Chapter 10 – Finally Rokushiki

[Kaienreki Calendar 1501, April]

Another two months passed, where Lupin had done nothing but train his Tobu Zangeki or Flying Slash Attack, while coating his blade with Haki.

Of course he still dedicated several hours each day to training his body, as that had become the norm.

He would also only sleep every three days and use the nights to improve his control and mastery over Haki. He could now hold the Hardening form of Armament Haki for half an hour, which was a great improvement compared to two months before. It was mainly because of his daily practice of coating his weapon with Haki, that had allowed his control and proficiency reach such a level.

His range of Observation had increased to 500 meters in radius and great detail, but he still needed time to develop the advanced form of future sight. At least that was his conclusion and judgement on the matter.

He had also made some improvements with his Conqueror's Haki, and could now somewhat control the output a little. Lessening the pressure from an all-out assault to simply pressuring the opponents minds mildly.

Anyway after several months of training the Flying Slash, he could now confidently say that he had mastered the basics of the technique. Being able to roughly adjust the strength of the attack, as well as control the direction to an accurate degree.

Both aspects still needed some more training, but the technique was at a level where he felt it safe enough to be used in battle.

So he next planned to start his training on the Rokushiki, which he had placed on the back burner, as did not like to split his attention between too many techniques at once.

Back at the mountainside the terrain had changed massively. Almost any and all boulders were sliced to pieces with the side of the mountain itself looking like a set of massive claws had rearranged its features.

Standing before this mountain wall, Lupin placed his hands onto it, while he prepared himself for his first try of Soru or Shave.

Soru or Shave was a superhuman martial art that worked by kicking the ground in an extremely fast succession in the blink of an eye, so it would generate enough momentum to grant oneself a blindingly fast movement and attack speed.

And so Lupin did just that.

He kicked off the ground with his greatest speed possible, using his exemplary control over his muscles granted to him by his mastery of Seimei Kikan.

He used his hands on the mountain wall to stop himself from actually moving from his position and to judge the amount of momentum he had actually built up. Repeating that same motion while alternating between his legs, he slowly got used to the movements themselves.

He did this for several hours. At this point the wall beneath his hands had already gained several new large cracks, because the force of his kicks had been too great for normal rock to endure.

Fortunately at this point, Lupin was very confident in his chances to execute the technique without the wall. Having internalized the movements over the past several hundreds of attempts, he turned away from the wall and kicked the ground a dozen times in fast succession.

Owing to his supernatural senses and Observation Haki, he was able to not just blindly move forward, but actually see where he moved.

So when he saw himself approaching one of the last few remaining boulders, he just kicked the ground again with a fast pace. Instantly changing direction, he suddenly had to use his hands to keep himself from face-planting into the mountain side.

'Damn, that was fast! And way harder to control that I had imagined. Still, with a bit of training this technique will make me several times more dangerous as an opponent.', the boy thought to himself.

Having succeeded in executing the technique, Lupin now just had to keep training to master it.

Soru was also admittedly the easiest technique to learn amongst the Rokushiki.

For the next few days he focused on Soru and managed to master the basics relatively quickly, having no problems in changing directions in between or keeping up the technique for dozens of seconds.

He trained until his leg muscles cramped up and tore apart so badly he could barely move another step. Letting the damage be healed by his healing factor in a few minutes, he resumed his training.

This has also proved to be an excellent way to increase the strength of his legs, stamina and kept up his training for Seimei Kikan, which he used not only for the movements themselves but also to improve his healing speed.

The next thing Lupin wanted to try was Geppo, but he changed his mind and decided to take a few days and train both Rankyaku and Shigan, as he believed that he should be able to easily master them both thanks to his proficiency in their counterpart with the sword.

Lupin had been half-right about his assumption, as mastery over Rankyaku or Storm Leg, had come almost too easily to him.

Simply using his exceptional body control and physical strength he had imitated his sword movements with his leg. And after only a handful of tries had manged to fire off a wind blade.

Shigan, or Finger Pistol, had been a bit different and taken several times longer, as this technique focused more on piercing movements than on slicing ones.

The first time he had tried it on a tree branch, he had strained his finger badly, almost breaking it.

As he had cursed himself for his stupidity, he had of course realized that such a technique required one to train their finger muscles extensively – which he had done – AND use the proper form – which he hadn't done.

Only with both combined would one succeed without inflicting injuries on oneself.

So he trained for a few hours on leafs and even smaller tree branches, until he figured out the perfect form to pierce objects with a body part so fragile. Eventually he got the hang of it and over another two days managed to even pierce into tree trunks easily with all of his fingers.

