A full day had passed since Ryukawa's duel with Kuina.
The hype surrounding that glorious one-strike victory had finally begun to cool, though the discussion hadn't vanished entirely. What had changed, however, was Ryukawa's place within the dojo.
After defeating Zoro and Kuina back-to-back in overwhelming fashion, the disciples no longer viewed him as the "nominal" senior brother.
Now—
He was the undisputed number one swordsman of Isshin Dojo.
Every time Ryukawa walked into the dojo, countless juniors would look at him with awe, reverence, and even worship.
But aside from that?
Nothing really changed.
Just like always—
He raised his sword, and he swung.
Swing.
Swing.
Swing.
This was his path. His growth. His "training."
Meanwhile, both Kuina and Zoro—suffering crushing defeats—had thrown themselves into brutal training, determined to one day reclaim their pride.
Neither accepted their loss.
Neither was willing to stay behind.
And so—
On this particular day, just as Ryukawa stepped into the dojo and headed toward his usual training post, he suddenly froze.
"Hm?"
Standing inside the dojo were Zoro and Kuina.
That was surprising.
Ever since yesterday's duel, both had disappeared into their own separate hell-training, rarely showing up inside the dojo.
Yet today—
Here they were.
And they were walking straight toward him.
"Senior Brother… we want to train with you."
Kuina stood before him, her expression serious yet nervous. Her usually proud little face was tinted with embarrassment as she lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes.
This request alone must've been torture for her pride.
"Train with me?"
Ryukawa looked at her… then at Zoro.
It wasn't hard to guess their intentions.
Had they finally realized that no matter how hard they trained, the results weren't matching their expectations?
Zoro spoke next, voice unusually stiff.
"…Yes."
He stared at the floor, unable to look Ryukawa directly in the eye.
For someone as stubborn and prideful as Zoro, this was clearly a massive concession.
But in order to get stronger—
He swallowed his pride.
"You two…"
Ryukawa was speechless.
So that's what this was.
These two brats genuinely believed he had some powerful, secret training method?
They wanted to "learn his ways"?
But the truth was—
His training was completely useless for normal people.
Why could he grow so fast?
Simple.
Because he had a system.
Because he was cheating.
Zoro and Kuina?
No system.
No cheat.
Just raw effort.
Were they expecting to "learn" how to cheat?
What a joke.
He sighed internally.
"Before you decide," Ryukawa said slowly, "let me warn you. My training isn't what you think it is. It's not special, it's not complex, and it might not work for you at all."
"Even if you copy me exactly, your progress will likely be slow."
"Everyone's training path is different. What suits me may not suit you. So think carefully."
Kuina clenched her fists.
"We've already decided."
Zoro nodded firmly as well.
Ryukawa could only rub his forehead.
"All right… I warned you."
So it began.
From that moment onward—
He suddenly gained two stubborn little shadows following him everywhere.
Where Ryukawa swung his sword, they swung their swords.
Where he stood, they stood.
Where he trained, they trained.
Every motion he made, they mimicked.
Soon, this bizarre sight became a unique landscape within Isshin Dojo.
Ryukawa swings.
Kuina swings.
Zoro swings.
Even the other disciples, seeing the dojo's two prodigies imitate Ryukawa, began copying as well.
Within a day—
The entire dojo was swinging swords like robots.
When Koushirou finally noticed, he could only laugh helplessly.
With his expertise, he could clearly see that Ryukawa's "training" was just extremely basic, repetitive sword swings—nothing deep or mysterious.
The only reason Ryukawa grew so quickly was—
Talent.
Absurd, overwhelming, unprecedented talent.
A talent no one else could hope to replicate.
"Kuina… Zoro…" Koushirou sighed inwardly.
Defeat had hit both children harder than expected, to the point that they began subconsciously imitating Ryukawa.
It was a common reaction.
The weak, seeking strength, imitate the strong.
They wanted to catch up.
They wanted to surpass.
But Koushirou couldn't help thinking:
Good grief… it feels like my authority as dojo master is being quietly replaced by Ryukawa.
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