Zao isn't based on any dog species in particular.
Also, I can't get over how perfect Taro's Chinese name is. Taoru meaning peachy/peach-like is just too perfect.
And one last thing. Taro can detect power, not measure it. He was able to detect the power that was on his sword, but not measure how worn down it was. This is to explain something in this chapter.
Enjoy.
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In some innocent human village.
A rhino demon roared into the sky as dashed into the village with a malicious grin. The village folk noticed the demon and screamed and panicked in fear. They ran and scattered, hoping the demon wouldn't reach them.
Amidst this chaos, a young child with black hair froze with tears in their eyes in the middle of the village and the demon was charging right at them. A woman cried out to her child hoping to save them from their doom. But just as the demon was about to crush the child and all hope seemed lost, a pair of golden wings stood firmly between the child and the demon blocking the demon with ease.
"Fear not, peasants. I, Zihao the great, brilliant and beautiful, is here!" A golden pheasant said, but all anyone could hear was crowing noises.
Both the demon and the child were confused by this bird standing between them until a boy with peach colored hair that did smell of peaches nonchalantly entered the scene and put his hand on the child's head.
"You should probably get back to your mom. She looks really worried." Said the peach boy with a soft smile.
The child paused. They felt oddly safe with this boy. They slowly nodded before they rushed back to their parent.
The peach boy, Taro turned to the demon and his smile became a frown. He unsheathed his sword and twirled it in a circle at hurricane like speeds before he aimed it at the demon as it and his eyes glowed peach pink.
And in one moment, the boy slashed the air two times, releasing two arches of pink energy towards Zi and the demon. Without looking back, Zi jumped out of the way letting Taro's attack connect with the demon.
Due to the demon's weight and armour, Taro's attack only managed to knock him off balance. Alas, Taro smiled as his eyes returned to normal. The moment the demon's balance was off, like a bullet, a silver furred dog, Kuangzao headbutted the demon in the stomach sending him flying.
The demon grunted as he quickly got back onto his own feet. "You think this is enough to put ME down?" He yelled angrily as he stepped forwards only for a glowing mystic circle to appear on the dirt surrounding him. The rhino demon couldn't utter another word before he fell down a giant pit. "Grr! Once I get out of here, it'll be the end of you all!"
Before the rhino demon could try to climb out of the hole, he heard giggling coming from next to him. He turned to its source and saw a small reddish copper furred monkey with blue skin, Ezuoju. The demon raised a brow before the monkey let out a mischievous grin. The monkey hopped onto the demon's body and started taking off the demon's armour and clothes by hand. The demon couldn't stop something so small and agile in such a tight space.
"H-hey! What are you doing?!" Exclaimed the demon in shock as Zuzu took away more of his clothes until only his underwear was left. "G-get off me!"
Deciding he was done with humiliating the demon, Zuzu climbed up the hole with the demon's clothes in hand while giggling mischievously. The demon saw this and glared at the monkey angrily before he climbed up after the cheeky monkey. With a hateful roar the demon raised his hand to catch the monkey, but when he checked his hand he found nothing.
The demon looked up to see the monkey floating in the air with a grin as its eyes glowed pink. The monkey blew a raspberry before unleashing a beam of pink energy from his eyes; one that engulfed the demon completely, knocking him out. The demon was defeated.
Affirming this, Taro approached the hole before looking inside with a frown. "You really need to stop making fun of nearly every demon we face." He said narrowing his eyes at his monkey companion.
The monkey gasped in shock. "That's like saying a bird shouldn't have feathers!" He exclaimed crossing his arms with a frown before staring into the sky with starry eyes. "I can't just not cause mischief! Mischief is my birthright! My craft! My purpose! My very name!"
