章 23: Chapter 23: Staff Master & News

"I've heard rumors that the Dojo Hunter had a relatively small build; however, now that I see you in the flesh, you're not just someone with a small build. You're a child." Remarked the Dojo Master while scrutinizing Diddy, specifically his non-human features.

"Not to mention you're not human; possibly an escaped slave seeking revenge against humans?" Added the Dojo Master.

"Hehe, well, I'm only 10 years old; however, I'm no slave, and I couldn't care less about you humans; I merely enjoy causing chaos and fighting." Replied Diddy with a savage smile, one that caused the Dojo Master to frown even more intensely.

"I see." Muttered the man with a nod as he turned around and approached a wall with a large painting of nature.

Patiently observing the man, I watched how he lifted the painting off the wall and moved it out of the way, revealing a large metal safe embedded into the wall; however, I wasn't surprised about the safe since I had sensed it the moment I entered the Dojo, though I will say, it's scent reminds me of the ocean.

As I waited for the man to open the safe, which had numerous locks on it, I continued to get familiar with using a staff as while I may have been able to defeat those previous four relatively easily; I didn't have any confidence in being able to beat this man, at least not yet. Hearing the safe open, I looked in his direction, only to see the man grab a large briefcase from inside the safe that was more long than tall; if I had to guess, it probably contained a staff.

Curiously, I neared the man as he opened the safe, revealing a sizeable reddish staff with both ends covered in gold, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I had not expected to see such a beautiful staff; however, while closely inspecting it; I noted it gave off a powerful aura, one that caused even me to take it seriously.

'Hehe; I want it!' Thought Diddy with a smile and greedy eyes as he clenched his fist so tightly he accidentally broke the staff in his hand.

Dropping the broken staff, I quickly grabbed another one while preparing to fight when I saw that the man was already in a fighting stance, though I couldn't suppress my curiosity about the staff any longer.

"What's the history of that staff?" Asked Diddy while standing opposite the man as he held the staff with both his hands.

"I don't know; all I know is that 150 years ago, the founder of this Dojo stumbled across the staff while exploring the world, hoping to deepen his knowledge of martial arts before eventually returning to Karate Island. However, even after participating in numerous battles, this staff doesn't have a single blemish, signifying its impeccable craftsmanship." Replied the man pridefully as he slammed the staff on the ground, seemingly initiating the battle as he charged toward Diddy.

As the man swiftly approached me, he swung the large staff at me from the left, which I quickly reacted to by putting my wooden staff to my left, attempting to block his attack; yet, the moment our staffs connected, my wooden staff crumbled as if it was paper beneath the man's might. Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I leaned backward at a ninety-degree angle, causing the man's attack to miss me; well, it was supposed to miss me, but it seemed like he had impressive reflexes as well since he was able to change the trajectory while attacking.

Before he could hit me, I slammed my tail against the ground at an angle, pushing me to the side and allowing me to dodge the staff that powerfully collided against the mats on the floor. Stopping my momentum before I burst through the wall, I grabbed another staff from one of the barrels, which I so happened to be near, as I charged toward the man with a feral grin. Knowing that I couldn't block his attacks unless I wished for my staff to be destroyed, I opted to stay mainly on the defense while diverting the man's staff instead of straight out blocking it.

Though that is much easier said than done, I haven't even been using a staff for an entire hour, yet I'm fighting against a man who has very well possibly dedicated his whole life to using staffs; since I mainly stayed on the defensive, which is something I usually do when fighting a dojo master for the first time, his attacks were relentless. However, even though I ended up breaking many staffs, as the battle continued, I was improving at an alarming rate, even for me; attacks that were previously too difficult to divert became incredibly easy, not to mention I was slowly but surely incorporating his martial art into my moves, which allowed for me to get a few good hits on him.

Diverting an overhead attack to the side, I quickly stabbed his stomach with the wooden staff while severely limiting my strength; otherwise, the staff might've penetrated his body. Successfully landing the hit, I swiftly retracted my staff while placing it behind me at an angle, causing the man's staff that was aiming for my back to once again be diverted; although I had managed to divert the attack, it wasn't perfect as it caused my staff to once again break.

Dropping the broken staff onto the ground, which for the record was currently littered with numerous broken staffs, I jumped back just in time to dodge the man's attack to my chest; I once again grabbed a wooden staff as I swiftly ran towards him with a dangerous smile while intently observing his every move.

