Brand New World
Ch. 16: Ki Control 101
-X-
Disclaimer: The following is a fan made work of fiction. One Piece is owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonen Jump Manga, and Eiichiro Oda. I do not own One Piece or any of its characters, nor any of the songs I put in here. The only thing I own here is Kakusei and a few fan characters.
Summary: I`m Kakusei. I have no idea where I am, or who I am, but I feel I m in a familiar world, just not my own. Mentions other mangas as the character is from our world. I`m being realistic. Also, Robin x OC later.
Rating: T for Language, Violence, and Blood.
-X-
The Next Morning…
-X-
"So are you guys ready to enroll in Kakusei`s School of Ki Control?" Kakusei said loudly as he stood in a very heroic position as he stood on top of a large rock.
"Why`d we have to get up so early?" Luffy asked yawning. Luffy was yawning and rubbing his eyes, Sanji was lighting a new cigarette to wake up, Chopper had fallen to the ground asleep, and Zoro had just fallen asleep standing up.
"Nami said we only have a few days here before the Log Pose changes, so we have to get in as much training as possible," Kakusei answered. "And I`d rather not train on the ship, because we`re gonna be destroying a lot of stuff. Do you want to be the ones to pay Nami for destroying the Merry any further?" All the guys snapped to attention and began shivering in fear of Nami`s wrath.
"No sir!" they all replied in unison.
"Good, then let`s get started," Kakusei said as he led them to a clearing."Now, if you guys wanna learn to control Ki, the first thing we gotta do is be able to summon your Ki from your bodies. This simple exercise will help you guys to just that. All I`m gonna have you do, is make a ball of Ki in between your hands."
"Really?" Luffy asked. "That`s it?"
"That`s easy!" Chopper said happily.
"It`s that simple?" Sanji said as he took a drag on his cigarette. "That doesn`t seem that hard."
"Well if it were that simple, everyone could use Ki," Zoro said irking Sanji.
"Before the two of you start arguing, put that hatred of each other to your training," Kakusei said. "This method is pretty simple, but it takes will and focus to complete properly. Zoro is probably the closest one out of your four to being able to do this already."
"What?" Luffy, Sanji, and Chopper exclaimed looking at Zoro.
"Why do you think that?" Zoro asked calmly.
"Two reasons," Kakusei said as he held up two fingers. "Your Tatsumaki and Pound Cannon techniques. The Tatsumaki in and of itself has a lot of grounds in Ki, as most people wouldn`t be able to create a tornado which can cut someone while the blades only touch the same someone for a brief time. Your Pound Cannon techniques perfectly demonstrate the flow of Ki as a far-ranged attack as well. So you guys ready to begin?"
"Yes," Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Chopper replied.
Kakusei sat down and crossed his legs, and the others followed. "If you want to form a ball of Ki, like this," he said as he held his hand up about a foot apart and created a ball of Ki, "then you have to be able to concentrate on what you want to happen. Close your eyes and imagine all the energy in your body flowing into the space between your hands, creating a ball of warm light." There was a short pause while everyone concentrated.
"I can feel it!" Luffy said as he held his eyes closed, breaking the silence.
"So can I!" Chopper added in a bit later.
"It really was easy," Sanji said smiling.
"Something seems a bit off though," Zoro said.
"That`s because the Ki you guys are forming isn`t visible yet," Kakusei said, causing everyone to open their eyes and see that their balls were not visible. "If you want the Ki to be visible like mine, you`ll have to put more into it, however just because it`s not visible," he said as he stood up and made his ball of Ki disappear, "doesn`t mean it`s not there." Kakusei pointed his hand at a large boulder, and a split second later, a chunk of the rock exploded.
"Whoa!" Sanji said shocked.
"So COOL!" Luffy and Chopper said with stars in their eyes.
"Impressive," Zoro said smiling. "So what was the point of learning to focus it if we can`t see it?"
"Baby steps Zoro," Kakusei said almost scolding him. "Now that you all can draw out your Ki, try to draw out enough that it`s visible. I`ll leave you all to it, and be back in about half an hour."
"Where are you going?" Sanji asked.
"I`ve got a few ideas I want to try out," Kakusei said as he walked towards the beach.
-X-
A Half Hour Later…
-X-
"So how`s it going guys?" Kakusei said upon his return.
