21

The forest

3rd Pov

Inside the forest, 2 people are engaging in a battle. One of them is punching a guy rapidly while the other one is dodging and blocking the attack.

"No! No! You're doing it all wrong! You're supposed to dodge using your reflex not block it." said Leo as he kept attacking The Captain

This kept on going for about a few minutes until they finally decided to stop. Both of them looked a bit exhausted and is sweating a bit.

"Alright, let's take a 5-minute break. You can rest or drink for a bit. After that, we'll continue back on your Rokushiki training. This time around you are going to try and dodge my attacks while I'm hiding. As I said before no blocking." said Leo

The Captain then goes to a nearby tree and decided to rest under it. Leo, on the other hand, uses Observe on The Captain to see if anything change.

"Observe." thought Leo

The Captain Hans Günsche

Alignment=Neutral Chaotic

Level=2

Age=???

Hp=5910

Strength=656

Perception=585

Endurance=605

Charisma=0

Inteligent=565

Agility=686

Luck=202

"Hmm, guess that training raised up some of his stats a bit. That's good to know." thought Leo

"While I'm at it, I never did see what Kuina stats is. So let's check it out." thought Leo as he uses Observe

Kuina

Alignment=Neutral

Level=7

Age=11

Hp=1050

Strength=87

Perception=80

Endurance=72

Charisma=68

Inteligent=66

Agility=89

Luck=20

"Not bad. In my opinion, that's some pretty great stats for an 11-year-old girl. Funnily enough, that's coming from a 12-year-old kid too. However, I'm still mentally 16 or should I say 18 now." said Leo

"Oh, it looks like she's waking up." thought Leo as he saw Kuina waking up

"Rise and shine there sleeping beauty. Took a while for you to wake up." said Leo

"Auuuggghhhh, not again. What happened?" said Kuina

"Well, you lost again. Although I gotta say, you did survive 3 more seconds until you fell unconscious, so that's a new record." said Leo

"I lost again, huh." said Kuina as she looks down with a sadden expression

"Oh, don't get sad now. Come on, you're still strong in your own way." said Leo as he tries to cheer her up

"...I got a question to ask." said Kuina

"Alright then, shoot. What is it?' said Leo

" How did you get so strong in a short span of time? I mean I get that your strong and all but no one would get this crazy strong in such a short span of time. I mean look at you, you're still practically the same age as me." said Kuina

"Oh, you poor little girl. You have no idea just how crazy it is on the Grand Line. There is a lot of people in The Grand Line or New World who is as of right now stronger than me. To top it all off, that place is called a Paradise, wait till you see the New World. Now that place is what you call Hell." thought Leo

"Okay, first of all, I'm 12 by the way. Don't get that wrong next time." said Leo

"Secondly, well...how do I put this. Okay, what I'm about to say next might shock or disappoint you...or even both honestly. The question is, are you ready to hear and take it?" said Leo

"Yes! I want to know!" said Kuina a bit eagerly

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you about it, though." said Leo

"Alright to be honest and blunt with you. I just did some basic training." said Leo

"...E-excuse me?" said Kuina

"Yeah, you heard me. I just train really really hard. Every day I did 2000 push up, 2000 sit-ups, 2000 squats and a 20 km run." said Leo

"...So what you're telling me is that you basically just did 2000 of basic training every day." said Kuina with a deadpan face

"Yup!" said Leo

"Every day without any rest." said Kuina

"Yup!" said Leo

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"I told you that you'd be disappointed about this." said Leo

"...No. I'm not disappointed. It's just that...how are you not dead from doing all those training yet. I mean even I wouldn't be able to do that without any rest." said Kuina

"Well, let's just say that I was born with strong stamina and strength to do all of those training. Plus, I've already gotten used to it after a while." said Leo as he scratches his head

"...*Sigh, I don't even know what to say anymore." said Kuina as she buried her face in her hands

