One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

No one in the dojo paid any attention to Zoro's hysteria.

Only Roy remained in a corner of the dojo, watching the green algae-headed man with great interest.

Koushirou, who knew the truth, knelt beside the memorial tablet, his head slightly bowed, silent like a speechless stone statue.

His sorrowful expression showed no sign of acting.

Zoro rushed into the funeral hall, grabbed Koushirou's sleeve, and his voice was forced out of his throat.

"Master Koushirou—tell me this isn't true—say it—"

Koushirou looked up at the boy in front of him, who was crying so hard his face was unrecognizable. His eyes behind his glasses finally welled up with tears.

He didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently patted the hand that Zoro was holding his sleeve.

Zoro understood.

Then he knelt before the memorial tablet and began to cry. There was no wailing, no heart-wrenching sobs, just his head bowed, tears falling one after another onto the wooden floor.

After the funeral, Koushirou asked all his disciples to leave first.

He walked up to Zoro, holding a sword in his hand.

The scabbard is white, the hilt is wrapped with a dark blue cord, and the tsuba (handguard) is a delicate snow-white flower.

Wado Ichimonji, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, was Kuina's sword.

"This is what Kuina left for you."

Koushirou said, his voice hoarse but every word was clear and steady.

Zoro took the sword with both hands, his fingers trembling so much he could barely hold the scabbard. Tears welled up in his eyes again, but this time he didn't cry out.

He simply clutched the knife tightly to his chest, biting his lip until it almost bled.

Then he knelt before the mourning hall, raised his head, and facing Kuina's memorial tablet, uttered those words with the most solemn voice he had ever spoken:

"I will grow stronger for her sake—my name will resound throughout heaven! I will become the world's greatest swordsman!"

He knelt before the altar for a long time, until dusk fell, and the boys outside the mourning hall were all taken home by their parents.

He remained kneeling there, the knife resting on his knees, motionless.

Behind the screen, Roy and Kuina hid without making a sound.

Kuina watched through the gap in the screen as Zoro knelt before the memorial tablet, clutching her sword and weeping. She then watched him wipe away his tears and stand up.

He hung the Wado Ichimonji on his waist and rushed into the sword-fighting area in the backyard without looking back.

Soon, the sound of a wooden sword slicing through the air could be heard in the night wind.

One cut after another, harder and heavier than ever before.

Guina's eyes reddened. But the corners of her mouth were turned up.

Roy leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you just say you didn't want him to be too sad?"

"Shut up."

Guina's voice was a little choked up, and she rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, but she couldn't suppress the curve of her eye.

As Roy watched Zoro's retreating figure as he swung his sword, the mischievous smile on his lips gradually shifted from amusement to a different kind of expectation.

"Just watch. This kid will become a renowned powerhouse in the future."

.................................. ..................................

The sound of knives being swung in the backyard continued all night.

Zoro did not return to his room.

After leaving the mourning hall, he stayed in the sword-fighting ground, swinging his sword, sheathing it, swinging it again, and sheathing it again.

His movements weren't standard—he only realized how many problems there were with his power points after Kuina left; his left hand was sometimes too stiff.

The angle at which the right arm retracts the knife sometimes deviates, and no one is there to casually say, "Try to fix it next time."

He placed the Wado Ichimonji on the stone steps at the edge of the sword-training area, and he would pause to look at the sword after each swing.

Moonlight shone on the white scabbard, making the snow-white embroidered hilt gleam coldly.

"I will become the world's greatest swordsman."

He spoke to the knife, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, but his tone was more resolute than yesterday.

Then he continued swinging the knife. Over and over again, as if trying to etch the words into his very bones.

Guina herself didn't know how long she had been waiting behind the screen.

As dawn broke, Zoro finally succumbed to his fatigue and fell asleep against a wooden post in the training ground, still clutching his wooden sword, his brow furrowed deeply.

"Let's go."

