In the quiet courtyard, the pure moonlight stretched the two small figures standing in the yard at this moment.
Lin Mo tossed the bamboo sword back to Zoro.
Zoro fumbled to catch it, his eyes filled with shock. "Could it be... that stone was shattered by you? But you didn't even strike the stone just now! What exactly happened?"
Lin Mo glanced at Zoro, a faint smile at the corner of his lips, and spoke: "Listen carefully, Zoro. There are swordsmen in this world who cannot cut anything, but such swordsmen can use the same sword to cut through all things in the world. Truly powerful swordsmen can protect what they want to protect, and also cut off what they wish to sever. Your path of learning is still long, so keep working hard."
After speaking, Lin Mo patted Zoro's shoulder lightly, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.
The evening breeze blew, rustling the clothes and hair of the person walking away.
Zoro stood there, staring at his back, his mind swirling with countless thoughts.
A swordsman who can't cut anything but can still cut through all things in the world?
If it were before, he would never have believed that such a person existed.
But just now, Lin Mo had shown him through his actions that a truly powerful swordsman could indeed do this.
He had achieved such a feat with just an ordinary bamboo sword.
And they were almost the same age…
That guy really is a monster.
"Hey! What are you doing in the yard by yourself?" At that moment, Kuina's cold voice reached him.
Zoro snapped back to reality. He didn't look at Kuina but instead stared at the shattered stones on the ground. His expression turned serious, and his eyes were filled with determination. "Kuina, that guy Lin Mo is really strong!"
Kuina followed Zoro's gaze and saw the scattered stones. She immediately guessed it was Lin Mo's doing but wasn't surprised. "Tch! It's a waste to use Wado Ichimonji to cut stones."
"No!" Zoro picked up the bamboo sword Lin Mo had used. "He used this sword."
"What?" Kuina glanced at the bamboo sword in Zoro's hand, her eyes flashing with surprise, disbelief in her voice. "A bamboo sword? He used a bamboo sword to cut a stone? How is that possible!"
"It's true!" Zoro said seriously. "Kuina, I think I finally understand why Sensei said those things to you."
Elsewhere, after leaving the Ichi Shin Dojo, Lin Mo planned to visit the village's tavern to sample the local wine.
Although the wine Yoshiro had given him was indeed unique and enough for him to drink for a while, it couldn't stop his curiosity in seeking more fine wines.
However, when he arrived at the only tavern in Frostmoon Village, he happened to run into the tavern owner closing up.
The tavern owner locked the door, wiped his sweat, and was about to go home. When he turned around and saw Lin Mo, he was startled. After realizing that it was just a child, he frowned and asked, "Hey, kid, why aren't you home at this hour? What are you doing here?"
Lin Mo asked helplessly, "Don't you open at night?"
After a moment of hesitation, the tavern owner continued, "You must be from out of town. My tavern only operates during the day. If you want to buy wine for your elders, you'll have to come back in the morning."
After saying this, the tavern owner left.
Lin Mo didn't say much and was about to return to the Ichi Shin Dojo.
On the way, he stopped at a stall selling wine jars.
After some thought, he chose one, paid for it, and hung the newly bought wine gourd on his waist.
A few figures, hidden under dark green cloaks, passed by him from behind.
This aura...
Lin Mo turned to look at them.
At the same time, the leader of the group turned and glanced at him.
Their gazes met.
Lin Mo's expression remained unchanged, and his demeanor was calm.
The leader's eyes flashed with a trace of surprise.
The surrounding vendors had lanterns lighting up the area, revealing a bit of the faces of those hidden in the shadows under their cloaks.
Especially when Lin Mo noticed the red square tattoo on the man's left cheek, he immediately recognized the person.
It was Monkey D. Dragon!
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, the son of Marine hero Garp, and also the future father of the Pirate King, Luffy.
"Hey, Dragon, what are you doing here? We can't stay too long. It'll be troublesome if we draw attention. Let's move quickly," the person walking next to Dragon, with an extraordinarily large face, whispered in an effort to keep their voices down.
Another companion behind them quietly muttered, "Ivankov, your terrifyingly big face already drew attention... "
"Ha! What did you say? Say it again!" Ivankov immediately retaliated with a headbutt.
The person who was hit teared up but dared not complain.
Dragon withdrew his gaze and continued walking, a slight smile on his lips. "Interesting."
A few minutes later.
Inside the tea room at the back of the Ichi Shin Dojo.
Yoshiro wasn't surprised by the sudden arrival of these guests.
"I thought you'd be coming in a couple of days," Yoshiro said with a smile, taking a sip of his tea. "Looks like the plan went smoothly."
"Not bad," Dragon said, looking at the steaming teacup in front of him. He took a sip. "This tea tastes good."
"Really! Yoshiro, I want wine!" Ivankov shouted. "When we came here before, you always had good wine ready for us. Why are you being so stingy today?"
Yoshiro smiled and shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to serve you. It's just that all the wine I've been keeping is already given away."
"Ha? Given away? Really?" Ivankov asked, surprised. "Even though I begged you for more, you wouldn't give it to me. Who is so important that you gave all your wine away?"
"It was that little kid, right?" Dragon, still sipping his tea, casually remarked.
Ivankov asked, "Huh? A little kid? What kid? Which kid?"
"You mean Lin Mo?" Yoshiro asked in surprise.
"Lin Mo? Who's that? The little kid you were just talking about?" Ivankov asked, confused.
"I saw him on the street earlier," Dragon continued, "He had Wado Ichimonji and a wine gourd hanging from his waist. When he saw me, he wasn't scared at all. And I could tell, that kid's strength isn't any less than Kuina's. Looks like you've got a good apprentice."
Ivankov added, "Saw him on the street? How come I didn't see him?"
"If he really was my apprentice, it would be great," Yoshiro sighed with a smile.
"What?" Dragon lowered his teacup and looked at Yoshiro in surprise. "He's not your apprentice?"
Yoshiro nodded. "I wish he would stay at the dojo, but he's unwilling to."
Ivankov cut in, "Hey hey, are you guys ignoring me? Stop ignoring me!"
After a brief silence, Dragon ignored Ivankov and continued to look at Yoshiro. "You gave him your treasured wine and Wado Ichimonji as rewards for his victory. Since he wasn't willing to stay, it must mean he has something else important to do."
"Maybe," Yoshiro took another sip of tea. "Actually, Wado Ichimonji and the wine were his spoils after defeating Kuina. You can't really say I gave them to him."
"You knew he would win all along and gave him the wine and the famous sword as rewards. That's almost like giving it to him for free."
Dragon had just finished speaking when the sound of footsteps grew louder from outside the corridor.
The few people sitting in the tea room all turned toward the open sliding door.
A small figure, with two swords and a wine gourd hanging from his waist, walked past them casually.