Chapter 437: Off the track, the sorrow of boys and girls! (2-in-1)

The young Zoro had a fierce fighting style. Facing Kuina, who had defeated him many times, he did not show any caution. Instead, he took the initiative to attack Kuina.

Under the watchful eyes of many students in the dojo, Zoro kicked off his feet and rushed towards Kuina quickly.

"Haha, Zoro, haven't you learned your lesson after all this time?"

"Why are you rushing forward so frizzyly again?"

"This time, I'm afraid I won't be defeated by Kuina within five moves!"

Although Zoro's charging speed was fast in the eyes of the students, it was not much improved compared to the last time he competed with Kuina. Moreover, Zoro's "starting posture" is also very conventional. In the eyes of the students, Zoro has not made much progress compared to before.

While the young students at the dojo were laughing at Zoro, Zoro, holding swords in both hands, rushed in front of Kuina. He held the wooden sword in his right hand and raised it high, and struck Kuina vertically.

"clatter!"

Kuina stood upright with the sword in both hands. Facing Zoro's attack, she quickly raised the sword and raised it horizontally. As the two wooden sword blades collided, a crisp sound was heard in the dojo.

"Huh?" Kuina was about to parry Zoro's wooden sword to fight back, when she suddenly discovered that Zoro was holding the knife in his left hand to cut across her abdomen. By the time Kuina noticed it, Zoro's wooden sword had already Approaching.

The opponent's attacks from both ends can almost be said to be from the front and back, and the timing is very good.

There was no hope of defending with the knife back, so Kuina could only jump back quickly, narrowly avoiding Zoro's second attack.

After just one round of confrontation, Sauron had a slight upper hand. The young students watching the battle all fell silent when they saw this scene, and no one laughed at Sauron anymore.

The people present were all children who had received a period of orthodox swordsmanship education. Many of the children who were willing to follow Koushiro and leave home to come to all countries had entered the dojo to learn swordsmanship since they were young, and their eyesight had been cultivated to some extent.

They vaguely felt that Sauron seemed a little different from before.

Zoro's blow missed, and his body didn't pause at all. It seemed that Kuina's reaction was within the range of his expectations. While Kuina jumped back to dodge, Zoro held the sword in both hands and thrust forward, merging the two swords. , all chopped down.

Guina had just landed and was forced to raise her sword to block again. This time, Zoro's double slash was much stronger than the previous attack. Guina stood firmly, and the power coming from her arms was also overwhelming. Guina couldn't help but frown slightly.

The second after Sauron's swords were held, Zoro drew the sword with his right hand and stabbed Kuina straight into the abdomen. His left hand slightly added force again, leaving Kuina unable to put away the sword to resist.

As soon as they met each other, Zoro attacked again. Kuina had no way to defend herself with the sword, so she chose to dodge sideways when faced with the stabbing attack.

Zoro seemed to have noticed it. He put away the sword with his left hand and picked up the wooden sword in Kuina's hand. The stab with his right hand quickly turned into a horizontal slash.

With a series of attacks, Guina was instantly killed, and the young students around her opened their mouths in astonishment.

Even Koushiro Shigezuki, who had been smiling at the sparring in the field, couldn't help but open his eyes. After a brief moment of surprise, he looked at Zoro with a look of surprise in his eyes.

"Snapped!"

Zoro's wooden sword was successfully draped on Kuina's body. However, Zoro was young and his one-arm slashing power was not great when he was distracted by using his two swords. The wooden sword was draped on Kuina's body and did not let her down. How much pain Kuina felt.

Zoro quickly retreated after succeeding in the attack, with a look of joy on his face.

"successful"

"I succeeded?!"

Zoro himself didn't seem to expect that his attack would successfully hit Kuina. He was confused and stunned at first, and then turned into a look of deep joy.

In front of him, Guina's face sank slightly, and she stretched out her hand to gently caress her belly.

Although the pain was not severe, the feeling coming from her abdomen at this time was so real. She was really hit by Zoro's attack.

Obviously, he is much stronger than Sauron in terms of strength and speed.

Kuina slowly raised her head and looked at Zoro. The hand holding the knife couldn't help but tighten. She bit her lip lightly, with a look of reluctance on her face:

“Come again!!!”

Kuina had never been the type to admit defeat. She shouted lowly and without giving Zoro a chance to refuse, she quickly charged towards Zoro with a knife in both hands.

"good!"

Zoro was also in a state of excitement at this time. Looking at the menacing Kuina, he had no intention of retreating from the attack and also let out a low roar.

Kuina grabbed the knife with both hands, quickly approached Sauron, and struck Sauron with a diagonal slash. There is no so-called move in the obvious attack.

Zoro raised his arms with all his might, holding both swords in front of him.

"clatter!!"

