Chapter 8

West blue, Ishiria island, roku town

(Azul pov, two years later)

It was a nice morning in Azuls opinion as he was running his usual route with weights all over his body to give him more of a challenge. I always had enjoyed the early mornings when everything was silent as a grave, the sun slowly rising and the fog of the night leaving to come back in the evening.

And yet, something this morning was bugging him. Maybe it was the nervoursness he always felt when he was to fight the old man? I mean he was a freaking monster! But no, this felt a little different. Anticipation maybe? But for what? Was his soul telling him something which he couldn't perceive yet due to still being an apprentice? It was a possibility. He had learned to never discard his intuition. After all, how was he to learn Haki if he didn't trust himself? Though that didn't answer the question the feeling had brought with it. 'Nothing much I can do about now. Time will tell.' He thought to himself and kept running.

Soon he reached the market place where he had his little chase with the two men all those years ago. He kept going for a few minutes and the feeling inside himself kept on growing, telling him that whatever was going to happen wasn't too far away anymore. Taking a steadying breath Azul speed up embracing the anticipation that was growing inside of him at a steady pace.

(pov switch, Old man Bai)

Old man Bai. An acronym he wasn't too fond of since it shoved into his face every day just how old he had grown over the years. True, he was still strong but compared to the days when he had roamed the new world and struck fear into countless people just by his name he was nothing anymore. The only thing that was stronger in his old age was his spirit. Sadly, his body simply couldn't keep up with its continuously growing soul. Every person who said a person grew weaker the older they got had truly no idea what they were talking about. Yes, physical strength was fading but the nearer one got to deaths eternal embrace the stronger ones soul grew to not buckle under the strain the knowledge of fading into nothingness could cause. Only when you were able to let your past go were you able to reach the pinacle of your spirits strength and old man Bai wasn't ready for that yet. He had to make sure the disciple he had grown so fond of over the years was prepared for this harsh world and the terrors that lurked in its shadows.

As everyday old man Bai was covering the whole island with his observation Haki, focusing especially on his apprentice to make sure he could step in should something unforseen happen his disciple couldn't handle yet. And oh how good it once again proofed to be prepared for every eventuality, as he had learned in all those years on the grandline. Only a fool would try to survive such a sea by winging it, not like there weren't plenty of those out there, proclaiming to be the strongest, pirates or marines alike. Fools, the lot of them! Chasing mediocrity. Justice? Bullshit. Justice doesn't exist, only the strong forcing their will on those they came to dominate. Freedom? Bullshit. You always were shackled. If only one took a look inside themselfs and one could find the shackles that emotions or the own body was putting onto one. No, the only true freedom came after letting everything go and fading into the black.

In old man Bais opinion, which had changed drastically over the years, maybe even become a little cynical (but who cares about semanitics), life was meant to be a preperation. To strengthen ones soul for what came along with death. What that was? Who knows. Maybe another journey? Maybe a continuous circle of living, dieing only to do it all over again. Or maybe there was nothing but a gluttonous being craving to gobble down all those strong souls once they passed on? Truly, old man Bai hoped it wasn't the later. Rather an anticlimatic thought if he was being honest with himself...

Now the preperation was paying of since he could literally feel the emotions of a group of five morons, wielding weapons, seemingly about to ambush his disciple. As if they would succeed. He had trained him too well to be offed by such vermin, but it never hurt to be careful.

'Bloody hell, I truly have gotten old...' old man Bai said to himself with a selfreflecting grimace on his face staring down onto the street.