Upon hearing Zuzu's words, Zi and Zao turned to Taro with judging looks, causing the boy to sweat drop and avoid eye contact as he let out a dry chuckle. The boy cleared his throat and spoke. "Just don't try anything with a demon king or something, for your own safety." He said with an exhausted sigh before Zuzu gave him a thumbs up and climbed onto the boy's shoulder. Seeing this brought a smile to Taro's face. He turned to Zi and Zao and spoke. "Okay, everyone. Now that the demon of the day had been taken care of,...let's focus on our main objective: getting info about Wukong and the great companions."
The moment the three companions heard the name Wukong, the atmosphere immediately because tense. Zuzu's expression became dead serious as his eyes glowed peach pink with mystic energy. Zao growled with anger as his eyes glowed peach pink with strength. Zi's went uncharacteristically silent as his eyes glowed peach pink with protective power.
"It's been a couple years since the destruction of Camel Ridge and we're still nowhere near strong enough to face them if they come after us or if...we go after them." Taro said solemnly as he held his right arm with his left hand before he took a deep breath. "We'll face them sooner or later and for that we need to prepare, to find out everything we can about them. I'll ask people and you guys ask any animals for anything they might've seen."
The three Z's nodded firmly before Zao's eyes drifted towards a nearby forest. Particularly, an odd orange bird that was watching them from atop one of the trees. Zao frowned before noticing a rock next to him. He picked it with his mouth before he pulled his head back. And without warning, he threw the rock at the bird at full force, hitting it straight in the head and knocking it off the tree. Seeing this, Zao dashed towards the forest much to his companions' confusion before returning with a peculiar bird trapped in his cage like mouth.
"Taro said ask the animals, not axe them." Commented Zuzu narrowing his eyes.
Zao didn't reply to Zuzu and instead spat out the bird in front of everyone before pinning it down with his paw. "This bird's been following us for hours. It's awfully silent, doesn't smell like any bird I know and took a rock to the head without getting injured. Grr...it's suspicious."
Everyone glared at the bird, trusting Zao's judgement. The bird became visibly nervous. "Uhh, hey, bud...s. Mind getting that paw off me? Hehe." It said with a chuckle. "Please."
"Not until you tell us why you were watching us." Replied Taro in a serious tone, feeling unfamiliar power coming from the bird.
"Perhaps it was eyeing ME. I AM irresistible after all." Added Zi striking a fabulous pose. The bird looked visibly disgusted by Zi's words, causing a vein to pop on the pheasant's forehead. "Zao's right, it IS suspicious. I say we kill it to avoid any danger."
"Maybe Zao can play fetch with its body." Suggested Zuzu cheerfully, causing the bird to sweat drop.
"I like that idea." Added Zao happily with a stare that pierced the bird's soul, causing it to sweat even more.
"No. All three of you, calm down. We're not killing or torturing anyone." Declared Taro, causing his three companions to calmly stop acting malicious as if they were expecting this reaction in the first place. The bird sighed in relief before Taro put a hand on his chin and began thinking hard about the situation before turning to the bird. "Hey, do you know anything about Wukong and his companions?"
The bird froze before Taro's expression became bitter as he kneeled closer to the bird. "If you tell us all you know, we'll let you go safely." He said with a frustrated look on his face.
"And if I don't, you'll kill me. Uh-huh." Deadpanned the bird judgingly. "Very heroic there, bud."
Taro sighed. "I don't wanna threaten you either, but I wan-...need that information." He said in a regretful tone.
The bird went silent as it eyed Taro intently. The bird itself was none other than the great sage himself, Sun Wukong. He and his companions have put off dealing with the threat of Azure Lion protege for years and now they had to make a choice. Risk the boy turning evil and let him run free or risk sealing an innocent child forever.
To make this choice and solve this dilemma, Wukong and his companions decided to discreetly interact with Taro to see what the boy was like and perhaps to nudge him towards good. Wukong decided to be the first to interact with the boy, but he never expected to be caught so quickly and to be asked such a question. But the great sage didn't think the situation was a bust yet.
Wukong smiled in his own mind and spoke. "How about...you take me with you for the rest of the day and I'll tell you everything you wanna know during that time?" He suggested proudly. "Whaddya say?"
