Friendships formed through battle

Tristan's father immediately smiled upon seeing the two of them acknowledge each other.

Although a duel was about to take place they didn't treat each other as enemies but were quite friendly towards each other which meant that his daughter may make a new friend.

He escorted both Tristan and Alyssia to a safe location where they can take part in the duel together without being interrupted.

However as Alyssia noticed his intent she realised that her overall reward would be reduced!

As a person with a system her points also increased the more fame she gained during her duels and the more people she defeats.

For example there are feats or challenges to win several times in a row by five, ten, twenty and then fifty times but there are also rewards for establishing a presence within a certain area which helps to periodically give a certain amount of points so long as the fame remains the same.

If Alyssia becomes famous for her martial arts within her street she would gain a certain amount of points daily but if she expanded her range to a small town, a city or even a whole country then she would gain many more points.

The same was for becoming famous within one of the four blue seas and the grand line and new world.

The easier option within the game was to become a notorious pirate or a high ranking hero in order to become world famous and appear in the newspapers for one's deeds but even the protagonist rarely was featured in the newspapers until a lot later because of things like the coverup of alabasta and other things but he still had his bounty increased.

Even if a couple of people could witness the duel it would help to spread her name a little and tales may be told about her later fights.

So Alyssia placed her hand out to stop the father and daughter from going to a secluded place. "Here is fine. It isn't like we can destroy anything at our age so the fight will not be that destructive or violent."

The father turned to look at his daughter who looked and him and then nodded.

Seeing this Alyssia grew excited as she could earn more points. "Let's begin immediately."

As young children who had yet to be taught how to utilise electro in combat even if Tristan was a talented fighter in the future she is now just a child and cannot yet make full use of it so they both have to rely on their raw physical strength and technique.

The both of them both took some distance from one another and faced each other and bowed and then the father waved his hand shouting. "Begin!"

As he shouted it caught several others attention who were walking on the street or sitting within their yard nearby so they couldn't help but look over.

As both the girls were given the order they both began to use their agility to move closer towards each other.

Tristan was better at jumping and running thanks to her body type just like Alyssia so it was a good way to test her skills.

Even though Tristan began with a punch as she got closer, Alyssia lifted her arms up to guard her face and then aimed a kick towards her leg.

The first kick was a wake up call for Tristan because she was not paying too much attention to her opponents lower half so she tried to adjust after feeling the pain on the side of her lower leg.

Before she could do that Alyssia had already used her tail to keep her in place and control her balance a little better as she sent out a forceful front kick towards her stomach that continued as though it was intended to pass through her until her leg was straight but as it made contact with that intent Tristan was forced back by the force of the kick.

Tristan fell back far away on the ground and began coughing for a while as Alyssia stood back and waited patiently for her to stand.

According to usual duelling rules she cannot attack someone while they are down so she allowed her opponent to recover.

As for whether her opponent wished to give up or continue the duel was their own business, all that mattered to her was gaining more experience during the battle to master her martial arts quicker but to also earn some rewards.

Thanks to the minks remarkable fighting instincts and the practice she had done it had allowed her to tap into potential that she never knew she had as the adrenaline filled her body during battle but she remembered that she was not the only mink on Zou.

She was surrounded by friendly and cuddly looking super combatants that aren't even scared to take on jack the droughts crew members in order to defend their homeland so she could not afford to relax even if she was of the same race.

A shiver went down her spine when she thought of it…

The she looked towards Tristan who had begun to climb up once again and a battle intent blazed in her eyes.

Her father looked pleased with his daughter but he also expressed his outward approval of Alyssia's foot techniques and the use of them but most of all he wished to see his daughter gain a stronger fighting spirit and a sense of rivalry with her new friend so he had no choice but to ask. "Do you wish to continue?"

Tristan nodded and then took up a battle stance once again before approaching Alyssia once more.

This time rather than striking right away she was being more cautious and approaching and retreating waiting for a chance to land a clean hit, but Alyssia did not wish to wait around, so moved forward.

She began with a side kick which was pulled back just before Tristan was about to dodge it which then returned her fighting stance once again but turned her body and hit her again with a back kick in the chest.

The blow may not seem powerful coming from a child but from a kangaroo mink child it would still hurt Tristan who had been knocked off balance again and was winded.