The two crisp sounds merged into one sound, and Kuina's wooden sword struck Zoro's sword hard. Zoro felt a terrifying force coming from his hands. He actually could no longer hold the sword, and the sword was long in his hand. He was directly knocked away by Kuina.

Zoro leaned forward. He himself did not expect this situation. In order to avoid the flying wooden knife, he sat down on the ground and looked stupidly at the girl standing in front of him with the knife.

"Kuina! That's it!"

And at the moment when Kuina knocked away the long sword in Zoro's hand, Shigetsuki Koushiro, who had been watching the battle on the side, suddenly shouted to stop.

"Damn it." As a swordsman, even the weapon in his hand was knocked away. Isn't this a complete defeat? !

Zoro beat his hands on the ground unwillingly, lowering his head with a look of annoyance on his face.

In front of him, Guina, who had won the competition, didn't look much better. Ignoring Koushiro who was sitting in the main seat, he took a deep look at Zoro who was sitting on the ground with an unwilling expression on his face, and left the dojo without saying a word, holding his wooden sword.

The atmosphere in the gym was a bit depressing.

Koushiro stood up, clapped his hands gently, smiled and said to the students:

"Okay, that's it for today. Let's all go back."

"After you go back, digest today's training content."

"Zoron, your performance today is outstanding, great."

Koushiro waved his hand to dismiss the students, then walked to Zoro, patted Zoro's head gently, and praised with a smile.

However, Zoro showed no response to Koushiro's praise. He was still immersed in his defeat in the competition. Koushiro's relief only made Zoro feel even more aggrieved.

Why.

He has worked so hard and even received guidance from Enichi Tsukuni, the world's best swordsman, so why can't he defeat Kuina? Why was Kuina defeated in just one meeting?

The young Zoro couldn't figure it out, so he got up and picked up the two wooden swords that were knocked away without saying a word. Zoro bowed slightly towards Koushiro, turned around and left the dojo.

The setting sun in the evening shines into the room through the gate of the dojo.

Koushiro looked in the direction of the gate where his daughter and Zoro left one after another, and remained silent for a long time.

A young girl and a striving young boy, they both have different worries.

Koushiro was thinking about how to enlighten these two children.

Dusk falls.

The night is clear tonight and the moon is high.

Guina sat at the desk, her head raised with dull eyes, looking at the bright moon above, her heart filled with sorrow.

swordsman

She has received kendo education from Koushiro since she was a child. Growing up in the New Navy, she has heard about various deeds of Enichi Tsukuni, Mihawk and others since she was a child.

She has had a lofty goal in her heart since she was a child. She wants to become the most powerful swordsman in the world!

However, girls always mature earlier than their peers. The longer she practices kendo and the more she understands, the greater the pressure on her.

As he grew older, Koushiro told his daughter that there was no way for a female swordsman to become the world's number one swordsman.

Because women’s innate physique, strength, etc. are not as good as those of men.

The cruel reality turned into a heavy cloud, shrouding Guina's life, and her dreams and his goals were also tightly covered by this cloud.

She works hard and is very talented. In order to prove to her father that girls can become the best swordsmen in the world, she puts all her thoughts on the practice of swordsmanship.

Her practice was fruitful. Kuina was well known by the teachers and students of the Naval Academy. Her ability surpassed all her peers, and was even stronger than some older youths.

Guina feels that she can succeed, that she can realize her dream and become the strongest!

However.

Everything was shattered by Sauron today.

Zoro, who was two years younger than her, successfully attacked her. Her reaction and her sword skills were actually surpassed by Zoro. To be able to defeat the young Zoro, she only relied on the power of girls to develop earlier than boys.

Kuina understands this deeply, and she also knows very well that this so-called strength advantage will disappear without a trace as she and Zoro grow older.

After all, a woman's power cannot be compared to that of a man. Such thoughts were deeply rooted in Guina's mind.

She knew that one day, Sauron would far surpass her.

In the dim room, the girl raised her head and looked at the bright moon in the sky. Two lines of clear tears flowed down from her eyes and fell on the desk.

"Why... I'm not a boy?"

Kuina clenched her fists, and her murmur echoed in her boudoir.

"Tuk-tuk."

A knock on the door sounded from outside Ji Guoyuan's office. At this time, Ji Guoyuan was sitting behind his desk, holding his chin in one hand and flipping through the documents in his hand carefully.

As the New Navy's plate grew bigger and bigger, so did his workload, and he often had to be busy late into the night.

Hearing the knock on the door, Ji Guoyuan closed the documents on the table and turned his head to look at the sky outside the window.

The cool moonlight crossed the window sill and spilled into the room.

As soon as Ji Guoyuan withdrew his gaze, he leaned on the back of his chair and said loudly: "Come in!"

The office door was pushed open, and a young second lieutenant led Zoro into Enichi Tsukuni's office.

"Sir, this child wants to see you."

