"I think I can answer your question."
Everyone turned to the voice. A woman was walking towards them silently. She wore a long red coat, not much different from Zoro's, and in her right hand she held a wooden stick. A red mask covered half of her pale face, and her rosy lips curled into a wicked smile. Black aura surrounded her, and the air around her felt cold and heavy.
"She's a beauty~!" Sanji was about to race to her oblivious of the surroundings, but Nami grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
"Stay back!"
"Gomu Gomu no…Bullet!" Sensing danger, Luffy shot his long-stretched arm at the mysterious woman.
"Wait…!" Kuina started, but was cut off by a thunderous cracking sound.
"Shall we discuss without cheap fist fights?" Her words were collected. The rock behind the woman was shattered into pieces, and every one of the Strawhats stared in awe. She hadn't changed her path nor moved her head one bit, and yet Luffy's punch went nowhere near her. It was as if Luffy's attacked had dodged the woman. Was this the power of the New World?
"Luffy?" Usopp tilted his head in confusion, "What happened?"
"I don't know…how…" Luffy seemed baffled himself.
"I'd like to settle this with words, not fists." She replied quietly and then turned to face Kuina. "Kuina…you've lost, and I hope you realize it was all in your weak will. Be ashamed."
"I apologize, sensei." Kuina replied. These words made everyone snap up.
"Sensei?" Nami muttered. Everyone was thinking the same. This woman didn't look like she would, nor could be a teacher, not of the sword—she was almost as skinny as the stick she was holding in her hand, and her legs seemed like it would snap in half if she fell. Nonetheless, no one put their guard down—this was the New World, after all. "This woman seems dangerous, so everyone, get ready to fight. We don't know who she is, or what she has up in her sleeves." Nami warned.
"Even if you fight, you will have no chance of winning against me." The woman was still relaxed, not even slightly bothered by anyone's words.
"Don't get so damn cocky!" Zoro was getting irritated by her attitude.
"Roronoa Zoro…" The woman grinned, "I've always wanted to see you…to see who was it that…" she trailed off, "well before I say anything, please put down your sword. You have won the fight, and I will tell you what you want to know. There is no need to kill her now…Kuina is my student, after all." To this, Zoro growled, but he put his sword back into its sheath.
"I'll have to start with clearing some confusions. First of all, this is Kuina, and she 'died' when Roronoa was a child, by 'falling off the stairs', which is why he can't accept the fact that she is in fact, alive." The Strawhats who've never heard about Zoro's past listened closely.
"What happened?" Nami asked.
The woman took a deep breath, "It's quite complicated, actually. Kuina at that time, was an excellent swordsman, and she had great potential to become…perhaps the greatest swordsman in the world. Even Roronoa couldn't beat Kuina. Actually, today is his first win." At this, everyone gasped. They couldn't imagine Zoro losing, not to a girl, not to an adult, and he was getting closer to 'the best' everyday. Zoro was silent the entire time as memories flashed back in his mind.
"At that time, Kuina had a sensei—her father. He was a great user of the sword, but he didn't know how to encourage his pupils. Instead of giving Kuina hope that she could become the greatest, he dejected her by telling her that women couldn't become the best." Zoro clenched his fist and pictured Kuina silently crying by herself as the woman spoke exactly what had happened.
"One day, I went to see her father for some personal business, and I happened to walk by the training room, where Kuina was training…" she continued.
"Nice to meet you."
"Welcome. Please sit inside."
"Thank you. I saw your daughter as I was walking here…"
"Yes, her name is Kuina, and she is currently training to become a swordsman."
"She has some great skills."
"She does, indeed. She can beat most of the adults, actually…it's a pity she was born a girl."
"What do you mean?"
"Women generally lack in strength compared to men. A woman cannot become the best…Kuina cannot achieve her dream. I do hope she is thinking of something else as her goal..."
"Ah…I see."
"From her father's words, I realized that he would've said those words to Kuina…but I didn't think the same way he did."
"Kuina, meet my partner. She is a great user of the sword, and share quite similar ambitions as yours." Kuina's father called her into the room.
"Nice to meet you." The woman smiled warmly.
"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Kuina."
"I saw you training on my way here…you have impressive skills."
"Thank you."
"So, young lady, what do you want to become when you grow up?"
