Chapter 6
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Later in the day Jonah and Erick were walking with the woman down a stone path outside of the village. "Hey what's your name lady?" Jonah asks with suspicion. "My name is Kora, you'll meet my family soon, they're a good bunch but you just have to get used to them." She says with a shy smile. "Hey Kora isn't there supposed to be some sort of party here?" Erick says with a curious face. "Of course there is, this is the Town of parties isn't it?" She says with a soft smile. "My home should be just around this-" Kora began but stopped speaking as her face changed to pure terror and tears started falling from her eyes. "Oh my god. OH MY GOD NO!!!" She screams as she runs around the corner of the tree line. "Hey Kora!" Erick yelled as he ran after her causing Jonah to do the same.
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As Erick and Jonah came around the tree line they see a two story house engulfed in flames from the top to bottom. They both had wide eyes as they looked at Kora and saw her running to a little girl. "Oh my god are you all right? Where are your brothers and your father?" She asks her frantically. "They… they took them." The little girl says as she begins to cry. Erick walked up behind Kora with a face of distain and anger. "Who?" Erick says with a face filled with rage. "The ones who always bully this town… Captain Kekela did this." The little girl whimpers. Erick turns around and begins to walk back down the stone path. "Let's go." Erick says as he walks past Jonah. "Go where? Erick you don't know who you're dealing with and neither do I so maybe we should think first." Jonah says in a worried tone, causing Erick to stop moving.
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Erick turned around and looked at Jonah with a stern glance. "I'm the captain and I said we're going so we're going." Erick says bluntly. "Going where Erick?" Jonah asks in an annoyed tone. "To find the punks that did this to Kora and her family." Erick says as he turns back around and begins walking again. Jonah follows him with worry all over his face. "Look Erick I get it, what they did was wrong but we don't know these people and we have to get to Fruit island before Captain Thorne finds out we're here. I would love to help but… face the facts." Jonah says bluntly. "If that was your wife… would you save her?" Erick says bluntly as he kept walking. "That's the thing Erick… she isn't. This isn't our responsibility." Jonah replies to him. "But if she was?" Erick asks him. Jonah sighs in defeat. "Yes… I would do anything to save her." Jonah says bluntly. "Alright then." Erick says as they make their way into town.
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Erick stomped through the town with his fist clutched and fury on his face. He burst into the doors of the Salt lamp, where he saw a table filled with men From The Kekela Exploration team, drinking and laughing loudly. As Erick burst through the doors all of them stopped laughing and looked at him. "Hey! It's that runt that hit Vice Captain Jax!" One of the crew members yell, causing all of the members faces to grow with distain. Jonah came into the doors behind Erick and instantly regretted his decision as all of the members were standing out of their chairs and now walking toward him and Erick. "Uh Erick, are you sure about this?" Jonah asks in a concerned tone. "WHERE IS CAPTAIN KEKELA?!?" Erick yells loudly. 'Okay so I guess you are.' Jonah thinks to himself with a low face.
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"Halt." A boisterous voice says from behind all of the men as a man wearing a black leather jacket with metal spikes on the shoulders of it came walking out, his pants and boots were also leather. He was bald and had sunglasses that were too small for his face and he was massive, at least six foot seven with the body of an American strong man. "So nice of you to come back." Kekela says with a grin. "I was the one who hit your lousy Vice Captain so why would you punish Kora!?" Erick exclaims with anger. "Because… she was an accomplice." Kekela answers which causes Erick's eyes to widen. "Listen closely boy, I've had this weak yet prosperous town under my boot for the past three years. Why do you think that is?" Kekela says with a villainous grin. "I'll tell you why, it's because I hold power. My bounty of twelve million Estos isn't nearly enough to measure my true power." He says while laughing maniacally.
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Erick clutches his fist even tighter. "You can't call these people weak, they've built all of this just for you to come by and take it from them. You're the weak ones." Erick says as he points at Kekela with an enraged face. Kekela walks up to Erick slowly and as they came face to face, he smiled and then quickly reeled back his right fist and punched Erick through the doors of the Salt Lamp bar. Kekela walks past Jonah with a grin on his face as he walks through the hole and out onto the stone streets of Arton. Erick rubs his head in pain as he gets up from the ground slowly. "Ten years ago I ate the Bash berry, giving me punches capable of busting through solid steel" Kekela says while laughing boisterously. Erick completely stood up as he wiped a small amount of blood off of the right corner of his mouth. "You call yourself a captain? My navigator hits harder than that." Erick says with a smirk causing Kekela to chuckle slightly.