"I did it!" Luffy said excitedly as he presented his Ki ball about a foot in diameter.
"So did I!" Chopper said as he presented his ball of Ki, about 9 inches in diameter. "It`s smaller than Luffy`s though…"
"That`s fine Chopper," Kakusei said as he patted Chopper on the head. "You got the important part down, so we can fine tune it later. Sanji, Zoro, let`s see yours."
Sanji and Zoro both presented their balls of Ki to Kakusei for inspection, both being about 1 foot in diameter, like Luffy`s. "Mine`s bigger," Sanji said confidently.
"Are you blind?" Zoro said. "Mine`s bigger."
"You must be blind Marimo, cause mine`s bigger," Sanji said his anger rising.
"What was that Ero-Cook?" Zoro said his anger rising as well.
"Break it up ladies," Kakusei said gaining both their attention, "and listen up. Now that you all have that step down, next comes the best part. We`re gonna fire these babies and blow shit up."
"WE`RE GONNA FIRE BEAMS!" Luffy yelled excitedly.
"AWESOME!" Chopper yelled.
"Finally," Sanji said smugly.
"Took him long enough," Zoro said annoyed a bit.
"Now when a Ki blast fires from your hand," Kakusei said making a visible ball of Ki in his hands, "you have to imagine it like you`re firing a gun or in some cases, a cannon." He pointed his hand and ball of Ki at another rock, and took aim carefully, and Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper looked on carefully. "You aim, charge up, and FIRE!" The blast leapt from Kakusei`s hand and shot right at the rock, and on contact, the rock disintegrated.
"So how would you envision that?" Sanji asked.
"It`s like the Ki is the ammo in the barrel, and it shoots to your target," Kakusei said. "Or if your arm is one big pistol barrel."
"Oh, so it`s like my Gomu Gomu no Pistol," Luffy said having a moment of clarity, "but without actually throwing the punch."
"Exactly," Kakusei said pointing at Luffy.
"That helps clear things up," Chopper said child-like.
"Now, Luffy, Chopper," Kakusei said getting their attention," since you two fight normally with your fists like me, you`ll fire your Ki regularly like what I do, okay?"
"Got it," they said in unison.
"Zoro," Kakusei said to Zoro, getting his attention, "because of your fighting style, you`re gonna channel your Ki through your swords and make a blast about the size and shape of the tip of your sword or the edge of your blade, and I want to make it clear, for this exercise, do NOT swing your arm to shoot the blast, got it?"
"Got it," Zoro replied.
"Sanji," Kakusei said calling Sanji`s attention, "I want you to channel your Ki through your feet, since you never use your hands in combat anyway. I want your blast to at least leave a footprint, at max, total destruction of the target, and like Zoro, you will NOT go through the kicking motions when the blast leaves your foot, understood?"
"Sure thing," Sanji said as he lit his cigarette. "So what are you gonna do?"
"I`m gonna go and continue working on what I was before," Kakusei replied. "I`ll give you guys an hour this time, cause this is a bit harder than before, and try to space out so you guys don`t hit each other."
"Got it," Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Chopper said as Kakusei walked away.
-X-
An Hour Later…
-X-
"So how`re we doing?" Kakusei said as he walked up to where he left the guys. He looked around, and saw, everywhere but a foot around where Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper stood, what could have been described as a battlefield. Blast craters were everywhere, and rough slash marks were in trees and rocks alike. "Wow, you guys have been busy."
"You bet," Zoro said turning to face Kakusei.
"So what do you think?" Sanji asked calmly.
"I think I`d like to see you guys fire those blasts before I jump to any conclusions," Kakusei replied smiling at the destruction they achieved.
"Alright, let`s do it one more time!" Luffy said as he charged up another blast and aimed it at Kakusei.
"Not like that Luffy!" Kakusei, Sanji, and Zoro yelled at Luffy as he readied to fire.
"Where should we fire then?" Chopper asked.
"How about those rocks over there?" Kakusei said as he pointed to four large boulders that somehow they had managed not to destroy.
"Okay," Luffy said as he began to walk forward a bit before Kakusei stopped him.
"I also want to see if you guys can get good distance and still keep power too, you know," Kakusei said as he looked at Luffy.
"Fine," Luffy said as he quickly charged up his blast and then fired it at the first rock from the right, blowing up half of it completely.
