Ep. 19

Summary

Source-backed · Version: v1 · Original

As the Going Merry approaches the floating restaurant Baratie, Zoro reflects on the promise that shaped his life. As a child, he trained at a sword dojo and repeatedly challenged Kuina, the instructor's exceptionally talented daughter. Although Zoro defeated the other students, he lost to Kuina in every match, including their two-thousandth duel with real swords. Kuina confessed that she feared being surpassed as they grew older because her father believed women could not become the world's strongest swordsman. Zoro rejected that idea and argued that either of them should earn the title through skill rather than gender. They vowed that one would become the greatest swordsman alive. The next day, Kuina died after falling down stairs. Grieving, Zoro asked her father for Kuina's sword, Wado Ichimonji, and promised to fulfill both their dreams. In the present, Zoro's determination is interrupted when the crew meets Johnny and Yosaku, bounty hunters who once worked alongside him. Yosaku is ill from scurvy, and Nami treats him with citrus, leading the group toward Baratie in search of food and information.