In the quiet courtyard, the pale moonlight stretched the shadows of two small figures standing still.
Takumi tossed the bamboo sword back to Zoro, who fumbled to catch it, eyes wide with shock. "Wait... did you really break that rock? But you didn't even swing at it! What just happened?"
Takumi glanced at Zoro, a small smile playing on his lips. "Listen closely, Zoro. In this world, there are swordsmen who can't cut anything, but those same swordsmen can also cut through anything. A truly powerful swordsman can protect what they want to protect and can cut down anything they want to destroy. You've got a long way to go, so keep at it."
With that, Takumi gave Zoro a light pat on the shoulder before turning and walking out of the courtyard.
The night breeze stirred his hair and clothes as he walked away.
Zoro stood there, staring after him, lost in thought.
A swordsman who can cut through anything... or nothing at all?
If someone had told him that before, he wouldn't have believed such a person could exist.
But Takumi had just shown him that a truly powerful swordsman could indeed do that.
With nothing but a simple bamboo sword, Takumi had done the impossible.
And they were about the same age...
That guy really is a monster, Zoro thought.
"Hey! What are you doing out here by yourself?" came Kuina's somewhat sharp voice.
Zoro snapped out of his thoughts, not even looking at Kuina. His gaze stayed on the shattered rock, his expression serious, eyes full of determination. "Kuina, Takumi is really strong."
Kuina followed his gaze and saw the broken rock. She immediately guessed that Takumi was responsible but wasn't surprised at all. "Pfft! Using Wado Ichimonji to cut a rock? What a waste."
"No, that's not it!" Zoro held up the bamboo sword that Takumi had just used. "He did it with this."
"What?" Kuina's eyes flicked to the bamboo sword in disbelief. "A bamboo sword? He cut the rock with a bamboo sword? That's impossible!"
"It's true!" Zoro insisted. "Kuina, I think I'm starting to understand why Sensei says those things to you."
Meanwhile, Takumi had left the dojo and was heading to the village's only tavern to try some of the local sake.
Sure, the sake Koushirou had given him was special and would last him a while, but that wasn't going to stop him from exploring more drinks.
But when he reached the tavern, he found the owner locking up for the night.
The tavern owner, wiping sweat from his brow, jumped when he noticed Takumi standing there. Realizing it was just a kid, he asked irritably, "Hey, kid! Why aren't you home at this hour? What are you doing here?"
Takumi was a bit annoyed. "You're closed at night?"
The tavern owner blinked, then replied, "You must be from out of town. My tavern only operates during the day. If you're here to buy sake for your family, come back in the morning."
With that, the tavern owner walked off.
Takumi didn't bother arguing and was about to head back to the dojo when he noticed a small stall selling sake gourds.
After some thought, he decided to buy one, paid for it, and hooked the new gourd onto his waist.
Just then, a group of people in dark green cloaks passed by him.
That aura...
Takumi turned to look at them.
At the same time, the leader of the group glanced back at him.
Their eyes met.
Takumi's expression remained calm, showing no hint of disturbance.
The leader's eyes flickered with a brief moment of surprise.
The lanterns of the nearby stalls cast just enough light to reveal the leader's face under the hood, particularly the red tattoo on the left side of his face.
Takumi immediately recognized him.
Monkey D. Dragon.
Leader of the Revolutionary Army, son of the Navy hero Garp, and father of the future Pirate King, Luffy.
"Hey, Dragon, what are you doing? We can't stay here too long. If someone notices us, we're in trouble. Hurry up," whispered a man with an enormous face walking beside Dragon.
Another member of the group muttered under his breath, "Ivankov, your giant face is already drawing attention..."
"Heh-ha! What did you say? Say that again!" Ivankov turned and head-butted the guy.
The poor guy who got hit teared up but didn't dare complain.
Dragon turned away from Takumi and continued walking, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Interesting."
A few minutes later, in the tea room of the dojo's back garden...
Koushirou wasn't surprised by the unexpected visitors.
"I thought you wouldn't be here for a few more days," Koushirou said with a smile, sipping his tea. "Looks like your plans went smoothly."
"More or less," Dragon replied, taking a sip of the tea in front of him. "This tea is pretty good."
"Come on, Koushirou! I want sake!" Ivankov whined. "You always have sake ready when we visit. Why are you being so stingy today?"
Koushirou chuckled and shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to. I've already given away all my best sake."
"Huh? No way! You gave it all away?" Ivankov exclaimed. "I begged you for some, and you wouldn't even give me a single bottle. Who's so important that you gave them all your sake?"
"It must be that kid," Dragon said casually, sipping his tea.
Ivankov blinked in confusion. "Kid? What kid? Who are you talking about?"
"You've met Takumi?" Koushirou asked, surprised.
Ivankov scratched his head. "Takumi? Who's that? Is he the kid you mentioned?"
"We saw him briefly in the village," Dragon explained. "He had Wado Ichimonji and a sake gourd on his waist. He didn't seem scared of me at all, and I could tell that kid is as strong as Kuina. Looks like you've got yourself a good student."
"I didn't see anyone," Ivankov muttered, puzzled.
"I wish he were my student," Koushirou said with a wistful smile.
"What?" Dragon put down his tea, looking at Koushirou in surprise. "He's not your student?"
Koushirou shook his head. "I tried to get him to stay at the dojo, but he didn't want to."
Ivankov threw up his hands in frustration. "Hey, hey, are you two even listening to me? Don't ignore me!"
Dragon ignored Ivankov and looked back at Koushirou. "You gave him your best sake and Wado Ichimonji, and he still wouldn't stay? He must have something important he needs to do."
"Maybe," Koushirou replied, taking another sip of tea. "But to be fair, he won the sake and the sword by defeating Kuina. It wasn't exactly a gift from me."
"You knew he would win, and you still offered the sake and sword as a reward. That's not much different from giving them to him," Dragon said.
Just as Dragon finished speaking, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing closer.
Everyone in the tea room turned to look at the open sliding door.
They watched as a small figure, with two swords and a sake gourd at his waist, calmly walked past them without a word.