"Nice," Kakusei said as he admired Luffy handwork. "Zoro, you`re up."
"Alright then," Zoro said as he stuck his blade straight up in front of him, with the tip of the blade pointed to the sky. His blast formed as it ran from the hilt to the tip, and then fired off in a wave which sliced the rock clean in two. "How`s that?"
"Perfect," Kakusei said as he saw the inside of the rock shine in several colors. "Sanji, your turn."
"Got it," Sanji said as he chambered his leg and then pointed his foot at the rock. His blast charged up, and shot forward, and blew up just about as much stone as Luffy did, but leaving a clean blast line. "How`d I do, teach?"
"'A' Plus, Sanji," Kakusei said as he held up his thumb to Sanji in satisfaction. "Alright Chopper, it`s all you."
"Alright," Chopper said happily. He pointed his hooves together like he was doing his Scope in Brain Point.
"Luffy suggested you do that, didn`t he?" Kakusei asked out of curiosity.
"Yep," Chopper said smiling.
"Should have known," Kakusei said a bit sullen in his mind. "You ready?"
"Yes," Chopper said as he charged up his blast between his hooves. He fired his blast at the rock, but the light was so bright, Kakusei, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had to shield their eyes. When the blast subsided they took a look at Choppers target, and saw most of it was still there, save for a hole in the front about the size of the blast. "Aww, I didn`t do as well as the others."
"Hold on a minute Chopper," Kakusei said as he walked over to inspect the rock. When he got around to the backside of the rock, his jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out of his head. "Ch-chopper, you did better than Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro."
"WHAT?" Chopper, Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro said as they ran to see what Kakusei was seeing. They saw the back of the rock, and Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro went into shock as well, while Chopper became immediately happier. In the front, the rock only seemed to have a hole punched into it. On the back, however, the rock was completely decimated, as the exit hole, or exit crater would be a better term, was about the size of the rock itself. And the crater left by the blast landing in the side of the mountain was about the size of a small house.
"What the hell just happened?" Zoro asked aloud and confused.
"AWESOME!" Luffy said looking at the destruction.
"How the hell did that little ball of Ki do so much damage?" Sanji asked saying what pretty much everyone was thinking.
"Chopper must have unconsciously compressed his Ki," Kakusei said calmly.
"What does that mean?" Chopper asked.
"I think it`d be better to show you," Kakusei said as he raised his hand and made his fingers form into a gun shape. "This is what happens with Ki normally." He charged a blast at his fingertip and created a blast about 3 feet in diameter. "You have to make the blast bigger in order to add more power to the attack." He shot the blast off and took a larger chunk of rock out of the crater Chopper made in the mountain. "However, if you compress the Ki like so," he said as he made a blast about the width of his finger, "you can use less Ki, and have the same if not greater effect." He shot the second blast off and blew a crater in his previous one, three times the size of the first crater. "It`s like taking the gunpowder for a rifle, but putting it into a pistol. There`s more force behind the attack, even though the projectile is smaller."
"That makes sense," Sanji said looking at the difference in power.
"Not a bad idea," Zoro said grinning a bit.
"You mean I did that without thinking about it?" Chopper said looking at Kakusei eagerly.
"Yep," Kakusei said smiling at Chopper feeling like a big brother to him.
"AWESOME!" Luffy said again with stars in his eyes. "Can you teach us to do that?"
"If we have any extra time," Kakusei said. "I still have to get you four through basics first, and through elemental control. But we`re almost done with the basics, so it may be possible."
"Really?" Sanji asked. "What`s left?"
"You guys are gonna learn…" Kakusei said leaving them in suspense for a few seconds before he shot off into the air and flew around for a bit, over the island and across the water, and then returning to hover over where he stood. "…to fly."
"We`re gonna learn to fly?" Luffy and Chopper said excitedly.
"Why do we need to learn to fly?" Zoro asked, saying what was also on Sanji`s mind.
"Yeah," Sanji commented. "Since we have to fight mostly at close range, why do we want to get farther away?"
"Good questions guys," Kakusei replied as Luffy and Chopper calmed down and focused on what Kakusei was saying. "This exercise will not only teach you guys to fly, which can be used as a tactical advantage against ground-based opponents, but it will also help in the overall control of your Ki. The soles of your feet are the hardest places for Ki to reach, so if you can control your Ki enough to get Ki down there, you can get Ki pretty much anywhere on your body, and it`ll help when you have to manipulate Ki outside your bodies as well."
