A Certain Demonic Marimo and A Crisis Averted
*Author Note: This chapter came out a little longer than most due the myself setting up future chapters. Please Enjoy.*
Year 1511 Mid April
11 years before canon starts
Shimotsuki Village Outskirts in East Blue
Hunter POV
It seems like the other part of my unique Observation Haki ability is to identify the true potential of specific things or people that haven't met it yet. It would explain why I could barely see them on people like Gaban and Shanks since their Haki is much stronger than mine. I do wonder why I couldn't see Uta's or Monster's information at all even though neither really showed much of any usage of Haki.
That's besides the point. So Kuina has the potential to match her ancestor Ryuma. I wonder if it is just in Swordsmanship or if it's in overall strength. If it is the latter, it would explain some theories I have heard in my past life in passing. Even if it's just the former, she would still make for an excellent member of my future crew.
While in my thoughts, Kuina tries to pull her hand away but finds out that she can't. She calls over to the adults "Grandpa, he won't let go." Gaban comes over and knocks on my head to shake me back into reality. I let go of her hand just as she tried to pull again so she fell.
I reach my hand out to her and say "Sorry about that. I sometimes get lost in my own thoughts when something puzzles me." Kuina grabs my hand and I pull her up effortlessly. Kuina, kinda shocked at my physical strength, says "So what puzzled you?"
Not wanting to say the truth, I blurt out the first thing that came to my mind "How can someone have such beautiful yet disciplined hands on such a young body? She must put her whole being into training. I would definitely want her as a sparring partner."
A few awkward seconds pass before the two old men begin laughing with each other. Gaban says while wiping a tear "So that's why Little Uta could get you to do just about anything. You got your father's weakness to women." Kozaburo chimes in with "Her father would be happy to hear that. He often worries if she could get a husband with how much of a tomboy she is."
Kuina, hearing the two old men, develops an intense blush and smacks me across the face as hard as she could. I barely move. Kuina sees that and looks down at her hand to see how red and somewhat swollen it is. She fights back a scream but her grandfather notices she might have broken her right hand.
He quickly tourniquets her hand up and says "Dang kid. How hard is your head? Kuina needs special shinai to account for her hand strength. I use the wood your uncle grows to make them and she still needs to sub in a fresh one every two weeks or so."
I turn towards Kuina, who is fighting back tears, and say while scratching the back of my head "Sorry about that but look at the bright side. You can train your non-dominant hand to match your dominant hand for more even power in your swings until your hand heals." A thought passed through all their heads simultaneously "Is he an idiot?"
Kozaburo says to Kuina "I guess we will have to postpone our training for a bit until your hand heals. You should go to the doc to get it checked out properly." I interject with "The tourniquet you used should be appropriate since she only sprained her wrist but let me tie it right for her injury." I effortlessly retie Kuina's bandages for a sprain.
Kuina stares at me for a moment and bluntly says "Are you smart or a moron?" I simply say "I am me. Also, your wrist should be good in a month." She thanks me and she runs back to what I assume is her home. Kozaburo and Gaban place their hands on my shoulders and Gaban says "You've got a tough road ahead of you if she is one of your goals."
I look back at them as if to say why. They shake their heads and Kozaburo says "We'll tell ya when ya get older." As we are going into Kozburo's home, a young boy's voice calls out "Kuina, where are you? It's time for our next duel and I am gonna beat you this time with my new three sword style." A green haired boy falls out of the brush with several shinai on his back.
Kozaburo says to the boy "Zoro you just missed her but she won't be able to spar with ya for a little while since she sprained her wrist." The boy, now known as Zoro, yells back "Ah talking monkey!" Kozaburo then bonks Zoro on the head with his sheathed katana and yells back "How many times do I have to tell ya I ain't a monkey?!"
Zoro rubs his and complains "What do you mean she sprained her wrist? How did that happen?" I cut in to tell the boy "I am the one at fault for Kuina spraining her wrist. What do you need her for anyway?" Zoro jumps to his feet and pulls out three of the shinai he is carrying. He goes into a haphazard version of his 3 Sword Style stance and says through the sword in his mouth "Since it's your fault, you gotta spar with me until she gets better."
I say to Kozaburo "Do you have a shinai about the size of my blade?" as I hold up Ikusei as I get ready to put her down. |Smart choice, young Dark Prince. If you sparred with anyone but your Uncle using me at this point in your sword training, it would be the most dreadful of an outcome.| Ikusei said. She, like Byakko, is rather quiet most of the time but will give me advice from time to time.
Kozaburo throws a shinai to me which I catch without looking. Zoro's eyes shine at that with him thinking 'cool'. I take my stance where I have my knees bent with my left in front and my blade's guard near my chin in a thrusting position. Seeing us both ready, Gaban says "Begin!"