"…"
"Perhaps you haven't thought about it yet. I was expecting an answer from a lady a little too young. I apologize." The woman quickly said after feeling the tense silence that hung in the room.
"No, I have a dream. My dream is to become the best swordsman in the world." Kuina stared straight into the woman's eyes. Her eyes were dark but shining, full of ambitions and goals.
"I see…you have a tough way to go."
"I don't care. No matter what it takes, I'll do it."
"That's wonderful, I hope you achieve your goal."
"I knew that Kuina was determined, and she could undergo any training she was given, to achieve her dream. Despite her young age, she was more mature than most adults. The only barrier was her father, who was beating her dream with his sharp stick of words. Luckily for Kuina though, I needed a good swordsman in my crew…so I gave her a nice offer that would benefit us both…"
"You're the one I saw today…why are you still here?" Kuina asked, looking curiously at the woman standing before her.
"I'd like to give you an offer…"
"…and what is your offer?"
"I want to help you achieve your dream. I will help you the best I can, and I will definitely let you reach the top…I will encourage you and set a path for you. A path without barriers…"
"…I don't understand what you are saying."
"I know that you want to become the best, and I also realize that your teacher, my partner is setting a barrier in your path…or rather destroying it. I'd like to offer you some help."
"I…don't need it. I…I'll listen to my father. He knows better than me. He has seen more than me. Thank you for the offer, but…no thanks."
"When she said those words, I could tell from her expression that that obviously wasn't what she wanted, but I didn't say anything, mostly because I knew that she would change, and as I thought she found me in my temporary house a few days later…"
"Hi, Kuina. How have you been?"
"…I wanted to talk to you about something."
"And what would that be?"
"The offer…" At Kuina's words, the woman's lips curled up into a distorted smile, "I'll accept it, if it's not too late."
"That's fantastic. But I forgot to say, that there is one condition…"
"…?"
"You'll come to my place to train." The woman spoke with the gentlest voice she could manage to speak in, "It's not a scary place, just where my pupils stay and train together, just like this one."
"I'll have to ask my father…"Kuina turned, but was grabbed by rough hands.
"I have already informed your father. He told me that as your father, he will respect your decision."
"…okay." Kuina answered, but couldn't help feeling that for just that one moment she was grabbed, there was a different person behind her.
"Phew. The boring part is over." The woman suddenly cut off. The Strawhats realized that they were holding their breaths, and took a deep breath as the woman did so as well. Slowly, a faint smile spread across her face that sent chills up the Strawhat's spines. She quietly whispered to herself, "Now, it gets really interesting…"
"…What is this?"
"This is a part of moving to my place." The woman held out the small vial of purple liquid in front of her.
"I'm just moving to your place. Why is this needed?"
"It's a welcoming drink."
"I don't want it, it's fine."
"Drink it." The woman's eyes suddenly turned stone grey, and her words fell on Kuina like ice blocks.
"o…okay." Kuina accepted the vial. Carefully, she opened the vial top and spilled the liquid down her throat. Suddenly, a burning sensation spread through her her as pain flared up in her throat. Tears blurred her vision. Every part of her body seemed like it was being devoured by fire. In her head, she could picture flames licking her skin, burning her flesh, melting her raw muscles away. She wanted to scream, but her throat wouldn't make a sound. She stared straight ahead, and saw the woman with the same smile. She heard one last sentence from the woman before she passed out.
"Don't worry, you'll only be dead for a day. I'll come get you, Kuina."
A sudden scream was heard, and before anyone could react, Zoro's sword was right next to the woman's throat, ready to slice it any moment.
"Please, put the sword away. This is very rude." Even with the sword next to her throat, her life hanging on the edge of the cliff, the woman was in no hurry.
"What did you do to her? Answer me." Zoro glared into the woman's eyes. The Strawhats stared at them blankly. They felt as if the air around them was suffocating them. The woman stayed silent, not speaking a single word. Furious, Zoro swung his sword high in the air, and slashed down.
"No!" Kuina shouted out desperately.
Everyone gasped. Zoro was shaking, unable to move. His sword was thrown away meters behind him, buried in the dry, dead leaves. The woman was smiling at him, and Kuina let out a loud sigh.
