Chapter 18: Pirates

Tyr was now six and he was meditating in the garden at the dojo.

He was so still that even birds perched on him. All the while flames burned on his back.

Tyr was thinking of a sword style of his own. Just copying the Shimotsuki style won't be enough.

He wanted more. The Shimotsuki style is defensive in nature. And Tyr doesn't fight defensively at all.

Unga bunga is his calling. Though he attacks like a beast, coupled with technique. An extremely violent fighting style that focuses on pure damage.

So in his mind, he was thinking of the movements that would compliment his fighting style the most.

'I've got a couple of moves in mind, but I guess this will take a lot of time.' He sighed and opened his eyes.

He stood up and the birds perched on him flew away.

"Gotta check on my cute trainees I guess." Tyr went outside and saw Kuina and Zoro swinging a metal bar with larger weights on top this time.

With the right diet for them, Tyr noticed an unbelievable difference.

They grew much stronger, faster, durable. "Humans here are something alright. Or is sea king meat just that magical?" Tyr rubbed his chin.

'Or the amount of food you eat just nourishes your body to superhuman levels?' Tyr thought it would be a good theory to discuss with Vegapunk later.

"Oi, how about you two spar and see the improvements you got?" Tyr prevented them from dueling ever since he trained them.

And now that a couple of months passed, he was curious to how their increased stats would help their swordsmanship.

"You're on! I'll beat you, Kuina! I can lift more than you now!" Zoro pointed his bokken at her.

"Hmph, don't think you'll be able to beat me, mosshead!" Kuina grinned at him.

'I'm betting that Zoro will beat her at stats. While she will beat him in technique, let's see.' Tyr watched closely.

"Two-sword style: Onigiri!" Zoro charged at her and Kuina went low.

She then used her flexibility, bending backwards to dodge Zoro's slashes.

"Nani!?" Zoro was flabbergasted and Kuina suddenly spun, hitting him on the temple with her sword.

"Ahhh, didn't quite expect that huh? Zoro." Tyr smiled in pride at Kuina's technique.

"Hah! You're a hundred years too early to beat me with something so easy to dodge!" Kuina grinned.

"Good, instead of clashing with him head on. You dodged that one. Remember, swordsmanship isn't who's stronger between two people. It's who can cut down the other." Tyr nodded at Kuina.

"Who can cut the other, huh?" Zoro thought deeply as he looked at the sky. Too dizzy to get up.

"Sword fights isn't a pissing contest. The goal of honing your skills in the blade is to kill your opponent, remember that. That's its true essence." Tyr reminded them again.

They nodded at him and Zoro stared at Kuina. "I won't keep losing! Just wait!"

"Heh, keep on coming then. I'll wait until you can get a win." Kuina smiled smugly.

Zoro ran away due to his defeat once again. Though Kuina stared at him with a complicated look.

"What's wrong, little bird?" Tyr patted her head and she looked on the ground.

"Tyr... Do you know why I dodged?" Kuina asked him and he of course knew.

"He was much stronger than you. Dodging and countering was the correct choice." Tyr nodded at her and Kuina frowned.

"Exactly... Zoro's improving his strength, speed, and durability much, much faster than me. And the gap between us will just continue to grow." Kuina gritted her teeth.

Tyr stayed quiet and let her talk. "I wish I was born as a man. How can I compete against Zoro when we grow up? We're still young and I can't overpower him anymore. I'm older than him too." Kuina started tearing up.

'So she's really serious about her dream huh?' Tyr sighed.

"Case and point, you. You're even younger than Zoro. And you'll fold him like a pretzel. I can't imagine even dad putting a scratch on you." Kuina was frustrated.

"I see, but so what?" Tyr snorted and Kuina went wide eyed.

"You're thinking about this wrong. Zoro's a boy, he'll obviously be more rigid and strong. That's his inherent strengths. Why are you trying to compete with him in that regard?" Tyr raised a brow.

"I-it's the traditional Shimotsuki swordsmanship... It's the only sword style I know." Kuina bit her lip.

"Listen, Kuina. Tradition, is the corpse of wisdom. You shouldn't shackle yourself with your father's swordsmanship. First of all, you're a girl. Differences will appear in the near future." Tyr ruffled her hair.

"Second, women are much more flexible and dextruous than men. That's why they mostly handle delicate work." Tyr raised a second finger.

"And third, if Zoro can't still beat you even when he's stronger now. Imagine what you can do if you train your own style that compliments your flexibility and agility?" Tyr pinched her cheek.

"Ow! Ow! I get it. But making a new style just for my own use is extremely difficult." Kuina pouted at him.

"Hmmm, you just have to do trial and error, observe." Tyr took out a live blade and he led her to some rocks.

"Gekkokajin-ryu: Ichimonji!" (Moonlight fire blade: One stroke.) Tyr raised his sword above his head with a rigid stance.

He then swung his sword so fast that Kuina didn't see it move.

A glint of light like the rays of the moon shone for a fraction of a second.

Then came the blistering heat of his flames. The rock in front of him got sundered cleanly in two.

Everything after that then melted into a puddle of molten lava for several meters.

"Hah, it's not even useable in combat." Tyr thought it was still too slow.

"That's not useable!? That was insane!" Kuina looked at him like he grew a 2nd head.

"Yeah, my blade alignment was crap. And my swing is still awkward. Honestly, you and Zoro can swing a sword better than me. My sword skills are still in its infancy." Tyr explained and Kuina's mouth gaped like a goldfish.

"With perfect technique, how destructive do you think will it be?" Kuina asked with a gulp.