In the next moment, my shinai is at Zoro's neck. The match was over as soon as it began. Zoro in a surprised yet disappointed tone says "How?" I respond by saying "A couple reasons actually. First off is that I am much faster than you so your eyes can't follow. Second is that your style and therefore your stance still hasn't been perfected yet so there are flaws. Third and most importantly is that I am used to facing people much stronger than you on a daily basis."
Zoro says "I am gonna beat you next time." and runs back down the path before going back into the brush and ending back up in front us. Kozaburo chuckles and says "Stay on the path and maybe you'll make it back to the dojo for dinner this time." Zoro runs back down the path until he is out of sight.
Gaban says to me "I see you are still developing that movement form to be a part of your fighting style. I am glad you didn't use your devil fruit as well." Kozaburo says in slight surprise "So the kid is already developing his own style and has a devil fruit. Gaban my friend, why has he really come here?" Gaban and I respond in unison "So I/he can have a proper childhood."
Year 1513 Late August
9 years before canon starts
Shimotsuki Village in East Blue
POV Shimotsuki Koushirou
As much as I would hate to admit it, I am glad dad's friend dropped off his nephew to learn swordsmanship from me. He is a genius when it comes to the sword. I would have made him the heir to the dojo but refused the first time I asked him saying "I already had the perfect person to inherit the dojo." The only other boy coming to mind is Zoro but that kid is too rough like an unpolished gem stone while Hunter is a diamond that just needs to be shined.
I've tried to ask my daughter for her opinion but she kept claiming that she'll inherit the dojo. I kept telling her time and time again that no matter how talented she is that women are unsuitable to be warriors. I have stopped saying that as of recently since Hunter heard me say my usual spiel once and he laughed. We later spoke in private with him saying "You say that sexist crap when some of the strongest warriors of the world are women."
He elaborated on strong female fighters from the marines like Vice-Admirals Gion and Tsuru to terrifying pirates like Charlotte Linlin aka Big Mom. He also went on to say that he can tell that my daughter has the potential to be equal to our great ancestor Sword God Ryuma. Since that day, I have gone against my fatherly instincts and tried to subtly push Hunter and my daughter together so that way they can inherit the dojo as a couple.
Hunter isn't just a genius swordsman but he is also developing his own martial art style he calls Two Tiger style. The style he is developing seems to be broken into four katas which he called Adamantine, Flame, Redirection and Water. Each seems to be focused on one aspect of unarmed combat. The training I have seen him do makes me question his sanity. One training is basically him constantly twisting his hands and legs while striking various things from water to sand to sheets of metal dad had him make.
Did I forget to mention my dad is also teaching him blacksmithing alongside the other training he already does? I honestly don't know when the kid sleeps since he is almost always the first one in the dojo making sure it is clean for the day's classes. It is really hard to believe he is the same age as Zoro since they are so different from each other yet somehow the completely same person.
POV Zoro
Today is the day I finally beat Hunter. Since he got here and taken the spot of head disciple from Kuina, I have lost to him a total of 3463 times. The funny thing is that he always refuses to be called the head disciple since he believes only Kuina can be it. He also gave me some advice in developing my three sword style, mainly exercises meant to strengthen certain parts of my body like my feet, hands, and jaw.
He also refused to be a part of the promise Kuina and I made yesterday to become the strongest Swordsman. When we asked him why, he said that he plans on being untethered to any title. He just wants to be free and if he ends up the strongest swordsman or king of the pirates then so be it. With resolve that weak, he will lose to me sooner or later. I hope I beat him today.
POV Kuina
It's been far too long since that infuriating boy first arrived here. Because of him, I couldn't train for two months. My dad made me act like any other girl during that time. I was also disappointed Zoro didn't try and challenge me anyway. It turns out that Zoro was challenging Hunter to a duel too many times in a day even to the point Zoro tried to sneak attack Hunter to secure a victory.
As much as the boy annoys me, over the last two years I have grown the most as a swordsman. My dad even let up on me when I said I would inherit the dojo. I don't know why but I think Hunter is the reason behind both. I can't help but say his advice, as juvenile as it sounds at times, is what I seem to need to hear when I need it.
Yesterday, he made himself look like he is too good for a promise between swordsmen. Granted I can understand Zoro not being a part of it since his weird style hasn't buffed itself out yet but Hunter always treated me like an equal unlike most of the adults I have beaten in spars. Hunter always faced me at just above my level and as demeaning that sounds, I appreciate it since he won't tell me his workout routine and Zoro's, while extreme as it is, pales in comparison from what I have seen Hunter do.
