After skipping the opening, they were greeted with what seems to be a normal day on the Going Merry until Luffy came in with a wooden crate labelled 'DANGER.' In that crate was filled with cannonballs. Since they have a cannon, Luffy wants to practice.
"Well, I guess it's best to learn how to use the equipment." Iida said with a small shrug.
"Oh, cannons! A pirate classic." Kirishima claimed.
"I'm pretty sure cannons are more of a medieval castle thing." Sero replied.
"Why not both?" Jiro shrugged.
Ignoring Usopp's suggestion to let him use it. Luffy asked Zoro if he knew how to work it, but the swordsman was fast asleep. Luffy was disappointed, but Nami told him to aim for a reef as target practice.
As it fades into black, the title card came up. "The Three-Sword Style's Past! Zoro and Kuina's Vow!"
"Oh, a Zoro flashback!" Toru exclaimed with Tokoyami perked up in interest.
Izuku let out a big sigh of relief. "Finally."
"What is it, Deku?" Ochako asked.
"I am pretty certain that this is the flashback that was shown during the past manga chapters."
"Don't spoil anything!" Toru suddenly shouted before Katsuki could, covering Izuku's mouth.
The darkness faded away to a countryside town with a young Zoro looking over with a big smile on his face.
The girls cooed and awed at the younger Zoro as Sero cheered, "Flashback time!"
In a dojo, there were rows of children training with bamboo swords as a kind looking man looks over them, but soon he noticed young Zoro calling out to them, looking to challenge their dojo.
The man let out a laugh, claiming dojo-challenging was certainly rare nowadays.
"Do people still do those today?" Denki wondered.
He was only met with a few shrugs.
Zoro doesn't want to be taken lightly, claiming he's unrivaled in the next village over, and the man accepts it. Zoro told him that if he wins, he gets the dojo, and if he loses, he'll become a student here instead. The man accepts it, letting out a laugh, then called out a girl named Kuina, who looked a little older compared to the other kids.
"Oh, it's that blue haired girl." Denki pointed out, remembering her from Zoro's brief flashbacks from before.
Zoro was angry that the owner wasn't fighting him, but the owner told him that even though Kuina is a girl, she's even stronger than the adults here. This was coming from her father.
Zoro accepted it.
Jiro quirked an eyebrow, Why did he have to mention she's a girl? Isn't it obvious?
She had developed a few suspicions in her head, but decided to not say anything for now.
Coming inside the dojo, Zoro was offered to use the bamboo swords, which he took as much as his heart's content, or at least as much as his mouth and hands could take.
The young students looked at the scene strangely as Zoro and Kuina begin their battle.
When their fight begun, Zoro was successfully able to block on attack from Kuina, but in an instant, Zoro was already on the floor, swords scattered around. Kuina looked down at him.
"Wait, already?" Katsuki's eyes widen.
"So, this is where Zoro's beginnings come from." Tokoyami linked his hands together.
Still, Zoro was able to stand, holding up two swords, much to Kuina and her father's shock. Kuina asked if he studied Nitoryu before, but actually, today's the first time he held a bamboo sword.
Zoro refused to lose to this girl.
"Considering the fact that this is your first time even holding a sword..." Todoroki trailed off, feeling like he doesn't need to finish his sentence.
They could already see how this will go.
Zoro ran straight for her, but with one smack on the head, the match was already over. The other students cringed as there was a bright red mark on Zoro's face while Kuina compared him to a boar. Though her father lightly scolded her, Kuina told Zoro that it was 10 years too early for an amateur to use Nitoryu.
"Well, since he knows Santoryu in the future, Zoro must have gotten a match at least once." Denki said with confidence.
Izuku held his breathe, making sure he doesn't say a single word.
Zoro looked at her furiously, and Kuina threatened with another match. Surprisingly, Zoro accepted the defeat, now becoming a student of the dojo. He declared that he'll train a lot and he will defeat Kuina. The girl glared at him, telling him it will never come.
While Izuku internally screams, Katsuki shouted, "I will like to see you try!"
"Give it some time." Toshinori reassured.
A quick training montage was shown that no matter the weather, Zoro is training as hard as he could with Kuina watching over him, even defeating an adult, but even with all of that, Zoro couldn't defeat Kuina... two thousand times in a row.
"Two thousand?!" Many students shouted at the same time.
"Okay, she's a lot better than I thought." Katsuki said, feeling a bit frustrated for Zoro, especially that phase: "You're still as weak as ever, Zoro."
That one made him a little ticked off.
Meanwhile, Jiro raised an eyebrow again when Kuina added, "You're so pathetic. Especially for a boy."
The students whispered to themselves that Zoro couldn't have be weak since he can defeat adults, but Kuina still said he's weaker than her.
