Sound of severing thunder.

Bankotsu swung at Markus like a mad man.

Markus dodged his attacks as carefully as he could, but the sheer size of bankotsu's halberd made moving away hard, and getting close was even harder.

Markus bobbed and weaved out of the way of each strike from the great blade, just barely avoiding its large edge, which looked like it could split a man in half with ease.

" HAha! What's wrong, Marine? You certainly like to dodge a lot."

Markus hated how much Bankotsu liked to talk, it reminded him much of Manten and how loud and arrogant that man was.

Bankotsu swung his massive halberd hard and slammed it into the ground, seemingly getting it stuck.

Seeing that the blade was stuck, Markus tried taking the initiative to attack.

Markus coated his arm in haki, he was ready to deal a devastating blow to the man. ' Got to finish this fast. Can't afford to hold back.

" Giga Impact!"

*Swip!

Markus dashed towards Bankotsu, ready to deliver a strong kick to the man's chest. However, right before Markus' leg connected, Bankotsu's whole body vanished into thin air.

' What the? It's just like the other one!' Markus noted. Markus spun around on the heel of his foot, building speed and momentum.

Then just as bankotsu reappeared behind him, Markus kicked out.

Bankotsu was surprised by how fast Markus had counterattacked. He quickly grabbed the hilt of his Halberd and pulled it out of the ground. Infusing it with haki, Bankotsu blocked the strike.

Markus' foot connected with Bankotsu's Halberd. There was a shockwave that rocked the battlefield the moment they collided.

' His body looks so thin... But this guy's strong.' Bankotsu noted. The swordsman composed himself from his momentary shock and opened his mouth.

" What the?"

" HAH!" Bankotsu shouted and fired a wave of sound right out of his mouth.

Markus was rocked by the wave of sound. As it passed through his body, his ears rang painfully, and every bone in his body shook violently.

" Heh." Bankotsu was pleasantly pleased by the look on Markus' face. " Yeaaaah!"

Markus stumbled backwards and Bankotsu lunged at him. He raised his halberd high above his head, and a small white bubble spread out across his blade. He swung it at Markus, and though he managed to dodge the attack Markus wasn't out of danger.

Markus, despite reeling from the first surprise attack, jumped backwards just in time to avoid being cut in half. However, before he could relax, the air in front of him cracked, and a large wave of sound erupted from bankotsu's blade and started rushing straight for Markus, hitting him right in his face.

Markus felt like he had just been hit in the face by an earthquake. Every bone in his body rattled and creaked, blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and his ear drums felt like they were going to burst.

By the time Markus looked back up, Bankotsu was preparing another attack.

" HAHA! How do you like that, punk? I'll pay you back in blood for what you did to my brothers! Because my name is Bankotsu!" Bankotsu shouted his name and intent loudly for Markus to hear and swung his blade right at Markus, launching another sound wave.

Knowing that he couldn't afford to take many more of those without defending himself, Markus coated his arms in haki. A long-range battle was not something he was going to win.

Markus raised his arms to try and block the attack, and while the pressure from the soundwave was definitely easier than before, it was still a painful experience. So painful, that Markus dropped to his knees from the attack.

' What is going on?! I know I blocked that attack.' Markus wondered. Markus felt his ears drumming loudly. ' It feels like a thousand drums banging in my head all at once.' Markus' face was a mixture of pain and confusion. He couldn't wrap his head around how the attack worked, and he doubted he would find out soon.

Bankotsu laughed. Seeing the look of pain and confusion on Markus' face brought great joy to the pirate. The feeling of crushing his opponents always brought joy to his face.

" You should realize now; you can't stop my sound-sound fruit. Sound is a vibration, and vibrations pass through everything. Everything vibrates. And if everything vibrates, then I can hit it. Even if you try blocking it, as long as my sound waves hit you, then I can damage you. And pray you don't get hit point blank. Because if you do..." Bankotsu spun his large Halberd around and pointed it at Markus. " It's gonna hurt."

' Sound waves? How do I counter sound waves?' Markus wondered. ' Damn it... Why do I always get the tricky opponents to fight? It's always the guys with devil fruits. What I wouldn't give to just punch it out with someone.'

Markus summoned his strength and, although clumsily, stumbled his way back to his feet. ' How do I defeat an opponent that can attack with sound?' Markus stood there for a few moments, trying to collect himself.

' Now, that I think about it.... I think Bogard mentioned something like this a long time ago.'

...........

" Observation haki and speed have never been your strong suits. But they are both essential abilities, if you want to make it, especially in the New World, where almost every pirate you'll meet is proficient with haki. There are even some with haki so strong that they can perceive an attack before it is launched, or even a word spoken." Bogard explained.

