Chapter 10

Title: escalating situation.

--Third person--

V: Because that is not your trait. End of discussion.

[V scolded her in a harsh tone because her words were distracting him from forging her weapon. He was not a man solely of words but also of action, sheer will, and focus]

[Means once he puts an effort into something, he won't stop doing that until it's perfectly finished or done.]

[In the midst of the forge's heat and flickering flames, V's rugged hands expertly wielded the molten metal, shaping it into a bow of remarkable craftsmanship.]

[His face was set with determination, and his mind was focused solely on the task at hand. The rhythmic clanging of metal echoed through the workshop, accompanied by the occasional hiss of water as he quenched the bow in progress.]

Klyntar: 'It's done, partner.'

V: No, there is still room for improvement, but as a prototype, it will do the work just fine.

[He said out instead of talking in his mind, so Hiyori can also hear him.]

Hiyori: WoW!!!

[She muttered in awe as she stared at the bow from a distance as it was freshly heated. She then immediately covers her mouth with her hands as she remembered not to hinder in the process; otherwise she will again be scolded.]

V: It's fine now you can speak at this moment.

Hiyori: Can I hold it? Please!!

[V sensed her innocent enthusiasm and softened. He allowed her to speak and encouraged her to examine the bow more closely. As he cooled it with water, Hiyori pleaded to hold the weapon.]

V: Yes, it's all yours.

[He said, passing the bow to her.]

[Her excitement is akin to that of a child receiving a cherished toy and begins to swing, aim, and move with the bow.]

V: You like it.

[He asked with concern, as it might be possible she rejects the bow.]

Hiyori: Teacher, are you kidding? It's the best, no, you are the best.

[She replied, her tone was evident with joy, she stopped whatever she was doing and hugged him tightly, expressing herself.]

Hiyori: It's neither heavy nor light, perfectly well-balanced.

[She soon commences to give her honest opinion about the bow while spinning it like a glaive as its build was unique. Hence, giving the bow more functions than just a regular bow.]

A/N: I might add an image.

V: It was damn draining, but it was worth it.

[V admitted, wiping sweat from his brow. Crafting such a remarkable weapon had demanded all his skill and energy, but seeing Hiyori's elation made it all worthwhile.]

Hiyori: Yes, I want to test it.

[Hiyori was eager to test the bow, and V nodded in approval. He knew that she would handle it with care and skill, and he trusted that she would do justice to the craftsmanship he had poured into it.]

--Few minutes later--

V: Now, first I will demonstrate to you its true usage, then you try it. It will be a hectic day as I will be training, plus will give you a schedule to exercise and meditate. Because we have to work on your body and make sure you are in top condition before we could travel outside.

[He calmly commenced to explain to her the process while she attentively heard him without interrupting him.]

Hiyori: So I have to meditate, do multiple exercises to gain adequate muscle to use this bow, and a few minor things like learning patience, timing, etc. Now can we do the demonstrations….

[She recited what she understood, which was everything, as she is committed to the work.]

V: Yes.

[Not wasting any more time, he held the bow from his dominant left hand and an arrow from his right. He pulled the arrow slowly toward himself with an unwavering focus; he poured his Haki into the bow, string, and arrow simultaneously.]

[He aims the arrow at a far-faraway gigantic rock on the ocean floor poking out of the vast ocean. As he blinked, and released the arrow instantly as he imbued enough haki that it won't break.]

[As the arrow was released from the bow, it went toward the rock at an inhuman speed, generating a forceful gust of wind as a by-product with an ear-piercing sound.]

[In just a fraction of a second, it collided with the rock, and exploded into small and small pieces.]

Hiyori: HUUH???

[With widened eyes, she observed the spectacular devastation and reacted in a flabbergasted manner. Completely speechless, just muttered a cute squeak in the end.]

Hiyori: That was soo cool teacher! Teacher….are you good?

[She quickly out of excitement switches glance to V as well as the annihilated rock and was worried about him as he was sweating badly and barely standing still. By his condition, anyone with eyes could say he was drained.]

V: I.. am.. fine.. Just a little exhausted. 'I still have a long way to go.'

[He rested assured her with the best of his acting skill but deep inside he knows he was barely conscious and because of less practice and improper balance of haki distribution he F*ed himself up.]

A/N: (…..) Generally means either a character is panting or is silent.

Klyntar: 'Yup, you used 80% of your Haki reserve instantly for the second time, which in the end robbed you out of stamina. You need to reduce your input and maximize the output for master Haki.'

[She further added and instructed him, so he could remember and overcome his shortcomings to improve his powers.]

V: Now, your turn. 'I will.'

[He said, while panting, then he sat down, recovering his stamina and at the same time responding to his loyal partner.]

Hiyori: I will also give my best shot, teacher.

[She responded with determination burning in her eyes.]

[Just like V, she stood tall as if she copied his stand, fixed the arrow on the string, and pulled the arrow slowly with concentration.]

[But unlike him, her target was a nearby rock within 100 meters of range.]

[As she fired the arrow, its speed was reasonably slow comparative to V's, and it barely did some damage to the rock.]

[Later, upon collision with a rock it broke into 2 pieces.]