"Looks like I`ve got an advantage then," Sanji said.
"So this lesson is building on the Ki control we`ve learned thus far?" Zoro asked.
"Yep," Kakusei said nodding his head. "The biggest thing I want you guys to take from this is control. In any martial art, control is a key component. Many of these techniques I`m teaching you can kill an opponent with ease. You don`t want to go all out unless you have to, because I don`t think anyone here wants to kill people like a common murderer." Everyone nodded their heads at this statement. "Also, if you reveal every trick you have to an opponent at the beginning of a fight, you`re basically giving your opponent every trick in your book. Save your strongest and most unexpected techniques for when you`ll need them most, like to turn the tide of a battle or if you have no other options."
"Where the hell did these words of wisdom come from?" Sanji asked about thirty seconds after Kakusei gave his speech breaking the silence and smiling a bit.
"I guess those words came from everyone I`ve learned from over the course of my life," Kakusei said after thinking a bit. "That includes you guys, and everyone you`ve ever fought or met."
"How does that work?" Zoro asked as Luffy and Chopper tilted their heads in confusion.
"I guess I learn from everyone`s decisions," Kakusei said shrugging his shoulders. "So, you guys ready to start?"
"You`re not gonna go away this time?" Chopper asked.
"Nope," Kakusei said. "I finished up what I needed to do, so I`m gonna be here guiding you guys every step of the way. Now let`s get you guys off the ground."
"Yeah!" Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper yelled in agreement. Over the next few hours, Kakusei had taught Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper how to fly, albeit with a short lunch break. Sanji got the hang of levitating first, due to how he learned to shoot Ki. Chopper, Zoro, and Luffy soon followed suit, although Luffy was the last to the party. Shortly after that, everyone was flying freely.
"Alright guys, bring it in," Kakusei said causing everyone to land. "Now that we`re all even on Ki control, we`re gonna do some sparring so we can get a better reaction time with using Ki."
"Shishishishi, this is gonna be fun!" Luffy said raring to go.
"What`s sparring?" Chopper asked.
"It`s like fighting, but we`re not gonna go all out on each other," Kakusei explained.
"I`m gonna kick your shitty ass, Marimo," Sanji said glaring at Zoro.
"Not if I cut you up first, Ero-Cook," Zoro said glaring back at Sanji.
"I thought I said we were gonna spar, guys," Kakusei said trying to calm Sanji and Zoro down a bit.
-X-
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Nami yelled at Kakusei that night at dinner. Kakusei, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper were all covered in bruises and bandages as they ate, and Zoro and Sanji seemed the most beat up, although Sanji`s hands were somehow untouched. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL THEM? WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DIE?"
"So we went a little overboard in sparring," Kakusei said nonchalantly. "Big deal. We`ll heal quickly."
"That`s not the point!" Nami said as she slugged Kakusei over the head causing him to pass out and drop to the floor. "Oops."
"Oi, Kakusei!" Luffy said panicked as he tried to shake Kakusei awake. "Don`t die on us!"
"DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!" Chopper yelled frantically as he ran around in a circle. "GAH! I`m the doctor!"
"Why did he pass out?" Usopp asked Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji as Chopper did a check-up. "He always seemed just as strong as you three."
"I`m not surprised actually," Zoro said calmly.
"Same here," Sanji said as he began washing some dishes. "The rest of us were fighting him at the same time."
"Wait, he was fighting four against one?" Nami and Usopp yelled in shock.
"Yeah, it was his idea," Luffy said calmly. "He said it would help us work together and get a better handle on using Ki on instinct. He said he needed the training anyway."
"He was able to keep up with you all?" Usopp said shocked. "No wonder he was tired."
"Great, if he dies now, I`ll feel even worse for hitting him," Nami said a bit sullen.
"I`ll still love you anyway, Nami-swaaan!" Sanji said flirting as usual.
"He`s fine," Chopper said as he put away his equipment. "He`s just sleeping."
"Thank god," Nami said as she wiped her forehead.
"We better get him to bed," Chopper said calmly. "It seems like he`ll be out for the rest of the night."