That reminds me that Zoro was able to get a pair of real swords to practice with from Grandpa. To face Zoro in today's spars, I was able to sneak my grandpa's prized creation, Wado Ichimonji, from my dad's storage room last night. I pull the sword out from underneath my bed and look at it. The sword is beautiful.
I unsheathe the sword and immediately feel like I am being judged as weak by someone or something. Wado Ichimonji suddenly feels a lot heavier. I can barely carry it now. I strap it to my back so I can carry it the easiest. I finally leave my room and head down the stairs as quietly as I can to not alert my dad. My back suddenly gets even heavier, causing me to stumble down the stairs.
As I am falling down the stairs, my life passes before my eyes making me realize why Hunter refused the promise. He knew I wasn't giving it my all. I may have been getting physically stronger and more skilled but mentally I haven't grown at all. I still seem like a little kid playing with swords.
A shine catches my eye as I see Wado Ichimonji slide out of the sheath and land itself right where I am about to land with its blade up. Am I going to die? If I am, I guess this was as far I could go as a swordsman. In my panic, the pressure from what I know now to be from Wado Ichimonji causes my consciousness to begin to fade. Instead of the blade piercing me as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I feel a broad yet small back catching me instead. As I fall completely into that back, I feel a slight burning feeling on my cheek. Towards the end of my consciousness, I hear the voice say "I gotcha. Don't worry, you're all good."
{20 minutes early}
POV Hunter
I am really glad I figured out how to concentrate sleep into a focused amount through meditation because I have really overloaded myself these last two years between improving my Swordsmanship, recreating the Niko Style from Kengan Ashura from memory, and learning blacksmithing for the sake of becoming more in tune with my devil fruit's Metal aspect all while still improving my physicality. I did all that while dealing with near constant duels from a certain marimo that won't take no for an answer.
The reason I chose to recreate the Niko Style as my unarmed fighting style is two fold. First, I remember it as one of the strongest and most effective martial arts in all fiction. Second and the most obvious is the name meaning of Two Tiger style fits the Tiger motif I kinda got going with my devil fruit. I am really glad that some of the moves from the Niko Style are similar to the Rokushiki since the Redhair Pirates sent me a book with the Rokushiki Training Manual inside for my 10th birthday.
With that book, I was able to get certain aspects of the adamantine kata from the tekkai and shigan, aspects of the flame kata from soru and geppo, aspects of the water kata from kami-e and aspects of the redirection kata from all of them. They are just different enough that when I become a pirate in the future, my usage of the Niko Style won't be confused with Rokushiki and cause an unwarranted raise in my bounty for knowing 'hidden' marine intel.
The only thing of note that really happened over the last two years is an odd duo that came to the island last year to get supplies. They were both off putting for different reasons. One had the proportions of MODAK while the cloaked one just left me on edge. It was almost like being in the center of a storm. Because they were so distinct, I distinctly remember seeing them talk to Koushirou a few times over the few weeks I assumed they were here for.
It was mainly the cloaked one that talked to him. It was like the cloaked man wanted something from Koushirou. After the 5th attempt that led to a slight argument between the two, the man left the island and left a Den Den Mushi for Koushirou to 'keep in touch' as I overheard on the wind.
As I finish my morning meditation to the sunrise, I hear Kozaburo call for me. I hop down from the roof and head to the forge where I know he is almost always at this time of day. Even though he is a master past his prime, he never lets his craft suffer. He will smith straight from dawn to dusk at times if nobody stops him.
I find Kozaburo resting at the doorway to the forge. He says to me "We are canceling your forging lesson for today. I want you to take a day off. I also want you to force Kuina to take a day off of training too. I have a bad feeling in my gut about today."
Trusting his gut since it kept him alive on his journey in the New World, I head over to the dojo. On my way there, I see a certain marimo walking towards the dojo as well. He is now sporting a pair of katanas that were some of the first things I forged a couple months back as a test. They were actually the first swords that came out acceptable according to Kozaburo. They aren't to the level of being worthy of a meito but they are well balanced enough blades.
I was surprised when Kozaburo gifted them to Zoro yesterday but he was their owner since a student gives their first success to their teacher. Zoro sees me and rushes over to say "Hey, let's face each other with real swords today. I was able to get a pair from the blacksmith you stay with. Kuina will also have one, too. She said they had a good one in her father's storage room."
Recalling yesterday's promise between my two friends, Kozaburo's gut feeling, and a One Piece meme from my past life, it all clicked. Forgetting Zoro's existence for a moment, I full-powered blitzed to the dojo using as many 'Jet Step's as I could. Between Kozaburo's lessons on swords and Ikusei's tutelage as a sword herself, I knew what was going to happen.
