Laziness

"91!"

"92!"

"93!"

"94!"

The scorching sun blazed fiercely in the sky, casting its oppressive heat upon the land. Amidst the relentless heat, under the shade of trees behind the dojo, a figure strained against the earth.

Muscles rippled and sweat glistened on the back of Zoro as boulders piled upon him threatened to crush him. Each push-up was a battle against the weight of the rocks and the searing sun. But his eyes remained resolute; this was nothing compared to the pursuit of his goal.

In stark contrast to Zoro, Sora floated lazily on the lake using a swim ring, absentmindedly counting Zoro's push-ups. His Devil Fruit powers made him vulnerable in water, but because of today's oppressive heat, the young boy didn't even care.

He idly watched a bird fall from the sky, likely overcome by the heat, and marveled at the absurdity of Zoro and Kuina training in this scorching weather. Couldn't they take a day off?

Suddenly, a voice interrupted his reverie, "Having fun?"

'Speak of the devil she shall appear' Sora rolled his eyes and glanced sideways at a young girl with short, dark blue hair and large, dark eyes. She wore a white sleeveless shirt and cropped dark green pants. How was she not burning up in those pants?

"Go ahead" He sighed in exasperation, knowing exactly what was coming.

As expected, Kuina's words cascaded like a relentless waterfall. "Go ahead?

Why can't you be serious?

Don't you want to leave this place as soon as possible?

What are you doing?!

Look at you!

Lazing around when the world is out there waiting!

Weren't you the one who wanted to sail the seas?

See the world?

And here you are, floating on water like a lifeless fish!

What happened to the fire in your eyes when you first got here?"

"Shut up, you're not my mother! It's freaking hot, and we train every day!" Sora retorted. "Can't I take the day off? Have you heard of mental health management? Or do you want me to train so hard that I become a musclehead like Zoro?"

"Oi!" Zoro protested, now executing handstand push-ups.

Sora continued, "Besides, I have my Devil Fruit, so I don't need to train as much!"

"You!" Kuina pointed at Sora, "You think you're invincible with your Devil Fruit powers! But aren't you the weakest among us three?"

"Whatever" Sora muttered, closing his eyes before snoring loudly.

Seeing this, Kuina huffed and stomped on the ground in frustration. She turned and headed deeper into the forest to resume her training, muttering under her breath, "Lazy, idiot, pervert, idiot, scumbag, idiot."

Moments later, Sora's eyebrows twitched as he replayed the conversation with Kuina in his mind. Who was she to lecture him? In this world, only his older sister had that right. Besides, what did it matter to her whether he trained or not?

'Killed my mood,' He grumbled and got out of the lake, determined to confront the blue-haired girl.

But as he set foot on the soft grass,

*ROAAAAR*

*BOOM*

The earth trembled, followed by a primal roar emanating from the forest.

Zoro, having just lost his balance from his handstand, rushed over to Sora. They both stared wide-eyed at the forest.

*BOOM*

"What's happening?" Zoro asked, his voice tinged with fear.

*BOOM*

"Zoro," Sora called out with a nervous smile, looking at the trees parting to reveal two towering shadows. "Go get your swords, please... quickly."

*BOOM* *BOOM*

"Shouldn't we run?" Zoro stammered, eyeing a gigantic bear and a flying mantis with razor-sharp claws, both of monstrous size. He sparred daily against other students, even adults, but facing these colossal beasts made his confidence waver.

"What about the villagers?" Sora retorted, struggling to keep his composure. As the eldest, he couldn't show fear, even if, as Kuina pointed out, he was the weakest of the trio. His teeth gritted, he took a step forward, conjuring a sword crackling with electricity, his eyes alight with an azure glow.

Zoro glanced back at the Shimotsuki Village a few miles away. The village was peaceful, relying on their master as the primary deterrent to pirates and bandits. If they let the beasts reach the village…

He turned to Sora. "Will you be okay?"