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"What is your name boy?" Kekela asks curiously. "Shut up and fight me, trash." Erick says with a straight face. Jonah came out of the hole along with the rest of the people in the bar. 'What has Erick gotten himself into? This is a captain with a twelve million Estos bounty and he has a berry power. This is so stupid… even for you.' Jonah thinks to himself with worry. "Jonah!" Erick says causing Jonah's eyes to widen with surprise. "Go to the Black Pearl and get ready to set sail." Erick says with a smirk. Jonah began to rebuttal but Erick stopped him. "As your captain, I'm asking you to be ready to set sail." Erick says with a smile. Jonah nods as he walks past both Erick and Kekela with a straight face. 'Don't you believe in your captain?' Jonah remembers Erick saying those words to him. 'Yes… I do.' Jonah thinks to himself as he walks away.
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"Now where were-" Erick began to say but Kekela swung at him with a furious punch. 'If I dodge it he'll destroy this entire building behind me, so I won't.' Erick thinks to himself as he blocks the punch by crossing his arms together like an x but Kekela reached over with his other hand and grabbed Erick by his hair. "I can tell you're a rookie… you lack focus." He says with a wide grin as he slams Erick into the stone path. "Now apologize… runt." Kekela says as he bends his ear down to Erick with a smirk on his face. Kekela hears a slight chuckle that caused his eyes to widen with shock as Erick punches him in the side of the ear. "SHUT THE HELL UPPPP!!!!" Erick yells furiously as his fist slid across the side of Kekela's head. Kekela fell to one knee as he placed his right hand to the right side of his face. "You damn brat!" Kekela says as he stands up and looks at the stone path. "YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!!!" He yells as he looks at Erick with a wide smile. "Then come do something about it. " Erick says with a sly grin.
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Kekela dashes at Erick with a punch but Erick dodges it with ease. Erick's eyes widen as Kekela quickly threw another punch that hit Erick in the ribs, causing Erick to slide back a few feet. 'This guy isn't all that fast but for some reason he can change direction quickly and his punches feel like steel hammers.' Erick thinks to himself with shock. Kekela grins at Erick as he then runs at him at hundreds of miles per hour. Erick blocks the first punch but then gets hit in the chin by the second and while he was stumbling backwards, Kekela grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled Erick to his face. "Do you see now boy? There is a hierarchy within this line of work, useless runts like you will always be at the bottom of the food chain." Kekela says with a wide smile on his face. Erick opens his eyes slightly, causing Kekela's eyes to widen a bit.
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"Don't… you see? You're about to let a rookie…kick your ass." Erick says with a slight smirk as he punches Kekela in the gut, causing Kekela to hurl spit out of his mouth. Erick pushes off of him and lands on his feet. "Did you really believe you could keep this going forever? If I'm not gonna take you down then someone will." Erick says in a stern tone. "And what makes you think that nonsense?" Kekela says as he wipes spit off of the left corner of his mouth. "Because this is wrong. I don't know what you're doing to these people and I don't know much about this town but… you took Kora's family and burned her house down… and for that… you have to die." Erick says bluntly. "Die?" Kekela exclaims as he begins to laugh boisterously. "You can't kill me you idiot, then you'll be exiled from the government and the exploration corp. don't be so dense and that little family is fine but I needed to teach that woman a lesson, they're with my men as we speak." He says to Erick with a smirk.
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"Okay then…" Erick says with a smirk. "… then I'll beat you until you wish you were dead." Erick says with a grin, causing Kekela to grin maniacally. Erick began to have a flashback to his training in the forest with the old man. The old man had a bamboo stick in his hand as he and Erick were looking at a giant tiger, the size of a bear, eating from a carcass. "This is a mountain Tiger, the fiercest beast in all of South Estoria but with Enkai you can beat this thing. You've done well with other big game but this is a step up. So… what are the three core rules of using Enkai?" The old man asks Erick while whispering. "Rule one is your mind must be clear of everything and focused only on yourself, not the enemy." Erick whispers. "Good, good!" The man whispers with a slight smile. "Rule two is stop the unconscious use of the heart and to consciously use it with only your brain." Erick whispers with a smile. "Yes, correct, and the third rule?" The man whispers curiously. "You must use your brain to change the temperature of your body… to two hundred degrees Fahrenheit." Erick whispers with a grin.
