figure. Now and then, she caught a glimpse of cold light. She thought the senior fellow student who had arrived today was amazing; even her father had never shown such speed.
Koshiro was of course stronger than Vic, but the students at the dojo had so little talent that he had no opportunity to display his abilities. Kuina was too young to understand any of that and remembered only that this older brother was amazing.
Koshiro picked up the sword Vic had placed to the side and walked toward him as he demonstrated. With a clang, Vic stopped. A sword was braced beneath Yubashiri, and Vic saw Koshiro, who had suddenly appeared.
"Now attack me with everything you have," Koshiro said with a smile.
Vic said nothing, only nodding before attacking Koshiro at full speed, even faster than before. The sounds of clashing blades followed in rapid succession. Vic attacked Koshiro from every direction, while Koshiro simply turned within a small area to meet his strikes, handling them with ease.
Vic was a little surprised by Koshiro's reaction speed, but on second thought, he felt it was to be expected. Koshiro still had plenty of abilities he hadn't used. At least so far, he had only defended and hadn't attacked.
Koshiro was also somewhat astonished. Vic's strength was incredible. Even when Koshiro blocked his strikes, he had to move to dissipate the force. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if he were driven back, especially with his daughter watching over there. Vic was faster than he was, and he could only receive Vic's attacks steadily with the help of Observation Haki. That meant Vic already had the foundation to become a great swordmaster. There wasn't much he lacked, and much of it was like window paper: a poke was enough to break through it.
Koshiro now knew how to teach Vic, so he shouted, "Stop. That's enough."
Vic stopped, neither flushed nor out of breath, excitement in his eyes. He had never before been able to cut loose and go all out like this. In the past, he had rarely faced an opponent who required a second move. Only Rebecca could exchange moves with him, and of course, he had held back against her; otherwise, she would have lost quickly too. His monstrous physical talent allowed his strength, speed, and endurance to keep growing. If Koshiro hadn't called a stop, Vic could have fought for three days and three nights as he was now. It really was a bit like cheating.