Chapter 612: The young man striving to be the world's number one! (1 in 3)

At the door of Zefa's office, Zoro, who was pestering two guards on duty, hoping that they could help him report to his superiors, suddenly noticed that the office door was opened.

Just as he glanced sideways, Kuina was walking out from the open door.

"Kuina?! Why are you here so late?"

Zoro was startled when he saw Kuina. He pointed at Kuina with a look of surprise on his face, and his voice became sharp. He really didn't expect to see Kuina in this place.

"I came here with my dad, they were in a meeting."

"What are you doing here? Why are you here so late instead of going back to rest?"

Kuina looked at Zoro and saw that his body was covered in sweat and his hair was wet. At a glance, she realized that Zoro must have been training before.

When she thought of this, a different look appeared in Kuina's eyes.

It can be said that Kuina and Zoro grew up together. Kuina is a little older and started practicing kendo earlier.

As the daughter of Shimotsuki Koshiro, Kuina has a great reputation among the new navy. Since she was a child, she has been given the title of genius. At the age of seven or eight, she can already beat ordinary adults. Even the young swordsmen who have become the navy are quite impressed by Kuina's strength.

Kuina is completely different from Koshiro's slightly indifferent personality. Although she is a girl, she has very high demands on herself. The person she admires is none other than Yoriichi Tsugikoku, who is known as the "strongest in the world."

Kuina hopes that one day she can become the world's greatest swordsman, and she has been working towards this goal.

Kuina's training progress far exceeds that of her peers. While receiving countless praises, a young child like Kuina will inevitably become a little arrogant.

However, Kuina's arrogance changed after Zoro entered Koshiro's kendo training camp.

Zoro started kendo training much later than Kuina, but as he also aimed to become the "world's number one", he practiced diligently day and night and improved very quickly.

At the beginning, Zoro was just a rookie who could be defeated easily by Kuina, but as he grew older, Zoro was exposed to kendo for more and more days, and the gap between the two was narrowing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After Kuina's body developed, the power disadvantage of her gender gradually began to become apparent. The direction of Kuina's practice also began to change as her body developed, from pure kendo practice to a domineering direction.

But Zoro is different. Although he has awakened the dual-color domineering early on, Zoro's training is still mainly based on kendo.

Kuina knew that it was only a matter of time before the young man caught up with her.

All along, she knew clearly that the reason why Zoro could become stronger and stronger and the gap between him and herself became smaller and smaller was not just because he was a man and had a higher upper limit.

Zoro's growth to this day was due to efforts that others could hardly imagine.

But Kuina was actually unwilling to admit this in her heart. She stubbornly believed that if she were also a boy, she would be able to suppress Zoro firmly.

However, when Kuina walked out of the office at this time, she saw the "training marks" on his body and was touched by his diligence.

Compared to other new marines, Kuina is also a hard-working person, but compared to Zoro, there is still some gap.
"I'm training at the beach, and Mihawk-san is with me, but there's an unfamiliar Domineering aura coming from this side of the base."

"Mr. Mihawk thought something had happened and came here first."

"Kuina, is Mr. Mihawk also in the meeting?"

When facing Kuina, for some reason, Zoro subconsciously lowered his voice. Perhaps it was because they grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and Zoro had a pure trust in Kuina.

"Yeah, Mr. Mihawk is in there too."

"Besides my father and Mr. Mihawk, there are several high-ranking officers of the new navy in there."

"Don't worry, nothing happened."

Kuina didn't notice the slight change in Zoro's attitude when talking to her at all. She turned her head to look in the direction of the office and explained.

"Okay, I understand."

Zoro naturally trusted Kuina's words. Hearing that Mihawk was safe, Zoro breathed a sigh of relief, scratched his wet hair, turned around and prepared to leave.

"Go back and rest early, don't train too late."

When Kuina saw Zoro preparing to leave, she looked at his slightly embarrassed figure and suddenly said such caring words for some reason.

Zoro didn't look back and waved his hand casually.

But before Zoro could walk far, the door of Zefa's office was opened again. Koshiro poked his head out and greeted Zoro, who had not yet walked far:
"Zoro, wait a moment."

"Come!"

When the two lieutenants on duty saw that it was Koshiro who came out, they straightened up.

Zoro also heard the voice of his enlightenment master and turned his head.

