Chapter 10: Chapter 10
Nearly 2 weeks goes by for Devon to heal up from the fight, but it was valuable time that Ronin did not waste. During this time, Ronin trained with Genko, polishing his skills, learning his weaknesses, increasing his battle awareness and even getting ideas for new attacks. But there came a time during the first week that Genko told Ronin that he had no more combat that he could teach him, because Karate was vastly different from Cloud taijutsu, and they didn't mix well, so Genko did want to hamper his progress.
But, he did recommend two things to Ronin that will greatly help him in the future. "Karate won't work for you, but I think Capoeira will be perfect mix for your style, possibly even making your own new style. Also, when you cross the Grandline, you should go see a dealer I know to get yourself some Seastone. Since you don't have a Devil Fruit and are not yet ready to learn Haki, I think forging yourself a weapon from Seastone will do you wonders until you are ready." Genko said, nodding his head in a sage manner, stroking his long white beard.
Hearing this, Ronin grew disheartened again as he had asked Genko to teach him Haki, but was told that he was not yet ready to learn, and that he had to travel the sea and gain some life experience first. But it wasn't all bad news as a new fighting style and a possible connection to the incredibly rare Seastone would prove to be invaluable if he was able to capitalize off of it. Ronin already thought about taking a page from the Marines book and using Seastone on the bottom of his ship to cross the Calm Belt, as well as Seastone cuffs and cages for bounties him and his crew might capture.
With future plans lined up and an Eternal logpose for an island called, Elbaf, Ronin was ready to go meet this new Master who would teach him Capoeira. Ronin had heard of Capoeira from his past life and was always interested to learn this deadly martial art, but never had the opportunity learn it, as the Seals were taught Muay Thai and Boxing for close quarters combat.
As Ronin walked to the location where Genko told him the master of Capoeira resided, Ronin had to constantly defend himself from the attacking foliage and animals, but luckily he was still on the outskirts of the island, as Genko told him the center of the island is where students go to unlock this Observation Haki, as literally everything there will try to kill them, and only a handful of students make it out alive. It is extreme, but also an effective way to unlock your Haki as what better motivation do you need than your own life?
Coming to a small, rundown dojo, Ronin saw an aging man sitting in front of the dojo meditating. The older, ebony-skinned man had short, black curly hair with specks if grey throughout it. He wore a sleeveless green and yellow combat Gi that reminded him of the outfits from Dragonball, except he wore no shoes. Over his eyes was a thick green cloth, which signaled to Ronin that he may be blind, but Ronin still got the impression that he could see him perfectly. All in all, the man looked peaceful and unassuming, but Ronin could feel the danger radiating off of him that told him that this man could kill him with no challenge, just like with Genko.
"After so long, I finally get graced with another pupil to teach. Welcome, I am Master Kodi, and I teach Capoeira here on Karate Island. Capoeira isn't as well known as Karate and for some is more physically demanding, so not many students get sent my way or stay past the first lesson. But, if the old man is sending you my way, you must have what it takes to persevere. First, a light spar so that I may show you what Capoeira looks like." Master Kodi said as he stood and stretched all of his limbs with an audible 'pop'.
One thing Ronin took to heart from his past life, is that if your opponent stretches like this before a fight, they're about to put a unique ass whooping on you, and you'll more than likely end up with a foot on your face. Though he wasn't looking forward to possibly getting kicked in the face, the prospect of learning a deadly new fighting style superceded all worries. After Ronin got into his traditional taijutsu stance, Master Kodi got into a low stance and began swinging his body back and forth, along with confusing steps.
Master Kodi's stance was both mesmerizing and slightly horrifying, as Ronin realized early on that he had no indication of what Master Kodi was about to do. Deciding he has no choice but to test it out, Ronin activated his Lightning Cloak, but before he realized it, he received two hard kicks to the face, disorienting him. Once he stabilized himself, he looked back at Master Kodi to see spinning inside down on his hands before he did a kick flip, landing another hit on Ronin before he went back into his original stance.
"No special powers. Old man Gen told me about this, Lightning Cloak you use to enhance your overall capabilities, but no more using it while you train. It will only hamper the progress of increasing your base abilities." Master Kodi said, never once stopping his movements, as he went through a series of moves that somewhat made it look like he was breakdancing. Watching him, Ronin was immediately reminded of Killer Bee and the crazy acrobatic way he fights with his swords. Ronin was more excited than even to even get a sliver of that fighting ability, so if he had to get his ass beat, then so be it.
After he deactivated his Lightning Cloak, Ronin realized just how much he truly relied and it, and wondered just how his fight with Devon would've went if he didn't use it. Shaking the useless thoughts from his mind, Ronin refocused on Master Kodi.
Once he saw that he had his new students attention, Master Kodi began his lesson. He taught Ronin how Capoeira was one of the most acrobatic and versatile fighting style out there. So much so that no two Capoeira practitioners styles were the same, as each person had a different 'Flow' in which their style followed. Only base forms of Capoeira we're shared amongst the practitioners, the main one being Ginga, the rocking step, which was the stance Master Kodi was currently doing.
Capoeira was meant for when you are outnumbered or facing some type of technological disadvantage. The style mostly focused on the lower body using kicks, sweeps, and devastating takedown, while the upper body helped in the movement while striking occasionally to the the enemy off. The style is incredibly complex, as one is meant to strike, defend, and move, all in one uninterrupted flow, which is what makes it so unpredictable and versatile.
Ronin spent the remaining week and a half in grueling training as the seemingly amiable Master Kodi turned into a drill sergeant once training was involved. But, through hard work and a lot of bruises, Ronin finally learned the basis of Capoeira, but far from mastered it. Ronin thought the style itself was deadly enough with hand to hand combat, but come to find out, it works perfectly with bladed weapons, like his shuriken for example. Ronin has yet to use the new style on someone, but he definitely felt bad for the next person he fought.
