Author's Note
It's starting to get tiring having to clarify the formatting every time, so from now on we'll keep it simple:
"Dialogue."
'Thought'
End of the author's note.
The moment it was said, Zoro shot toward Toji.
He drew back his fist with precision and aimed for the chin. Toji, to his great surprise, slipped aside without much trouble. The movement was instinctive, almost effortless.
'I obviously wasn't going all out… but still. His reflexes are insane.'
The monstrous potential he glimpsed in his younger brother made him grin.
He began to move faster, testing angles, shifting his footing, varying his rhythm. Toji struggled more than before, yet he still managed to neutralize every attempt.
Straight right? Dodged.
Jab? Taken.
Front kick? Blocked.
None of the strikes truly put him on the defensive.
Eventually, Zoro stopped holding back. He launched himself forward at full speed, closing the distance in a blink.
No matter how gifted Toji was, he lacked real combat experience. Against an opponent physically stronger and now completely serious, he was quickly overwhelmed.
The blows started landing.
He could no longer evade them.
Zoro finished with a brutal punch to the liver.
That was the end of it.
Toji collapsed, folding in on himself, gasping for air with his arms wrapped around his stomach.
Zoro lowered his guard, seemingly indifferent.
"Alright, that's the end of the first round. Get up. Let's go over what you did wrong."
No answer. The pain was too intense.
"Come on, don't be such a wimp. A hit like that shouldn't be a big deal."
He didn't seem to grasp how hard he had struck… until Toji tried to stand.
The moment he straightened up, everything he had eaten came back up.
Bleurgh!
Bleurgh!
"Halt…
Halt …"
He kept throwing up, unable to stop.
Seeing him like that caused a faint pang in Zoro's chest.
'Maybe I overdid it… I've never been in a real fight. I don't even know the extent of my own strength.'
He approached more slowly this time.
When he reached him, he extended his hand… then hesitated just inches from his back.
"Halt… big brother…"
Toji turned his face toward him. Thick tears streamed down his cheeks.
Zoro dropped his hesitation.
He placed a hand on his back and gently rubbed it.
"I'm sorry, Toji. I couldn't hold back."
He helped him to his feet, brushed off the dust, wiped away the dirt clinging to his clothes.
Despite the apology, Toji kept crying.
'Alright… let's lighten the mood.'
"Still, if you hadn't resisted so much, I wouldn't have gone that far. You did pretty well. Obviously you're nowhere near my level… but you've got talent."
The tears gradually stopped. A small, shy smile appeared.
Zoro extended his fist.
"Not bad, you little cockroach."
Toji mirrored the gesture, and their knuckles tapped lightly.
The moment could have stayed warm.
"Big brother… what's an ankle?"
Zoro's smile vanished. A vein throbbed on his forehead.
He pulled his hand back and turned away.
"Anyway. Let's talk about what you messed up."
He rested a hand on his chin, thinking despite his lack of real battle experience.
"There are several minor flaws, but we'll focus on the most important ones."
He pointed at Toji.
"You never tried to attack me. Not once."
Silence followed.
'I can't expect him to understand without explaining.'
"You only dodged, blocked, or absorbed the hits. That's not a bad strategy in itself—your opponent tires out faster. But if your enemy has greater stamina, you're just postponing your own defeat."
Toji nodded slowly.
"Take your stance again. We'll fix the second issue."
The moment he settled into position, Zoro struck.
A light tap to the chin.
Then to the throat.
To the solar plexus.
To the liver.
Toji bent under the sequence.
"Your guard doesn't protect any vital areas. Actually, you don't even have a proper guard.
If I catch you off guard, the fight ends
instantly."
He stepped back, giving him time to process.
Then he resumed his own stance.
"Copy this. It doesn't have to be perfect. I'll adjust it."
Toji imitated the posture awkwardly. He looked uncomfortable.
'It doesn't suit him… but these are just the fundamentals. We'll adapt later.'
Zoro stepped closer and examined the obvious gaps.
"You're too stiff. Round your back slightly."
He pressed between his shoulder blades while steadying his hips.
"Your arms are too high. Lower them to mouth level and keep them close to your body. They should shield your chin, your plexus, and your liver."
He then studied his legs.
"Given the Heavenly Restriction, the whole right-handed or left-handed distinction barely matters… let's assume you're ambidextrous."
"Your feet are too aligned. Offset them. Put the foot corresponding to your striking hand in the back."
Toji hesitated.
Left foot back.
Then right.
Then left again.
The scene repeated several times.
Zoro sighed.
"Fine. I'll decide."
He positioned himself behind him, slid his right leg back, and adjusted the tilt of his torso so it followed the angle of his hips.
Satisfied, he returned to stand in front of him.
"Now that your stance is slightly less terrible, we'll move on."
He raised an open palm in front of Toji.
"Hit it."
Toji hesitated, then drew back his fist and drove it into Zoro's hand.
Zoro absorbed the impact with apparent ease.
"That punch was awful."
"What?"
"It doesn't even deserve to be called a punch. It's an insult to the very idea of one."
He was exaggerating on purpose.
Still, his hand trembled faintly.
'That had weight…'
He adopted his own stance again.
"For the rest of your training, I'm going to teach you how to throw a real punch."
He slowly raised his fist, demonstrating the alignment of the wrist, the rotation of the shoulder, the engagement of the hips.
"A punch doesn't start in the arm. It starts from the ground..
He struck the air. The motion was clean, controlled, efficient.
"The feet push. The hips rotate. The shoulder follows. The fist only delivers what the body generates."
He gestured toward Toji's legs.
"Try again. This time, use your whole body."
Author's note
I'm not going to lie, today's chapter is a bit of a snoozefest.
I haven't had much inspiration today. So send the power stones to motivate me and allow me to write better quality chapters.