Chapter 2

In Shimotsuki Village of East Blue, the Isshin Dojo is owned by a middle-aged man dressed in gray and white clothes. His name is Shimotsuki Koshiro, and he is one of Lin Wuya's disciples. Unlike in the original book, Koshiro's strength has improved greatly due to Lin Wuya's teachings. Now, the Isshin Dojo he has created is famous throughout the entire East Blue.

Every day, countless young apprentices come to learn martial arts, and the current Isshin Dojo is full of thousands of students. In the dojo, Koshiro sits cross-legged on a futon, while two young students stand before him with wooden swords. Other disciples sit around them, watching the battle unfold.

The two young students are a girl and a boy. The girl is about eleven years old, and the boy is younger than her, around nine years old, with a distinctive green hairdo.

"Kuina, I will defeat you today!" the boy declares, brandishing his bamboo sword.

Kuina, the girl, smiles in response. She places her bamboo sword in front of her and asks, "You have already lost to me 1,997 times. Are you still not giving up?"

"Of course not! I'm Roronoa Zoro!" the boy, Zoro, yells as he lifts his two bamboo swords and charges at Kuina.

Kuina takes a step back, holds her bamboo sword with both hands, and meets Zoro's attack head-on.

The bamboo swords clash, producing a loud crackling sound.

Kuina smiles at Zoro, who had his blow stopped, and says, "Although the power of your attacks is strong, your style of play is too fierce and lacks skill."

"I can control it!" Zoro protests, then turns around and swipes his bamboo sword at Kuina's shoulder with his left hand.

Kuina taps the ground with one foot and steps backwards to avoid Zoro's blow. She watches as Zoro attacks again with both hands, but she stops each of his attacks with ease. Frustrated, Zoro grits his teeth and continues to attack Kuina.

Despite his strength, Zoro's style of play is too fierce and lacks technique, and so every attack of his is stopped by Kuina.

"Damn it!" Zoro exclaims, realizing he cannot overcome Kuina's superior skills.

Zoro gestures with his bamboo knives and attacks Kuina again, but at that moment, Kuina steps in close and disarms him by pointing her bamboo sword at Zoro's two bamboo knives.

With a loud bang, Kuina picks up Zoro's two bamboo knives and throws them away. Zoro's face changes and he tries to grab the knives, but Kuina quickly thrusts her bamboo sword towards his shoulder, stopping just three centimeters away.

"You lose, Zoro!" Kuina says with a smile, then takes the bamboo sword from Zoro's shoulder.

"Damn it! I lost to you again!" Zoro says unwillingly. Despite his many challenges, he has never been able to beat Kuina.

Seeing Zoro's frustration, Kuina smiles and says, "Although you lost to me again this time, you have improved a lot since the last time. If your attacks were any fiercer, I'm not sure I could have held them off!"

But Zoro doesn't seem to be listening. He simply replies with concern for Kuina's safety, "If you lose, you lose. Zoro isn't someone who can't afford to lose, but I won't give up like this. When I become stronger, I will challenge you again!"

Zoro snorts coldly, then picks up the two bamboo knives that were thrown on the ground by Kuina.

Koshiro watches Zoro with a shake of his head. This stubborn little guy is as determined as ever. However, Zoro is undeniably talented. Despite losing to Kuina so many times in a row, Zoro has the potential to become a world-renowned swordsman with some more experience.

As for his daughter, Kuina, Koshiro sighs inwardly. Although she is very talented and has defeated Zoro many times, she may lose her advantage as she grows older and may eventually be surpassed by Zoro.

"I wonder if this problem can be solved by the teacher," Koshiro thinks to himself.

Thinking of his own teacher, Koshiro feels nostalgic. He had been stranded on a remote island after a shipwreck while leaving Wanokuni. There, he was rescued by his teacher and became his disciple. It was the most precious time of his life, and he owes his success to his teacher.

"I don't know when the teacher will come down from the mountain. I really want to see him," Koshiro thinks to himself.

Suddenly, a phone worm that Koshiro had placed aside rings. Koshiro had been using the phone worm to contact his teacher since he established the Isshin Dojo after coming down the mountain. He always carries the phone worm with him and puts it in a prominent place to avoid missing any of his teacher's calls.

The phone worm had not rung for years, but today, it suddenly rings, causing Koshiro's heart to skip a beat.

"Is it the teacher?" he wonders as he picks up the phone worm. A voice with the wear and tear of time can be heard on the other end.

"Is this Koshiro? This is your teacher. I have come down from the mountain."

Hearing his teacher's voice, Koshiro jumps up from the ground, his expression changing from indifference to shock.

"Damn it! The teacher has finally come down from the mountain!"