Chapter 44 (1/2)

Grandline, Paradise, Jaya

As Azul was leaving the battlefield, which could now only be called the former town of Jaya, nobody dared to stand in his way after witnessing the destructive power that he could wield. Meanwhile his leginjury from the shot had already healed itself due to his regeneration but that wasn't the best thing Azul was confronted with. He finally had gained some insight what triggered his 'ripper-state' and how he could possibly learn to control it.

Happy with his discovery and still filled from the rush of battle he so loved Azul marched back to the surprisingly still standing bar and bought himself some good food. He was starving!

The strawhats stood there at the edge of the crater in wonder, some watching as Azul marched back towards the bar they had crossed before, while others were still gobsmacked at the destruction of the city they had seen happening.

Soon the group decided to join Azul for an early lunch and possibly gain some knowledge over the man they knew so little about.

As they arrived at the bar they already saw Azul stuffing himself with a happy smile on his face and walked over towards him while Nami decided to order the food for them and possibly negotiate for a lower price. All for the money after all. It seems as if the story Azul had told her didn't really manage to get through to her... what a pity. It was such an enjoyable story!

Zoro was the first to walk over to Azul since he could respect a fellow warriors strength if he saw it, even if he didn't want to admit that he may loose pretty fast if they were to fight right now.

”May we join you?” Zoro asked, talking a big gulp from a beer he had grabbed from a table nearby, smacking the protesting man over the head he had stolen it from, who grumbled in protest but soon shut his mouth when he spotted the large group the thief belonged to.

”Sure, have a seat.” Azul answered with a full mouth and a happy face.

”We just watched you fight. Where did you learn how to fight like that? And how do you train?” Zoro asked, wanting to know if the young man knew of a way to gain strength faster than what he had been doing so far.

”I noticed. My master taught me when I was younger but since I've started my journey I've been training by myself. Well, except the occasional opponent but that's part of the course work hahaha!

As for how I train...well, that's not something I will tell you about since I would give away knowledge that is not for your ears to hear and wouldn't be much use to you anyways I'm afraid hahaha” Azul answered, all the while stuffing his face with the food that crammed the whole table.

All the other strawhats were also listening with one ear, curious how he had achieved such a level.

”But you must have been training for decades to reach that level right? Though that seems to be quite weird since you aren't all that old. How old are you anyways?” Nami asked, not even knowing such a simple fact about Azul.

”I've been training for nearly 10 years now, my apprenticeship included and I'm around 16 years old now.” Azuls words made Zoro spit out his beer he had been drinking while listening in shock.

”What the f.u.c.k? Only ten years? But I've been training for nearly 20 years now and I'm nowhere near your level! How could that be possible?!” Zoro yelled. Had he been such a slow learner all this time? He knew that his talent had been rather simple compared to Kuinas, before she had died, but he never thought himself to be so mediocre in comparison to some other folks.

”Hmm, I can't really answer that question since I barely know you Zoro. But I can tell you that I would possibly never have reached my current state without my masters instructions and wisdom to support my growth...” Azul said, his happiness slowly dimming until only a neutral face remained. Taking a big gulp from a beer nearby Azul watched Zoro and looked him up and down. From what he saw Zoro was strong, no doubt about that. Maybe he should help a fellow warrior this one time? After all he had been helped by the giants on little garden as well, though more passively in a way.