Kuina left with mocking words. As Zoro dusted himself off, the other kids asked their Sensei if he was secretly training Kuina since she's his daughter. He said said he didn't. Zoro was able to grow stronger, but so did Kuina.
"Good point." Aizawa said. "Just because you've grown stronger doesn't mean your opponent haven't as well."
Zoro went outside to wash his face, but cursed himself for not defeating her, and he plans to fight her tonight, not noticing Kuina was watching him.
That night, the Sensei was talking to another man about Zoro and how strong he've grown in a year, especially compared to the other pupils. Still, he wasn't able to defeat Kuina. The Sensei claimed that female swordsmen are faced with such difficulties and he can't let her inherit the dojo.
"Wait, why not? She's literally better than Zoro right now." Sero said while Jiro narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Kuina listened to the whole thing, and confronted her father, telling him she'll be the world's greatest swordsman. Her father told her she won't be able to become the world's strongest as a girl.
Distress was on her face as she could only walk off.
Jaws dropped at what he said as Momo quietly realized, "Is that why there weren't any girls in his classes?"
"Well, fuck off, you sexist!" Mina furiously shouted. "Kuina can do it! You literally saw her grow."
Izuku internally screamed once again as the girls visually fumed at what the man said. The guys didn't dare to say anything, though Katsuki added, "She literally defeated Zoro 2000 times. What more do you want?!"
Zoro found Kuina in the rice paddy fields, asked why she's here. Kuina angrily asked the same thing. Zoro asked for their 2001st fight, hoping this would be their last, but this time they'll fight with real swords.
Kuina accepted it. Then she got her sword from what look a storage house. A sword with a white sheath, called the Wado Ichimonji.
Students were worried about the outcome as Iida shouted, "That's dangerous, especially for children like you two!"
Meanwhile Tokoyami stared at the Wado Ichimonji, recognizing it as the blade that's usually in Zoro's mouth in the future. His eyes widen as guesses and theories popped up in his head.
After the eyecatches, Kuina and Zoro were in a grassy field, surrounded by trees. Zoro have two swords while Kuina just have the Wado Ichimonji.
As blades of grass pass by, Zoro charges after her and swung, but only gotten strands of her hair as Kuina blocked his attack. After Zoro was able to block an attack from her, the two separated. They stared at each other, then run towards each other, trading attacks and blocks until Zoro was panting. Kuina mocked that holding two swords is quite heavy, meaning he's still lacked strength. Distracted by her insult, Zoro was knocked off his feet, his swords flying in the air. As Zoro falls, it looked like Kuina was going to kill him, but instead, she stabbed the sword into the dirt next to his head.
This is Kuina's 2001st win.
A sense of relief came over the audience, glad they weren't hurt.
"Geez, did you wanted to kill him?" Denki swiped away sweat from his forehead.
As Kuina cleaned herself, Zoro started to cry, cursing himself for not winning, but Kuina claimed that she should be the one crying, much to Zoro's confusion. She said that when girls grow up, they get weaker than men, so that'll mean he'll catch up soon.
"No, that's not true!" Ochako shouted, practically jumping up from her seat. "Girls can beat guys as long as you keep training. We'll show you."
The girls let out cheers of agreement while Kirishima shouted back, "And we won't hold back!"
Kuina wished she was born a boy, but Zoro told her she shouldn't whine after she've beaten him. Zoro didn't care about all that gender stuff, angry that she's acting like this isn't about skill and that it feels insulting for the hard training he've done, so she shouldn't say all of this.
Zoro asked her to promise him that one of them will be the world's greatest swordsman. Though she called him weak, she agreed to the promise, holding his hand.
The students smiled fondly on the scene, but Izuku let out a deep breathe, preparing himself for what's to come.
There might be another training montage as it was shown Kuina fighting against an adult, then Zoro training outside with big rocks... until three of the students appeared before him with shadowed faces, as if they seen something horrible. Zoro asked what they want.
"Kuina... Kuina's dead."
A silence came over everyone, letting those simple words sink into their heads. The silence was broken when Izuku let out a sob, clinging onto his notebook as tightly as he could.
"No. It can't be." Katsuki's eyes widen as much as they could. "She was alive just a second ago."
"...It always seem like that." Aizawa gravely said, keeping his eyes down.
It rained on that day, on Kuina's funeral. As her coffin traveled across the rice paddies, her father explained her death was caused when she slipped and fell down the store house steps, looking for a sharpening stone.
"No, that can't be how she died!" Katsuki exclaimed over the quiet sobs of the others.
"Not everyone's death is going to be grand, even if you're a prodigy." Toshinori quietly said, not shying away his tears.