"I`ll take care of it," Robin said as feet appeared under Kakusei`s body and walked him towards the door, and an arm opened the door so Kakusei` wouldn`t hit his head.
-X-
Three Days Later…
-X-
Kakusei leaned over the rail of the Merry, wearing only his kung fu pants and a black tank top. It was late, and he was reviewing over how the overall training had gone the past couple of days. The second day of training entailed more finite control over Ki-based attacks, sensing Ki with the mind`s eye, and more combat practice, but less intense than the first day. The third day (yesterday) they had finally gotten around to elemental training and found out what everyone`s natural elemental affinities were. A few results confused Kakusei a bit, but they moved on and made some great progress. Today`s training had been perfecting their elemental control and making new element and Ki-based attacks to use in the future, should they be needed. All in all, Kakusei was pretty satisfied with the results. "I just realized," Kakusei said to himself chuckling a bit, "one day, these guys may no longer need me to teach them. They may somehow find new fighting techniques all their own, and incorporate them into their fighting styles with what I`ve taught them these past few days. After that, what place do I have on this crew?"
"I can`t say I could answer that question," a familiar voice spoke up and grabbing Kakusei`s attention.
"Robin," Kakusei said turning around and smiling. "Figures you`re the one who hears that. So what did you want?"
"I`d like to learn more about your world," Robin said smiling in her usual manner. "Is that alright?"
"Nah, it`s fine," Kakusei said smiling. "I did promise after all. So what do you want to hear about tonight, the end of World War II or a more peaceful event?"
"The end of World War II is fine," Robin replied. "I`m surprised the majority of your world went to a full-scale war in the more recent era, twice."
"Well, that`s mainly the fault of power-hungry dictators like Hitler," Kakusei said remembering the previous conversations he had with Robin about World War I and the rest of World War II. "Well, anyway, after Hitler committed suicide, his empire collapsed. And with Mussolini soon shot dead, the only people left fighting were the Japanese. Even after much fighting and the attacks on their homeland, they still did not give up. So the products of the Manhattan Project were deployed to finish the job."
"The Manhattan Project?" Robin asked inquisitively.
"It was one of the greatest project mankind ever did so far in my world," Kakusei began, "but it also created the most deadly weapon and power source know to my world as well."
Robin stared at Kakusei in awe of his words, and despite her cool and calm demeanor, in her mind, she seemed almost afraid to ask what she wanted. "What was created?" she said slowly.
"The atomic bomb," Kakusei said staring almost blankly out into the dark ocean. "The atomic bomb harnesses the power of the very atoms that make up every substance and creature known to make, creating a blast as hot as the sun itself that easily stretches out several miles. Those people and anything else caught in the immediate blast were essentially flash fossilized into giant humanoid pieces of charcoal. Others were blinded, burned horribly all over their body, or worse. And you didn` t have to be caught in the immediate blast to be affected. The radiation from the blast could mutate your DNA, could cause your hair to fall out, cancer, or horribly disfigure your future offspring, should you retain the ability to have offspring. This weapon, which levels cities and that could leave entire islands uninhabitable, was unfortunately replicated across the world, and remains one of the biggest threats to my world today." Robin just stared at Kakusei in shock, vivid scenes of flame and fear running through her mind from her own memories, as she tried to picture what the bombs could have done. "It`s unfortunately one of the sadder chapters of world history in general," Kakusei said snapping Robin out of her daze, "but also one of the most glorified in American history because we won the war. The war was over and everyone was happy. How foolish I was to think that way back home." Kakusei just stared into the water, as Robin looked at him in an awkward silence. "But at least there`s nothing that bad here, right?" Kakusei said as he quickly turned around and smiled at Robin, comforting her a bit.
"Yes," Robin said feeling a bit relieved. "I don`t think there`s anything that bad here."
"Well, I`m gonna turn in," Kakusei said as he walked towards the guy`s quarters. "Let me know what you want to hear about next, okay?"
"Okay," Robin replied. She gave her usual smile to Kakusei as he closed the door to the guy`s room, and then looked out into the ocean herself. "We may not have atomic bombs here, but we have something pretty close."
-X-
So, we finally got to and finished Ki training. I put the chat between Robin and Kakusei here because I wanted you guys to see how one of their conversations went about our world`s history.
Next chapter, we`ll start up a hopefully short arc!
Tsugino jikan made! (Until next time!)