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"That is all correct. Now show me that you've learned the true essence of Enkai." The old man says as he looks back at the Mountain Tiger, which was now staring directly at them. Erick breathes out softly as he steps out of the bush, causing the Mountain Tiger to flare up and rear its teeth in anger. Erick stood there with a calm face as he stared at the beast. Erick came back to the present as he saw Kekela in front of him, grinning. 'Rule one… focus on yourself and nothing else.' Erick thinks to himself as the entire town goes blank and there was nothing, just white emptiness. 'Rule number two… consciously pump my own heart using my brain' Erick thinks to himself as his heart stops beating for a moment and then begins beating again. Erick breathes out softly. 'And the final rule… raise the temperature of your body to two hundred degrees Fahrenheit ' Erick thinks to himself as he smirks, causing Kekela's eyes to widen.
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Steam begins to flow from Erick's hair as he smiles widely. "Who the hell are you?" Kekela asks with wide eyes and face full of shock. Erick began swaying side to side as smoke flew from his body and he was chuckling as the steam began to cover his entire body, making him no longer visible to Kekela. Kekela began sweating profusely as he now had a face of concern and worry. 'What is this feeling? It feels like aura but it's rough and not quite the same. What is this rookie doing?' Kekela thought to himself as Erick was still chuckling within the mist.
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"You said you were worth twelve million right?" Erick says from within the mist as he was still chuckling. "Damn right I am and what the hell is so funny? Why don't you get your ass out here and fight!" Kekela exclaims as he then hears the chuckling stop. Kekela's eyes widen as he felt a tapping on the top of his head and as he turned his head slightly he saw Erick sitting, with his arms and legs crossed, on Kekela's right shoulder. Erick's hair was flowing wildly around his head, as if it was incapable of staying still, and he had a wide smile on his face. Kekela's eyes widen completely now, due to the shock of the situation. 'I didn't even see this kid move! What is going on with this guy and why do I feel the sudden urge to run away?' Kekela thought to himself as buckets of sweat flowed down his face. Erick chuckled with a smile that went from ear to ear as he began to speak. "Enkai V2!" Erick says in a childlike tone.
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Jonah had made it back to the Black Pearl and frantically began setting the ship up to sail. 'If I can get The Black Pearl ready quickly, then I can go back and try to help Erick." Jonah thought to himself as sweat began to fall from his face. Jonah stops moving as he then looks at the floor of the ship. 'Who am I kidding?' Jonah thought to himself sadly. 'Even if I were to make it back, I can't help him. He's fighting a captain and I'm here getting the ship ready. Erick is a monster and he is my captain.' Jonah thinks to himself as he composes his emotions and stands back up. 'My captain gave me an order… so I need to trust him.' Jonah thinks to himself with confidence.
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Captain Thorne was sitting on his ship as his eyes slightly widen. "What is it sir?" Chopper says as he was leaning on the edge of the boat with his back. "You said that boy used Aura whenever you approached their ship, right?" Thorne asks him. "I think. It was like Aura but it was a loose form of it… like he was doing something different." Chopper says as his voice gets lower. "So… do you think it was Aura or not Chopper?" Thorne asks bluntly. "There isn't any other recorded technique like that other than Aura so I would like to say yes but…" chopper says as he begins to light a cigar in his mouth. "…It felt different, like something entirely new." Chopper says bluntly. Captain Thorne stands up as he had a slight smirk on his face. "That's because what you just said to me is an incorrect statement." Thorne says with a smirk, causing Choppers eyes to widen slightly.
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"Pardon me?" Chopper says as he straightens his posture. "That old man wasn't crazy after all, huh!" Thorne says as he smiles at the sky. "Captain? What aren't you telling me?" Chopper asks with a curious face. "About ten years ago there was an old man named Ezi, he was apart of Captain Rory's team from the very beginning but he only swept the decks of the ship. After the old man retired he claimed that Captain Rory never used Aura at all but instead he used a technique called Enkai." Thorne says with a grin. "Enkai?!?" Chopper says in a baffled tone. "He claimed that he watched Captain Rory practice it from the first day they met but could never do it himself so naturally… everyone called him a liar." Thorne says. "So you think that boy… has this technique called Enkai?" Chopper asks in a curious tone. "I don't know but it's getting me riled up… I can truly feel the golden age of Pathfinders being reborn again." Thorne says with a grin.
Chapter end.