The Next Day
Early in the morning, Lin Mo left Isshin Dojo and headed into the valleys surrounding Frost Moon Village for his daily hunting training.
Only this time, he had a little "tail" with rather poor stealth skills following him.
Though Zoro wasn't yet as gifted or strong as Kuina, he was definitely the one in the dojo who woke up the earliest, slept the latest, and trained the hardest.
At this time of day, he was usually working on his basic skills at the dojo.
But today, he decided to secretly follow Lin Mo into the mountains to train.
Watching the person ahead of him walk faster and deeper into the valley, despite being a hundred meters away, Zoro's gaze was firm, and he muttered, "If you won't take me, I'll just follow you myself!"
However, minutes later, after chasing with all his strength and panting heavily, Lin Mo still got farther and eventually out of sight.
Yet, Zoro wasn't discouraged in the slightest — on the contrary, he became even more excited.
"Just as expected of Lin Mo, he's so fast! I couldn't catch up no matter how hard I tried. Amazing. Tomorrow, I'll definitely keep up with you!"
In truth, Lin Mo had noticed Zoro tailing him long ago. He simply didn't want to be disturbed, so he deliberately shook him off.
After finishing his hunt, Lin Mo returned to Isshin Dojo with his prey.
That afternoon
Lin Mo brought an empty wine gourd to the tavern.
As soon as he stepped in—
The place was bustling with chatter.
"The kid who beat Kuina is here!"
"Hey kid, how'd you manage to beat Kuina? Tell us!"
"I think his name's Lin Mo. Never seen you before. Which village are you from?"
"Hey, don't ignore us! Did you come to Frost Moon Village alone?"
Without replying, Lin Mo silently approached the bar and placed some Beli and his empty wine gourd on the counter.
"Fill it up."
The tavern owner gave an awkward smile. "Alright, just a moment."
As he filled the gourd and handed it back, he casually asked,
"Hey kid, have you become Koushirou's student yet?"
Lin Mo answered indifferently, "No."
Then, carrying his filled gourd, he calmly left the tavern amid the crowd's dissatisfied murmurs.
The tavern owner chuckled helplessly.
"What a quirky kid."
Back at the dojo.
As he passed by the training field, Kuina suddenly called out:
"Lin Mo, let's have a rematch."
Her previous defeat — and losing the Wado Ichimonji — had hit her hard.
Though unwilling to accept it, the gap in strength was clear, and she had to admit it.
But that didn't mean she had given up.
So, Kuina decided to challenge Lin Mo again.
She refused to believe she'd lose every time.
Compared to the combative Kuina, Lin Mo had no interest in wasting time on another match.
He walked past her without saying a word, silently rejecting her challenge.
Seeing him ignore her, Kuina immediately chased after him.
"Lin Mo! I'm seriously challenging you! Why are you ignoring me?"
Still, silence was all she received.
Lin Mo had no intention of acknowledging her.
"You jerk!" Kuina fumed.
Just then, Zoro appeared and stopped her from going after Lin Mo.
"Kuina, let's spar again."
"I want to fight Lin Mo, not you. Move!"
Zoro persisted, "If he wanted to fight you, he'd already be inside. Chasing him won't help."
Speaking from experience, he knew Lin Mo couldn't be forced.
Kuina halted, her expression sour. She clenched her bamboo sword, stared stubbornly at Lin Mo's retreating back, then finally turned and walked away.
Zoro stood still.
Kuina growled, "What are you waiting for? Didn't you want to spar?"
"Yeah! Coming!" Zoro ran after her.
The match ended in just a few minutes.
Kuina won, as usual.
But this time, Zoro managed to block several of her moves, and even came close to landing a hit.
That would've been impossible for the Zoro from just two days ago.
Was it luck? Or had his swordsmanship really improved that quickly?
Kuina felt uneasy.
She had witnessed Zoro's dedication over the past year, and to stay ahead, she had pushed herself just as hard. When no one was watching, she trained twice as much.
Even so, each match, she could feel Zoro getting closer — the gap shrinking.
Before, it was gradual.
But over the past two days, his improvement was obvious. His swordplay had clearly reached a higher level.
Could someone be secretly training him?
Kuina sheathed her bamboo sword, a complicated expression on her face as she looked down at the fallen Zoro.
Zoro got up, patted the dust off himself, and silently began reviewing Kuina's moves in his mind.
That was something the old him wouldn't have done.
Koushirou approached with a smile.
"Lost again, Zoro? Even though you've really improved — especially in the past couple of days."
As he spoke, the other kids gathered around.
"Sensei, are you giving Kuina secret training because she's your daughter?"
"That's so unfair!"
Koushirou waved his hands. "No, no. I'd never do that. Zoro's definitely getting stronger — but so is Kuina."
"I'm going to wash my face," Zoro muttered, leaving the field for the back garden.
After splashing his face with water, he made a decision —
Tonight, he would challenge Kuina one last time!
Later that night
As Kuina passed by the newly patched-up tearoom Koushirou had repaired, she overheard a conversation that devastated her.
Her father, Koushirou, believed girls could never become the world's greatest swordsman.
Though she had always been aware that, as a girl, she might face more limitations than boys in the path of a swordsman…
She refused to accept it.
Why should being a girl mean she couldn't be the best?
She sat silently by a field near the village, trying to digest her feelings.
Then, Zoro appeared.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Kuina wiped her nose with a handkerchief and shot back, "I should be asking you that. Why are you here so late?"
"I came for our 2001st duel. This will be our last match!" Zoro said seriously.
"Let's settle this once and for all — with real swords."
Kuina was stunned, then smirked.
"Alright."
She originally planned to use the Wado Ichimonji, but now had to borrow another sword for the duel.
On an empty patch of grass, the two stood facing each other, both ready.
A gust of wind blew.
Zoro, gripping two real swords, made the first move.
They exchanged blows many times. Every time Kuina was about to win, Zoro somehow managed to narrowly escape.
"Ha!" Kuina spotted an opening and rushed in, attempting to knock Zoro's blades from his hands with an upward slash.
As if he had anticipated her move, Zoro instinctively stepped back.
Real swords were much heavier than bamboo ones. Holding two at once, he was already more exhausted than Kuina.
Since he couldn't beat her with strength or stamina, his only chance was to rely on swordsmanship — reading her moves and finding an opening.
That step back let him narrowly dodge Kuina's strike.
Then, to her surprise, he finally saw a real opening in her defense.
Without hesitation, Zoro swung with the back of his sword at her arm.
Kuina's eyes widened. She reacted just in time to block it and, with a final upward flick, disarmed him.
Zoro collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Though she'd won, Kuina felt no joy.
If she'd been even a fraction of a second slower… she would've lost!
Zoro… had finally caught up!