A mob must decide

[Chapter 11: A mob must decide]

...

A few more weeks have passed since Zoro died (Metaphorically).

During these few weeks I have finally turned 10, which didn't really matter that much to me as I was more concentrated on discovering the true abilities of Koushirou.

Unfortunately, the guy seemed to be just too passive for my liking, even when having duels against other dojo owners of the village he didn't really go all out.

So in the end I had no other option but to attack him with a ninja like appearance and force him to be serious in the fight...

Although his abilities weren't as high as mine, he indeed could be considered abnormally strong for the East blue. No one in this sea should be as strong as him without receiving training in arts from other parts of the world.

He was able to cut through steel with just a normal sword and he also had a bit of control on armament haki to the point he could coat his sword with it, although it was still far from reaching a great level of sharpness like what Zoro had reached after the time skip.

In the end I won pretty easily while just using my swordsmanship, so after memorizing all his movements I was sure that I could improve a lot after today's fight. After that I disappeared without a trace, leaving Koushirou completely dumbfounded.

"I wonder why does Koushirou sensei looks so tired this few days..."

"First it was Kuina, now even Koushirou sensei seems stressed out about something"

*Bam!*

"Kuina, I will defeat you today!" Zoro suddenly appeared at the entrance of the dojo and started screaming angrily while looking for Kuina.

After Kuina beated up Zoro without holding back in the slightest, his fighting spirit became even bigger and he started training even harder after his defeat.

"And there he goes again... how many times has it been already during this year...?"

"If I remember correctly then this time should be the 2000th time Zoro will be defeated..."

"Oi, I heard that!!" Zoro suddenly turned toward our group with an angry expression.

"Geh... Sorry Zoro, it was just a joke..."

"Hmph, yeah it better be..."

Hmm... The 2000th time? Isn't that the last spar they have before using real swords in their 2001st and last battle?

"Zoro, why do you always have to shout! I can hear you perfectly even if you don't yell..." Kuina appeared from inside one of the rooms of the dojo.

"Shut it, now fight me!"

"Fine, don't cry after losing" She said before taking a bamboo sword and taking her stance.

After everyone in the dojo heard that Zoro and Kuina were gonna duel once again, they took a seat to watch the spectacle, as Koushirou instructed them months ago to watch closely everytime they fought so that they could learn from their fights.

...

"Bow to the gods!" Koushirou said while bowing sightly at a monument hanging in the wall, followed then by Zoro and Kuina as well.

"Bow to the opponent!" Kuina and Zoro then bowed to each other before taking their stances and started glaring daggers at each other.

...

As soon as I felt the tension rising in the air, I controlled my own body to make a sweat drop roll down my face, as all my other mob companions were sweating sightly as well, I couldn't lose to them.

"Begin!"

"Oryaaaaaaaa!!!" Zoro inmediatly released his characteristic battle shout, and then rushed running towards Kuina while preparing his swords to attack.

Kuina, still with a calm expression on her face, simply swung heavily her sword in the direction of the approaching Zoro.

*Tack!* Both Zoro and Kuina attacks clashed, creating a small shockwave that could be felt through the whole dojo, before both of them immediately separated from each other a few meters.

"Ei!" Zoro rapidly rushed over again and attacked Kuina with both of his swords at the same time.

Kuina simply dodged his attack easily and then countered with a swing right to the face. However, Zoro that seemed to have predicted it, rapidly dodged to the side to avoid being hit and swung his sword to hit the shoulder of Kuina.

"Orya!!"

*Tack!!*

Kuina, that somehow still blocked both swords from Zoro, immediately retreated sightly before she started attacking once again.

"Hyaaaaa!!"

"Oryaaaa!!"

*Tack!*

*Tack!*Tack!*Tack!*Tack!*

*Tack!*Tack!*

*Tack!*Tack!*Tack!*Tack!*Tack!*

Both of them continued exchanging blows for the rest of the spar, creating small shockwaves through the dojo that impressed and terrified my mob companions, who shuddered immediately after imagining themselves receiving such a blow.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

*Bam!*

It wasn't until Kuina used all her strength in one of her swings that made Zoro lose his balance, creating a perfect opportunity that she used to launch a swing directly to his face, making him fall unconscious to the ground for a second, before he recovered the conscience shortly after.

"Single blow, stop!" Someone who seemed to be friends with Koushirou yelled after seeing that the duel was over.

"Winner, Kuina!... 2000 wins, 0 losses!"

Zoro that was currently lying on the ground, tried to get back up, only to fall miserably to the floor once again.

"Damn it..."

Koushirou that was watching the end of the duel calmly, soon turned to look at us and started telling us to continue practicing our swings.

...

Sigh... So Kuina dies tomorrow, huh?

That means I only have this last night to consider what to do about her...

...

Good grief, this is truly troublesome...

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A few hours later...

...

*Kashiiin~*

As soon as I swung my sword, dozens of trees around me were severed apart by the sharpness of the blade.

My sword, that was currently coated in a layer of black redish colored haki, was only an average katana with a very dull blade, however, thanks to my haki, it actually had the power to cut through the dozens of trees surrounding me in a radius of 15 meters.

*Booom!!*

As all the trees I cut apart fell to the ground, a cloud of dust arose after the ground trembled a little after the impact, completely covering the area in which I was practicing.

"Cough! Cough!"

Hmm... it should be around time... right?

I used my observation Haki to observe the surroundings, and then in the distance I saw the figures of two kids fighting each other fiercely without minding anything but their fight.

*Clank!*

As both of their swords clashed against the other, small sparks came from their sharp blades gnashing against each other.

"Oryaaaaa!!!"

"Hyaaaaa!!"

*Clank!*

*Kashiiiiiiiin~!*

*Clank!!*

Both of them continued exchanging blows, until they finally separated from each other to take a small break.

"Huff... Puff..." Zoro rough breathing denoted his tiredness and exhaustion after their exchanging ended.

Kuina instead, was calm, and although she was still a bit tired after the constant clashes between them, her breathing wasn't as rough as Zoro's.

"Wielding two real swords must be really heavy... huff... It seems like you still lack a bit of stamina..."

Zoro, that heard her mocking him, gnashed his teeth against each other and felt furious all of a sudden.

"Shut up!!"

An anger that made Zoro lose concentration for a moment after shouting his dissatisfaction at Kuina, a moment that Kuina used to take by surprise at Zoro while he was still unprepared.

When Zoro finally noticed that he had been tricked, it was already too late.

*Clank!!!*

Both of his swords suddenly flew into the air, and Kuina that was already in front of him pointed her sharp sword directly at the face of Zoro, ready to stab it.

*Tchk!*

However, the sword suddenly changed sightly it's direction, stabbing fiercely the ground with her sword just a few centimeters away from the face of Zoro that was also lying on the ground.

"This is my 2001st win..." Kuina muttered while grinning sightly.

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed at his own weakness.

Good grief, kids from these days are way too energetic. However, I think that can also be a good thing...

Alright, I think I have decided.

...