"Challenge over!" Shimotsuki Koushirou announced, bringing the duel to a close. Though he didn't declare a winner, everyone felt that Kuina had lost.
Kuina felt it too. Her grip tightened on her sword, her knuckles turning white as she bit her lip. For the first time, she tasted defeat.
"Luffy, was this really your first time using a sword?" Koushirou calmly asked the strong young boy as he passed his daughter.
"I've mostly trained in punching and footwork. I just swing the sword around," Luffy replied straightforwardly, openly sharing his background.
"I see…" Koushirou nodded slightly. "Welcome to the dojo."
The Shimotsuki Dojo had just gained an unusually powerful new member.
"To celebrate Luffy joining, let's have a feast!" Shanks cheered, still holding Luffy's broken bamboo sword.
"Yeah!" the pirates roared, jumping around in excitement.
Koushirou simply watched the rambunctious pirates with a gentle smile.
"Koushirou, be a good host to our guests—this calls for a round of oden," said an elder, quietly entering the dojo with a pipe in hand.
"Grandfather…" Kuina looked up at the familiar voice, her eyes slightly misty. Tilting her head up, she struggled to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
"Go change your clothes, Kuina," her grandfather said gently. "Meeting a strong rival is something to celebrate."
"…Yes!" Kuina replied, forcing herself to smile as she turned and headed toward the backyard.
"A voice filled with sadness," Uta noted, her ears attuned to the emotions in people's tones.
Her eyes followed Kuina's retreating figure, sensing the sadness surrounding the girl. But… why? It was just one loss.
Curious, Uta slid off Shanks' back and quietly followed Kuina toward the backyard.
The pirates were so caught up in their celebration that no one noticed the small girl sneaking off. After all, this place was safe.
...
Once she was alone in the darkness, Kuina let out a silent scream of frustration, punching the ground with a soundless thud as tears trickled onto the wooden floor.
"A woman can never reach the pinnacle."
She shivered, her body cold, her mind consumed by that buried thought—the reality she had always dreaded.
A boy had defeated her. One younger, but stronger—a true contender for the title of the world's greatest swordsman.
What was all her hard work and dedication for?
Dubbed a prodigy swordswoman, she had encountered a boy whose talent far exceeded her own. And she had lost, utterly and completely…
Should she just give up?
Kuina knew her father's stance. As a girl, she would never earn his full approval. That was why she had maintained her undefeated streak, even besting adults in the dojo.
She had never imagined a younger boy would defeat her.
"Why are you crying? You're really strong, aren't you?" a voice asked.
Kuina's head snapped up, anger flaring as she glared at the source of the voice.
It was that girl—the one who had cheered for Luffy.
Standing a bit taller than Kuina, she wore a bright yellow dress, her skin soft and dewy. Kuina couldn't help noticing that, unlike her own, the other girl's chest was barely developed.
Kuina felt a pang of envy. If only I were built like her… maybe I could have won.
"You wouldn't understand," Kuina said coldly.
Being caught in such a vulnerable state made her feel defensive and irritated, and she glared at Uta icily.
"How would I understand if you don't say anything?" Uta replied, matching Kuina's annoyance. She hated being brushed off like that. It reminded her of something else she despised—when people told her, "You'll understand when you're older."
It was one thing coming from an adult like Shanks, but hearing it from Luffy? And now from Kuina? This was too much!
You're just a kid, too. Stop acting so mysterious!
Uta put her hands on her hips, glaring at Kuina with the same fierceness.
Seeing Uta's genuine frustration, Kuina hesitated, her anger easing a little. That gentle voice softened the frustration in her heart.
What right did she have to take her anger out on this girl?
"I'm just sad because, as girls, we're destined to never reach the top," Kuina finally admitted, glancing at her battered bamboo sword.
"Huh? Why's that?" Uta's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the strongest girl I've ever met!"
"It doesn't matter," Kuina said bitterly, voicing the cold reality she had always known. "Once we grow up, our bodies start changing. Our strength reaches a limit, while boys just keep getting stronger. The gap only gets wider…"
Her hands clenched around her chest in frustration. No matter how hard she trained, she couldn't overcome that soft, frustrating reality.
"Are you stupid?" Uta replied bluntly, giving Kuina a puzzled look. "Didn't the people in the dojo say you could already beat adults?"
"So why does that even matter?"
"But… Luffy…" Kuina began, thinking of the boy who had defeated her.
"Luffy works really hard," Uta interrupted, her tone serious. "He's always training, every day, pushing himself constantly. He's both smart and hardworking."
She looked Kuina straight in the eyes. "You can accept your strength when it lets you beat adults. So why can't you accept it when someone else works hard and beats you?"
Kuina's mind cleared, the words ringing true.
Her grandfather had said, Meeting a strong rival is something to celebrate.
She thought of Zoro, the green-haired boy who had challenged her again and again. He had already lost to her over eighteen hundred times, yet he still kept coming back.
And here I am… What am I even doing?
Kuina gathered her courage, a slight smile forming on her face as she laughed at herself a little. I never expected to draw strength from Zoro.
"Can you tell me how Luffy trains?" she asked Uta.
"Well… there's a lot!" Uta began, recalling their daily routine. "After breakfast, we start training. We read books and draw together, while Luffy balances himself upside down on two fingers, doing push-ups. Then he does squats and lifts dumbbells for strength training.
"At noon, we nap together."
"In the afternoon, he usually yells about fighting ten people at once, and I give him a good thrashing… Then he goes to the doctor to learn about massage, and at night…"
Kuina's eyes widened as she listened. Two-finger handstands while reading? And he did this every single day? Seriously?
And this girl… she can "thrash" someone like that?
Kuina's gaze shifted to Uta in disbelief.
Is she actually the strongest one here?
She doesn't look it at all! Does her strength surpass anything I could imagine?
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