"Oh, I can easily cut down a forest and burn everything to the ground, easy." Tyr still can't get it down perfectly. Swinging a sword is harder than it looks.

"If I just used the Shimotsuki style, my attack potency will decrease massively. It's because I capitalize on my strengths." Tyr smiled at her.

"Tyr... Tell me what are my strengths again?" Kuina asked with a determined expression. There was fire in her eyes.

"Easy, I want something though." Tyr grinned at her and she gulped.

"W-what is it? I don't even have money." Kuina can't imagine anything that he would want.

"I can use a strong sword user in my adventures. How about it? Your skills in the sword will only improve if you use it you know?" Tyr smiled at her.

"R-really!? You think I will be that strong?" Kuina blinked owlishly.

"I don't think so, I know so. If you continue to strive and break your limits, you can be whatever you desire." Tyr ruffled her hair.

'I kinda sounded like a guy selling drugs.' Tyr had a wry expression on his face.

"I'll come! I promise I'll be the strongest!" Kuina grinned at him.

"Atta girl, dreams will only keep being dreams if you don't reach for it. No matter how hard it gets." Tyr smiled and she nodded.

'Sorry Zoro, but I'm gonna have the strongest sword.' Tyr chuckled as he imagined their rivalry in the future.

__One year later__

While training with Kuina and Zoro, Tyr suddenly heard the weird ringtone of his transponder snail.

"Hmm? Ace? What's up?" Tyr thought it was fascinating that the snail kinda looked like who the caller was.

"Trouble! There are pirates staying in Foosha! And I can feel it, they're strong!" Ace was rattled.

"What? Pirates!? And you can't contend with them?" Tyr checked their progress before he left.

They can beat up some pirates from east blue, no difficulty. Especially now that Ace has a weapon.

"Okay! I'll come quick!" Tyr immediately flapped his wings multiple times, using soru with it.

The disciples and students covered their ears at the sonic boom as Tyr put hundreds of g's on his body.

"What was that!?" Zoro blinked in shock and his ears were still ringing.

"Tyr talked to somebody on a transponder snail. He then suddenly disappeared." Kuina shrugged.

__Foosha village__

"Sake! Sake! Give us more drinks, lass!" A red haired man was partying with a bunch of pirates.

"Oi! Pirates! You gonna do something bad here!?" Luffy confronted them.

"Ohh, look at this squirt guys. Can't swim? He even has anchor printed on his shirt! Buahahaha!" The red haired pirate laughed.

"Huh!? What if I can't swim!? My fists are as strong as pistols! Eat this!" Luffy charged and he punched the red haired pirate.

But he was easily blocked. "Pistols eh? Buahahaha!" He laughed and Luffy fumed.

"I'm telling you on my big bro!" Luffy ran away and he returned with Ace.

"Luffy! You idiot, these guys are strong pirates!" Ace doesn't know how. But he could feel that they were strong.

Especially the fat guy, the blonde one with dreads, and the one with a mean face, smoking at the corner.

"Hoh? Is that your big bro? He's a just a squirt too." The red haired guy snickered.

"Huh!? What did you say!?" Ace glared at him. 'Heh, just wait until big bro Tyr arrives.' Ace squinted his eyes.

"It's true that I can't beat you! But our big bro who hunts sea kings for breakfast will beat your ass!" Ace pointed at them.

"Buahaha! Hunts sea kings for breakfast? Don't do drugs kid. If he can do so. Then I, Shanks, am pirate king!" Shanks huffed.

After all, how much older could their older brother be?

"Um, Tyr actually hunts sea kings. Every single day." Makino raised her hand and everyone stared at her.

"Oh... And how old is this Tyr?" The guy who was smoking raised a brow.

"If I'm not wrong, then he should be seven right now." Makino thought about it for a second.

The whole pirate crew did a spit take. Before they could continue their conversation though, the ground shook and a thunderclap resounded outside.

"Oi, oi, oi, that's something alright." Shanks stood up immediately and went outside.

There, he saw someone with jet-black wings. A black flame, blazing violently on his back.

"You're a new face here..." Tyr squinted his eyes as his haki began to flare.

"Ohh, we just docked here to rest." Shanks shrugged.

"Then leave, you'll only bring trouble here." Tyr frowned heavily.

"Or what?" Shanks raised a brow and everyone got tense.

Luffy and Ace gulped, they never saw Tyr had that much of a severe expression.

"Isn't it obvious? We settle this another way." Tyr glared as his conqueror's haki exploded outwards.

"Oi, oi, oi, boss... This guy's strong." The smoker was about to grab his gun.

"Benn, I'll handle this." Shanks flared his conqueror's haki as well.

With Garp and Zephyr making his haki bloom to its limits. Tyr's haki was exceptionally strong. He has been training it since he was two after all.

Every normal resident of the island fainted in an instant and strong winds suddenly appeared like a storm.

"Uwaaah!" Luffy and Ace flew away from the clash of two conquerors.

But Tyr's haki suddenly got engulfed by Shanks' and Tyr clicked his tongue.

"Garp, there's a conqueror here in Foosha. I'll try to buy time, come here quick." Tyr stealthily called Garp in their standoff.

"Oi... Did I just hear, Garp?" Shanks started sweating.

"Yeah, and I'll chain you down here before he arrives!" Tyr's armament haki covered his arm, along with blazing black flames.

Flapping his wings with maximum might, he suddenly appeared in front of Shanks as the ground beneath his previous position fractured.

"BEGONE!" Tyr sent a straight right at Shanks and their armament clashed violently.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.