"Didn't I tell you that you had no chance? How many times will I have to tell you until you finally get it? All of you…let me tell you this. You may have been the 'strongest' pirate crew, you my have beaten all of the 'strong' enemies. You may have the highest bounties on your heads…but this is the New World, where the strongest of the strongest of the entire world gather. There are plenty out there that could beat you easily, and I am one of them. Do not underestimate the Grand Line. You're only half way there—and the half way you've come is the easy part." She walked towards them.
"I can't move my body, and I don't see anything that's tying me down!" Franky shouted. He couldn't move, even with his gigantic body and his corresponding power. It was no different with the other members of the Strawhat.
"I will now answer your question, Roronoa, because I'm pretty sure you'd want to hear this." Zoro fixed his glare on her. "After her death…"
"Kuina! Are you okay? Kuina!" The woman shouted desperately. "Someone, come and help her!"
"What happened…oh my goodness! Kuina!" Kuina's father rushed to her side. He leaned down, checking her pulse. It was there, but barely. It was getting weaker every beat.
"Someone, call the doctors. She fell from the stairs. I think she hit her head. Hurry!"
"Kuina…" sobs and murmurs were buried by the pattering sound of rain pouring down on them. All of the students training at the place, the teachers, everyone who knew Kuina walked alongside her coffin. They followed a long path until they reached a mountain, where she would get buried near her ancestors.
Even after the funeral, everyone stood in front of her grave for hours. When the rain finally stopped pouring down and the clouds cleared up temporarily, everyone returned.
"That night, the sky was foggy and the mist covered the mountains. Everything was perfect…it was as if even the Gods wanted me to do what I did for Kuina…"
"Where…" Kuina woke up, and her head hurt terribly. She looked around, and her eyes widened as she saw what was in the room. In the room, there were different lengths and types of katanas hung on the wall, almost all of them with complicated designs all over their sheath. The room itself was nice—everything was made of wood, but it was polished.
"How do you like the room?" A familiar voice snapped Kuina out of her thoughts about the room. She snapped up, eyes glaring up at the woman. "Don't look at me like that, tell me if there's anything that you don't like about this room."
"It's not my room. After what you did to me, I can't stay here. I want to go back." She told her.
"But you're not going back. We're already too far from your home." The woman smiled.
"What do you mean?" Kuina growled at the woman's smile. 'That smile is the sweetest yet the most bitter smile.' She thought to herself.
"We're in the Grand Line, in the New World." The woman answered. Kuina's mouth dropped.
"The New World…? But how…" She stuttered.
"That doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters, is that we're here on an island, and that you're going to train under the best teacher and you're going to achieve your goal. You should be feel fortunate."
"No. I want to go back. I won't take the hand of a devil to reach my ambitions. My dreams can only achieved with my friends. I want to…I want to see Zoro. I want to see my friends. Bring me back." Kuina demanded.
"A devil? This is your best chance of becoming the best, of achieving your dreams! ... and Zoro…? Who is that?"
"We promised…I promised. He's going to think I'm dead, and he's going to take my entire burden with him. I want to go back."
"No, you are not going back, no matter what you say. You're training with me."
"No I…"Kuina stopped. Suddenly, she felt someone stepping into her mind. She couldn't move. Suddenly, a voice spoke in her head, and she froze.
"Kuina, I will teach you the way of the sword…by taking over your body. This way, I will move your body and train it until it gets used to the movements and this way, you will become the best." Kuina wanted to scream, wanted to run away, hide from this strange woman, but she couldn't control her body. She fought back as hard as she could, but she couldn't last long.
"And she gave in." The woman chuckled, her face filled with pride. It took quite a while for me to fully take over her body. She was tough, and that just made me like her even more. But after that, she obeyed instructions quite well. I trained her everyday with all my strength and power. I brought her here, although I did need to force her to be stronger at times…" she let out bitter, dry laughter as the Strawhats stared with disgust. Zoro was shaking, barely fighting back the urge to charge at her once more.
"Wait…that means…" Robin noticed.
"Yes. I've eaten a special fruit, just like some of you did. Except, mine is not a devil fruit, but it is the 'angel's fruit'."
Thank you all for waiting patiently for this update. I know that this chapter may not have been as exciting or interesting as the other chapters, since it's it reveals the past. However, this is a very important part of the story, and there are more action to come, so please do keep reading :)
The end of school year is nearing, and it's been really busy the past few weeks. I will try to update the next chapter (hopefully much more exciting than this one) ASAP!
Thank you all so much and please review!