Roy's voice came from behind him, very softly, as if afraid of waking someone.

Kuina took one last look at the backyard, and through the pale blue mist of the early morning, she etched the image of Zoro leaning against the wooden post into her mind.

Then she turned around and followed Roy toward the side door of the dojo.

Koushirou was already waiting there.

He changed into plain clothes, carrying a blue cloth bundle in his hand. His eyes behind his glasses were slightly red, but his expression was much calmer than last night.

"A change of clothes, the whetstone you've used since you were a child, and some dry rations for the road."

Koushirou handed the package to Kuina, then pulled a letter from his sleeve. The envelope was neatly inscribed with the words "To Hawkeye Mihawk" in calligraphy.

"Please deliver this letter to Mr. Hawkeye."

Although I know Captain Roy will be at Beehive Island, and it's not my place to be polite, as a father I still want to say something—

Please take good care of this child.

Guina's fingers were still trembling as she took the package.

She wanted to tell her father not to worry, and that she would definitely come back to show him what it would be like to become the world's greatest swordsman, but too many things were stuck in her throat and she couldn't say a word.

All the words she wanted to say turned into a sudden, forceful act of throwing herself into her father's arms.

Koushirou held his daughter, gently patted her back, and his eyes reddened.

Roy stood with his back to the father and daughter at the entrance of the dojo, pretending to look at the sunrise over the distant sea.

But in reality, the field of telekinesis has already silently unfolded.

Roy's mental energy invaded Zoro's brain, which was already in a deep sleep, and the methods of physical training...

The physical techniques of the Six Powers of the Navy, as well as the swordsmanship insights of a great swordsman, were all poured into Zoro's mind.

Once Zoro wakes up, he can gradually accept these experiences and insights.

Roy didn't want Luffy to pull Zoro, who would later wield three swords, further away from him.

Besides, he's had a great time teasing Zoro at the dojo these past few days. Helping Zoro grow quickly will also benefit his future plans.

"Take good care of yourself."

After doing all this, Roy saw it.

Koushirou released his daughter, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked through his glasses into eyes that were almost identical to his wife's.

I tried to make my voice sound more like the always smiling dojo owner.

"Practicing swordsmanship must not stop, one must remain calm in the face of adversity, and if there is anything you do not understand, you should ask Mr. Eagle Eye for guidance."

Most importantly—listen to Captain Roy.

Kuina nodded vigorously.

She took a step back, and Asakura Shiro bowed deeply. As she bent over, tears dripped onto the stone floor, but she stopped them when she straightened up, her eyes filled with determination.

Then she turned around and walked over to Roy.

"Have you said goodbye?"

Roy's voice was as casual as ever, but when he looked down at her, a subtle gentleness was hidden in the fine lines at the corners of his eyes.

"Um."

Guina's voice was still a little hoarse in response, but her back was very straight.

"Then I'll be going."

Roy raised his hand, his telekinetic power silently spreading out, and an invisible force gently lifted Kuina up.

The two slowly rose into the air, gradually increasing their altitude and moving further and further away from the ground.

Kuina looked down.

In the sword-training area in the backyard of the dojo, the green-haired guy was still asleep leaning against a wooden stake, his brows still tightly furrowed, his wooden sword clutched in his arms.

She had already secretly slipped the whetstone into her baggage, and the first thing she would do when she got back to Beehive Island was to find a suitable sword for herself.

Shimotsuki Village grew smaller and smaller, and Koushirou was still standing at the entrance of the dojo, looking up at them.

Kuina raised her hand and waved in that direction, her fingers spread.

Then she turned her gaze away and looked at the increasingly bright sky ahead, her eyes sharper than ever.

Roy looked at the girl's tense profile and a smile appeared on his lips.

Let's go.

Before heading to Beehive Island, take a detour to Windmill Village to meet a future Pirate King.

Kuina turned her head, her expression changing from resolute to doubt.

"One Piece?"

"Um."