ONE PIECE: THE RED LION - CH 5

I yawned awake, stretching as I looked outside the window in my room, haft expecting yesterdays' events to be nothing but a dream. But they weren’t, I was still here, in this… strange world.

Thrilled for what awaited me today, I threw off the covers and leapt out of bed. However, I misjudged my newfound strength and slammed my head into the ceiling, leaving a dent in the wall with the shape of my face, a very detailed… almost cartoonish dent.

"I’m honestly impressed," I muttered, rubbing my skull. "I didn't even feel it."

A cheerful knock sounded at the door, snapping me out of my thoughts. I quickly smoothed down my tousled hair and called for whoever it was to enter, though I had a hunch I already knew who it was. The door burst open, and into my room tumbled Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, both kids oozing with energy.

"Morning," I said, unable to keep the smile from spreading on my face.

"Good morning!" Nekomamushi chirped, his large eyes glinting with excitement. He pointed at the dent in the ceailing with a paw. "Wow! Did you do that?"

Before I could even answer, Inuarashi chimed in, his voice filled with barely concealed anticipation. "Questions for later! It's time! Lord Rengar said to bring him to the training yard!"

My heart skipped a beat at the thought. Training. With Rengar. The grizzled wolf Mink who I had met yesterday, the one Mink that actually felt dangerous in this place so far. I didn’t know why, but since meeting that man… a part of me had started to feel something akin to hunger.

I wanted to fight him.

Well… no, that wasn’t entirely accurate, it wasn’t me that wanted to fight him, it was my body. My body craved a challenge, and Rengar was just that, a challenge.

My mind and body were at odds, and it had taken me less than a day to figure this out.

I imagined I would have to deal with these new impulses now that I was a Fanalis, instead of a human. They seemed like a pretty battle driven race, not as much as other anime races like the Saiyans, but enough to be amongst the most battle hungry ones, and now that I was a part of them… well, I reckon some of my instincts were new and on overdrive.

"Alright then," I replied, pushing my thoughts aside. "Let's not keep him waiting."

New instincts or not, I really wanted to learn how to fight for the sake of self preservation. There were a few rules in the world of anime, but the most important of them all was rather simple, be strong and nothing bad will happen, otherwise… something bad will happen in order to make you strong.

And between you guys and me, I really wanted to avoid the character development mandated trauma in order to get a power-up.

Nekomamushi's large, paw-like hand gripped mine as he eagerly pulled me along. His furry cheeks were stretched into a wide grin, and his whiskers quivered with excitement. "Come on! We are going to be late!" he exclaimed, leading the way to the training yard.

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The walk from my quarters to the training yard was short, and uneventful. By now, most of the Minks that yesterday seemed surprised by me, were now completely indifferent, going about their morning routines with polite nods of acknowledgment.

When we reached the training yard, Rengar was already there. He stood tall and imposing near a set of wooden dummies. His one good eye watched us approach with an intensity that sent a buzz of anticipation running through my spine.

"Good morning," he grunted, his voice gruff but not unkind. His scarred face remained impassive, revealing nothing of what he might be thinking.

"Good morning, Lord Rengar!" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi chorused in greeting.

I nodded. "Morning."

Rengar's piercing gaze landed on me, assessing, judging. He motioned for the kids to step aside, and they scampered off to watch from a safe distance. The training yard seemed to grow quieter as I faced him, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Show me what you've got," Rengar said, his voice a low rumble. He didn't draw his weapon, just stood there, waiting.

Not even a bit of stretching first?

Ok.

 I took a deep breath, feeling the unfamiliar strength coursing through my veins. I squared my shoulders and lunged at him, aiming a punch straight at his face. My fist connected with his side, but he didn't budge. It was like hitting a stone wall, but one that didn’t break under my new strength.

Rengar smirked. "Not bad, but you're still holding back."

 Before I could react, he swung his arm, a blur of motion. His fist collided with my chest, and I stumbled back, more from surprise than pain. I looked down at myself, feeling the place where he'd struck. No damage. I grinned, excitement bubbling up inside me. This was going to be fun.

I knew I wasn’t going to win, I had no fighting experience whatsoever, that being said, I was still allowed to have some fun. And seeing his attacks were doing no damage, well… this was going to be fun.

I launched myself at him again, this time aiming a kick at his legs. He dodged effortlessly, his movements precise and controlled. Keeping my advance, I swung at him repeatedly, each strike more forceful than the last, but none of them connected.

"Is that all you've got?" Rengar taunted, tilting his head as he dodged one of my kicks.

I frowned at the condescending tone, pushing myself harder. I leapt into the air, aiming a powerful downward punch at his head. But he sidestepped, and I crashed into the ground, leaving a small crater where I landed.

Rengar's foot came down on my back, pinning me to the ground. I struggled to get up, but he held me in place effortlessly. "You're unnaturally strong, pup, but strength alone won't win you battles."

With a grunt, I twisted out from under his foot and sprang back to my feet. "That’s why I asked to be trained."

Rengar's expression darkened. "Yeah."

He lunged at me, and this time, I saw a flicker of something in his movements. A crackling sound followed by a dangerous sensation enveloping his hand. His fist connected with my stomatch, and the world exploded in pain. I was sent flying, skidding across the ground until I slammed into a massive tree, shattering it to pieces.

…

…….

I laid there for a moment, my body throbbing with agony. My vision swam, the pain causing everything to distort and wobble. I could taste blood in my mouth, and when I wiped at my nose, my hand came away red.

I… was bleeding?

"Valor!" Inuarashi 's voice echoed from a distance. His worry was evident, but I waved him and Nekomamushi off. I forced myself to stand, each movement sending fresh waves of pain through my body.

The sight of Rengar was blurred but the smirk on his face was obvious even from my vision swaying in pain.

I could only chuckle at the sight.

I was 99.99% sure the bastard had used Haki on his attack. That or I wasn’t as physically strong as I imagined.