Satisfied with his progress he decided to finally try out Geppo.

He had always found the concept of flying by himself with nothing but his own power incredibly tempting.

He was also very confident that he could save himself from any accident by simply coating his body in Haki. Of course by learning Tekkai he would also be able to avoid injury, but he simply did not want to wait any longer.

Geppo, or Moon Step, worked by kicking the air with incredible speed and force to give oneself the ability to walk in the air by using the generated air resistance. The kick had to be strong enough so that the air was compressed tightly beneath one's foot and fast enough to build on the resulting momentum.

Lupin focused his mind, tensed his back muscles to avoid an unsteady stance, before using the whole strength of his right leg in one concentrated and swift kick at the air a few centimeters above the ground.

His strength had been enough and he could feel the resistance from the pressurized air, which he unhesitatingly stepped on and literally 'walked on the air'.

Sadly his balance was a little off and his stance didn't allow him to kick the air with his other foot again.

Falling the short distance, which amounted to barely half a meter, he was amazed nonetheless.

Up until this point he had learned some incredible techniques and the superhuman feats he was capable of were numerous.

But the act of flying by himself was easily among the top of the list, when it came to the joy they brought him. Closely followed by being able to shapeshift into a hulking wolf with incredible power.

The next few days where basically wholly consumed by his training of Geppo. It had taken him a full two weeks of non-stop training until he was able to continuously step off the air and 'walk' in the air by himself.

The next two techniques he had to learn were Tekkai and Kami-e, a.k.a. Iron Mass and Paper Folding.

As both of these techniques relied heavily on muscle control and he had already mastered Seimei Kikan, he was able easily master the basics of both techniques in only a day.

The only problem was that Tekkai was pretty much useless with only basic mastery, as it was a technique that hardens one's muscles to a degree where even bullets cannot penetrate the body.

This also meant that moving those muscles was pretty much impossible while using Tekkai at the same time. The simplest solution was to only harden specific parts of the body while in combat to keep ones mobility intact and block incoming attacks with the hardened parts of the body.

Kami-e on the other hand was a skill specifically created to dodge attacks and the only thing he lacked was experience.

Lupin had to train it to be able change to a more flexible form and back in an instant for it to be useful in battle, otherwise it would be too risky against fast opponents.

That only left Rokuogan or Six King Punch, but he had to first master all six techniques to have a chance at learning the secret seventh technique of the Rokushiki.

Still, with the addition of the Rokushiki, he felt himself stretched for time even more.

So Lupin decided to adjust his training plan and methods to keep up his progress.

Equally important was that he learned to use all his techniques, Rokushiki and Haki, while in his wolf form.

His wolf form was physically speaking several levels stronger and faster than his human form, so it was a total waste not to learn these techniques while using it.

His new training plan included, combining his training of the Rokushiki techniques with his physical training whenever possible, as all the techniques were very physically demanding and could help in developing different muscle groups.

While his flexibility training could easily combined with training Kami-e and Tekkai, so he could learn to keep his flexibility even while he was using Iron Mass.

He would still need to work out with his weights to keep increasing his physical strength, but he could also train other skills at the same time, like his control over his spiritual energy and muscles.

That would free up a lot of his time for his swordsmanship practice and training the Rokushiki in his wolf form.

At the end though he knew it would take a few years to master all that, maybe even decades.

He would also have to take some time and write down instructions and explanations about the Rokushiki, so that Ina could learn them, though that wouldn't take up much of his time.

It was probably a good idea that she learn at least Soru, Geppo, Rankyaku and Shigan.

Rankyaku and Shigan could both be easily combined with her staff techniques and in combination with Soru and Geppo make her a very decent combatant.

The rest could be learned, but she should definitely focus on incorporating what she could into her fighting style. Lupin would also suggest she learn Seimei Kikan, but that technique was even harder to learn than the normal Rokushiki and even he had no clue on how to being training it.

He could only hope she figured out a way while training in the Rokushiki with his explanations on the technique's inner workings.

He also planned to focus mostly on Soru and Geppo, as they provided an incredible mobility on the battlefield and he considered them to be the most important out of all the Rokushiki.

Still, he had to master them all, if he wanted to learn Rokuogan.

Lupin had obviously thought long and hard about what kind of fighting style he wanted to develop and while he definitely favoured the sword and planned to take his skill with it to the peak. He had discovered how much he simply enjoyed learning new techniques and mastering them.

He did not want to become a jack-of-all trades, but he wanted to become a master of all.

And wasn't that what freedom was about, to do exactly what one enjoyed. He had also plenty of time as he didn't really care about the goings-on in this world.