"So...does that mean you're giving up on trying to beat me?" said Leo

"No. I refuse to give up. I don't care if you're strong or not, one day I'll beat you!" said Kuina

"Oh? So is that supposed to be a promise or something?" said Leo

"If that's what you want to call it then yes! It's a promise. Just you wait!" said Kuina determined about beating Leo

"Alright. Guess I'll be waiting for you. Don't you back out on your promise now, cause that would be disrespectful." said Leo

"So, what are you gonna do now? Are you gonna sit here and just watch me and my friend train or are you gonna do something else?" questioned Leo

"Unfortunately, I won't be staying here much longer. I've already outstayed my welcome." said Kuina as she picks up her wooden sword and gets up

"Thank you for the little spar. I hope that we get to have that spar again." said Kuina as she bows a bit.

"Don't mention it. So, do you want to spar again for tomorrow?" said Leo

"I'll think about it. But all I gotta say is that it's most likely." said Kuina as she started leaving

"Well, if you're up for another challenge then I'm right here waiting for you." said Leo

"Alright Hans, break time is up. Let's get back to your training again." said Leo as he stands up and goes towards The Captain

"Alright! So where were we last time..." said Leo as he and The Captain started their training again

2 week later

For the last 2 weeks, Kuina and I have been having this spar inside of this forest. I've been counting up my wins lately and if I remember correctly, I should have somewhere around 30 wins. Either way, she never has gotten any win. Heh, I guess you could say that karma is a fucking bitch, isn't it?

Anyway, back to what I was saying, I did notice some improvement from her while we were sparring. For example, she was able to survive and hold her ground against me for about 30 more seconds before she collapses, dodges SOME of my attacks and her Strength, Agility, Perception and Endurance raise up a bit. So in the end, I did help her get stronger albeit in a rough way.

Speaking about training, Hans training on using Rokushiki has been improving more and more as each day goes by. His Geppo, Soru and Rankyaku are doing great, his Tekkai is also good but his Shigan and Kami-e need a bit more improvement. Overall, he's doing good on his Rokushiki but there are still a lot of things that he needs to improve.

Me on the other hand, well I didn't really improve or do much on this island. I mean yeah I did my basic training quest and train Hans but that's just it. I've pretty much been doing some sightseeing and I did found some group of bandits hiding in some cave. Didn't really care about it that much, so I just ignore them. Funnily enough, I didn't see Dragon or any of the Revolutionary army. At first, I was a bit weirded out but after a while, I just shrugged it off thinking nothing of sorts. Other than that, yeah that's pretty much it. Sounds pretty boring, am I right?

Anyway, I gotta get back to training Hans again. I wonder what is Kuina doing now.

Isshin Dojo

3rd Pov

Inside the dojo, Kuina and Zoro are sparring again. As usual, Kuina was able to beat Zoro very easily.

"ARRRGGGHHH!" shouted Zoro as he falls down with a red mark on his face

"Single blow! Stop! Winner, Kuina!" said a guy who announces Kuina as the victor

"Damn it! I lost again." said Zoro as

"Hey! Hey! Have you guys been noticing something weird lately?" whispered kid#1

"Hmm, like what exactly?" whispered kid#2

"Well, have you guys ever noticed that Kuina has been acting weird lately?" whispered the kid#1

"What do you mean by 'weird'?" whispered kid#2

"Have you guys ever notice that Kuina has been going somewhere else? Like after every fight with Zoro she just disappears." whispered kid#1

"Yeah, now that I think about it, you're right. She has been doing that after that green-haired boy came to this dojo." whispered kid#2

"Right?! To top it all off, she's not as arrogant or cocky as she used to be. Actually, she seemed more quiet and determined than she usually is." whispered kid#1

"Do you think that boy is somehow related to this problem?" whispered kid#2

"I don't know. But whatever it is that is happening to her then I'm not gonna complain." whispered kid#1

"Thank you for the fight. Now if you'll excuse me..." said Kuina as she turns around and walks out of the dojo

