27 Heart Of Courage

In a cage far away from the Kurta village, in the middle of the forest, Rex, who was sitting on the ground looked at the clan elder.

His arms were bound by a specialized rope, made of a rare plant found only in the Kurta forest.

"What are you here for?", The elder asked.

Rex bit his lower lip. "Well, you know, I didn't want to be here."

The village elder looked at him grimly. "What's that supposed to mean, Aizen?"

"Well, I escaped here so I could get away from the Phantom Troupe."

The village elder's eyes were wide open. "The... The Phantom Troupe?! That... That can't be."

'Oho, he swallowed the lie?', Rex mused. "Yes... And I thank you again so much for saving me.... But..."

"But what?"

"How long are you going to keep me here?"

The village elder looked at him, annoyed. "You can go... When you've answered all the questions!"

*Sigh*

"You know, village elder, I'm tired of your interrogation."

"I only asked one question-"

"And that's why, let's get straight to the point", Rex's eyes were fixed on the village elder like a hunter on his prey.

The village elder had a strange look on his face. "To the point? What do you mean?"

A loud noise numbed his ears, the specially made ropes attached around Rex's hands and feet were destroyed.

"What the?!"

"Mr. Village Elder...", Suddenly Rex stood up, he slowly walked closer to him.

He grabbed two enormously thick metal bars with his hands and bent them, then he stepped out.

Rex stood right in front of him, but had to look down because of the big height difference. "Do you know how I did that?"

The old man took a few steps back. "What... You! How do you do that! Already with that pink blossom... No, go back in the cell!"

Although the old Kurta was beaming with courage earlier, he currently felt a cold shimmer through his bones.

Rex let a teeny bit of his aura flow next to him.

"Nen", Said Rex.

"Nin?"

"Hmm...", Rex mused aloud. "How about I teach your whole clan how to defend themselves."

"What do you mean by defend? Our Kurta warriors are the most powerful of all the nearby villages!"

"Oh? Are you sure about that? I've heard that Kurtas are captured for their eyes in the outside world. First they get killed then their eyes get sold. So..."

"Those are just rumours!"

"Anyways", Rex pointed his index finger at his tree.

The village elder looked at the tree but could not see anything. "What's with this monkey zoo?!"

But Rex walked closer and closer to the tree... Until his fingertip touched the tree trunk and....

*boom*

The kurta flinched in shock landing on his butt against the ground. "That! How?!"

When he looked at the tree, he saw a huge hole that went through the trunk, but Rex's posture was still the exact same.

"You see, this hole... It didn't come into existence because I made a fist punch in a fraction of a second... No, it emerged because it touched my fingertip. I can teach you this power, think of it as thanks for saving me, a small tribute to the Kurta clan."

After a few seconds, the hole had now become such a big load that the tree fell down... In the direction of the village elder.

But Rex simply blocked the log with his elbow and let it drop next to him.

"Are you still against it? Let me teach your village Nen. Good deal, right?", Asked Rex.

"I don't know... Why were you almost dead on the ground if you possessed this enormous power?"

"..."

"..."

"Well-"

"Mr. Niccolo!!!", A man shouted from a distance.

Two kurtas with a spear and a sword ran as fast as they could towards Rex and the village elder, Niccolo.

"We heard two loud explosions from this direction!", One of them said.

The other took his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Rex. "I told you Mr. Niccolo, why did you want to interrogate him alone, he is dangerous! He's an outsider!"

But Niccolo ignored them, he pondered for a moment. 'How can it be that a human so strong, wants to help us? There must be something fishy going on... But why going through all those time consuming things like convincing me? If he wants something from us, he could just take it from us.'

"Don't worry about the ruckus, fellas", Niccolo said, daring a glance at Rex. "I believe that Mr. Aizen will teach us a few new things, but I need to talk to him for a moment, so get out of here...

And if I'm not in the village after few minutes, do something... Understood?"

Niccolo gave them three winks.

""We understand!!"", The two Kurtas yelled and quickly ran to the village.

Niccolo looked into Rex's eyes. "Aizen, we need to talk."

Rex nodded.

✹

The Kurtas were all worried, there was a rumor going around the village.

Apparently the outsider had taken the village elder hostage.

On the outskirts of the village stood the few kurtas who were fit to fight, including the two who had delivered the village elder's warning.

All were ready, sharpening their spears, honing their swords, and whatever archers do to prepare.

And suddenly...

"I see someone!", Shouted a woman, who was on guard, atop of a tree.

Glances were focused on the forest's outskirts.

It was already dark, a normal person could not see anything, but the Kurta....

They were different.

*Shush*

Bushes gave a rustling sound and head popped out, it was Rex.

The bows were all tensed, the archers tightened their bows and waited for Rex to get into their firing range.

"Don't shoot!", Suddenly Niccolo ran out of the dark and stretched his arms to his sides. "He passed the test!"

The Guards let out a sigh of relief and dropped their weapon.

"""Welcome back village elder!""", Said all the Kurta guards simultaneously as Rex and Niccolo walked in through the entrance.

Rex looked at the village elder. "To test me... It takes a heart of courage to do that."

Niccolo smirked but and waved it off.

Rex pinched his cheek and waved at everyone. 'Kurapika... Kurapika... I wonder... Whether everyone had as much potential as you.'

And with that thought, Rex's... No. Aizen's training of the Kurtas began.

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Hi (With Rizz)

Now Rex's goal should be clear... He wants to strengthen the Kurtas and raise them as loyal subordinates.

Why?

This, will be important later...

The village elder had to check Rex, if Rex killed him in the test, Rex would return to the Kurta village alone... Which is why they got ready to fight as soon as they only recognized Rex.

The test will be addressed in the next chapter for a brief moment, but I don't want that to be the focus, so I kind of skipped it.

(Niccolo is a name I made up for the Kurta clan elder, I didn't wish to always call him the clan elder... The village elder is canon, his name is not.)

(And I'm sorry Neo that the name Rex doesn't fit, it has to be an 'undercover mission', this will be important too... 😔)