Hiyori: That was…. Something not even worth mentioning.

[She said in a dreadful tone, getting disappointed and pessimistic by the result. She dropped the bow and looked at the ground.]

V: That was not too bad for someone who just learned how to use a bow, Hiyori. Everyone learned from zero to hundred,. You will grow if you give effort and do what I saw. And who knows, one day you might even defeat me in archery.

Seeing her depression in her first attempt, he passed some words of encouragement, so she wouldn't give up easily. In her first attempt, she correctly held the bow, had the perfect angle and power while releasing the arrow and, finally, successfully hitting her target.

He had understood from this that she indeed had an affinity for bows, and because he didn't praise her much as he had other ways to help her, plus swords were too overrated nowadays as every 9th or 10th pirate had a sword.

Hiyori: Really, that was good. Yaaah, I knew I could pull it off.

[His words worked like magic to her, and she immediately stood with joy from her previous crouching, depressed position. In his mind V thought, it was easy as he sighed in relief.]

With important things taken care of, V told her to go home together, as it was getting dark outside. Hiyori was surprised at how quickly time passed when she was with Teacher V.

Crumble

V: Huh? Hahahahahah!

[As they slowly walked away, V noticed a sound which was caused by a boulder, he turned around and because of enhanced vision thanks to Klyntar he saw Hiyori targeted boulders crumble into small pebbles.]

[What he saw caused him to burst into laughter, still flabbergasted by her feats and assume that she has Armament Haki.]

Hiyori: What happened? I think I heard some sort of sound? Why are you laughing so hard, teacher?

[She inquired, as she got startled by the sudden loud sound from afar. She presumed it might be a wild animal. Then she asked the reason behind his laugh as she saw him laughing joyously.]

[She pouted in anger, and he did not respond, just kept laughing, which annoyed the hell out of her, now she badly wanted to know, but he exactly won't tell her.]

V: Nothing, really nothing. It was just a very productive day. Anyway, did you feel tired after you fired the arrow at the rock, by any chance Hiyori?

[He answered, wiping his fake tears, and gave the most legit answer to her which she ignored as she understood it was a lie, and he wouldn't tell her. Instead, he asked her a question.]

Hiyori: Hmmm… Yes, I felt a slight dizziness in my head back then, but I thought it was because of hunger or something.

V: Ok, by the way, are you interested in knowing how I broke that big rock into pieces?

[She replied to him after she pondered about it a little, completely forgetting her small quarrel with him and giving him the reason she didn't tell him about it.]

[After listening to her, he nodded as if he understood something; then, in response, changed the topic again.]

[Later throughout the way, he started to explain to her the secret about his powerful attack which was imbued with Haki. She began to ask him more and more about it with great interest, which he thought was good.]

[In slight detail he explained to her the concept of Haki, its type, and usage/potential, and she started to appreciate his help. Soon, he dropped her off at her house and went for the meeting with her G.Father, plus a few other influential figures.]

--In the meeting room - - - -

[He entered the big building compared to his house, where he was instructed to go later in the night to discuss his plans with other villagers and farmers.]

V: This must be the meeting room. Hello everyone!

[Removing his shoes, he goes inside the halls and then went inside the most noisy room. From the door, he could smell the intoxicating scent of alcohol and greet everyone.]

[Inside there were around 10–15 people whose dress code shouts; they were definitely farmers and the last two people were none other than Sukiyaki and banzaburo.]

Farmer leader: Hitetsu, Is he the one you talked about! He doesn't look like he can fight.

[Addressing Sukiyaki with his alias, the farmer leader spoke without hesitation, pointing out his first impression of V, which shocked Sukiyaki as he didn't expect his friend to be direct.]

Boot licker farmer 1: Are you gone mad, Hitetsu! For us to rely on a young boy, lik-

[A fattest person in the room sitting next to V stood up and began to shout. From his current state, anyone with eyes can say the man was dead drunk.]

V: Snitches get stitches.

[He muttered, coldly and calmly. Before anybody asked or reacted, V chopped off the fattest man's fingers which he pointed at V then got his tongue slashed out with extreme precision and two strokes with the swords he summoned thanks to Klyntar.]

[All this happened so quickly that everyone was shocked and took a good few seconds to register. Blood sprayed from his chopped organs, which, with the help of others, were stopped.]

Hitetsu/Sukiyaki: ARE YOU GONE MAD V!!!

[He shouted his lungs out like a fanatic as he was flabbergasted by the bloody aggressive development. Everybody was panicking and were on their guard against V. Yet, he stood calm and confident, and vanished his swords as there was no danger to him.]

V: He is a traitor, a spy planted by Jack... clearly he is fooling you, asshole, for a year pretending to be your friend. You don't trust me, good.

[V's Words acted like cold water been thrown on a man who had not slept for a year. Stabbing them, thus waking them up. They glance at the blood figure waiting to say something for defending himself, but to their surprised he never did instead.]

Spy/boot licker: How….

[He asked in fear, somehow managing to speak without his tongue. The strikes were so clean, precise, and fast that the man didn't feel any pain for a minute.]

V: How do I know…. Well, I saw you in the brothel spending all that money on a chick who is twice half of your age. Perhaps a name would jog up your memory.