Storm on the Horizon (Part 1)
Chapter 7 – Storm on the Horizon (Part 1)
~1250 words
---
The mountain air had shifted.
Raiku stood atop a windswept ridge overlooking the sea, his body still, his tail flicking slightly behind him as if responding to the unease threading through the air. The same waves that once greeted him with calm now crashed harder, more erratic. Nature, it seemed, sensed something he hadn't.
Yet.
> [System Alert: Anomalous Ki fluctuation detected – 172 kilometers southeast]
Threat Level: Unknown
Tracking Enabled
He closed the alert without reacting. Whatever it was, it wasn't moving yet. He had time. And time was a weapon, like any other. He'd learned that during these last six months.
He turned to the dummy he had set up earlier. It was barely holding itself together from repeated beatings.
Raiku took his stance — balanced heel-to-toe with his arms loose, relaxed, but firm.
"Crater Fang," he whispered.
He launched forward, planted his right foot, and twisted into a compact, grounded punch. Ki rippled down his arm as he struck the chest of the dummy.
The ground split beneath them.
The wood shattered — again.
He exhaled, satisfied.
A slight rustle came from behind.
"You'll run outta trees if you keep punching that way, kid," Roshi muttered as he approached, arms folded and eyes hidden behind his ever-present shades.
"I'm trying to perfect it," Raiku said calmly, brushing dust from his knuckles. "There's always one more imperfection."
"Hmph. That pride of yours is louder than your footwork."
Raiku's tail curled slightly. "I'm a prince. Perfection is my obligation."
Roshi smirked. "And humility is your teacher. Guess we'll see which wins."
---
Later that evening, Raiku sat beside the old turtle master, sipping a bowl of miso he'd made himself as part of his daily chores. The stars blinked overhead.
Roshi didn't say anything for a long while, letting the silence speak.
Then, at last, he sighed. "Six months. You've changed a lot, boy. Not just your fists. You listen more. Breathe more. Punch less—well, not much less."
Raiku chuckled lightly. "And you've grown more tolerable."
"Heh." Roshi scratched his beard. "I've been training punks for decades. You've got something rare, though."
Raiku's eyes didn't move from the stars. "Potential?"
"No. Direction."
---
That night, Raiku dreamed of fire again.
Not a battle — a memory.
---
FLASHBACK – PLANET VEGETA
A young Raiku sat cross-legged before the Queen. Her golden eyes shone in the candlelight, calm and focused.
"You do not have to become your brother," she said gently, brushing his spiky hair back.
Vegeta had just left the chamber in fury, frustrated over Raiku's refusal to crush a lower-ranked child during training.
"He's strong," Raiku murmured. "I want to be strong too."
"Strength without conscience is just destruction," she said. "You carry both royal blood and royal burden. Choose who you are before others choose it for you."
Raiku looked into her eyes.
"I want to be both—fierce and merciful."
Her smile lingered. "Then walk carefully, my star."
---
He awoke just before sunrise. Sweat dampened his brow.
And then the System pulsed.
> [Anomaly Confirmed: Hostile Ki converging at 42 km/h toward village region – 58 km from current location]
Designation: TAO PAI PAI
Classification: Human Assassin – Martial Elite
Objective: Unknown
Kill Count: 73 Confirmed
Aura Type: Cold Precision | Emotionless | Refined Ki Flow
System Note: Technique Efficiency > 92%
Threat Level: ★★★☆☆ – "High Danger"
Raiku rose to his feet slowly, fists clenched.
So… the horizon had teeth.
---
Three hours later, he was crouched atop a cliff, watching smoke rise from a small, remote village down below. His eyes narrowed. It hadn't been there yesterday.
Tao Pai Pai stood in the center square.
Calm. Unmoving.
Bodies laid around him — not dead, but unconscious. Some groaning. All defeated.
Raiku's eyes darted across the landscape. There were no explosions. No senseless destruction. Just… precision. Everything was too quiet.
Tao's pink robe fluttered slightly in the wind.
Raiku felt his system flare.
> [Analysis: Adversary emits minimal Ki leakage. Suppressed style. Likely internalized control.]
Counter-Options:
– Speed-based harassment
– Feint and strike
– Pressure test movement memory
Caution: Underestimate = Death
Raiku stepped off the cliff and landed with a soft thud on the dirt below.
He approached the square, each step carefully measured.
Tao turned slowly, not surprised.
"You're not from this village," the assassin said plainly.
"I'm not," Raiku answered, voice even.
"Yet here you are. Interference?"
Raiku tilted his head. "You're hurting people. I'm correcting that."
Tao glanced at him.
No flicker of emotion.
Just analysis.
"I've never seen your style. Who trained you?"
Raiku smiled faintly. "A wise pervert and a roaring god."
Tao's brow lifted slightly — his first visible reaction.
"I see."
He moved.
Raiku barely had time to breathe before the man was in front of him.
A sweeping leg strike caught his shin.
Raiku flipped backward, landing in a crouch.
So fast—
He activated Mirage Talon.
Blink.
He struck from the left.
But Tao twisted, dodging and slamming an elbow toward Raiku's back.
Raiku vanished again mid-motion — the second image wasn't real.
Moonfang Drop activated.
With a fluid motion, he redirected the momentum and aimed a hybrid strike at Tao's chest.
Impact.
Tao flew back.
Not far — just enough.
He landed gracefully.
No injury.
But his gaze had sharpened.
"You're not just fast. You're refined. Who are you?"
Raiku's eyes narrowed.
"I'm no one you'd recognize."
And for the first time… Raiku activated Lunar Surge Mode.
The air snapped as the Great Ape's essence shimmered faintly behind him.
His tail unfurled wide.
His eyes lit up.
> [Status Buff: Lunar Surge Mode – 60 seconds remaining]
Tao Pai Pai blinked once — and for the first time in years, retreated half a step.
Raiku stepped forward.
"Your death count ends here."