Happy Holidays! Finally managed to finish this chapter.

Year 1511

Staring at the albino in front of me challenging me to a fight, so many thoughts were running through my head.

Stallos is her surname? Isn't that the same surname as one of the leaders of the entire tribe? She has D. in her name? Does this mean the Kailos tribe has a connection with the void century? Or Shandora? Wano? Maybe even Joyboy?

I internally shook my head, I can speculate and investigate later, for now I have to focus on my current predicament.

"All right settle down," Uncle stood between us facing the newcomer. "He can't fight since he just finished training for the day, so scram, leave my nephew alone and go bother someone else."

"Ah? But Niko I want fight him now!" Krycia yelled loudly.

"Then we can fight today, after I wash myself a bit." I interject before Uncle could retort.

Both individuals in front of me blinked before Krycia gave a frown while Uncle raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Ehh? Why can't you fight me right here and now?" She questioned.

"If I were to fight you right now, I would lose rather quickly but if you let me shower I'll recover enough to give you a more enjoyable fight" I explained.

When you want a fighting junky who's unlikely to take no for an answer to stop hounding you even for just a short time, promise a fun fight at a later date. Getting it over with on your own terms to me seems better than constantly running and avoiding a challenge.

She stared at me for a few seconds before her face dropped into a reluctant pout, "Hmph, fine just don't take too long, errr...What's your name?" She asked with a curious look.

"Gerik." I answer.

Her expression then morphed into a small frown as she pointed at me, "You better not forget what you said and run away Gerik!"

I merely nod and then turn around but I was stopped when I feel a poke on the back of my neck. Looking back, I see uncle carrying protective gear meant for spars that he seemingly pulled from nowhere. "Leave your training gear here and change into these when you're done showering."

I nod and take off my training equipment. Taking the protective sparring gear with me, I head to the shower buildings, a simple medium sized building along with a taller and more narrow structure next to it, I enter the former as the latter was built for the taller members of the tribe.

The interior, rather anachronistically, resembled a modern if utilitarian locker room in layout with lockers, toilet stalls, sinks, and a spacious communal shower area. The polished white quartz floor tiles and walls gave it a bright clean appearance further enhanced by the reflected sunlight from the windows.

Putting away my clothes and protective gear in a locker I head towards the showers and turned the faucet. I didn't flinch when the cold spray hit my body instead I let out a sigh of relief as I stood in the shower, letting the cold water wash away all the dust, dirt, and dried sweat over my sore body all while using life return to heal myself [1].

As I stood under the shower my thoughts wandered to the silver haired albino I was going to fight. Centuries of living in tough mountainous terrain and being subject to mandatory training in high altitudes gave the tribe stronger resilient physiques than the average baseline One Piece human; her middle initial alone all but guaranteed that she would exceed that. Add in the leg strength she demonstrated, the possibility of receiving hunter training based on her apparent familiarity with uncle and her similar demeanor to Luffy then that spelled for a very troublesome fight.

I couldn't help but let out a sigh at the conjecture then I slap my face with both hands and shake my head. I already accepted her challenge, dejection wasn't going to do me any good and she should be on a level that I can handle; granted I have no basis for this other than uncle not objecting to the match and his irreverent attitude towards her but a little optimism couldn't hurt.

Once I was done, I dried off, put on my clothes and protective gear and proceed to head back to the training grounds.

I see uncle and Krycia, now in full protective gear, having a conversation before stopping as they turned towards me with with the latter shooting a dismayed look.

"Muu! You took too long!" Krycia yelled accusingly.

"Well I am here now and as promised I will fight." I reply hoping to placate her.

It worked as she instantly changed into that of glee.

"YES! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" She cheered excitedly.

Then all of a sudden, she kicked the ground and rushed towards me, closing the distance between us in a split second. At that moment she threw out a quick strike with her right arm.

I promptly duck and sidestep to my left and a shrill whistle of wind sounded in my ear as a strong wind pressure, equivalent to that of a speeding truck, stroke my face but instead of showing any opening she immediately went into a shoulder tackle in my direction.

I put up forearms to guard my body and leap back right before she made contact.

"Guh." I grunt as I was blown back from the force of her blow. What power and speed, and without any windup or proper footing to boot; good thing I jumped back, it would've been painful if I met it head on.