"You've lost again. However, you have gotten a lot stronger than you were before." said Koushirou as he saw Zoro gets up from the ground

"Sensei, you're not giving her any special training just because she's your daughter are you?" said one of the kids

"Yeah! That's not fair!" said another kid

"Calm down now, no need to get so angry. As for your question then the answer is no. I wouldn't do something like that." said Koushirou

"It's true that Zoro has gotten a lot stronger than before. However, Kuina has also gotten stronger, especially since the first loss she had with the green-haired kid." said Koushirou

"Hey Zoro, where are you going?" said one of the kids

"I'm going to wash my face." said Zoro as he goes out of the dojo

Outside of Isshin Dojo

Zoro's Pov

"Damn! Why can't I beat Kuina! Why! Why!" thought Zoro as he washes his face

"Just why! How can that boy beat her while I still can't?" said Zoro

Just as Zoro was about to go back inside, he saw Kuina going somewhere with a wooden sword.

"Just where is she going? I've always been wondering where she goes after we have our spar." thought Zoro

"You know what, this time around I'm gonna follow where she's going." thought Zoro as he started following Kuina

Outside of a forest

After a few minutes later, he saw Kuina going inside the forest. He saw her looking around the area before going inside. He followed her inside and hides inside one of the bushes.

"Okay Kuina, what exactly is going on and what are you really hiding from us." thought Zoro as he saw Kuina talking to someone

"Wait, hold on a second...is that...the green-haired boy? What is he doing here?" thought Zoro

He then saw both Kuina and the green-haired boy taking their stance.

"Wait! Are they having a spar with each other! You're telling me this whole time she was having a spar with this guy! Really?!" thought Zoro

Unbeknownst to him, a big intimidating person is standing right behind him and is looking at him with his eyes flashing red.

A few minutes later

3rd Pov

"Come on! Is that all you got!" taunted Leo as he dodges another one of Kuina's attack.

Kuina ignored him and just kept on attacking Leo. This kept on a few minutes before Leo finally started to retaliate.

"Alright, let's finally wrap this up. I've got a certain lone wolf to train." said Leo

He immediately rushes towards Kuina and kicks the wooden sword out of her hand. Before she can react, Leo kicks her in the stomach and she falls down to the ground. She tries to get up but before she could do that Leo puts his feet on top of her chest.

"So, you give up?" said Leo

"...*Sigh*, fine... it's your win...again" said Kuina

Leo then holds out his hand and Kuina immediately grabs it. She gets up from the ground and dusted herself

"So, this makes it my 33 wins." said Leo with a grin

"Yeah, yeah brag all you want. But that still won't change anything. I will beat you one day." said Kuina

"Heh, good luck with that. You're going to need the strength of 100 hundred to even try to hit me." said Leo

"Hey! Let me go!" said a kids voice

Both of them turns towards the voice only to see The Captain holding Zoro by the neck.

"Oh hey there Hans, took you long enough to get here. Where have you been?" said Leo

"And I see that you got yourself a kid there. Where did you get him?" said Leo sarcastically

"Zoro! What are you doing here?!" said Kuina

"I should be asking you that question! What are you doing out here with that green-haired boy!" said Zoro as he tries to get out of The Captain's grip

"I asked first! Now tell me what are you doing here?" said Kuina

"Fine! I followed you here cause I wanted to know where you go all of this time. You've been acting pretty weird after you have your first loss with him." said Zoro as he still tries to get out

"All right there kiddo, first of all, settle down. You're gonna hurt yourself even more if you try to resist. Secondly, I have a name you know, it's Leo, not green-haired kid or boy. Got it memorized?" said Leo

"Thirdly, what are you gonna do now? Since you know her secret, are you gonna tell on your sensei?" said Leo

"I...uhhh....I'm gonna-" said Zoro only to get interrupted by Leo.

