Eric and Akame, the two newcomers, had only been practicing swordsmanship for a couple of days before they were separated for individual training.
"Akame's swordsmanship is excellent," said Master Koushirou with a smile. "I can tell it comes from extensive real combat experience. Eric, on the other hand, you've got some basic postures and strength application all wrong. You'll need to correct those bad habits and rebuild your foundation from scratch."
He didn't even sound like he was mocking me, but why does my heart hurt so much?! Eric thought bitterly. Koushirou's words were like arrows piercing his chest.
Having never studied martial arts in his previous life, it was no surprise Eric didn't know the proper way to wield a sword. Up until now, he'd relied on physical training to avoid being instantly annihilated by powerful pirates.
"Good thing you're still young. The damage from using improper form hasn't caused lasting harm to your body—yet. If you'd kept this up into old age, you'd be wracked with chronic pain," said Koushirou, applying ointment to Eric's arms as he spoke.
"Thank you, Master!" Eric replied with gusto.
"Akame, I can feel your past through your sword."
Koushirou raised a hand to stop her from replying. "I know you may not want to talk about it, so I won't ask. But the sword speaks for the swordsman. It's not just a weapon—it can carry feelings and words. So… speak to me through your sword, Akame."
He picked up a bamboo blade and smiled at her.
"Listen carefully, Eric. Akame. Watch this sheet of paper."
Koushirou tossed a piece of pure white paper into the air and shouted, "Ha!"
He sliced through it in one clean motion—but the paper floated down to the ground completely intact.
"There are swordsmen who can cut through nothing at all," Koushirou explained, "yet they can slice through steel or anything else they choose to—using the very same blade."
"The strongest sword is the one that protects what you want to protect and cuts only what you want to cut. A sword that indiscriminately harms everything it touches… to me, that's no sword at all. Do you understand?"
Wait… isn't this the exact same line from Zoro's flashback? Eric thought, stunned.
Akame closed her eyes. She began to sense the presence of everything around her—not just Eric and Koushirou, but the entire courtyard. No… not "presence"—it was breath. The breath of the stones, the trees, the earth, the walls…
"Huh? Already?" Koushirou looked astonished.
"What? What's going on?" Eric was completely lost.
Akame opened her eyes and looked at a large stone. "Can I try?" she asked.
"Of course," Koushirou nodded.
"Burial."
Akame unsheathed Murasame and slashed the stone.
A black wave of sword energy erupted from her blade. The boulder was sliced cleanly like tofu—and the black energy didn't stop there. It tore through the air, splitting the dojo wall behind it. If you peered through the crack, you could even see the scenery outside.
"That was amazing, Akame!" Eric clapped loudly.
"My, so you've already mastered the Iron-Cutting technique? Incredible," Koushirou said with pride.
Eric glanced at Akame's stats. Her Swordsmanship had reached four and a half stars—not only had she maxed out at four stars, but she'd gained another half. Her Observation Haki had also risen from two stars to two and a half.
What the hell?! Her sword skill went up AND she gained Haki?! How am I supposed to keep up?! Is my protagonist halo defective?! Eric gawked, envious to the point of "plasmolysis"—as if his own essence had retreated from reality.
Still, jealousy aside, he was genuinely happy for Akame. The stronger his teammate, the lighter his burden. Nobody wants to 1v9 the world, after all.
"Oh right!" Eric bowed deeply to Koushirou. "I'm really sorry about the wall—we'll repair it!"
"Haha, no need. Seeing my students grow is reward enough," the master replied, waving it off.
"No way! I'll fix it right away!"
Two hours later, Akame and Eric had patched up the wall.
By day ten of training, Eric had managed to raise his sword skill to 1.5 stars. Not as impressive as Akame's leap, but progress was progress. He took advantage of being older and more disciplined to push his technique forward.
"Kuina! Let's duel!" Zoro challenged Kuina again.
"Let's do it," she replied without hesitation.
"This is like the fifth duel today… what an energetic pair," Eric muttered. He'd seen them spar at least 5 to 10 times a day for ten days straight. No wonder they managed to duel 2,001 times in just a year—before Kuina's death.
Smack! Kuina's bamboo sword landed squarely on Zoro's head.
"That's my 1,735th win!" she declared with a smug grin.
"Damn it!" Zoro ran off to the training area to do more strength work, unfazed by the loss.
He's only nine, but trains harder than most keyboard warriors ranting online… Eric thought, watching Zoro's retreating figure—and conveniently forgetting he used to be one of those keyboard warriors.
1,735 wins already? That means the fateful 2,001st duel is just two to four weeks away… Eric recalled the tragic moment Kuina died and resolved to prevent that future.
"Kuina, spar with me—just pure swordsmanship," Eric said as she was about to start cutting practice dummies.
"Sure." Still frustrated from losing to Eric's Soru last time, Kuina was eager to prove her sword skills weren't inferior to any man's.
Crash, crack, smack!
In a whirlwind of strikes, Kuina's bamboo sword struck Eric in the gut and on the head.
"Wow, amazing! I give up," Eric surrendered immediately. There was no shame in losing to someone more skilled—only in refusing to admit it.
"…Your swordsmanship has improved too," Kuina murmured before turning back to her stump-chopping.
"These kids… not even a little bit cute. So intense," Eric muttered under his breath like a buzzing mosquito.
"Akame, for the next month, let's keep an eye on Kuina," Eric said.
"Okay," Akame agreed simply, trusting her new captain completely.
"Kuina! Duel me again!" Zoro challenged once more.
Clack clack clack!
"That's my 1,957th win," Kuina said cheerfully to a very flattened Zoro.
"Grr… Eric! Duel me!" Zoro shouted.
Thanks to Eric's presence, Zoro now had two new rivals. Akame was far too strong, so Zoro had shifted his focus to Eric, who was more manageable. Eric found this troublesome—what if it messed up the timeline and caused him to miss his chance to save Kuina?
Luckily, Akame now trained and slept with Kuina each night, so he didn't worry about her being left alone.
"Zoro, have you ever thought about using three swords?" Eric asked. The current Zoro still used only two. In the original timeline, he adopted the Three Sword Style after Kuina's death—using her sword Wado Ichimonji to carry her will.
"Three swords? Forget that—fight me first!" Zoro charged in.
Clack! Smack!
Their bamboo swords collided with sharp cracks, sweat flying in the sun as a boy and a young man gave it their all. (Some readers are definitely going to leave comments about this part sounding too romantic.)
Fifteen minutes later, Zoro, exhausted, had his sword knocked from his hand.
"Damn it!!"
He'd already lost to Kuina—and now even to this new guy.
"I only won because of my stamina," Eric said, trying to console him. "If you were seventeen too, I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Hmph! I'll beat you one day!" Zoro snapped and ran off to train again.
If losing once were enough to break him, then he wouldn't be Roronoa Zoro, Eric thought, watching him go.
Then he turned back to where Kuina was training and resumed his own practice.
(End of Chapter)