Then in the next moment her fists battered down on me like a fierce storm. One punch became two then suddenly six; within seconds, over ten consecutive strikes were unleashed as if they were machine pistons and none of them were any weaker than the last.

The tribe may have considered their hands to be their life and focused more on the use of weapons but they weren't so inflexible as to avoid punching altogether just never without gauntlets, though even then her aggressive use of punches is rather unusual.

Observing the punches, I deflect or parry the blows while occasionally dodging. I carefully avoid blocking her punches as based on the wind pressure generated I have no doubt each strike can easily take out an elephant and I had no desire to find out how her fist compares to the punch to the gut from Uncle earlier.

"What's wrong Gerik!? It's no fun if you just keep dodging or defending, you should attack too!"

I agree, being on the defensive was just going to drag this fight out.

Seeing a fist heading towards my face. Quickly making up my mind, I move to her flank and quickly grab her wrist before she can follow up with her next move. Using a shoulder throw, I spin and haul her body over my shoulder and slammed her body to the ground as hard as I could.

Not stopping there, I immediately let go of her wrist and deliver a strong kick to her head.

Time seemed to slow as Krycia was blown away in a tailspin. The body spun through the air for few meters before finally hitting the ground. She rolled along the ground but she agilely managed to put her right hand on the ground then push off in a handspring that brought her back to a crouching lunge and slid a few feet before coming to a stop.

Silence descended. With her head bowed, Krycia's expression was out of view.

"...Pu... Pupu... Puha...Hahahahhahaha!"

Strange laughter filled the air.

"Amazing! You're really amazing, Gerik! All the other kids go down too quickly when I hit them but I couldn't hit you at all! Not just that, you threw and kicked me and it hurt! Did you use detection? When did you awaken it? Are you better at it than me? So many questions! So mysterious! Puhahahahahahahaha!"

Standing up as if nothing had happened, Krycia laughed loudly. She was covered in dust and dirt but there wasn't anything that I could recognize as a wound.

Now I had absolutely no expectation of a one hit KO but it's a tad disappointing a girl around my age didn't really look all that winded from my kick after all my training.

"But forget it! Let's just have fun with this fight!"

Krycia's cheeks barely moved when her mouth had already split open into the shape of a crescent moon.

"I can give it my all against you, I get the feeling that if it's you..."

Then, I felt bloodlust. Her teeth bared like a beast, Krycia showed an aggressive twisted smile completely unfit for a young girl, and got into a fighting stance.

"You won't break."

No sooner did she finish her ominous words did my observation haki scream; like a beast ambushing its prey, she pounced at me with explosive speed.

With fingers stretched out like beast claws, her extended right hand gave a vicious swipe. I roll to my left causing her to miss by a margin of centimeters but as soon as she lands she swiftly turns around and lunges towards me, cutting through the air with her left arm.

Then she unleashed a vicious gale: lashing out hands, feet, and elbows while emitting an aura of madness that did not befit her age.

Tch! She's using Kailat!

It was similar to Silat but with bladed gauntlets, other attached tools, and emphasis on anticipating strikes. Thankfully she was only wearing protective gear with no built in weaponry and I had better observation haki but she was no amateur.

I block and parry them but only just. Her movement is sharper and more precise than before and while my haki can read her moves, I couldn't react as smoothly as before due to the sheer bloodlust rolling over me making for an unpleasant distraction.

"PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're not breaking, You're not breaking! Why aren't you breaking? Why!? GERIIIIIIK!" She roared manically.

Her onslaught is pushing me back and I sense her excitement growing more and more the longer I withstand her attacks. Just how the hell was this girl raised for her to emit such madness at such a young age?

"Then how about this?!"

She swiftly raised her leg and stomped.

—Bwam!

I stumble from the force when my haki abruptly blared a warning. I hurriedly raise my right forearm to block the incoming attack.

"Augh!" My forearm groan under the power of her fist despite wearing bracers and I was pushed back a several meters but I grit my teeth and push through the pain. If not for my observation warning me that would have definitely been a direct hit.

I catch a glimpse of a silver blur from the corner of my eye and I immediately crouch to avoid a kick from behind. Then with a strong pivot, I send a retaliatory kick that sent Krycia darting through the field.