While Ronin was training, working to fully incorporate Capoeira with Cloud taijutsu and and a little Muay Thai, he was interrupted when he felt the presence of someone running from behind him, but sensor their chakra signature, he relaxed and turned to face a breathless Meli.
Meli also hadn't been idle during her stay there. Karate Island didn't focus on just Martial arts, but all forms of combat. So while Ronin was training, Meli received navel combat training from a retired Marine captain, as well as some firearms training and light martial arts as well. Due to most of her time being trained in navel combat and navigation, and her poor physical conditioning, Meli didn't make much progress of the Martial arts front, but surprisingly excelled when it came to firearms. She claimed it was less scary and easier to attack someone from afar.
Even now as Meli ran into the clearing where Ronin was training, Meli kept two pistols on either side of her wide hips. After she took a second to catch her breath, she spoke, "Ronin, Devon is now mostly healed and is clear for travel. But, Grandpa Gen wants to talk with all of us before we ship off." Meli said through labored breaths.
Hearing this, Ronin bid farewell to Master Kodi and thanked him for all of the valuable training he gave him. "Oh don't worry about it. But if you see my knucklehead of a child out there, please tell them to come visit their old man one day, as I'm not getting any younger. Their name is Robyn." Master Kodi requested, and Ronin agreed. After receiving a quick description, Ronin and Meli made their way to Genko's dojo, where a small crowd has already gathered.
At the head of this crowed was Devon heavily bandaged conversing with Genko and his wife. Once Ronin and Meli got near, the crowd parted, and the attention fell on them. No one had forgotten the sheer ability that Ronin displayed when he first arrived, which put fear in some of their hearts, while the rest were filled with admiration. Some of them had seen how much Ronin progressed after his new training and were already nicknaming him the Sea Reaper, after he caused a stir with the crew name of Shinigami.
Little did any of them know, was that Karate Island was filled with many Marines, Government officers, Revolutionaries in training, and even some pirates in disguise, so an information profile was already being built on the whole of Shinigami, and their names already making some wary even before the crew actually set sail. The was all because the Captain of the crew, Ronin, was far too powerful to be in any of the Blues, so it's only natural his presence would cause somewhat of a stir. But already, different groups were planning how to either recruit, take advantage of, or kill Ronin and his crew.
When Ronin got near Devon and Genko, a small smile appeared on his face under the mask, as even if all of his injuries, Devon was still smoking his cigarettes which was quickly becoming synonymous with his character in Ronin's mind. "I'm glad to see my Vice-Captain finally up and about from his beauty nap." Ronin said, earning a chuckle from the crowd.
Hearing this, Devon could only smile and lightly shake his head. "More like a death bed that my boneheaded new Captain put me in. Don't you know how to hold back even a little you ass?" Devon said holding his fist out, getting a fist bump from Ronin.
"Not really, but what's up Old man? Meli said you wanted to talk to us before we left? I already paid you an arm and a leg for letting us train here." Ronin grumbled as he had to pay half of their savings to train there and pay for Devon's medical treatment. Now they were going to have to catch a few high bounty targets to make up for the loss.
But a good thing is, Ronin found out that the News Coos offer a service to drop off bounties to Bounty Hunters along with their newspapers. He already had a had a few targets picked out they could snatch along the way to their next destination.
"No, you big cheapskate! I even gave you a discount and you're still complaining. I wanted to warn you all to be careful, especially you, Ronin. Though I didn't force you to tell me, it is clear to me the secret behind your powers don't come from a Devil Fruit. Be wary of the government as they don't take to kindly to a new power they don't have their hooks in. But besides that, just be careful. When you have enough life experiences and are truly ready to master Haki, I'll be glad to guide you once again." Genko said, as he gave a slight bow in farewell.
Hearing how much Genko seemed to care about his wellbeing, Ronin felt kind of sad about leaving Karate Island. Besides that first abandoned island, this is the longest he's been on an island since he came to this world and has gotten close to the people here. But, he knew that he cannot stay as he has big plans that must be fulfilled.
After a few more goodbyes, the three of them head back to the docks and see Static for the first time in half of a month. "Hmm, not a horrible ship, I'm surprised. I honestly thought you'd be riding on a raft with how reckless you are. So, what's the name of the ship we'll be living on?" Devon asked as he hoped on the deck with his luggage.
"I know I can be somewhat wild in a fight, but honestly, I'm not THAT bad. Oh, and the ship is named, Static!" Ronin said with pride oozing from his voice from showing off his ship.
Hearing that, Devon turned to him with a deadpan expression and slowly shook his head. "And the surprise is over. That is a horrible name for a ship. Static? Seriously?" Devon asked, earning a few chuckles from Meli trying to cover her mouth with her hand. She too that the name was bad, but she just didn't have the heart to break it to Ronin.
Hearing them laugh, Ronin looked crestfallen. "Even you too Meli? W-well I didn't really think that hard on the name anyway, since this is only a temporary ship until we get one made. Then, I'll have a name so awesome, that you'll be bricked for days, just watch!" Ronin said as he crossed his arms, earning even more laughter from his crew mates seeing such a big man act like a tsundere.
Choosing to ignore their laughter, Ronin jumped up to the crow's nest and shouted down, "Ugh, whatever! Meli, it's time to ship off. We have plenty of supplies, so no need to hold off any more. Set course for Elbaf! It's time to see what all of the hype is about the Grandline!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lord_Bell
Lord_Bell And the adventure begins... again! Who's excited for the new fighting style? Also, what crazy things do you think they'll see on the Grandline?
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