Amon had no idea he'd already been put on a wanted list. While Sengoku and Garp were about to take a call, Amon rode his little ship toward the next destination.
The ship ran fast across the waves, but Shimotsuki Village seemed farther from Foosha Village than he'd thought. Only when dusk bled into night did a small island finally rise into view. This should be Shimotsuki Village.
"At last."
He had been sprawled on the ship, bored out of his mind. The moment the village appeared, he flipped up to his feet, spirit sharp and awake.
As the ship bumped against the dock, a crisp system chime rang in his mind.
[Ding. Congratulations to the host for arriving at Shimotsuki Village. Sell ten cans in Shimotsuki Village.]
[Ding. To prevent cheating by selling all cans to a single buyer, the system sets a limit of one can per person.]
After throwing the system a look of pure disdain, Amon hefted ten cans and stepped off the pier.
The rest of the cans he left on the ship.
Without his permission, no ordinary person could board this ship, so he didn't worry about anyone sneaking off with his stock.
Night had settled over the village. He decided to find a place to stay first and handle the rest tomorrow.
With that in mind, Amon started toward the village.
...
"Kuina, this time I'll definitely beat you."
A crisp, youthful voice drifted from the thicket not far away. The moment Amon heard the name Kuina, he paused.
Right, Shimotsuki Village was the hometown of Roronoa Zoro and that childhood friend of his, Kuina.
In Zoro's memories, that girl had died in a freak accident at age eleven, falling from a staircase. It was melodramatic and tragic, and her death had ignited Zoro's will. He swore to become the world's greatest swordsman and carry both their dreams.
From the sound of it, Kuina hadn't had her accident yet.
She barely appeared in the story, but her iron will had captured many hearts. Amon had always liked her too.
When he first saw her fate, he'd felt regret for a long time.
Now that chance had brought him here, he decided to take a look.
He gathered himself and turned toward the beachside grove.
On the ridge above, two small figures faced each other. It was clearly Kuina at eleven and Zoro at nine.
Girls matured faster. Though only two years older, Kuina stood a head taller than Zoro.
They looked a little different from the anime, but Amon recognized them in a heartbeat.
Zoro was still a kid, but the future lines of his face were already there.
Amon, of course, knew Zoro well. The earliest recruit of the Straw Hat Pirates, the first crewmate Luffy found after setting out to sea.
He would be the strongest fighter in the crew aside from Luffy himself, and the one who understood Luffy best. His fans would be legion.
With his unique personality and wild fighting style, he won hearts everywhere.
That was all yet to come. Right now, Zoro was just a snot-nosed kid who kept getting thrashed by Kuina.
Amon picked a stone in the grove and sat down. On the ridge, Kuina and Zoro readied their duel.
"Ya!" Zoro, two long wooden swords in hand, launched first. He moved fast like a stormwind that hammered at Kuina.
"Hup."
Kuina met him without a ripple in her expression. She raised her blade and parried every strike.
Before, Amon wouldn't have understood their forms at all. But with LV7 Swordsmanship fused and battle experience to match, he could see their speed, their lines of attack, and even their openings as if highlighted.
Kuina was young, but not to be underestimated. Every one of Zoro's fierce rushes dissolved against her bladework, and then she flicked back with a single precise counter that sent him scrambling.
Clang.
A clean impact rang out. The next instant, Kuina knocked both of Zoro's swords skyward.
She gave him no chance to recover. In a flash she stepped in, and Wado Ichimonji stabbed down like a thunderbolt, burying its tip in the sand by Zoro's head.
"My two thousand and first victory."
Kuina rose slowly, brushed the sweat from her brow, and smiled. Her delicate face was still childish, yet it wore the quiet pride of a victor.
"Damn it. I can't accept this, I really can't."
Flat on his back in the grass, Zoro burst into tears yet again, both hands covering his face.
He had been training day after day to beat her, and still he fell short.
Looking at the boy wailing on the ground, Kuina turned away, a shadow crossing her eyes. "You have nothing to be frustrated about, Zoro. Compared to you, I'm the one who can't accept it. Father says that when girls grow up, they'll be weaker than boys. You'll catch up to me soon. Girls are born with less strength than boys. No matter how hard I work, no matter how much I practice, in the end I'll lose to you because of what I was born with."
By the end, her voice trembled and she couldn't help but sniffle.
Her unwillingness ran deep. Her talent for the sword was higher than others, and she worked harder than they did, yet because of her body, she seemed doomed to fall behind her peers no matter how far she pushed.
For someone who dreamed of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, what a wound that was to the heart.
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