Standing up, I take this chance to focus my thoughts and calm my mind. This heightened my observation haki allowing me to perceive her actions more clearly.

I see Krycia rapidly rushing coming at me with her right arm preparing for a punch. Getting into position, I deftly swat away her attack with the back of my right hand and clench my left tight and aimed an uppercut right into her face.

I see Krycia turning her head towards my fist in surprise but in a show of reflex, she manages to pull her head in time to barely avoid it and even send a low kick.

I leap into the air and twist my body to a spinning roundhouse that slammed into her face.

"Bwuh?!"

She was knocked off her feet and thrown back but I see her flip midair and land roughly on her feet. Unlike previously my attack left a visible mark; blood was leaking from her nose.

Krycia seemed to realized something was wrong as instead of attacking me, she wiped the blood trickling from her nose and stared in wonder at the sight of her blood covered fingers—And an outpour of bloodlust greater than before broke out from her. With bubbling insanity floating in her cardinal, feline eyes, Krycia's lips curled upwards into a psychotic grin.

She took a fighting stance no doubt ready to maim me.

GRRRRRWWWWLLL~!

All traces of killing intent abruptly vanished and was replaced with a pout.

"I'm starving. Let's eat!" Krycia spoke as if she wasn't trying to inflict grievous harm upon me. "Ah, but I have to shower first."

She then turned and ran as a blur towards the shower building.

I just stand and blink, trying to trying to make sense of what exactly happened. I mean I heard of mood swings but this is just ridiculous.

I let out a deep breath I'm more exhausted than I thought, more mentally than physically though. I took off my bracers and see a fist sized red bruise on my right forearm.

She was a veritable monster. Her raw physical strength alone easily surpassed mine and while her skills are noticeably below that of Uncle's she still possessed terrifying talent unthinkable for a child. Then there was her bloodlust...no ordinary fighter would stand a chance against her and I have no doubt she could beat Ace and Sabo at this point in time.

"And with that I guess we can call you the winner."

Uncle's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"That said, you were too careful throughout the spar." Uncle's continued. "You threw away several chances to get more hits in, like when she was running her mouth off after you kicked her or when she stopped to feel the nosebleed you gave her."

Thinking back, he was right. I was too reactive.

"Still, you did better than I expected." Uncle stared appraisingly at my bruise. "I knew you'd win but I figured you'd get more than just a single bruise. With her, bone fractures are nothing strange, when she doesn't knock you out in one hit anyways."

He narrowed his eyes into a serious expression. "That fight definitely got you in her sights so I'll just warn you now, from now on give up any hope of peace and quiet when you're with her."

Before I could respond I hear pitter-patter of sudden footsteps and the next moment I feel a sudden burst of air, and see Krycia standing before me and Uncle.

"I showered, now LET's EAT!" Her awfully cheerful voice rang out.

"Then go home, what're shouting at us for?" Uncle asked with a hint of annoyance.

At that she tilted her head at uncle in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm eating together with Gerik, after all we're going to be friends now."

Now that left me befuddled. "Since when?" I couldn't help but blurt out. "We only just met today."

She tilted her head, as if she didn't understand what I was talking about. "And I decided we're going to be friends and as friends eating together is the obvious thing to do after having fun fighting."

"Well unfortunately I'll have to ref-"

"Nope," she cut me off. "Since I enjoyed fighting you I decided that we will eat together. We're going to be friends no ifs, ands, or buts. As such you can't refuse and I reject any and all refusal."

I couldn't help it, I really couldn't. I feel my eyes widen in shock as I look at her in disbelief, stunned speechless at her sheer brazen selfishness.

Then her face broke out into a large toothy grin on her face. I feel my chest heave at the sight.

"Expect lots of fun Gerik!"

Ideally, a grin is supposed to convey joy and contagiously improve the mood of others thus making individuals more approachable, yet I can only feel dread settle in the pit of my stomach.

I feel a pat on my right shoulder. Turning around I see Uncle giving me an empathetic expression.

"It doesn't get any easier."

It was only five words but it was all it took for me to feel cold sweat.

Niko POV

I could practically feel the dread coming off from Gerik because of what I said but I don't regret it since not warning him would have been crueler. She's like a storm and he's caught in her whirlwind.