"Shhhhh, you don't have to say anything." said Leo

"And why is that?" said Zoro

"Sleep.," said Leo as chops his neck making him go unconscious

"Why did you do that? You know that he wouldn't do anything, right?" said Kuina

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to start explaining to him about things that we already know. It's getting pretty tiring and annoying." said Leo

"So...what are you gonna do now?" said Kuina

"Now..." said Leo as he signalled The Captain to give Zoro to Kuina

"You bring him back to the dojo and I go back to training my friend over here." said Leo as The Captain handed Zoro to her

"Really? Are you serious right now?" said Kuina with a deadpan face

"Hey, hey it's not my fault that you didn't notice him following you. Plus, think of this as a punishment for the loser" said Leo

"What am I gonna tell my father when he sees this? I can't just say that 'the same kid from the dojo before chopped his neck and make him go unconscious'." said Kuina

"Well, it's your problem now, not mine. Either way, just make up an excuse. Just say something like he overworked himself while training." said Leo

"...*Sigh*, I'll see what I can do. Anyway, thank you for the spar that we had." said Kuina as she picks up her wooden sword.

"So, same as last time?" said Leo

"Yup. I'll see you again tomorrow. Have a nice day." said Kuina as she started going back to the dojo while carrying Zoro on her shoulder

"Alright, since that's done, let's get started on your training again. Now get ready." said Leo as he saw The Captain nods his head

After that, Leo started training The Captain just like last time. They train again and again and again until it's nighttime

Nighttime

3rd Pov

"Damn, now that training was a breeze." said Leo as he and The Captain walks on a road

"So Hans, what do you want to do tonight. There still some time left until we can go back to the inn." said Leo as he saw The Captain doing a thinking pose.

"How about we go get some food. I heard there's a ramen shop somewhere around the village. Maybe if we get there on time we can eat some ramen before it closes." said Leo as he saw The Captain nods his head

While they were walking, Leo immediately saw someone is sitting on a big rock. He looks closely and to his surprise, he saw Kuina sitting on a big rock with tissue on her hand.

"Oh crap! Today's must be the day where Zoro challenge Kuina in their last fight! If I remember correctly, Zoro should be any second now." thought Leo as he waited for Zoro

A minute later, no one came and just to make sure Leo uses his Observation Haki just to see if there is someone coming. Sadly, he got nothing.

"Weird, Zoro should have been here by now. It's either one he's late, two he doesn't know the direction or three I fucked up the canon again. I wouldn't be surprised if I did fuck it up though. Either way, that means I can now continue my plan" thought Leo

"Hey Hans, would you mind if you can go without me. I got something to do." said Leo as he saw The Captain nods his head

"Cool! I gotta go now, meet you back at the inn. Oh and please order some ramen for me too." said Leo as he started going towards Kuina

After a few minutes of running, he finally got there. Once he got close, he noticed that Kuina doesn't seem to notice his arrival.

"So what are you doing here, Kuina," said Leo as he saw her gets a bit startled

"Oh, it just you...wait! I should be saying the same question, what are you doing here?" said Kuina

"I asked first. It's rude for someone to question a question. Didn't your father tell you that?" said Leo with a shit-eating grin on his face

"But seriously though, what are you doing here. You do know that it's pretty late right now." said Leo

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"Silent treatment, huh. *Sigh* Alright, I'll play that little game of yours. Anyway, mind if I sit next to you?" said Leo

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"I'll take that as a yes," said Leo as he sits on another conveniently big rock

Both of them sit there while looking at the bright moon. Safe to say, it got pretty awkward real fast. After a few minutes of silence later, Leo decided to speak again

"Pretty moon now, isn't it?" said Leo

"....Do you think girls are weak." said Kuina

"Huh?!" said Leo as he looks at Kuina

"I said that do you think girls are weak. Do you think that when they grow older, they get weaker than men?" said Kuina

"Do you think...that girl can't become a swordsman. That it's impossible for a woman to become a swordsman." said Kuina

"My father did tell me that...it's not possible for a woman to become one. That it's impossible for them to become the worlds greatest swordsman." said Kuina as she looks ready to cry