'Left, bottom, and powerful right.' Thought Diddy with an eager expression as he neared the slightly injured man.

The instant I got within striking distance, the man swung the staff to my left, to which I responded by diverting it downwards, yet instead of retracting his staff to block my attack, he turned his staff upwards, nearly hitting me in my chin if I hadn't tilted my head, dodging the staff by just a hair's breadth. Already knowing what he was going to do next, I didn't bother stopping and powerfully swung my staff over his head, intending to slam him into the ground; yet, just like I had anticipated, he powerfully brandished his staff as he aimed to hit the right of my head.

With how committed we were to our attacks, neither of us could stop now unless we wished to leave an opening for the other person to take advantage of; though, truthfully, if I so desired, none of his attacks would ever land on me, not like many of them have throughout the battle.

The instant my attack landed on his head, his attack connected with the side of my face, and while my staff broke atop his head, the man's staff sent my flying through the air, crashing into the side of the wall; however, although it looked like I had just taken a nasty attack, I was completely fine; sure the staff is strong enough to damage me, but if it's being wielded by someone weak than it's not going to matter, is it?

"Haha; good, you're still alive! I would've been disappointed if you were to die from merely that." Exclaimed Diddy with a feral grin as he removed himself from the wall while eyeing the man standing up with a bloody head.

"As a Master, I can not be so easily defeated in my own dojo and by our own martial arts; where would my pride as a Martial-arts Master be then?" Replied the man with a hardened gaze and newfound vigor as he intently eyed Diddy, who was ultimately injury free.

"Then let's see how long you'll last!" Stated Diddy as he grabbed a wooden staff from the ground and launched himself toward the man in the distance.

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Approaching the deathly injured dojo master, who was breathing weakly while leaning against the wall of the destroyed Dojo, squatting down, I attempted to grab the staff from his hands, yet while doing so, I felt his grip tighten, seemingly using the last of his fleeting strength.

"N-Naga-sa." Muttered the man softly as his weak breathing came to a halt, along with his heart.

Yanking the staff from the corpse, I intently scrutinized the staff; yet while doing so, I could feel its dangerous aura erupt in a frenzy as it enveloped me, yet after a few seconds, it retracted its aura and calmed back down as it peacefully rested in my hands. Although I didn't know for sure, I had a feeling I had just stumbled upon a treasure of a weapon.

"So your name is Naga-sa, huh?" Remarked Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he fiddled around with the staff.

'It feels amazing, though unfortunately, it's a little big for me right now; I mean, I could use it, I suppose, but I should wait a few more years until I grow.' Thought Diddy as he rested Naga-sa atop his shoulder while heading toward the entrance of the destroyed dojo, only to be surprised by who he saw.

"Freyja? What're you doing here? And why the hell are you naked, you exhibitionist!?" Questioned Diddy with a grin while approaching the nude Freyja.

"I was watching your battle, hoping to learn more about your fighting style. Also, for the record, I'm not entirely nude." Replied Freyja calmly, not bothering her to hide her true intentions as she knew Diddy wouldn't care.

"Hehe, well, good luck with that; what you saw was merely one martial art; I've mastered over 200 already." Stated Diddy with a chuckle while ignoring her second response as he jumped into the air and prepared to head home.

"Diddy, as much I would love to keep this a secret, you're going to learn about it anyways; but the nobles had a secret meeting today to finally discuss your actions, or more specifically, about the Dojo Hunter." Said Freyja in a deep voice as she transformed into her monster form and flew beside Diddy.

"Hmm, so what? I've been on this Island for the past decade, and there isn't a single being here that is stronger than me anymore, so why does it matter?" Replied Diddy dismissively while propelling himself through the night sky with a large staff on his back.

"As you know, the nobles here have some connections with the World Government, and they've finally decided to request assistance in dealing with the Dojo Hunter. The Government's response was to create a navy outpost on the island which a navy Captain will head; they'll be arriving in a month's time." Stated Freyja solemnly, though her words only caused Diddy to display a bloodthirsty smile.

"A Captain, huh? I'm curious about their power; hopefully, they aren't disappointing!" Remarked Diddy as he erupted into laughter while powerfully kicking the air, swiftly leaving Freyja in the dust behind him.

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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, also it works this time; I've reset it, https://discord.gg/eX83nz2q

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 143: Hokori Unsheathed) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 23: Caught In the Act!) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 33: Briss Kingdom) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]