"Absolutely not." Deadpanned Taro as bluntly as a sack of bricks that hit Wukong in the face. "Why would I trust you wouldn't do something behind our backs? You could even be a shapeshifter trying to collect information on us for your evil boss!" Wukong went silent as Taro took a deep breath before continuing with a serious expression. "But I can't ignore the info you have. Alright. Zao, you're on lookout duty. Keep a close eye on our surroundings and warns us of any danger. Zi, you're on guard duty. Be ready to step in the moment Zao spots something. Me and Zuzu will handle our guest."
The three companions nodded as each of them accepted their jobs before Taro and Zuzu turned to Wukong who was still under Zao's paw. Taro gestured for Zao to let the bird go and the transformed monkey king quickly flew onto Taro's shoulder before the group of five started walking through some woods.
"Alright, bud. Ask away." Said Wukong cheerfully.
"...what's the monkey king like?" Taro asked with a conflicted expression on his face.
Wukong was surprised by this question, but decided to answer after a short pause. "Well, I can't say I'm a fan. But he's pretty handsome, heroic and all round a great-" He said cheerfully before heard a snort. He turned to to its source to see Taro holding back some laughter.
"Pfft. You sound like you write fanfiction of you smooching Wukong under the moonlight when no one's looking." Said Taro tearing up from giggling as he covered his mouth. Zuzu's reaction was much of the same.
"Joke's on you, bud. I can't read." Countered Wukong proudly, making Taro pause.
"That's a little sad. Want me to teach you?" The peach boy asked with a smile, causing the monkey to be taken aback. "I mean, I'm not the best teacher, but I can try."
"Uhh, weren't you suspicious of me just a second ago?" Asked Wukong with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but I don't need a reason to help someone when I easily can." Replied Taro cheerfully, petting the bird on his shoulder on the head.
Hearing this, Wukong smiled on the inside. So he decided to ask. "Why do you wanna know about m- I mean, Wukong and his companions anyways? You don't seem like the kind of person to have trouble with them."
Taro paused with a grim expression as Zuzu stared at him worriedly. "They...took away my teacher...and he kinda deserved it. He did some bad stuff and was really convinced he was doing the right thing." The peach boy said dejectedly. Wukong was thankful that the boy knew Azure as well as he did, but then Taro continued with clenched fists. "But I was getting to him, y'know? I got him to admit that what he did was wrong. He could've changed. But then THEY appeared and struck him down. Now I'm scared that they might be coming after me and angry about what happened that I wanna hurt them too. I know it's not right, but everything is just so confusing and crazy and I don't know what to do. But I'm fine! I'm totally not breaking down under the constant pressure of my feelings while risking our lives fighting demons every day. What gave you that idea?"
Without missing a beat, Zuzu hopped onto Taro's shoulder and comforted the young boy with a hug to the head as he glared at the transformed monkey king.
The monkey king frowned on the inside before he flew in front of Taro and spoke. "Let me tell you about Wukong's friends." He said changing the subject, causing Taro to pay undivided attention to what he says. "So there's this guy who can turn into a giant green dragon at any time!"
"Woah, that sounds really cool." Taro blurted out instinctively.
"It is!" Agreed Wukong cheerfully, thinking that maybe the kid's not dangerous after all. Maybe this boy that smelled of peaches just needed some guidance.
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Later that night.
Wukong in bird form, Taro and his companions all sat down around a campfire as Wukong told everyone stories.
"And when i- I mean the monkey king showed the demons the quote unquote sky eating flask, they gave him their magic flask right away." Said Wukong cheerfully as he sat in front of the fire.
"Idiots." Grumbled Zao rolling his eyes.
Zi scoffed. "I would never be tricked in such an obvious way." He added with a dramatic hmph.
"Hey, look! Is that a statue made in Zi's honor?" Asked Zuzu with a mischievous grin.
