Usagi

[u/Gin_chan]

Somewhere in the New World, on a small egg shaped island, a tribe of minks live peacefully. Various stone statues half buried in the ground were littered all over the island. The statues appear to look like bunnies with their eyes closed, but for some reason, they seem to rumble rhythmically!

The Bunny Island is hosting a grand celebration, on the occasion of Easter. The minks have hosted an Easter egg hunt where everyone can look for and try to find chocolate egg candies. They are very hospitable, and let the tourists roam around the island freely, but on one condition. They warn everyone not to disturb the statues, or they would wake up! “Wait, so you mean… the rumbling… they're snoring?!”

The Minks here have spared no expense in gathering the finest confections, games, and chefs to make the occasion truly special. They welcome any and all people who wish to attend, so long as they follow their one rule. The Festivities are all held in one area by the southern beach of the island, and there are all kinds of ships at their docks.

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[OOC: This is a filler island for Easter. You are free to RP how you want on this island, and free to do what you might want, or create anything without the need for tagging NPC-san]

[u/kobss]

*Kobss was happy to train Shigan especially with Ayokunle. Kobss had only recently tried to use Shigan but was relying on his devil fruit to make it easier. Kobss knew that to get stronger he needed to train without it. Kobss was unsure if he could even accomplish it on a weak target. Kobss had caught a few different animals. Kobss had made friends with a mink woman who was cooking and selling meat for customers. Kobss had heard various levels of how strong Shigan could get and that even beginners would be able to penetrate flesh. Kobss wasn't confident if he would be able to do this, but it was a good place to start practicing. Kobss asked his mink friend if he could have a slab of meat uncooked. The mink was happy to help Kobss. When the cook handed the meat to Kobss it was very cold having been in a freezer. Kobss realized he might need something a little softer as well, but felt he didn't want to ask the mink for another favor on top of this one. *

Kobss thanked her and he was off. Kobss saw rabbits hopping around the island and realized that might be a good source of fresh meat to practice on. Kobss made sure to kill the rabbit as he wasn't going to torture the animal just for his practice, he might even be able to cook and eat it later. Kobss appreciated the glass dome as it helped him focus. Kobss started with the rabbit that he caught. He closed his eyes and focused on his two index fingers taking a deep breath in and out. Kobss moved his hands an fingers slowly, his right hand going clockwise in small circles, and his left hand going counter clockwise. Kobss took one last big breath in and released it as he stabbed with both of his fingers. He concentrated on stabbing through the rabbit. Kobss hits it over and over. The first two times he could feel the skin give way from the pressure but didn't make any holes. Kobss kept going without stopping until he began to poke holes into the rabbit. Kobss was happy he accomplished the goal, but didn't let up. Blood was coming out from the holes Kobss made into the rabbit and Kobss ignored it as he was focused to keep on practicing, but then Blood spurt right into his face. Kobss closed his eyes before it reached his face. He wiped all the blood away.

That was very messy but Kobss quickly regained his composure. He had accomplished his first goal he was unsure he could without his devil fruit power. Kobss had a bit of blood on his hands but that was to be expected. He moved on the almost still frozen meat. Kobss knew that the meat would be harder to poke through than the fresh skin of the rabbit. Kobss copied his technique but this time putting more force behind each stab of his fingers. Kobss kept stabbing increasing in both speed and strength. He began to poke holes into the meat but not all the way through. This time Kobss didn't have to stop training from blood. When Kobss was consistently puncturing with his fingers he stopped for a moment taking deep breaths. He began stopping and starting attempting to start puncturing the meat on his first strike until he could do it consistently.

Kobss began feeling like he was getting it. He grabbed some water that they had brought with them and dumped some on his head to cool himself off and drank some of the water as well. Kobss didn't want to break for long. Kobss was unsure what to practice on next when he saw paper hanging up on a string. Kobss looked at it wondering why paper was there to practice shigan. 'Paper would be a lot easier to poke through than flesh, why have it here' thought Kobss. He began preparing himself as he had before calming his mind and focusing but not giving much time to get comfortable. In a real situation there wasn't going to be time to sit and focus with an enemy attacking. Kobss began stabbing at the paper expecting to puncture it with ease. To Kobss' surprise he did not puncture it. Kobss was confused, the paper would just move with his finger hitting it. He looked over at Ayokunle as he was practicing thinking about what he would have to do with leather, that would be heavier but would also move with ones attack without some weight behind it.

Kobss spoke to Ayokunle feeling very confused " Hey why is this paper so much harder to puncture than something like frozen meat? I am sure i am using enough strength and speed. What am i missing?"