"Master Koshiro?" Zoro was called with a puzzled look on his face. He didn't know why his master suddenly called him. He pointed at the tip of his nose and tilted his head.

"Someone wants to see you, come in."

"Kuina, you can refuse or accept what that person says to you later. It is not mandatory. Just act according to your own wishes."

After greeting Zoro, Koshiro turned to look at his daughter, and then suddenly gave her some irrelevant instructions.

"That person?" Koshiro was vague in his words, but the clever Kuina understood immediately. She knew who "that person" her father was talking about.

Her father's words made Kuina feel uneasy. She didn't know what a person like that would say to her.

Is that the one you want to meet Zoro too? !

"what?"

Kuina slightly turned her head to glance at Zoro who was approaching quickly, and Zoro also noticed Kuina's eyes, glanced at her sideways, and felt confused.

Without waiting for the two to think about it, Koshiro led them back to the office.

As soon as he entered the room, Zoro saw a room full of new naval officers sitting on the sofa, all leaning sideways and looking towards the door.

Several pairs of eyes fell on Zoro, making him feel pressured.

Zoro looked around, looking at the new naval officers in the room, then straightened his body and put away his lazy look. He was about to salute, but his eyes suddenly swept across Yoshiichi Tsugakuni who was sitting on the bench beside the windowsill.

The moment he saw Yoriichi Tsugakuni, memories flooded into his mind. Zoro's body suddenly froze, with a look of astonishment on his face.

Although the red flame mark no longer exists on Yoriichi Tsugakuni's face, Zoro's way of recognizing people is not just based on appearance.

The most iconic thing about swordsmen is often not their faces, but the aura that emanates from them.

As a swordsman, Tsugumi Yoriichi's absolute self-confidence never disappeared from beginning to end.

"You are"

Zoro opened his mouth, but no complete words came out of his mouth. Seeing Zoro's loss of composure, Kuina also glanced at her companions with some curiosity.

She had never heard Zoro say that he knew Yoriichi Tsugakuni.

Although Tsugakuni Yoriichi is the founder of the new navy, not everyone in the new navy can see Tsugakuni Yoriichi.

The vast majority of people have only seen Tsugumi Yuichiro's portrait, and it is impossible for these people to recognize Tsugumi Yuichiro so quickly.

Only those who have actually met and interacted with Yuichiro Tsugakuin can recognize each other the moment they see each other.

"Hehe, Roronoa."

"Hello, your name is well-known even outside the world."

Jikoku Yoshiichi smiled and waved at Zoro, greeting him kindly. The gentle smile on his face deepened the sense of familiarity in Zoro's heart.

What Tsugikuni Yoshiichi said was not really a compliment. Although Zoro was young, he had already made a great name for himself among the new navy.

He has been training with Mihawk all along, and his strength is among the top among the new generation of the new navy.

Whenever people talk about the newcomers of the Marine Headquarters and the New Navy, Zoro's name often appears in people's discussion together with the names of Ace and Sabo.

"Mr. Enichi Tsukuni!!!"

Zoro's eyes noticed the expressions on the faces of Mihawk, Issho and others in the house. Their behavior could also provide evidence of the identity of Yoriichi Tsugakuni.

Realizing that the young man in front of him was indeed Yoriichi Tsugakuni, Zoro immediately became a little excited.

Is it because of the deep feelings between him and Yuichiro Tsugumi?
There are some feelings, but not as deep as outsiders imagine. Yoriichi Tsugakuni once guided Zoro in his training for a period of time, but that can only be regarded as a chance encounter.

What really excites Zoro is that the return of Yoriichi Tsugakuni gives him another goal to surpass.

Zoro, who aims to become the world's number one, sets his sights on Mihawk, but from beginning to end, Mihawk has never claimed the title of world's number one.

Zoro also knew very well why Mihawk never thought of himself as the best in the world.

They both knew very well that there was someone else who was the strongest in the world.

As swordsmen, it is a pity that they are unable to fight against a strong opponent like Tsugakuni Yoshiichi. As long as they are unable to defeat Tsugakuni Yoshiichi head-on, even if these swordsmen are truly recognized as the strongest in the world, they will still have regrets in their hearts.

But now such regrets no longer exist.