Wado Ichimonji, one of Kozaburo's prized creations, is a sword with the meaning of 'Straight Line through the Path of Harmony'. Kozaburo said that the sword's spirit could be best described as a mirror copy of himself. That means if Wado Ichimonji doesn't find your resolve for your goal strong enough, it will cut you down. That would explain how Kuina died. She didn't die due to falling down the stairs like it was stated. She was cut down by her grandfather's sword. They hid her cause of death to keep the family's honor and to keep Zoro from giving up on his dream.
I arrive in front of the dojo and the Shimotsuki family's attached house. I see an open window and I launch myself through it as a gust of wind. I reform and see the stairs to the upper level just as Wado Ichimonji imbeds its hilt into the ground. I don't see any blood on it so I know Kuina hasn't been cut by it yet.
I peer up and see Kuina resigning herself to death. I jet over to the space in between the sword and the falling Kuina. Kuina falls into my back and I fall forward slightly due to my lack of balance in the heat of this moment. Not caring about myself at this moment, I ignore the burning sensation on the left side of my neck and say to Kuina "I gotcha. Don't worry, you're all good."
|You stupid boy! How dare you sacrifice your future for someone with no resolve!| a gruff voice says to me. That must be the spirit of Wado Ichimonji. "I ain't gonna die from this little of a wound." I say as I spit out some blood to the sword still in my neck, collarbone and part of my jaw. |The Young Prince is most likely to survive your judgement, Peasant.| Ikusei snipes in.
Koushirou, having heard the noise, walks in the room to say "What's going on…". He never finishes as he now sees Kuina passed on my back with his father's sword in my neck. I tilt my head slightly to him and say "Yo Sensei, Mind taking your daughter off my back?" He promptly passes out himself.
So what am I gonna do now? I need to put Kuina down carefully so I can deal with Wado Ichimonji but I can't move too much otherwise Wado Ichimonji will fall and my blood will pour out my neck. I can feel that the blade is really close to my carotid artery.
Following his advice, I go into a meditative state of breathing and focus on the element of metal found in my body. As I picture it coming to the surface, the exposed blood takes on a grayish hue. Feeling the blade securely a temporary part of me, I stand up straight and the sword follows. It just hangs from where it cut me. |Clever boy. Your resolve to survive has impressed me. You may take me as your blade.| the gruff voice of Wado Ichimonji cuts into the silence.
Kozaburo is prideful as a smith so it makes sense the sword, whose spirit is most similar to him, is prideful as well. I walk over to the couch in the living room and, as gently as I can, place Kuina on said couch. I then head out the back door to the outdoor training field. I am glad it is empty at this time of day since I don't think most of the students here will be able to stomach what I am about to do.
I grip Wado Ichimonji by the lowest point within my reach. I then slightly loosen my grip on the sword through the 'Iron Blood' method I had done earlier. Finally, I hook the toes of my right foot into the tsuba. Now ready, I yank Wado Ichimonji out of me and as quickly as I can, reseal the wound with the method I did earlier. This should do until I can get to the doc's house.
I sheath Wado Ichimonji and go to wake up Koushirou. I kick the man in the ribs lightly and say "Wake up you squeamish excuse for a sword instructor." He gets up and says while rubbing his side "Oh Hunter, you're here already? You would believe the dream I had. I walk in here to see the sword my father had me lock away in the storage room pierced into y..". His sentence doesn't finish yet again as he turns to face me and sees Wado Ichimonji in my hand and the side of my neck discolored gray.
He whips his head around to look for his daughter. He sees Kuina lying on the couch with a slight cut on her cheek where the sword grazed her when it pierced me. He turns back to me and asks seriously like he was a dad whose daughter was caught sneaking out with a boy "What happened?". I explained the events that occurred yesterday to now from the promise to his father's gut feeling to me ripping the sword out my neck.
Before he could go off on me for potentially getting killed, a knock on the door occurs. Koushirou heads to the door but before he gets the chance to answer it, it slams open and an out-of-breath Zoro says "Why'd you run ahead of me you bastard? We were heading to the same place." As Zoro composes himself, he finally notices the situation he walked into.
Koushirou, who was able to calm himself as well, turns to Zoro and says "Class is canceled today. Please tell the other students on your way home." Koushirou raises his eyebrow and continues "That is if you don't get lost as soon as you go out the door." With that said, Zoro ran out the door.
I look at Koushirou and say "So, what should we do now?" Koushirou sighs heavily and responds with "I put the sword back in the storage room while you put Kuina in her bed. We'll continue this conversation after she wakes up." We did just as he said and then we waited.