"WHERE?!" Exclaimed Zi looking around him in excitement and happiness only to notice Zuzu snickering to himself before glaring at the monkey. "Don't sleep tonight, you might not wake up tomorrow."
Wukong, who heard this thinly veiled threat turned to Taro in concern. "Are you sure they're alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, they fight all the time." Replied Taro with a smile as he watched his companions fight. "They care about each other...in their own ways."
Wukong raised a brow before he saw Taro go tense out of nowhere before standing up. The three companions all went on guard upon seeing this. Wukong was confused before he sensed what was going on.
"Finally. I found you again, thief." It was Nezha. Wukong was confused.
"How did you find us?" Asked Taro with a deep frown.
"Call it luck." Replied Nezha as he pulled out his spear, ready to fight with an angry expression. "Give back the tree you stole or else. And this time, Azure Lion isn't here to save you. So choose your next move wisely."
Taro took a deep breath. "I'm guessing there's no way to get you to leave without said tree." He asked calmly with a frown only for Nezha's eyes to narrow, affirming the boy's thoughts.
Taro unsheathed his sword and twirled it in the air as his eyes glowed pink. Wukong's eyes widened at the boy acting eeriely similar to his former sworn brother. Same pose, same eyes, same sword twirl and same look. It almost made him forget that the boy was about to fight Nezha of all people.
"Then I'll have to take you in by force." Declared Nezha in a serious tone before he dashed towards Taro.
Before Wukong could transform and try to resolve the situation, Zi had already jumped in front of Taro with his wings spread out. Nezha saw this and quickly used his sash to capture Zi before trying to fling him away. Alas, Zi didn't budge an inch.
"That vile chicken did better than this." Said Zi menacingly as his eyes glowed pink, surprising Nezha.
Before Nezha could some anything about his sash, Zao dashed in like a bullet forcing the lotus prince to dodge out the way and abandon the sash before he was met with a pink laser from the back that sent him through multiple trees. Before Nezha could contemplate what happened, he noticed a couple arcs of energy coming his way. Nezha put up his staff and formed a mystical barrier to protect himself.
The barrier successfully blocked Taro's attack, but it wasn't enough to block Zao from dashing through it and headbutting Nezha in the side. The lotus prince was sent flying, but he managed to regain his balance mid air before he noticed a monkey with glowing peach pink glowing eyes giggling beside him in the air. Nezha swung his spear at the monkey, but was met with a metallic clang as Zi stood between them with his wings forwards.
Not a second later, dust and dirt were telekinetically thrown into Nezha's eyes courtesy of Zuzu, blinding the lotus prince before Taro slashed his back with his glowing pink sword. Nezha grunted in pain before he turned around to block whichever attack Taro had prepared only to be blasted to the ground by Zuzu's eye beam.
Nezha knew that he was now in the dog pit, he quickly brushed the dirt out of his eyes to the best of his ability before he saw Zao coming. He decided he needed to take down at least one of his opponents to get an opening and let Zao bite him in the arm, it hurt like hell, but Nezha managed to gulp the pain down before he used all his strength to land one attack that sent the dog flying into a large crater.
Nezha panted as he held his arm that was now completely out of the fight. It took a sacrifice, but he could break through them more easily with one of them gone. That was what he thought before he saw Taro stand next to Zao with his arm out, emitting a pink glow from his hand that enveloped the dog. The dog was getting healed by Taro in front of Nezha's very eyes and the Lotus prince couldn't let that happen. He dashed in for an attack, but his spear only met the indestructible wings of Zi before the pheasant flung him away a few meters back back on his wheels.
Nezha grit his teeth as he thought about the current situation. Taro and his companions were all weak individually. They were young and not the most experienced. If he were to fight each of them alone, the fight would've been already over by now. But together, Nezha didn't know how to break through them.
The dog's attacks were quick and powerful, trying to block them was suicide. Just one bite put his arm out of commission and his side still hurt from its headbutt. If he could just stay out of the dog's range, he'd be fine. But the dog wasn't alone.