After Zoro saluted to Jiguoyuan, he actually reached out and grasped the two long swords at his waist under the gaze of the senior officials in the office, exuding a fierce fighting spirit. "Hey! Zoro, what are you doing?"

Kuina noticed Zoro's movements beside her and quickly grabbed Zoro's sleeve, feeling something was wrong in her heart.

"I want to personally confirm the gap between me and the 'strongest'!"

The salute that Zoro just gave to Tsunekokuen and his party was an expression of courtesy and respect to his superiors as a new navy.

And now Zoro, who is holding the sword with both hands and preparing to draw the sword, is acting as a challenger towards the world's strongest, and as a swordsman's instinct!
Zoro is a dual-sword swordsman. Now he does not bear Kuina's expectation to become stronger. His sword is for himself.

Zoro was surging with momentum, like an enraged little beast.

Seeing his appearance, Mihawk, as the master who had always guided Zoro in his training, simply reached out and smoothed his hair, grabbed the teacup and took a sip of tea, then raised the corners of his mouth and revealed a bright smile.

The reason why he guided Zoro in his training was simply because Mihawk saw his own shadow in Zoro.

Swordsman
Zoro, like him, is the purest swordsman.

“Oh my!”

"Roronoa, there's no need to suppress your instincts. If you want, just come at me."

"I wouldn't blame you."

When Jikoku Yoshiichi saw Zoro's high fighting spirit, he slowly stood up from his seat and spoke to Zoro generously.

He actually doesn't hate Zoro's personality. Although Zoro's way of behaving is a bit rash in the new navy system, people are different.

Tsugikuni Yoshiichi has different expectations for each new navy officer.

If it was Zoro, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni would be very happy to see the other party act according to his will.

Too much interference and suppression of Zoro's character will only make him lose the possibility of awakening the Conqueror's Haki.

“Just what I wanted!!!”

Sometimes when Zoro speaks, he sounds a bit literary. I don't know who he resembles. Maybe since he was born in Wano Country, he has the blood of a certain literary giant flowing in his bones.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro drew out the two long swords from his waist, kicked the ground hard, and rushed directly towards Jiguoyuan.

Two Swords Style: Rashomon!

As Zoro charged towards Yoriichi Tsugakuni, the aura emanating from him became more and more ferocious.

A vigorous murderous intent surged out of Zoro. In the eyes of Yoriichi Tsugakuni, the rapidly attacking Zoro was like a Shura from hell. His powerful aura made him raise his eyebrows slightly, feeling quite surprised.

Yoshiichi Tsugakuni didn't know what words to use to describe Zoro's current strength, nor did he know what standards to use to measure the opponent's attack.

If I must say it.
The current Zoro's strength is somewhat similar to that of Mihawk when Yoriichi Tsugakuin first met him.

And now Zoro is just a 14.5-year-old boy.

Outstanding talent.

I'm afraid it's difficult to use such words to describe Zoro.

The strength that Zoro has now demonstrated also makes Yoriichi Tsugakuni secretly happy.

Zoro will become stronger after joining the new navy. After a period of growth, he should not be humiliated by Coby's "Bone Fist Honesty" that he has practiced for two years.
Everything happened in a flash. While his thoughts were racing in Yoshiichi Tsugaru's mind, Zoro, wielding a sword, had already attacked Yoshiichi Tsugaru. With the determination to kill, Zoro slashed at Yoshiichi Tsugaru with the blade in his hand.

The long sword on Yoriichi's waist had been taken off by him at some point, and Zoro couldn't even see what the other party had done. He only felt a weight in his hand, and a black scabbard was already against his blade.

Jiguo Yuanyi held the scabbard in his left hand and raised it slightly, and actually caught the balance point at that moment of Zoro's attack, blocking the opponent's double swords with just one strike.

The next moment, Yuanyi twisted the scabbard in his hand and smashed it directly on the two sides of the blade in Zoro's hands with lightning speed. The huge force directly shook Zoro's arms apart, and the middle door opened wide.

Realizing that something was wrong, Zoro had no time to change his tactics. A black sheath shadow flashed before his eyes, and then, in Zoro's astonished eyes, it gently knocked on his head, making a "pop" sound.

At the same time, Tsugikoku Yoriichi's voice was heard: "That's enough, Roronoa."