"Well, he said, he knows you"

The second lieutenant spoke a little stuttering, as if he was a little afraid of Ji Guoyuan's blame. After all, today's Enichi Tsukuni is really not something that these children can meet if they want to see him. He also heard Zoro say that he knew Enichi Tsukuni, so he led Zoro to see Enichi Tsukuni.

"Zoron-"

"Yes, I know him."

"Lieutenant Mick, go and rest. If anything happens, I will call you."

The second lieutenant is Enichi Jikuni's attendant. Enichi Jikuni has established an attendant room system. The attendants are responsible for delivering documents to Enichi Jigoku, issuing orders, and collecting feedback.

The navies who serve as auxiliary officers are the best young navies in the new navy, and they are all the targets of key training in the future.

"Yes!" Mick glanced down at Zoro, remembered Zoro's appearance in his heart, and then silently exited the office.

Zoro hadn't even changed into his training clothes. He was holding a wooden knife in each hand, and his face was covered with sweat. It looked like he had just come here after a high-intensity training.

Ji Guoyuan quickly looked at Sauron, and then asked with a smile: "Zoron, have you eaten?"

Zoro, who was silent, did not expect that Ji Guoyuan would suddenly say this, and was a little stunned.

"without"

"I'm not hungry."

"Mr. Jiguo Enichi, I'm here"

Before Sauron could finish speaking, Ji Guoyuan smiled, waved his hand, and interrupted:

"For swordsmen, eating is very important."

"In other words, for everyone who is determined to become a strong person, eating is very important."

"Sit down for a while."

Ji Guoyuan said, stood up and left the office.

After Tsukuni Enichi left, Zoro also looked around at Tsukuni Enichi's office. His eyes stayed on the knife rest opposite the desk for a long time. He suppressed his curiosity and sat down on the sofa, waiting quietly. With.

In less than half an hour, the office door was pushed open again, and Ji Guoyuan returned to the office holding a tray.

After arriving at Zoro's side, he placed a large bowl of noodles in front of Zoro.

"Let's eat together. If anything happens, let's chat while we eat."

As Yuanyi said this, he also took out a bowl of noodles from the tray and placed it in front of him. Then he picked up the chopsticks without caring about Zoro beside him.

The presentation of the noodles is very good.

But after Zoro picked up the chopsticks, he was not in much mood.

"I lost"

"I lost to Kuina again."

"With just one blow, I was defeated."

"I've obviously tried so hard, why can't I beat Kuina?"

"I can feel that my sword skills have improved, but but"

Zoro's little face was full of unwillingness.

In fact, his strong self-esteem made him feel a strong sense of humiliation, and his eyes were filled with tears.

As soon as Ji Guoyuan ate the noodles, he glanced at Sauron with a faint smile on his face:

"Zoron, isn't your goal to become the world's best swordsman?"

"It's so spineless to cry over such a small setback."

Ji Guoyuan ate the noodles and joked with a smile.

That Zoro would lose did not surprise Tsukuni Enichi. Judging from the information he knew, Kuina was almost ready to learn the Six Styles, so she should be able to win against Zoro.

Zoro is indeed about to get started with the Two-Sword Style under his guidance, but the most basic thing for a swordsman is physical fitness.

Speed, strength, reaction, only when these things are almost the same, the level of sword skills can bring some variables to the battle situation.

Breathing techniques, domineering, and life return, all of these are aimed at making the body's basic abilities reach their peak.

Zoro and Kuina

There is still a long way to go.

The current victory or defeat doesn't mean anything.

However, what is a trivial matter in the eyes of Enichi Tsukuni, is a huge event in the eyes of a child of Zoro's age.

In Zoro's eyes, the two or three years of training since he came into contact with kendo were such a long time——

After training for such a long time without any results, it is inevitable that he will be disappointed.

"I"

"I just want to know why I lost!"

"Obviously, I have worked so hard."

Zoro clenched his fists and lowered his head.

"Work hard——"

"There are many things in this world that cannot be overcome through hard work."

"Work hard and you will be rewarded."

"This is the biggest scam in the world."

"Zauron, if you want to become a truly strong man, you must first recognize this."

"To surpass others, hard work alone is not enough."

"You need to have a longer-term vision and more reasonable planning."

"You will lose, not because you didn't work hard enough."

"Becoming stronger is not something that happens overnight."

"Just as young people are not as strong as young people, adult women are not as strong as adult men, and old people are not as strong as adults."

"This is a law of nature, and most people cannot escape the shackles they are born with."

"If you want to become stronger, you need to move forward step by step, and then constantly break through these shackles."

"Zoron, let go of the so-called victory and defeat in your mind for the time being. You just need to move forward steadily on the right path."

"When you look back one day, you will find that you are on top of the world."

As Ji Guoyuan ate the noodles, he smiled and said to Sauron that Zoro might not be able to fully accept what he said.

But Sauron heard an implication.

All he can do now is to work steadily and move firmly towards his goal.