Stallos D. Krycia, a real brat unlike Gerik. Loud, forceful, tactless, erratic...she never failed to cause headaches that's for certain but as if that wasn't bad enough she just had to take after her mother in strength, fighting talent, and bloodlust.

Yet she might be exactly what he needs. After all, what better way for an abnormal to grow than to compete with than another abnormal?

Since he was a baby anyone with eyes could see he wasn't normal at all.

I was surprised how calm he was when I first met my nephew but when I used detection I was unnerved. I was no expert but even I knew that babies weren't supposed to have good control over their feelings.

He just became more ridiculous as the years passed. Most babies cry and poop, but not Gerik. He was already reading, talking, and generally acting like a tiny adult by the time he hit two. And he didn't stop there. He picked up all sorts of skills like pottery smithing, weaving, and hunting while getting top marks at school to the point he's set to graduate this year. He'd even wake up early to do chores without being asked. What other kid does that?

Then there was his training. Without a doubt he was the ideal student. Always following directions, never griping, and always respectful—annoyingly so. He'd go above and beyond, and always striving for that extra edge until he was able to use detection at at the ripe age of nine! Nine!

Yet, no matter what milestone he achieved, Gerik never boasted or acted like he achieved anything special. I could tell from his eyes that he had a goal and that any skill he picked up was a step towards in that direction and he was focused on taking one step towards it day by day.

I can admire dedication like that, and it was always refreshing to see him improve, I admit. That boy will become strong, stronger than me one day, but if I had to name a shortcoming of his, other than the annoyingly polite formal demeanor, it would be his mindset.

He lived his life to a schedule he made for himself that was strict even by the tribe's standard and always prepared as much as he could beforehand. While it did wonders for his growth and development and being well prepared definitely wasn't a bad habit to have especially as a hunter but it made him too logical and as as a result too careful.

This made him vulnerable to the unexpected such as when I threw my kukri and used the flash gauntlet during our spar.

If I had been using an actual kukri, that would have been the end for him.

Gerik took comfort in planning and observation but the forest cannot be predicted or explained, unwelcome surprises lurked around every bend, and one must constantly be on alert and ready to adapt to the forest's dangers. It wasn't possible to plan for every twist and turn and if he isn't able to cope with surprises then he will end up being devoured by the forest.

But then, that's what training is for, isn't it?

A being who couldn't be understood. A living breathing headache that can effortlessly cause problems for others simply by opening her mouth. She's not rational or predictable, which made her well-suited for Gerik to practice handling unplanned disruptions and in turn he just might be able to teach her some discipline and restraint.

It was a clash of contrasts but with their own unique strengths and quirks they'll find balance in each other and by learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses grow in ways they never would have on their own.

...Wait. If that noisy chit becomes even stronger more quickly, won't it become even more dangerous for the current and future hunters? If we have to fight her in the future...

Shit, I already have to fight for my life alongside with other hunters whenever her mother wants to train, if we also have to fight her daughter that's fully trained, we'll have to learn to live crippled.

I couldn't deny how much of a boon her strength would be for the tribe, but she needed to be watched closely. She wouldn't turn against the tribe i'm sure but her wild nature needed to be tempered to make sure she doesn't bring chaos to the tribe. Gerik, with his strategic mindset, could instill a sense of order and preparation in Stallos, helping her to channel that strength properly more productively.

I look to Stallos currently making Gerik suffer through whatever random nonsense she was spouting. He already managed to get a hold of himself and endured her antics with a calmness I couldn't help but respect.

I'm sorry Gerik but for the sake of peace and the wellbeing of current and future hunters please keep her attention on you as much as possible and keep her in check, though she'll cause you stress and bother you for fights at least you'll reach new heights in your training because of it and with her you'll be able to raise the tribe to a new high point.

Naturally, I'll train you as much as I can to make sure you can handle the whirlwind that is Stallos D. Krycia, no matter how much stronger and more unpredictable she gets; as a member of the Kailos tribe and your uncle I'll do my part to help you achieve the greatness you were meant for.

So show me. Let me see how you'll lead the tribe to a new era with her by your side.

[1] Life return rolls off the tongue better than seimei kikan so it'll be called that from now on.

What do you think of Krycia? I tried to write her as 'Not So Similar' (tvtropes) to Luffy to make her distinct, did I do that well?