KUINA’S WILL! A SISTER’S DETERMINATION!!!!

Alright, first lets get it out of the way, Kuina is dead, and she is not coming back. Oda doesn’t like the concept of reviving dead characters in a manga, as stated in a 2007 interview with Playboy. But there is one question on everyone’s mind, that has sparked countless amounts of theories that Kuina and Tashigi are the same person, and that is, why does Tashigi look almost identical to a young Kuina, and share a similar sword style? I decided to actually sit down and think about it, and with the help of an awesome archaeologist, the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. Tashigi is in fact, Kuina’s sister….. So without further adieu lets dive into the theory! Lets start off by taking a look at the individual personalities and traits between the two.

Kuina (Source Wikia): When first introduced (in a flashback), she was cocky and confident in her ability as a swordsman. However, she was always living with the knowledge that since she was a woman, it would only get harder as she gets older for her to compete with men and had been informed by her father of her future woes. She covered her hesitation and fear with cockiness and acted confident instead of fearful and weak, trying to prove to her father that she could become the world’s greatest swordsmen. Her gender would force her to give up the swordsman’s life as she grew.

Tashigi (Source Wikia): While adept at sword fighting, she is usually clumsy. She is also very well-versed in katanas, knowing their names and origins; even when in danger, she would become obsessed with discovering a famed blade. Tashigi is very brave and reckless when fighting her opponents. She will battle anyone who she considers her enemy, regardless what their reputation is or not. As demonstrated through her fight with others, Tashigi has a “sore loser” personality when it comes to losing a battle. Tashigi’s stated goal is to remove all meito from the hands of those who would use them for their own selfish ambitions. Like Kuina, Tashigi felt that as a woman, she would be perceived as inferior to men as a swordswoman.

So you’re probably thinking, what does the personality and traits of each individual have to do with connecting them as sisters…..Well everything actually, considering the environment they both would have grown up in, and the principles and rules that would have come with it. It serves as the reason as to why Tashigi was never mentioned in Zoro’s flashback, and also serves as why Tashigi is so similar to Kuina (minus the clumsiness, but thats a major part of the theory) First I will give you guys a little synopsis of the theory, and then break down how it all fits.

Kuina and Tashigi were both born as daughters to a Master Swordsman. They both showed great passion in wanting to become strong swordswomen, but due to the fact that Tashigi has a clumsy nature, she was forbidden to enter the Dojo and learn. Kuina would teach Tashigi in private, and after the death of Kuina, Tashigi was forced to train herself, through books, and the basic knowledge of swordplay Kuina had taught her.

So lets get the biggest questions out of the way….Why wasn’t Tashigi ever shown or mentioned in Zoro’s flashback? Think about it for a minute, Koshiro is a firm believer in the fact that woman can not grow up to become strong swordsman, this belief however did not stop him from teaching Kuina how to use a sword. So why wouldn’t he teach Tashigi? The answer is simple, and that is, because of her clumsiness. He would never risk putting his daughter in harms way, and therefore she was forbidden from entering the Dojo, and practicing swordsmanship, therefore Zoro never met Tashigi as a child, and never knew of her existence. And before anyone says “Why didn’t Kuina ever mention Tashigi to Zoro” remember, she didn’t like Zoro in the beginning, and they didn’t become close until the night before she died….

The next question is…..If Koshiro forbid Tashigi from practicing with a sword, then where did she learn to use one? The answer is simple….Kuina taught her. It explains why Tashigi’s style is so similar to Kuina’s, and it also explains why she doesn’t possess the skills of a swordsman who has been trained by a Master all of their life. After Kuina’s death, Tashigi had no other option but to continue to train on her own, with the basic knowledge of sword fighting that her sister left her with.

Koshiro forbidding Tashigi from training as a swordsman not only explains why she never met Zoro, but this also explains another one of Tashigi’s passions, and that is why she is so obsessed with Swords, and learning about them. Considering Tashigi was raised by a Master Swordsman, being told she was not able to train must have been hard on Tashigi, and the only other option she would have to learn about swords after Kuina’s death was by reading.

And finally, there is one last subject I want to touch on, which is another huge question that has been on peoples mind, involving Kuina, and that is, how exactly did someone who trains to become a swordsman, die from falling down a flight of stairs? Well, it’s because she didn’t die from falling down the stairs, she was killed. Now you’re all probably wondering, who and why would someone want to kill Kuina? It’s not like she was next in line to inherit the dojo, because her father wouldn’t allow it due to the fact that she is a female. So to find the answer, I once again went back, and looked at Tashigi, and her characteristics, and it hit me. Tashigi’s goal or dream if you will, is to hunt down every Legendary Sword, and take them from those she considers evil (pirates) But what gave her this mindset? Did something happen in the past involving involving a pirate and one of these Legendary swords? Perhaps a pirate killed someone close to her, in an attempt to take one of these swords, and all of a sudden, the real reason behind Kuina’s death became apparent.

How Kuina died

The night before Kuina died, Zoro had challenged her to a fight using real swords, in which Kuina accepted. Instead of grabbing a regular sword from the Dojo, she took the famed Wado Ichimonji from the Dojo, and set off to the place where her and Zoro would fight. But they weren’t alone, in the Shadows someone was watching their duel, and recognized that the sword Kuina was using, was one of the 21 O Wazamono Grade Swords. After Zoro’s defeat at the hands of Kuina, they had their conversation about their dreams, and made their vows, after which, they went their separate ways. Kuina however, was attacked by the person who was lying in wait, hoping to get his hand on the sword she was carrying. During the struggle, Kuina managed to fend off her attacker, but not before receiving a fatal wound in the process. The attacker however managed to escape.

But why would Koshiro lie to Zoro about how Kuina died? The reason is because Koshiro had high hopes for Zoro, as he saw that he possessed great skill and determination. He knew that if he would have told Zoro the real reason how Kuina died, Zoro would have blamed himself, and spent the rest of his life tracking down the man who killed her. What Koshiro did not know however, was that by telling his other daughter the real reason, it would inspire, and make her even more determined to pick up a sword and fight. It made Tashigi despise those who would pick up a Legendary Sword and use it for their own selfish reasons, as the man who killed her sister was looking to do just that. Had it not been for people like that in the world, Kuina would still be alive. Zoro shares the same principles and dreams as Kuina, he always had, even when she was alive. But his will was always his own, he didn’t pick up Kuina’s will, Tashigi did…

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