12 Defeat

"BOSS!!!...WHAT HAPPENED?!!" Ken finally woke up.

"…You're finally awake! This is not the time to talk, go take care of Calvin quickly, his injuries are bad" I ordered him.

"O-OKAY!" He immediately ran up to him and carried him away. Shanks didn't seem to mind it.

"Thank you!"

"I'm not interested in someone who can't fight back" he replied.

After that we resumed our fight. I used Geppo to fly above him then I gathered fire around me in a circle and released it down at him.

"*BOOOOM!!!!*" When the attack hit the ground, it exploded in all directions creating massive waves of fire which caused the trees around us to catch it and start burning.

"That's pretty dangerous!" Shanks said while he used his sword to cut the fire from the center in half.

"*SWOOOSH!!*" The attack was strong enough that it almost distinguished the fire.

'Are you kidding me?' His power was incredible, and he still hasn't even reached his prime yet. After that without any delay he lunged at me with his sword and started targeting my vital points.

"*SLASH*...*SLASH*" I kept getting hit even though I tried using Soru to dodge but he was able to predict my moves easily using his observation and on top of that he was pressuring me with his conqueror's Haki which made it impossible to avoid him.

"This is the end of the line. You fought well but you're not ready to face us yet" Shanks said while holding his sword against me.

"Don't take this personal…" He proceeded slash me down in the chest.

"Arrrrgggghhh!!!..." After that attack I couldn't feel my legs anymore and collapsed on the ground and my vision started getting blurry.

'It was too late…' before he launched the last attack his killing intent increased greatly for a split second which made it possible for someone like me to be able to feel it, it was luck but even after knowing that my body was so exhausted and weak from the injuries that it was impossible to dodge it anyway.

I felt an agonizing pain throughout my body and after a few seconds later I passed out.

(Third Person Pov)

"What should we do with them?" Benn Beckman asked Shanks.

"Leave them be, we came here for someone else" Shanks replied then he ordered his men to gather their stuff and get ready to leave.

As for Ken He carried Calvin back to a safe place away from the Red Hair Pirates and treated his injuries then he went back to check on Ashen.

"SHIT CAPTAIN!!" When Ken saw Ashen unconscious on the ground and covered in blood, he immediately ran up to him and examined his body.

"This is bad I need to treat these wounds quickly" he quickly went back to the ship and brought a first aid kit, on the way there he saw the Red Hair Pirates leaving the island.

On the Ship,

"What do you think of them?" Shanks asked Benn Beckman about his opinion on the Ashen Pirates.

"They're both monsters" He replied.

"It's rare for you to say something like that" Shanks said to him.

"Such a shame, am I right Shanks?"

"Well, to be real he didn't look like the type who would follow someone else" Shanks stated "Though, I have a feeling we will meet again in the future" he said while looking at the island disappearing into the horizon.

Koko Island, Four Days Later.

(First Person Pov)

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around me, I saw trees surrounding us, we were in a forest. It was a calm morning, and the sky was clear with good weather.

Calvin was laying on my left side wrapped up in bandages and when I checked myself, I was the same, while Ken was sleeping against a tree in front of us.

After scanning my surroundings I came to conclusion 'So, we lost… ' is what I thought, it was a bitter feeling nevertheless I was still thankful that we survived, because there was no guarantee that things wouldn't have gone south since we were up against pirates.

"FUCK!!..." I felt a sudden anger, so I got up on my feet and went to somewhere further away to relieve my anger. When I found a good spot, I immediately started releasing my fire power and destroying my surrounding.

I kept destroying everything until my anger turned to frustration 'They were just playing with us even though we were fighting with everything we got' I kept thinking about the fight against the Red Hair Pirate.

"You gained some crazy power right there, Ashen" I heard a familiar voice spoke to me, I turned to see who it was, and I saw Calvin leaning on a tree with a smile.

"You're awake! How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Well, I feel like shit, what about you?"

"…We lost. how do you think I feel?" I looked down with a frown on my face, it was obvious that I was frustrated and angry about our loss.

"Don't think too much about it" he said then he walked to me.

"You're telling me it's okay to lose?!!" his words made me even more angry, I was just about to lash out on him.

"Yes, as long as you're not dead…" he stated.

"SO, YOUR OKAY WITH BEIGN A LOSER, IS THAT WHAT YOUR SAYING?!!!" I shouted at his face. even though we were facing Shanks it was still hard to accept defeat just like that.

He looked at me for a second then he spoke.

"Your strength doesn't come from winning. It comes from struggles and hardship" He spoke to me in genuine tone.

I kept listening to him without responding.

"Everything that you go through prepares you for the next level. So instead of being angry and frustrated about your loss try to take it as a lesson" He said then he turned back.

"You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, you could always come to me" he stopped for a second then added "It's not weak if you rely on others from time to time." he said then he left.

One Hour Later,

"Boss! You're back!" Ken came to check on me "How is your injuries?" he asked.

"They still hurt a little bit, but they only need time to heal" I replied while Calvin was doing some handstand push-ups, once he finished, he approached me.

"So, what's next?" he asked me.

"I think it's time we leave east blue" I stated then I turned to Ken "Our next destination is Logue Town" Calvin nodded in understanding and Ken looked at me for a moment then he responded.

"Yes captain…" he looked a little bit sad when I told him that, I didn't ask him the reason, but then I remembered our agreement the first day. We agreed that he will be our navigator until it was time to enter the Grand Line.

'Is it because of that?' I questioned myself 'I'll ask him about it later'