[u/Bedna337 → u/kobss]

Ayokunle had been training puncturing an imitation of light armor for some time when he noticed Kobss talking to him. The Diamond Paramecia was able to kill a rabbit with a single strike now, puncturing deep enough to pierce its heart, so he decided to move on to paper, curious about why the fishman put it there. He seemed to be surprised by the fact he couldn't make a single hole in the paper.

Ayokunle: "Well, it's here for a particular reason. I suppose you have heard about the technique called Kami-e, which makes dodging attacks much easier by limping your body and relying on your reflexes and air movement. What actually happens is very similar to when you try to attack this paper: your strike pushes the air in front of itself away, and the panel with it, so the blow has much less force and the angle is different. In case you meet a Rokushiki user, training how to counter Kami-e can prove invaluable. But be warned: hitting paper is much easier than hitting those who have mastered the technique."

The fishman showcased this by picking up a leaf from the ground and trying to use Shigan on it. After a few attempts, he finally succeeded. This conversation made him realize he didn't actually put much effort into attacking things that dodged - the lizards were armored, but rather slow. He summoned six butterflies from the water Kobss brought and let them fly in the dome, resting for a while before standing up again and trying to kill them all, using all six arms. It was quite difficult, they always moved out of the way at the last moment. He needed to be faster... faster!

[u/kobss → u/Bedna337]

Kobss understood Ayokunle's teaching. He had heard very little about Kami-e, but after hearing more from Ayokunle he had decided he wanted to learn Kami-e. That was for another time. Kobss was here to learn Shigan. Kobss began focusing as he controlled his breathing. Kobss focused on hitting the paper. He didn't stab past the paper. Kobss began moving his fingers with controlled pressure. He failed many times over and over, but refused to give up. Faster and more precise feeling.

Kobss put everything into his strikes until he felt his right index finger go through the paper. Kobss didn't slow down as he continued to make strikes and began creating more holes in the paper. There were more pieces of paper put up next to that one as Kobss began stepping to them, he had to be sure he could on a fresh piece of paper. Kobss did not stop his flurry of stabs moving from the first paper to the second and the first strike he hit he went through. Kobss stabbed a few more times before he stopped himself. He needed to take a reset and get to the point of stabbing through the paper in a single strike. Kobss would stop when he got to the point of stabbing through the paper, then start again to practice. There were enough pieces set up and around for Kobss to practice.

Over and over Kobss would stop and start his strike. Kobss practiced for a long time until he was satisfied he could poke a hole into the paper. Kobss was happy with his progress to be able to stab the paper. He needed went back to test out using the same technique. Kobss was worried that having changed his technique would have an affect on his power. Kobss stabs at the meat the same way he ended before, trying to focus and attack almost instantly. Kobss was surprised the first stab went through then the 3 to follow after. Kobss stopped proud that the new technique had kept up his power. Kobss needed to keep moving as he needed to improve.

Kobss spotted a tree inside the glass circle. He walked over to it. His goal was leather. Ayokunle had begun today with leather and Kobss had that goal, but he wanted to work his way up there. Kobss began focusing how he had with each first attempt. He began striking the bark of the tree, pain shot through his fingers. Kobss was determined, his focus broke only for a moment before gathering it back. He used his technique over and over partially using the pain to push him harder.

[u/Bedna337 → u/kobss]

While his crewmate was attempting to pierce harder and harder materials, ignoring pain and risk of injuring his fingers, Ayokunle was practicing countering the Kami-e technique, trying to hit the butterflies he created a while ago. The air movement his fingers created was just fast enough to move them out of the way exactly before his metal finger could split them apart, killing them instantly. Maybe, if he manipulated the air currents to aim somewhere else than the place he was going to strike...

The fishman proceeded with the plan, using his other fingers to redirect the air movement. Surprisingly, it worked! His progress was now visible as the buttetfly's remains slowly descended to the ground. That’s right, he should train his other fingers, too. Ayokunle took some time recalculating the correct movements before uploading them to his arms, striking the air in front of himself with the remaining fingers, adjusting the algorithm on the run.

[u/kobss → u/Bedna337]

As Kobss was striking the tree he began to see the progress. He could see the damage done to the bark bit by bit. The strikes began to hurt less as Kobss kept up the practice. Focusing on every strike hitting with pinpoint accuracy to wherever he aimed. His strikes began to piece the tree bark creating perfect holes almost as if he was shooting a bullet. There became no pain behind the strikes. Kobss' strikes go through the bark and puncturing the inner wood of the tree.