" But I'm not good with observation. I can't get a grasp of the damn thing. I mean when you explain it, it makes sense. But there's nothing to it. Nothing physical anyway. At least with armament I can feel it, inside me." Markus argued.

" Tell me, how do you plan on dealing with an enemy who is faster than you?" Bogard asked the boy.

" I'll get faster than them, simple." A young Markus responded.

* Swip!

" You're never going to just get faster. The world doesn't work like that." Bogard explained. He appeared behind Markus and batted him in the head with his cane sword.

" OW! Hey?! That hurt!" Markus explained. Markus jumped up off the ground and lunged at Bogard.

" Right punch, spinning leg kick." Bogard called out Markus' attacks, with his eyes closed, before the boy even threw his first punch. And sure enough, Markus tried punching Bogard with his right fist. Bogard moved his head to the right, completely avoiding Markus' attack. Markus then tried instinctively started spinning his body, preparing to go for a spinning leg kick, but this time Bogard simply swatted him to the ground with ease.

" How did you do that?" Markus asked the man.

" Observation and proper training. When you fight, you subconsciously allow your emotions to drive your actions and your haki goes wild. Now, resume meditating, and stop fighting so much. Keeping calm is the trick to observation. You allow your emotions to control you, and you'll never advance."

................

' Maybe if I had taken it more seriously back then, things would be going differently right now.' Markus wondered. ' Keeping calm and levelheaded... That's never been what I'm about. I like going in headfirst.' Markus complained. " Ugh! Guess... Guess I am a one trick pony... Huh?" Markus spoke. " It's clear, that this battle isn't going to go well for me at this range. So..."

*Swip!

" I need to get as close as possible." Markus appeared in front of Bankotsu and tried kicking him, only for Bankotsu to dodge out of the way with ease.

" Nice try, but you're not fast enough to keep up with me. I move at the speed of sound too!" Bankotsu exclaimed. His sword started glowing with that white sheen as before and Markus knew another sound attack was coming.

' All attacks have intent. If I can figure out the intent for this attack, I may be able to predict the pattern, or at least be able to keep track of its path of destruction.' Markus noted. Markus stopped moving completely and focused solely on the attack forming on the blade of Bankotsu's Halberd.

" What? You just gonna stand there and take it? Fine by me, here, have it!" Bankotsu yelled. He swung his blade forward and another wave of sound rushed towards Markus at a speed, he was barely able to see.

Though, the closer the wave got, the more Markus could feel it. At the last second, Markus jumped up and though he surprisingly managed to dodge it, he was still swept off to the side by the wave as it went crashing into the town.

" What? He dodged that?"

' That was close.' Markus noted. ' I barely had enough time to move out of the way of that attack. I couldn't even see it... But.... But i could feel it coming somehow. Like my instincts were just screaming at me, telling me to jump. But still, even if I did dodge it, that was too close. And my legs feel like jelly.'

Although Markus was able to successfully dodge Bankotsu's attack, it still delivered quite a bit of damage to Markus' legs, which felt like they had been completely pounded into paste. But the battle was far from being over.

Markus stammered back to his feet and stared at bankotsu, who was glaring at Markus with a new look of concern on his face.

' This one's weird.' Bankotsu noted. ' He just stood there and waited for my attack, before just barely dodging. He's crazy. And that haki... Just before it hit, his haki suddenly started flowing. Not like it was a second ago. Just for a moment, I thought I saw my brother standing in front of me.' Bankotsu noted.

* Clash! DOOM!

Thinking of his brother, Bankotsu noticed the surging haki and lightning clashing just a little further away from him.

" Brother...." Bankotsu muttered quietly.

" What was that?" Markus asked the man.

" I said don't bother trying to dodge me. It's useless. Even if you can avoid one attack, how are you going to avoid multiple?" Bankotsu asked the man. " Thundering shockwave slash!" Bankotsu started swinging his Halberd rapidly, sending out wave after wave of large sound-based attacks, that trembled and shook every inch of the world in front of them.

For a moment, Markus was worried, thinking to himself that there was no way that he could dodge all of those attacks. But as he stood there staring at the approaching feeling that was death, Markus felt a feeling wash over him, that he had not felt in quite some time.

Fear.

.........

" Are you afraid?" Zephyr asked.

" Of you?! Not a chance."

" I didn't mean, me, brat. I meant are you afraid, period." Zephyr asked again.

Markus was confused by the question that old man Zephyr had asked him. Did Markus ever do anything that suggested he was afraid?

" No." Markus responded.