Katsuki tried to calm himself down, but he sent a glare towards Izuku. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"...I saw her body as she laid there with a towel over her eyes," Izuku quietly confessed, causing a couple of eyes to land on him. "It wasn't very graphic, but it was sobering."
Katsuki didn't say another word, looking away.
Zoro run through a foggy day to the dojo, with two bamboo swords in his hand. The dojo was empty, and it didn't feel right.
Through his training, Zoro trained as intensely as he could, much more intensely than he had before, but he felt like someone was watching him. When he've broken down those old training dummies, Zoro noticed Kuina's father with the Wado Ichimonji.
In the dojo, it was just the two as his Sensei told him that people are such fragile things, telling him that Kuina practiced in the dojo since she was little and exceeded even the adults. Because of this, she was rather self-conceited until Zoro came around and gave Kuina the goal to become stronger and to begun to break down the walls of female swordsmanship, but he admits that he's just an ordinary parent too. Looking at Zoro, he could feel his pain.
Zoro cried, letting his tears fall to the ground. He asked if he could have Kuina's sword. He wants to become stronger than her, strong enough to reach Heaven. Because of their promise, Zoro has to become the world's strongest swordsman.
His Sensei accepted it, leaving Kuina's spirit and dreams with him, and so, Zoro cried loud enough to be heard from above.
There was still a silence in the room besides the quiet sobs that tried their best to be respectful. Memories of their friends, promises, and bonds fueled their tears, though there are others who solemnly stared at Zoro's promise. What seems like an average day can turn into disaster all of a sudden... A feeling some of them have felt before, a feeling some of them have experienced before.
"To lose your friend at such a young age... Someone who shares your dream..." Tokoyami barely raised his voice above a whisper as Aizawa let out a shuttering sigh.
"But I'm sure Zoro will achieve their dream." Hizashi slightly smiled, giving Aizawa a look as he gently squeeze his shoulder.
All their homeroom teacher could do is a nod.
It's been years later as an older Zoro stood in front of two boulders larger than himself. With all three swords, Zoro easily cut the ropes and sliced the rock into pieces.
Standing in front of her grave, Zoro offered burning intense sticks as his Sensei planned to see him off. Before Zoro could leave, his Sensei told him to take care.
It brought a few of them to smile, feeling like they've watched Zoro grow up themselves, but...
There was an explosion as Zoro woke up just in time to see Luffy shooting out cannonballs at rocks. Usopp told him to give him a chance at this, and on the first try, Usopp was able to shoot down the faraway rock. It was obvious that he didn't expect that, but he tried to pass it off as something he did on purpose, making Luffy cast him as their sniper.
Zoro looked at their childish antics with a smile.
"Good, we're going through some sillier times." Momo wiped away her tears with a tissue.
In Going Merry's kitchen area, Usopp was trying to 'humor' Luffy on the position of captain while Zoro slept and Nami read her book. Soon, Luffy decided they need to fill in one position before they go into the Grand Line: a musician.
Of course, the others called him an idiot.
"Hey, don't come to me when- " Before Hizashi could continue, Aizawa said with a small smirk, "Don't use gags twice."
"Hey, if the kids can use gags more than that, then I can do it too."
Suddenly, they have an intruder on their ship, yelling at them to come out. Their intruder looked looked like an average man in sunglasses with a tattoo of the symbol for 'sea' on his left cheek, though he was currently threatening them with a sword.
Luffy asked who he is, but the man was purely angry, destroying the railing.
"Hey, they just got that boat!" Toru shouted at him.
The man told him that he and his partner have took down many pirates before, asking if he's the one who tried to kill his friend.
Zoro seemed to recognize that voice. Luffy told the mystery man to get out of here, using his rubber abilities to throw him against a wall. Zoro came out, asking if that was Johnny.
While Katsuki quietly cursed (surprisingly) about extras, Ochako questioned, "Zoro knows him?"
Johnny didn't recognize him at first, but through the sunlight, the man saw him as 'Big Bro Zoro.'
Luffy look on in confusion as Zoro asked Johnny about Yosaku. Finally, Luffy asked if Zoro knows them.
"To Be Continued."
"Well, that was a lot more intense episode than I thought." Jiro commented on.
"Everyone has a backstory." Momo slightly smiled.
"Still, do you think we would get more?"
"Zoro's, or just backstories in general?" Toru asked.
"...Backstories in general."
"I mean, we got to get the backstories of the other main characters." Katsuki shrugged.
"Oh, so that would mean we should get Nami's backstory someday. Maybe we get to understand why she's greedy." Ochako clasped her hands together, eager for more One Piece.
AN: Sorry for another one episode chapter, but hopefully you like the reactions at least. Promise I'll have them react to more than one episode at a time in the next chapter.
Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter.
