The next morning, the sun had just risen, and the morning light shone through the leaves, turning them golden.
At the Isshin Dojo, the kids were already up and practicing swordsmanship enthusiastically.
However, Koushirou didn't see his daughter Kuina and Zoro.
He immediately used his Observation Haki to search around and found them training in two different places on the hillside.
Just as he was about to leave, Koushirou's expression changed. He felt puzzled because he noticed four extra kids at the dojo!
Could they be here to learn swordsmanship?
Hmm, that must be it. After all, Koushirou was a pretty good swordsman here.
Curious, Koushirou decided to check it out.
He told the other students to keep practicing and walked towards the room where the four kids were.
When he reached the door, he couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
He saw four kids lying on the bed, their noses bubbling as they slept soundly, showing no signs of waking up.
Koushirou squinted his eyes and gently laughed, "Kids, wake up. Lazy kids aren't good students~ I don't accept such students."
His tone was light and slow, like gently waking up sleeping Pokémon.
Ryuen heard the noise, slowly woke up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and finally saw who it was.
"Good morning, Koushirou," Ryuen said, still feeling sleepy. He lay back down, and his nose bubble reappeared.
Koushirou sighed and gently called out, "Kids, if you don't get up, I won't accept you as my students~"
"Who is it?" Nami, Nojiko, and Daisy woke up, rubbing their sleepy eyes and looking at Koushirou.
"Hello, I'm Koushirou, the owner and sword master of this dojo. Did Kuina bring you here? Are you here to learn swordsmanship?" Koushirou asked calmly.
"Wow~"
"So you're Kuina's father, the master Ryuen mentioned. Hello, hello!"
"Cool!"
The three girls instantly woke up, looking at Koushirou with curiosity and excitement.
Master? Is that me? Koushirou felt a bit embarrassed and pointed to the still-sleeping Ryuen.
The three girls followed his direction and saw that Ryuen was still asleep.
But little Nami wouldn't let him be. She jumped onto Ryuen and shouted, "Ryuen, wake up!"
With a pop, Ryuen's nose bubble burst.
Ryuen finally woke up, looking at Nami standing on his stomach, "Nami, what are you doing~~~"
"Get up, the master you mentioned is here!" Nojiko said softly. Daisy felt a bit embarrassed, sleeping in someone else's house and still being lazy.
Nami jumped off Ryuen, and Ryuen finally saw Koushirou smiling at him.
"Hey!"
"Good morning, Mr. Koushirou!" Ryuen quickly got up and greeted Koushirou, feeling a bit awkward.
"Hehehe~ Kids can sleep a bit more, but being lazy isn't a good habit~ So, why are you here?" Koushirou asked gently.
"Hahaha~"
"Well, we've been drifting at sea for a few days, so we got really sleepy when we landed. Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Koushirou. We're here to let our friend Nojiko learn swordsmanship from you for a couple of days!" Ryuen scratched his head and explained.
"Please, Mr. Koushirou!" Nojiko bowed to Koushirou.
Koushirou didn't agree immediately. This wasn't what he expected. He thought these kids were from nearby villages, but it seemed they weren't.
And the boy said they had been drifting at sea for a few days. Not everyone could do that, especially kids, and they came specifically to find him. This made him wonder, is my reputation that widespread?
Realizing they were next to Kuina's room, meaning Kuina brought them here, Koushirou was curious. These kids could make Kuina welcome them and let them stay at her home.
"Of course, you can all learn swordsmanship from me." Koushirou thought a lot but finally agreed.
"Yay!"
"Thank you, Mr. Koushirou!"
"Thank you!"
The kids were very happy and thanked Koushirou.
"Hehehe~~ Let's start today. First, come with me to the dojo to observe, then I'll teach you swordsmanship." Koushirou said with a gentle smile.
"Okay, Mr. Koushirou~" the four kids replied together.
So, for the rest of the day, Ryuen and the others seriously learned the basic swordsmanship taught by Koushirou at the Isshin Dojo. These were practical skills, and except for Daisy who didn't understand and Ryuen whose focus wasn't on swordsmanship, Nami and Nojiko learned very seriously.
After all, it's good for girls to learn some self-defense skills.
By the afternoon, the day's learning ended with Koushirou's summary for each student.
"Father, I'm back~"
"Master, I'm back~"
Kuina and Zoro returned to the dojo one after the other.
"Mm~ You've been training all day, you must be tired. Go wash up.
By the way, Kuina, the kids you brought back are also learning swordsmanship at the dojo. They will stay in the room next to yours for the next few days," Koushirou said gently.
"Okay, father, I understand," Kuina replied and headed to her room.
She planned to wash up and then visit Ryuen and the others.
"Well... Master, I'll go back too," Zoro said to Koushirou and then went back to his place.
Koushirou looked at Zoro with satisfaction. Besides Kuina, Zoro was the most talented kid in swordsmanship he had ever seen.
However, he noticed that Kuina's eyes seemed different today...
After washing up, Kuina went to the next room and saw Ryuen and the others playing games.
"Kuina!"
"Hey, Kuina, you're back~"
"Kuina, guess what, we also learned swordsmanship from your father today~" The three girls happily surrounded Kuina.
"My father just told me about it," Kuina said shyly, not quite used to such a lively environment.
"Hey, Ryuen, Kuina is back. Can we start now?" Daisy asked excitedly.
"Of course, let's start the party!" Ryuen announced immediately.
"Yay!"
"Party, party!"
The four kids, along with a somewhat confused Kuina, ran to the hillside.
Even Zoro was called over by them.
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