" So, you're afraid of nothing?"

" That's right!"

* Thud!

" Ow! My head! Hey, that hurt old man." Markus complained. " What did you do that for?"

" Because you're being stupid. Being confident is one thing. But overconfidence is a hazard, do you understand me brat?"

" How is not being afraid, dangerous? I don't get that." Markus complained.

" That's because you're young. You think you're invincible.... But you're not." Zephyr told the boy.

" But... But I can't be scared. How can I be brave if I'm scared? That just makes me a punk."

Zephyr sighed. Hearing this boy speak.... It was frustrating to say the least. But then again, he was still young, so Zephyr couldn't blame the boy. " Listen here, Markus and listen well. Being afraid doesn't make you weak. And saying you're not scared doesn't make you strong." Zephyr explained.

" None of that matters, old man. The only thing that matters is that I'm the strongest, nothing else." Markus exclaimed. The young man jumped at Zephyr, ready to strike. But this time, Zephyr wasn't playing games.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. He slowly started gathering together his full power. " In order to walk the path of a warrior, and eventually reach its peak... There is one thing you still lack!" Haki erupted from Zephyr's body like a raging fire. " Let me... Show you!" Zephyr bore down, his full might on Markus. Who, upon feeling it, collapsed onto his stomach.

The pressure was too much for Markus to handle, just being in near proximity of Zephyr made it feel like, Markus was being crushed to death. Like a mountain was dropped on his body. Like the ocean had just fell on him.

Markus couldn't breathe, let alone move. He was crying and sweating profusely. So much so, that his entire body felt wet.

Feeling that his message had finally gotten across, Zephyr relaxed his intense fighting spirit. And though the pressure was gone from his body, Markus still shook and trembled as if he was still being crushed.

The faint sound of the boy coughing and crying drowned out the sound of the room around the two of them rattling.

" Are you afraid?" Zephyr asked the boy.

" I... I.... I'm... scared." Markus whimpered. His arms were shaking like noodles, and his legs were barely able to hold themselves up straight.

" Good." Zephyr muttered. " Listen to me, Markus. I can applaud any man who has the guts to stand up and face an enemy that is superior to him... However, the Marines who are the most courageous, are those exceptional few who know when to stand down. Remember Markus, there is nothing wrong with feeling fear. How else would we know our own weakness? You've got a lot to learn before you're ready to be a Marine, and you'll have more to learn far after that. But if you take this lesson with you, and learn from it, and grow, then there will be nothing you can't do." Zephyr told the boy. " Now, let me tell you something as a friend. Possessing a powerful devil fruit, or powerful haki is not the end all, be all. One thing I can truly appreciate is your hunger, your unyielding want and desire to win. Your need to win. Your burning passion for victory. I say that, because I have it too! Like you, I don't want to lose. Never again." Zephyr muttered. " Have confidence in yourself, Markus, even if something is hard, never say I can't do it. There's always a way. Just open your eyes and find it!"

.............

" Old man, zephyr... What would you say if you saw me like this?" Markus wondered. " You'd probably beat the crap outta me." A smile graced Markus face. " there's always another way. You just need to open your eyes and see it." Markus focused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. The range of his observation haki covered the battlefield around him, giving him 360-degree vision. Everything in front and everything behind. All of it became visible. Including the many sound waves heading straight for him. " Tempest: Victory Bird!" Markus kicked his leg out in front of him, sending out a compressed wave of air, that was as sharp as a blade, and the wave of air stopped the soundwaves in their tracks, detonating them earlier than Bankotsu had intended.

" What?!" Bankotsu shouted.

Markus smirked when he saw that his attack worked.

" Yes!" Markus exclaimed. ' This is it! I can stop these attacks. I just need to open my eyes to all of the possibilities.' " I don't know about you. But I have this strange feeling that everything's about to change." Markus told the man. " I feel like... I know, I can win. So, come on. Let's see if I can break that blade of yours."

" Don't get cocky, punk. It's still too early for you to get overconfident." Bankotsu spoke. " I haven't gone all out yet. Not even close."

Markus has found a way to get past, Bankotsu's devastating devil fruit. But will it be enough to overcome the Legendary Thunder Dragon? Find out on the Next Episode of Yuyu Haku.... Hol up?

...........

Alright, guys. That's another chapter in, and another fierce battle has begun. Markus has had some great teachers to learn from, and recalling those lessons, has helped him come up with a way to counter the devastating powers of the Sound-Sound fruit. But will it be enough to win this battle? Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter by leaving a comment!!! Remember guys, I read them all, and your voice makes this so much more worth it. Peace!!!