She took several steps back and help a hand over her stomach and the pain from receiving the previous kicks showed on her face, but still she couldn't help but envy the way her opponent was using their kicks and feints to break through her defences every time.

So far her last two kicks were like spears being thrust towards the target while the first was just a lighter kick to kick her off balance in order to not damage her growing joints but it showed the control and power Alyssia had cultivated to match her races best qualities.

Just as Tristan got a small breather to tap into her beast fighting instinct the battle took place once more but as Tristan was improving her sloppy fighting technique and slowly catching up her opponent was doing the same while adapting what she had already learned.

Each time she made sure not to reveal any flaws and guard or dodge attacks and then unleashed a front, side, back or round house kick to Tristan's front, waist or upper legs but made sure to target her exposed lower leg and behind the knee if she wished to disrupt her balance and footwork.

Eventually another blow after many had landed on her and Tristan could no longer remain standing no matter how much fighting spirit she had at that moment so she had no choice but to say. "I give up. You win."

All of a sudden there was several clapping noises in the surroundings congratulating the brave little fighters who had fought hard and showed the adults the spirit of youth and rivalry.

Meanwhile Alyssia could also hear several dinging noises in her head as she had won the duel.

Caught up in her excitement she had a big happy grin on her face which matched her age better than her usual serious look.

She then looked around and saw the neighbours who had been watching her dominate the fight but also allow her opponent a chance to stand back up again so they grew to like her a little more so she couldn't help but feel a little shy at the way they thought about her.

Tristan on the other hand looked at her body which was destined to be bruised the next day underneath her fur and then decided. 'From now on I am going to practice even harder but it hurts so much… maybe I should learn from the doctor!'

Suddenly her life's path had been decided but it was started a little earlier than she had intended.

She approached Alyssia and then held out her hand to shake Alyssia's hand. "Let's be friends! Hey can you teach me some of what you were using?"

Most minks that she knew mainly used fist, claw, palm, finger or weapon techniques because they are most used to teaching how to draw out electro towards their hands or learn to coat their weapon in it so not many are known to mainly use their feet as a main focus in attacking besides learning various types of footwork to help improve their speed, help their maintain their balance better or dodge attacks.

On one hand it was not always the best to only focus on the upper half and ignore the lower half but the same was for focussing on the lower and ignoring the upper.

It was best to learn enough to make up for various flaws just in case an enemy appears that is a lot more versatile like Kaku who uses sword and foot techniques that make him difficult to defeat if he constantly attacks from a long range.

Alyssia believed that if she had a partner to spar with her training speed would improve but she would be able to also learn how to improve her upper bodies guard and ability to avoid attacks or at least lessen the damage done to her if she cannot avoid it.

Right away she grabbed the hand oppose her and shook it with a smile on her face. "It would bring me great happiness to be your friend."

Having someone with a similar body but a different focus in fighting style would help her to figure out her flaws and correct them but at the same time she could help Tristan to improve her own flaws.

The two girls shook hands happily as a lifelong friendship was formed with several witnesses.

Everyone thought that the excitement was over so went back to what they were doing but all of a sudden the small kangaroo mink girl suddenly spoke up. "I have one win and zero losses now. I would like to receive another duel with someone within my own age range no matter their race type so long as they have yet to learn how to use electro."

Some facepalmed as they could tell that this would probably become a regular thing from this child while others felt a little sorry for the kids.

A small group however who had been looking from the shadows had excited looks in their eyes as they witnessed the younger generation showing signs of having strong competitive and fighting spirit that would help the minks grow strong.

Once one child like her shows signs of showing talent many others would feel challenged and then they would have no choice but to work harder.

If this continued the day and night corps will be receiving many young and strong recruits within the next ten to fifteen years.

Within the dark forest further away a pair of cat eyes were smiling and a large wide grin could faintly be seen pointing upward within the darkness which then suddenly vanished quickly as if it was never there but a small voice could be heard if anyone was close enough to hear it. "If I remember correctly nyah this location should be where some of the previous guards had returned to after retiring to train their young for the next generation to inherit their will nyah. That one should be a child of one of those who have retired or are on a break right now nyah so she should be eligible to enter the guardians if she wishes to."

Alyssia did not know that the leader of the guardians or night guards and one of the members of Oden's red scabbards 'master Cat Viper' had seen her duel and had thoughts of recruiting her if she continues to improve herself as she has done recently.