7 CHAPTER 7

As the rays of the sun hit my face, I began to stir in my sleep. If the sunlight could not wake me up properly then the sound of chopping wood did. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the amounts of leaves that were in the sky.

"Did I sleep in the woods last night?", I asked myself. The memory of what happened yesterday was quite vague, to be honest. The last I remember was me standing and looking at the graves I made for my parents. What happened after that, I have no idea.

I once again heard the sound of chopping wood, I look in the direction where it was coming from and I saw the old man who arrived yesterday, retired Vice Admiral Stoner.

I went towards him and said, "Where am I? Why did you take me?".

Stoner stops chopping wood, and said to me, "Good morning to you too, kid". After saying that he continued chopping wood again.

"Stop chopping wood and answer my question! WHERE AM I?!", I said in an angry tone. I didn't even care who did man used to be.

Stoner stopped what he was doing and said to me, "Look kid, we're in the Forest of the Kingdom of Tolfa".

"Why did you take me here?... Are you one of those pervs ---- ", before I could continue what I wanted to say to him. Stoner disappeared from my sight and I suddenly received a punch on the top of my head.

"What the f*ck up, old man!", I said as I covered my aching head from the cruel old man.

"Stop talking nonsense. I found the manual of the Rokushiki Style I once wrote in your pocket yesterday. I gave that manual to Ray all those years ago but since you have it, either you took it from him or he gave it to you. So, I made a decision to take you with me. I believe you would want to learn to fight, yes?", Stoner asked me.

To learn how to fight. Yesterday's ordeal had made it very clear to me how problematic this world is. The shield that the Marines represent to the ordinary people isn't as invincible as much as the civilians would like to believe. In order to survive this world, I need to learn how to fight and I need to learn how to use my devil fruit.

By the way, he's phrasing his words he must want to teach me personally. Who else better to teach me than a man who has achieved the Vice Admiral rank in the marines. The chance his offering is something that only comes once in a person's lifetime.

"Yes, I wish to learn how to fight. I wish to become powerful, to become strong", I said to him.

"I'll train you boy", Stoner said to me as he handed me an ax.

"What am I going to do with this?", I ask him in confusion.

He punches the top of my head again and said, "Don't be stupid. Go and cut those wood over there. Make it quick or your breakfast will get cold", Stoner pointed at a huge pile of wood.

"OUCH!! STOP HITTING ME, OLD MAN", I said to him. Stoner with a smirking face, raised his fist at me, the moment I saw this I began running towards the pile of wood, and I immediately started chopping it.

'Fucking old man', I thought in my head, along with multitudes of profanities I dare not say at him. The hits I was receiving were something you shouldn't scoff at.

I then place my attention on chopping wood, on some occasions I would remember my dead parents, when this happens I would sometimes be teary eyed. In the middle of my work, I stopped chopping wood. I look up in the sky and saw the birds chirping and flying, I could hear the sounds that the forest made, and I said to myself, "I'll miss you guys....but I cannot let this sadness rule me....even if it hurts...I must live..I must become powerful"... After saying this I eventually continued doing my work.

I didn't notice it but Stoner was looking at me when I said that.

After the grueling 2 hours chopping firewood, I went towards him and said, "Done old man..", I said.

The old man nodded and gave me my breakfast which was already cold. After eating my food and resting for a while I asked the old man what do I do now.

Stoner handed me a rope and said, "Tie those wood properly and you will carry them in town. You may have not known this but I carried you yesterday, the distance I walked was larger than I thought. Right now the nearest town in 2 hours that way", Stoner pointed in the north direction and said, "The two of us will go there together. You will sell those wood while I need to buy something", he said.

With an eyebrow raise, I said to him, "I thought that you were going to train me? It looks like you making me you slav---", before I could finish saying what I wanted to say, Stoner once again punch the top of my head.

"No, talking back to your teacher. Now tie those wood so that we can go already. It took you 2 hours to finish and were losing daylight", he said.

I did as I was told. Once Stoner saw me that I had secured the wood, the two of us began walking towards the town, in silence, in awkward silence. Once in town, I sold the wood and waited for Stoner to arrive in the town square, this was the location we decided to meet afterward. It was already going dark when I saw him again.

"Seriously where were you?! I haven't eaten since this morning. I waited for like---", yet again I received another punch in the head. This time instead of just receiving the attack, I fought back. I was getting tired of him punching my head all the time. So, I cocked my right arm and release a punch towards his stomach. He blocked it easily though, but the two of us were shocked. Unbeknownst to me, the moment I cocked my arm, it transformed into an animal-like creature's limbs.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!", I screamed, afraid at what is happening to my body. Due to me freaking out, I received yet another punch on the top of my head.

"You're so annoying, kid. Follow me, I rented us a room to sleep for the night", Stoner said.

Somehow my arm returned to normal. I was relieved when I saw this, Stoner only acted intrigue but only for a while, it was like the thing that happened to my arm was normal for him. With more questions in my mind, I followed Stoner. He walked towards where we will be sleeping for the night, it was a modest size inn. With took our dinner and before the two of us went to sleep, he commented that training me might just be interesting.

'What does he mean by that', this was the last thing that was on my mind before sleep took me.