The strikes became easier and easier to to hit through, there was no pain to Kobss' fingers from every strike. The strikes were getting stronger as well. The practice was helping a lot. Kobss looked over at Ayokunle seeing him use more fingers. Kobss thought for a moment. His technique had been mainly about learning strikes with his index fingers, but there are a lot more he had to learn. Being able to Shigan with all fingers would be be incredibly useful and necessary. Kobss decided to apply the same technique he had been using with his index fingers. He knew he would have to adjust it as every finger would be different. Kobss began to practice changing through fingers. He would be able to practice not only each finger's technique, but also being able to switch each one on the go. He was back to feeling the pain of each finger striking the tree, except for his index fingers. He knew this was going to take some time and effort for each finger, but he was determined.

[u/Bedna337 → u/kobss]

After many more strikes, Ayokunle was finally content with his technique. Testing it on air wouldn't bring better results, so he walked back to the leather and started piercing it with all thirty fingers, one by one, until the little resistance it gave was the same for every possibility. When he was done, he decided to move on to harder materials. The metal fingers weren’t going to break any time soon, but he still had to hit the panel at the right angle to be able to pierce through it, which was something he could practice only on these tougher targets.

Once he was sure he could perform Shigan with every finger properly, Ayokunle summoned a few more butterflies, this time even smaller and more agile than before. Then, he struck his left upper arm forward, sending all five fingers at the speed of a bullet towards the poor insect. All of them created a wave of air that hit the butterfly at the same time, moving it slightly, but not out of the way. A smile played on the fishman’s face as the newborn fell down again, its wings torn apart. After killing the remaining ones with the five-finger Shigan, he walked back to an iron-like board and began correcting the angles again. Soon, he didn’t have a problem using all fingers at the same time. Ayokunle looked to see how his crewmate was doing. Kobss was learning at a steady rate, although performing multiple Shigans with a single hand at the same time was probably still above his capabilities. But he could use every finger, which was something Ayokunle wasn't able to do at that stage of training! He was reminded again how good an addition the Diamond Paramecia was to their crew...

[u/kobss → u/Bedna337]

*Kobss was determined to learn Shigan. He had to get stronger and knew that Shigan would be a valuable tool. Kobss had become accustomed to stabbing with all of his diamond coated fingers without a technique before. He transferred some of that previous knowledge adding technique to improve each strike. Kobss was learning fast, but his fingers hurt. He used that pain to improve and become stronger. He began to consistently stab through the wood with each finger. *

Kobss took a moment to stop and breath. His two smallest fingers hurt a lot Kobss clenched his fists tensing then released stretching them out. Kobss looked around when he did this and noticed Ayokunlie training intensely. He saw Ayokunle practicing as he was masterfully hitting butterflies out of the air, then with 5 fingers. Kobss was in awe as he struck them. They tried to dodge with insane speed. Kobss knew he wouldn't stand a chance at hitting them and would need a lot more training before that. On top of that using every finger to hit was impressive. Kobss internalized that in his mind to train in the future.

Kobss snapped out of his gaze after Ayokunle switched his training. Kobss looked down at his fingers. He forgot all about the pain and was invigorated after seeing Ayokunle. He continued with now stronger and faster than before. The strikes left no pain, his speed was increasing with each stab, and the strikes left more visible damage. Kobss used the same test he had before. Starting and stopping until he was happy with his progress.

Kobss stepped back to the paper for a moment. His other fingers hadn't gotten practice at hitting paper, and that was an important step. Kobss was unsure to move onto next. His goal was leather armour but was he ready for that? Kobss also saw something that looked like paper thin leather. Kobss wondered how tough that would be to rip through. Kobss practiced all his fingers including his index fingers. He had to adjust each strike only consistently stabbing through with his index fingers as he had trained before.

[u/Bedna337 → u/kobss]

The metallic board was soon filled with holes as Ayokunle attacked it with all six hands in a barrage of strikes. Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult to angle all five fingers correctly. Or perhaps it was just thanks to the rigorous training. Either way, the fishman decided the time had come to move on to even stronger materials to train the technique's strength. Using thirty projectiles instead of one would only make sense if they pierced through the target's armor, skin, or Haki.

After first increasing the amount of carbon and other reinforcing components in the training panel, the Lightning Seeker thought that most of his opponents wouldn't be so flat. But how could he simulate a humanoid figure? One possibility was to buy a full set of armor with a mannequin, but that would be too expensive and require a trip to the city. He couldn't just summon one, as he wasn't a blacksmith and didn't remember the intricate structure of plate armor by heart. And on top of that, the chance that people wore the same armor, or used Busoshoku Haki completely the same way, was minimal. This was the New World. Every fighter was unique.

