"Relax, Kuina. Anyone watching might think it's some famous swordmaster duel!" Luffy laughed heartily, momentarily forgetting what he'd intended to say.
"Sh-Shut up!" Kuina snapped, her face flushed red.
"Are you fighting or not?" She started to protest, only to see Luffy's playful smile vanish as he adopted a focused, fierce expression, letting out a sharp, intimidating shout: "Ha!"
Kuina instinctively drew Wado Ichimonji, only to realize he was still at a distance. She'd been tricked again, and just as she was about to stomp in frustration, Luffy closed the gap.
With her guard down, Kuina scrambled to raise her sword.
Clang!
Wado Ichimonji spun through the air, landing upright in the grass nearby.
The sheer power behind Luffy's strike had left her arms tingling, unable to maintain her grip on the blade. The difference… was staggering.
Kuina stared in disbelief at the vast chasm between their abilities, while Zoro watched wide-eyed, reminded of the time he'd first challenged Kuina and was effortlessly sent flying.
After all this training, he now understood it more clearly—it was like comparing the heavens and the earth.
With a slight smile, Luffy brushed his blade against his arm to clean it, giving the motion an air of ritual, and slowly sheathed it.
Hearing the faint ting of metal, Uta turned to see that the duel was already over, with Wado Ichimonji standing solitary under the moonlight.
"Your approach is too traditional," Luffy said, addressing Kuina.
At Isshin Dojo, the sparring routines were all very disciplined and structured, whether among children or adults. Luffy, however, recalled a dojo training video he'd once seen where "swordsmen" would let out strange, animal-like cries to startle their opponents—sometimes shouting for minutes before a fight that only lasted seconds.
Seeing Kuina so tense, he'd tried it as a joke, hoping to throw her off balance, and to his delight, it worked.
"I lost," Kuina sighed. Though she'd expected this outcome, she still felt the sting of defeat.
"You're already strong," Luffy reassured her, extending his hand. "Keep going. We all have goals to work towards."
Kuina managed a small nod, taking his hand.
"Training alone won't show you your flaws. So, let's all face our mirror selves together," Luffy suggested as Uta summoned mirror images of Kuina and Zoro.
The sudden appearance of their duplicates startled the two.
"Uta, is this part of your power too?" Zoro asked, his voice trembling as he pointed at his mirror image.
"Yep! This is a mirror version of you! Luffy even beat his own mirror image—it's truly incredible," Uta explained.
Zoro noticed his mirror image move in sync with him, and as he raised his arm, the duplicate followed suit.
"This is amazing… Can Devil Fruits really do all this?" Zoro was awestruck, struggling to believe such a power existed.
"Uta, what exactly is a Devil Fruit?" Kuina asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Though they'd heard Uta mention her power came from a Devil Fruit, neither she nor Zoro had learned much about it.
"It's a treasure of the sea. When you eat it, you gain incredible powers…" Uta relayed what she'd heard from the pirates.
"So there's something like that out there… How do the world's greatest swordsmen even handle opponents with powers like these?" Zoro muttered, struggling to imagine the challenge.
"Fruits with all sorts of strange abilities…" Kuina's gaze grew distant.
Faced with such fearsome powers, the differences between boys and girls suddenly seemed… less important.
"The only drawback is that it makes you weak to seawater," Uta added, somewhat regretfully.
"Shanks also mentioned that hot springs can sap a Devil Fruit user's strength if the water contains certain… minerals or something," she recalled.
"Compared to the benefits, those weaknesses don't seem like much!" Zoro looked enviously at Uta, clearly impressed by her power.
"Uta, where's my mirror image?" Luffy noticed his own mirror self was missing and asked curiously.
"Oh, didn't you already beat yours?" Uta replied, surprised.
"That was different. I'm a swordsman now!" Luffy insisted.
"Oh, and bring some fruit juice too."
Uta nodded and created a mirror image of sword-wielding Luffy.
"In the dream world, we can eat whatever we want without worrying about getting full," Luffy remarked as he sipped on a glass of cola. In the real world, he mostly drank water and milk, so he was enjoying the taste.
"Let's grab a bite before we start!" he said, reaching for a snack.
Kuina reached for a glass of milk at the same time Zoro did, their hands bumping into each other.
"Huh, Zoro, do you like milk too?" Kuina asked, surprised.
Zoro looked equally astonished. "You drink milk, Kuina?"
Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, he muttered, "Luffy said it helps… with growth or something, so I've started drinking it."
"I've always liked milk… and fried eggs," Kuina replied with a smile.
Zoro let out a small "oh" and grabbed his own milk bottle, sneaking glances at Kuina as she tipped her head back, her pale throat moving as she drank.
"Good, right?" she asked with a grin.
"Yeah… it's good," he replied, a bit awkwardly.
Kuina's long-time enjoyment of milk left Uta pondering whether she should switch up her own drink.
"Eating is essential for energy, especially when it's meat from deep-sea creatures. Just thinking about it makes me hungry!" Luffy laughed.
"Alright, everyone, time to challenge our mirrors!"
"Even though they seem to mirror our moves, they're a bit slower than us. But don't let that fool you—their swords make them dangerous," Luffy cautioned.
"Only slightly slower than the original?" Kuina examined her mirror image, noting how closely it matched her own movements.
"By the way, Kuina, my sword hasn't been sharpened with a whetstone yet. Once we're done with these mirror matches, can you show me the dojo's whetstone?"
She nodded. "Sure, the whetstone is up in the attic. Wado Ichimonji could use some maintenance too."
"Awesome. While we're at it, could you teach me how to care for my sword?" Luffy asked.
"Of course."
Luffy laughed confidently. "Even the mighty stairway up to the dojo's attic won't stop me!"
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