"It must be nice to be a man. I also want to become the worlds greatest swordsman too but...I...I just wish that I was born as a boy." said Kuina as she started crying

"Well Kuina, your father was right. Girls can't become a swordsman." said Leo

"I knew it...of course you wou-" said Kuina only to get interrupted by Leo

"That's because girls don't become swordsman, they become swordswoman, you silly. Swordsman is for men while swordswoman is for women only, get it right next time." said Leo with a silly grin on his face

"...W-what?!" said Kuina as she looks at Leo while wiping her tears away

"Hahahahaha, oh man that face right there is priceless. Hahahahaha, I'm sorry if I'm being such a dick right now." said Leo as he started laughing out loud while holding his stomach

"Alright, alright I'll stop being a massive dick now, god if only I had a camera. Anyway, jokes aside though, it doesn't really matter if your a boy or a girl. Everyone is strong in their own rights." said Leo

"What do you mean by that." Said Kuina

"It's like I said before, it doesn't really matter if you are born as a boy or a girl. What really matters is that it takes both your skills and will to get stronger. It's also up to you if you wanted to get stronger or not. If you want to get stronger, then train hard. Train yourself as hardest as you can, train both your body and minds to your limit. Train yourself to the point where you can't even mover your body. Motivate yourself into getting stronger. Of course most importantly, what the point in getting stronger if you don't have any dreams. Really if you just get stronger without any dreams or motives then what's the point of even training in the first place, am I right." said Leo as he finishes his speech

Kuina a bit shocked and surprised by Leo speech looks at Leo in a new light. She then shakes her head and asks another question

"But, how would you know if I can get stronger. For all, I know you're just saying that just so that you can make me feel better." said Kuina

"Well, as I always said before, action speaks louder than words. I mean you've been getting stronger without even noticing it." said Leo

"What do you mean by that. I didn't get any stronger. I've just been doing nothing but having a spar with you for the last 2 weeks." said Kuina

"Oh come on now, don't act like an idiot all of a sudden, I know you're smarter than this. I want you to think back on all of those spars that we had before." said Leo

Kuina started thinking back on all of the spars that she had with him. Suddenly, she them started to slowly realize what Leo is trying to say

"I get it now. For the last 2 weeks, those spars that we had before it improve not only my strength but my overall ability and stamina. Thinking back, I did felt a bit stronger when I tried to strike using my sword. So this whole time you've been helping me get stronger by baiting me into having a spar with you every day. To top it all off, I didn't even know that I've gotten stronger until today." said Kuina as she was both a bit awed and scared by Leo's plan

"See, that action just proves in what I just said before. You can grow stronger, you just gotta believe in yourself." said Leo

"B-but why? Why are you doing this for me?" said Kuina

"...Kuina, what's your dream." said Leo

"Huh?!" said Kuina

"What do you want to be when you grow up. As I said before, everyone has to have a dream of why they're getting stronger. If you don't have one, then you're going to have to think one for yourself." said Leo

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"Well, do you have one?" said Leo

"I...I want to become the world greatest swordsm- I mean swordswoman. I...I want to show the world that I can become the best swordswoman. I want to prove to my father that girls can get stronger! Most of all, I want to prove to everyone in this world that women can get stronger than men !" said Kuina with determination in her voice.

"Now that's the spirit! Looks like you finally woke up from your slumber!" said Leo with a from on his face

"Alright! I've made up my mind now! I'm going to become the worlds greatest swordswoman even if it's the last thing I do! I" said Kuina

"Even though if there is someone else trying to block your way. Let's say like another swordsman/woman having the same dream as you do? What would you do?" said Leo

"Then I will cut them down! If someone dares try to block my dreams then I will cut them all down with my swords." said Kuina

"Heh, that's what I like to hear." said Leo

"But wait, that still doesn't answer my question yet?" said Kuina

"Well, since you've already told me your dreams then it's fair if I told you my dreams. My dreams... right now my dream is to become one of The Yonko, so that means I'm gonna become a pirate. As for your question, we'll isn't it obvious? I want you to join my crew." said Leo so casually