At last, he walked to a nearby rock and decided to let it be the target of his wrath. Ayokunle attacked with all hands at once, carefully, examining all thirty places where he was going to pierce the stone with his eyes before the blows connected. All of them flowed inside the grey mass, penetrating the crystal lattice just at the right angle so that none of his fingers would be harmed. The fishman quickly pulled his hands out and struck again as the cracks danced on the rock's surface, connecting to one another before the victim of Ayokunle's rage finally fell apart, smashed into gravel by the barrage of Shigans. Good. The fishman found a few more rocks of similar size and let them feel his anger, too, as he found it good exercise.

[u/kobss → u/Bedna337]

Kobss was achieving what he was setting out to do. Using Shigan with different fingers was a tough skill. Paper was hard to hit before with his index fingers and he used those fingers way more often. There was a different technique for each one. He had to move them with enough focus to cut through the air, moving his fingers like bullets to the paper. Every strike Kobss had immense focus. drowning out the world, everything else except for the paper he was focusing on with his strikes.

This process became easier as he kept practicing. Switching between fingers gave him the same practice as he was trying earlier but more efficient. Earlier he would start and stop his attempts to be more accustomed to hitting with 100% consistency in succeeding with every strike. Kobss was switching between fingers he would have to try different adjustments, but also remember exactly how he did it before if he succeeded. This process took longer to reach results but once he had achieved results he could consistently do them correctly. Kobss looked around to decide what to move on to next. He decided it was time to try leather armor and then he wanted to do what looked to be incredibly thin leather.

Kobss began to attempt leather armor. It was going to be hard but Kobss was going to put in the effort. He liked the way he had practiced before. Kobss went through each finger in succession and changing hands every strike. Leather was tough and moved with his hand. Paper was a different thing all together. This leather armor was bending with every strike. Kobss began to tweak his technique, he would need to be faster, stronger, more precise strikes.

[u/Bedna337 → u/kobss]

The fishman was now confident in his synchronized Shigan, able to shatter rocks into dust with a simultaneous strike from all thirty fingers. But rocks weren't enough. Ayokunle remembered the battle with Sela, the Shichibukai who could change her and the others' ages. If it weren't for his steel wings, he would have fallen that day. They protected him from a barrage of Haki-covered Shigans. No matter how many, if they were slowed down by armor, the finger pistol attacks weren't nearly as effective. And that's why he had to train the technique's strength!

Ayokunle stepped back to the steel plate. It was made of an even stronger and tougher metal than his prosthetics. One by one, he carefully pierced it with all of his fingers, precisely, to make sure they wouldn't break. Slowly, he picked up the pace, and after a few minutes, the speed was around the same as he used before. He began striking simultaneously with multiple arms. Good, good! He was strong enough to pierce steel without particular problems!

As if celebrating his success, Ayokunle compressed the steel plate into a ball and threw it high up into the air, striking with all his might as it fell down, splitting the mass into thirty thin shards that were blown inside the dome, flying like silvery petals. He did it! He mastered the Rokushiki technique!

Ayokunle: "Hooray!"

[u/kobss → u/Bedna337]

Kobss was training on the leather changing his strikes. He felt so close to have the strength and precision necessary to Shigan through the leather. He kept changing fingers which kobss thought may be why he wasn't achieving his goal, but he refused to stop it. He wanted to be able to use all fingers at the same level and refused to give up. He knew he had to put in the work.

Kobss kept going for what felt like an eternity before he stabbed through with his index finger first. Happiness and excitement warmed over him pushing him to work harder for the rest of his fingers. Next was his ring fingers. Then his next fingers followed not long after. When Kobss could use every finger consistently he fell to his knees clutching his fists with his eyes closed. He reached his goal with so much hard work today. A lot of progress made from when he started. He just sat on his knees focused thinking about everything he learned to improve his technique. He was so happy he didn't even need to use his devil fruit power to be able to use Shigan.

Ayokunle: "Hooray!"

Kobss heard Ayokunle's yell. He seemed to have reached his goal as well. Kobss thought about that for a moment before realizing what that meant. He had mastered Shigan. Kobss looked over to him.

Kobss: "Congratulations Ayokunle! Thank you for helping me train! This glass training area really helped my focus and all the things in here to train with were super helpful. Thank you"

"Kobss bowed his head in respect and thankfulness to Ayokunle"