*ROAAAAR*

"Of course! They just want to say hi and be friends," Sora said sarcastically, arcs of blue lightning dancing around him. His voice quivered as the two beasts locked eyes on them and charged, the mantis taking the lead, flying at an astonishing speed.

Realizing this was likely his first life-or-death battle, Sora's fear escalated, and Zoro's lack of weapons only made him more anxious.

"Go, now!" He shouted, launching himself at the mantis to draw their attention.

"I'm going!" Zoro clenched his jaw, turned, and sprinted toward the dojo. It was only seconds away, but could Sora last that long?

As Sora and the mantis neared each other at breakneck speed, Sora's eyes flickered, warily looking at the beast's razor-sharp claws.

"Must be hard hugging your mom with those, right?" he quipped, attempting to mask his anxiety with sass.

The mantis' response was swift; its claws struck like lightning, aiming for Sora's neck.

"Damn it!"

[Soru]

Sora retreated several meters, cold sweat drenching him as he felt a tingling sensation on his neck. He barely had time to react when the mantis was already upon him, its claws gleaming.

[Thundershock]

Electricity enveloped Sora's body as a bolt of lightning struck the mantis point-blank.

*Sssst*

It screeched in pain, its body charred and convulsing.

"Yes!" Sora exclaimed, elated that his attack had an effect. "Take that! There's no way insect-types can beat an electric types!"

But in his triumph over injuring the mantis, Sora forgot he was facing not one but two monsters.

Suddenly, Sora's reflexes kicked in and he parried with his sword just in time to block an enormous paw.

"Urgh!" Blood spurted from Sora's mouth as the impact rattled him. He flew back, crashing through two trees before a third halted his momentum.

He gasped for breath, struggling to his feet, as he saw the bear join the mantis. The odds were overwhelmingly against him. 'Where the hell is Zoro?'

"Fuck, I call cheating, ref! That should be a red card!" He grumbled, seeing the two approaching him, with the mantis deciding not to rush this time warily glancing at the blue arcs of lightning around Sora.

His sword vanished as his hands were covered in blue lightning. He extended one finger from each hand and crouched low. "How many additional holes do you guys want? Just tell me, it's 50% off for monsters who want to kill me."

He was about to pounce on them when a white arc came out from behind the beasts, hitting the back of the bear.

"Kuina!" Sora shouted in relief, seeing Kuina appear far behind the monsters, her real sword in hand.

"Come at me, you ugly thing!" She cried, her eyes radiating with fighting spirit, before she swung down her Wado Ichimonji, sending out a white flying arc at the huge bear.

The attack landed squarely on the monster, but all it did was leave a faint red mark on its fur. It growled and went down on all fours, dashing towards the young girl.

"I'll distract this one; you guys handle the other!" Kuina shouted, sending another flying slash before dashing into the depths of the forest. The mantis carefully eyed the lightning arcs around Sora before it turned around and flew after the bear.

"Wait!" Sora called out. He couldn't let it join forces with the bear even for a second, or Kuina would be doomed. But because he relaxed upon seeing Kuina, he was a step behind. He cursed himself for faltering in a life-and-death crisis and was about to give chase when two green arcs passed right in front of the mantis, making it stop for an instant.

This was enough for Sora to arrive behind it and aim his right hand, his index finger extended and covered in lightning.

[Shigan]

*Ssst*

A hole appeared in the exoskeleton of the beast, making it cry out in pain. It turned and swiped its claws at Sora, but two swords clashed against them as a head full of green hair appeared in front of Sora.

"Ug," Zoro grunted, feeling the weight of the attack, and was sent back, colliding with Sora. The impact forced the two teens to fly for a few seconds before landing.

As soon as he landed, Sora took advantage of the Mantis' momentary immobility to appear behind it, effectively cutting off its path toward Kuina's fight.

He looked at it with a cold smirk.

"2 vs. 1 not being fair? Who's the idiot who said that?"