To be honest, there also wasn't much for entertainment to do here anyways. No way to hear some nice booming bass with an enchanting melody just to relax a little. And granted he hadn't checked out the books, as he was focused on training, so he just hoped he would find some interesting fictional stories later on.

…

Less than a year has passed since that day. A month before he had reached seven years of age.

Sadly, life in this world was not peaceful no matter where you were and especially not if you were searching for power.

It seemed that the Marines had reported Lupin's actions these last two years to the headquarters and through them also to the World Government, but since Gol D. Roger's execution, they had their hands full, dealing with the aftermath and trying to locate Roger's child.

Neither the Marines, nor the World Government had taken any action as he obviously had not been a priority. But now that a few months had passed, it seemed that they had decided to send someone and assess the situation.

Which was also the reason he saw one Monkey D. Garp on his training field the moment he came back from his training in the forest.

It was afternoon and he had ended his training a little earlier to spar with Ina and give her some pointers.

What he did not expect was the most famous Vice Admiral and Hero of the Marines, sitting at a table on the training field together with Kindred. He obviously brought the table with him, as Lupin had never seen it before. Or more likely his subordinates had brought it for him.

Ina meanwhile was sitting several dozen meters away with her staff in hand, obviously tense at seeing a stranger, and a man at that, just invading their home.

It took a moment for Lupin to shake off his surprise and annoyance at someone disturbing his quiet life, especially someone he didn't stand a chance against and could not just beat up to relieve himself of the annoyance.

He also recalled that Portgas D. Ace should have been born three months ago and Garp had probably come to the East Blue to leave him with that female mountain bandit and her subordinates.

Lupin seriously questioned the sanity of the now-dead Pirate King for him to ask someone, so obviously unfit to raise a child like Garp, to take care of his own.

The man had absolutely zero idea about how take care of a child. That the crazy old veteran had left an infant with some mountain bandits and then was surprised when the child later on wanted to become a pirate, spoke volumes of his capabilities.

Focusing his mind and erasing any emotion except calmness from his face, Lupin approached the two old men.

Ina, seeing him arriving, heaved a sigh of relief as the presence of Lupin brought her a familiar feeling of safety and comfort.

Standing before the seated men, who had stopped their conversation at this point to look at him, Lupin waited for Kindred to explain what was going on. But Garp cut off the old man and addressed Lupin directly.

"Lupin that i--"(Kindred)

"Hey, brat. I heard you beat up a lot of pirates and even a devil fruit user. Bwahahahaha! How about joining the Marines under my command?"(Monkey D. Garp)

'He really is as noisy and unreasonable as he was in the show. And as strong... Damn, the presence of that old goat is simply monstrous. No chance in hell, that I can fight someone like him anytime soon.'

Lupin had used Observation Haki to get a grasp of the strength a true top-level fighter of this world could have. The result was unsettling.

Garp's presence was like a mountain itself, while Lupin himself was only a small boulder.

He was sure that he would eventually surpass the old man, but it was still a humbling experience to witness such strength.

That on the other hand did not mean he feared the man in front of him, he still honestly replied with a calm and blank tone: "I don't know you and I also don't want to get to know you. Also, I don't plan on becoming a Marine."

Important to note was, that lying to someone with immense experience and mastery over Haki like Garp was simply useless. The old man would instantly realize that he was being lied to, so Lupin didn't even bother.

"BWAHAHAHA! You've got guts brat, saying that to my face! But than let me ask you, do you wanna become a pirate or something?"

"A pirate? Why the hell would I go through the trouble of becoming a pirate? I just wanna see everything this world has to offer."

"I see. Well, I guess I will see you again someday, brat. And that's for being a rude little bastard. Bwahahahaha!"

With that sentence Garp vanished, but not before flicking an air bullet at Lupin's forehead. And while Garp had been fast, Lupin had seen it coming.

Though he could only block it with Armament and not evade it, as the attack was too fast for that.

It had still pushed him back a few steps, but it hadn't injured him, which was entirely because Garp had not wanted to injure him. The old man had also definitely not used his fastest speed, otherwise Lupin would have been unable to prepare for the blow even with his future sight.

Yes, Lupin had finally managed to unlock the advanced form of Observation Haki a few weeks ago, that allowed him to look into the future. For now it was only half a second, but with training that would slowly change.

He had also advanced his proficiency in Armament Haki, which had thankfully absorbed most of the blow, even though his forehead was still bruised. Thankfully his healing factor took care of that in a few short moments.

'Yeah, that man has no idea how to treat a child. What an absolute jerk!', the boy thought internally, as he rubbed his forehead.