Tsugakuni Yoshiichi's figure was still the same as at the beginning, standing steadily in front of the windowsill. Not only did he easily block Zoro's attack, but he also found the flaw in Zoro's attack and completed the counterattack in an instant.

It was not until the scabbard in Tsugumi Yugen's hand gently hit Zoro's head that Zoro realized that he had been defeated.

If it was a life-and-death battle, I would already be a corpse.

Then he obviously had not yet recovered from the shadow of failure. He looked shocked, as if he could not believe that there was such a huge gap between himself and Yoriichi Tsugakuni.

Mihawk once commented on Zoro's strength, praising him for having all the qualifications a great swordsman should have.

Even among the new navy, there are only a handful of great swordsmen that Mihawk can acknowledge.

But even though Zoro's strength had expanded to this extent, he still couldn't withstand a single move from Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

This huge gap in strength once made Zoro lose the desire to continue fighting.

He didn't know whether his efforts were of any use, and he didn't know whether he could surpass a swordsman like Yoriichi Tsugakuni in his lifetime.

Maybe you will never be able to defeat the other person in your entire life.

There was a hint of Zoro's swordsmanship collapsing, and Yoriichi Tsugakuni noticed this keenly. He walked up to Zoro and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Boy, you are pretty good. When I was your age, there was no way I could compare to your current strength."

Yoshikazu Tsugakuni told a little lie, and his words brought Zoro's consciousness back to reality.

Seeing that Zoro's eyes had regained their focus, Yunyi also took advantage of the opportunity to encourage him:
"I know that your dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman!"

"The road to becoming the world's number one is extremely difficult. In this world, there are more than hundreds of millions of swordsmen."

"But there is only one person who can stand on top of the world."

"Countless swordsmen have wasted their time in failure. Every swordsman who can take a step forward has fallen in failure and then become stronger."

"You still have a long way to go."

While encouraging Zoro, Yoriichi Tsugakuni also did not forget to warn him. He liked this hardworking and pure child very much, and he also sincerely hoped that Zoro could grow up to be the person he was satisfied with.

"Thanks."

After a long silence, Zoro sighed heavily, then composed himself and bowed slightly to Yoriichi Tsugakure, as a sign of respect to his teacher.

Yunyi gently patted Zoro's shoulder, then looked at Kuina not far away with a gentle smile and asked with a smile:

"What about you, Kuina?"

"I heard from your father that you also aspire to become the world's greatest swordsman."

"Would you like to measure your own capacity yourself? See how big the gap is between you and me?"

When talking to Kuina, Yuichiro Tsugakuni did not deliberately emphasize the other party's gender. He also admired this ambitious girl very much.

After hearing the "invitation" from Yoriichi Tsugakuni, Kuina shook her head slightly after a brief hesitation.

She is different from Zoro. Zoro is an intuitive swordsman. Compared to Zoro, Kuina is much more rational.

Kuina doesn't think that fighting against Yoshikazu Tsugikoku in front of her will be of any help to her in her current state.

Just when Yoshiichi Tsuchikuni blocked Zoro's attack, she couldn't even see clearly what Yoshiichi Tsuchikuni did.

The gap in strength is too big, and there is no point in fighting.

Seeing Kuina's refusal, Yunyi's gaze stayed on Kuina for two seconds:
"Guina, when you can find the belief that keeps you going forward, you will be able to break the so-called gender shackles."

Tsugakuni Yoriichi's eyes became deep, and his words made Kuina startled and look up at Tsugakuni Yoriichi.

However, Tsugikuni Yoriichi also changed the subject at the right time. He asked Zoro to come in because he had an idea that he wanted Zoro and Kuina to do it.

"Zoro, Kuina."

"Our new navy intends to infiltrate the New World with its influence."

"There is one thing I think you should also know. The new navy has a very shallow foundation in the four seas and the first half of the Grand Route. Although we have a great reputation, the people there know very little about us."

"I plan to send a group of talented young people out to sea for training."

"This way, people can get to know our new navy members, and it can also be considered a selection experience."

"Working behind closed doors will never cultivate a truly strong person."

"Only life-and-death struggles can speed up the growth of young people like you."

"So, are you two interested in leading a team out to sea?"

"Go to the wider seas and meet the different strong men. Use the blood of your enemies to consolidate your path to rise."

(End of this chapter)