"...E-excuse me? Am I hearing that correctly." said Kuina

"Yup! I want you to join my pirate crew!" said Leo

"But, why do you want to be a pirate? Aren't pirates-" said Kuina only to get interrupted by Leo

"Stop! Stop right there! I know that you're going to say that pirates are bad and evil and all that shit but let me tell you something else. Do you think that the Marines are the good guys here? Well let me tell you something, Marines are also as bad as the pirate." said Leo as he suddenly gets serious

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that pirates are good here, they're also bad if not worse. They pillage, plunder, kill, rape and any other bad stuff. However, Marines are also as bad as them. A lot of the Marines that I met are just the same. They're all corrupted especially the higher-ups. However, not all of the marines are bad and not all pirates are bad. Some if not a lot of the lower ranking marines are actually doing it for the good. The pirates, on the other hand, there are some pirates that simply wanted to become one just for the sake of going on an adventure. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of pirates who does it for the sake of adventure. " said Leo

"In short, marines are not the good guys but at the same time, they're not the bad guys either. They only reason they exists is to keep the balance of this world. Without them, then this whole world would have plunged into chaos. However, if all the pirates are gone then this whole world will turn too lawful. We need to keep it balanced and neutral as it should be. Really, it's a matter of perspective." said Leo

"Damn. All of a sudden, now I'm starting to sound like another SMT protagonist ." thought Leo

"So...why do you want to be a pirate then? What is just to be a Yonko" said Kuina

"Well, that too but there is another reason why I wanted to become a pirate. It's because I wanted to explore the world. Think about it, there's still a lot of new places and island out there that I still haven't explored yet. Just think of all the treasures that I can obtain and new things that I can learn out there. Oh man, just thinking about it is making me even more excited. Plus being a marine is kinda boring. Like doing paperworks, protecting some noble and etc. Why become a pawn of some Celestial Dragon where you can become free." said Leo cheerfully

"However, not everything is going to be all sunshine and rainbows. Once we started becoming pirates, people are gonna start hunting us down such as the Marines, Bounty Hunters and other pirates. So once you become a pirate, then you can never turn back. If you try to to do it though then in my view your worst than a pirate, you're nothing but a coward." said Leo

"Anyway, I'll give you 5 days to decide whether or not if you want to join my crew. I'm not gonna force you so take your time and think about your decision. This will affect your life one day." said Leo

"...*Sigh fine, I'll think about it. But you said it yourself, you're not going to force me on joining your crew, right? So I'm gonna say it now, there's a high chance of me not joining you. So don't be surprised if I say no." said Kuina

"Anyway, I should be going now. I've overstayed my welcome here. I'll meet you again tomorrow." said Leo as he gets up and started going back to the inn

"Yeah, take care of yourself." said Kuina as she started back at the moon

While Leo was walking back to the inn. A familiar voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"LEEEEEOOOOOO...." said The Darkness

"Oh God, it's you again. Yes, what is it that you want." thought Leo

"IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME....SINCE WE KILL ANY PEOPLE. IM GETTING A BIT RESTLESS....AND HUNGRY." said The Darkness

"God damn it, I knew this was gonna happen. If you're feeling a bit hungry then we'll go back to the inn and eat some ramen." said Leo

"NOOOOO...I WANT TO KILL...I WANT TO BE FREE AND EAT PEOPLE'S HEART AGAIN." said The Darkness

"Alright fine, I'll go find some people to kill. If I remember correctly, there's a group of bandits somewhere on this island. Maybe if I can find them then I'll start killing them and you'll shut up about it. Happy?" said Leo

"AS LONG AS I GET TO BE FREE....AND GET TO KILL PEOPLE....THEN I WOULDN'T MIND." said The Darkness

"Good. Now I just gotta find them." said Leo as he started to quickly search for a bandit's hideout.