The monkey was an annoying threat, it played tricks at every moment and its blasts always came from where he was paying the least attention. Trying to close the distance would've been the answer if not for the rest of the group helping it.
The pheasant was there at almost every twist and turn, always making sure to always defend its teammates with as little opening as it could muster. It wasn't a threat on its own, but it made everyone else a much bigger threat.
The boy was all three of them combined, albieit less effective at each task in exchange for the ability to heal his teammates. He was the biggest threat among them.
Nezha could only grit his teeth as Taro and his companions ruthlessly continued the fight. With one less arm and the pain in his side, the lotus prince was quickly overwhelmed by Taro and his companions. Taro stood over Nezha with his foot on the lotus prince's torso and it was at that moment Wukong realized what master Subodhi meant when he said Taro had too much potential.
"You've lost. Leave." Said Taro in a calm, yet threatening tone.
"N-never." Replied Nezha angrily as he tried to stand up only for Taro to press his foot down. "Until you bring back that tree, I will never let you go."
Wukong watched from the sidelines, waiting worriedly for Taro's reply. He was wishing with all his heart the kid wouldn't do anything crazy. As if responding to Wukong's worries, Taro took a deep breath before he raised his sword in the air with the edge pointed towards Nezha.
"Then I'll have to make sure you can't fight ANYONE again." Taro said in a menacing tone as his eyes flashed pink.
Just as Taro began lowering his sword, Wukong dashed in his bird form before transforming into his original form in front of Taro shocking the boy before the monkey king drove his fist into the boy's abdomen knocking him out.
Taro's three companions saw this and immediately attacked the monkey king in rage, but Wukong enlarged his staff in Zuzu's direction knocking the little monkey out before he turned to Zi and Zao. Zao was easy to knock out, but Zi was too tough for that. Wukong was at a loss for what to do before he heard the lotus prince's voice.
"Wukong, just take him as is. It's no threat without its teammates." Said Nezha as he stood up clutching his bitten arm.
Wukong nodded before he looked back at Zi standing protectively over his unconscious friends even though he had no chance of victory on his own with a frustrated frown as he clenched his fists before he broke a nearby tree with a frustrated punch.
He knew what what happened tonight meant for these four and he didn't like it one bit.
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When Taro, Zao and Zuzu woke up they found themselves as well as Zi and Taro's sword bound by magical golden chains in front of a monk, a giant green dragon, a pig warrior and a blue skinned warrior as well as the monkey king himself.
The moment Taro saw Wukong he angrily tried to break through the chains around his four limbs to attack the monkey king, only to fail as they were too strong. "YOU TRICKED ME!" Taro yelled angrily, starting to tear up as Zao rabidly tried to break out of his own chains. "*sob* I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU TRICKED ME!"
Zuzu tried to dispell the chains, but he was met with failure before he heard the sound of a defeated Zi. "It's no use. I've heard them talk and nothing short of a miracle would break these." The pheasant said dejectedly.
Taro didn't listen as he fruitlessly continued to try to attack Wukong who stood silently in front of the boy. "ONCE I GET OUT OF THESE CHAINS, I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET WHAT YOU DID! *Sniff*" He yelled angrily as his tear filled eyes started to glow pink. "YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!"
Wukong stayed silent as he grit his teeth, feeling responsible for this situation. Suddenly, everyone felt a burst of energy come from Taro as the peach boy's power responded to his anger and frustration. The chains that held him quickly started pink before they started to crack.
Just as the chains were about to snap, everyone in the area heard a sad voice speak. "I'm sorry." It was the monk who enveloped Taro and his friends in golden energy that sent them all into a deep DEEP slumber.
Wukong watched with a pained expression as a single tear fell out of Taro's eye and splashed against the ground before the seal was complete.
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Tell me how you think Taro will get out of the seal. I'm curious what people think.
As for what will actually happen, it's something related to something that happened in a previous chapter that some of you might've overlooked.
Toodles.