"Young boy, don't waste your potential. You have the makings of a master..." said an old man as life force drained away.
The young boy held his tears and nodded vigorously as the old man bit the dust and flatlined.
You thought the main character was the young boy, nah. Before the young boy was born, the old man was a multi-champion in many martial arts.
Taekwondo, MMA, Boxing, JuJitsu, and Kendo. He learned from the great Bruce Lee, to disregard useless things and keep the most effective things. To adapt and be like water is what pushed the old man after losing everything.
His family, and his friends, all for his obsession with being the best.
At the age of 50, he achieved his dream of being the undisputed champion in all organizations.
After being the best, he realized, everything he lost. Due to his pride, he never showed that he regretted it. Not the training that almost killed him, nor the brain damage he has gotten over the years.
He let his pride take over his world, even when his family reached out, he never responded. The last thing he thought of was that he wanted to see his new granddaughter who became a boxing champion...
The old man was named Jing, the only champion in the world who conquered every martial art that existed.
On the news station, his death was overshadowed by political campaigns, which just goes to show that people only care when it benefits them.
On a small island in the South Blue...
"I will name you, Rouge, and you will be Ling," said an old man holding two babies who looked almost exactly alike.
5 years go by...
"Brother, can you help me with this orange, I don't want my hands to stink again!" yelled Rouge looking up at Ling.
Ling had red hair with hints of white on the ends and a chubby face. Looking down at his sister, he jumped down from the 20-meter-tall tree landing softly, and took the orange from Rouge's hand.
He peeled it slowly and handed the peeled orange to Rouge, ruffling her pink hair. "You will now smell like oranges," said Ling smirking as he backed away from the angry Rouge.
"I don't like it when you ruffle my hair!" yelled Rouge angrily as she ran away to snitch again.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Ling sat on the trunk of the tree and contemplated life. He had some weird nightmares as if he was fighting an imaginary enemy that he couldn't see. These nightmares occurred after he hit his head when he was little.
"What are these dreams..." wondered Ling as he scratched his head.
In a small hut, Rouge was snitching to an old man who was laughing heartily, "Little one, your brother just loves you, that's why he ruffles your hair, haha."
Rouge pouted and began eating her orange, "I know, but my hair now smells like oranges."
"Better than smelling like sh*t," said Ling as he entered the hut.
Dodging a slipper, he saw the old man's pulsing vein, "Who taught you those words?"
"I heard it when you scolded the young man who stole your toothbrush," said Ling as he sat down on a chair.
The old man was speechless but sighed nonetheless, "You weren't supposed to hear that, but don't use those words again, got it?"
Nodding, Ling grabbed an apple and began chewing it. Feeling a weird taste in his mouth, he swallowed in disgust and looked at the apple. It was red with swirling patterns...
The old man had his mouth wide open as he just watched the apple Ling bit into turn into a mythical thing. "What!?"
Shaking his head, Ling suddenly remembered a piece of information in a dream once, One piece, and devil fruits. "Is...this, a devil fruit?!"
The old man rushed towards Ling and tried to make him spit it out, "If you eat this thing, you will be cursed by the sea to be a land lover," said the old man with a bit of fear.
Ling coughed lightly but suddenly, he felt that he could control everything about his body, the cells, organs, and even the way his body responded. Realizing that Ling didn't throw it up, the old man gave up.
"Old geezer, do you know what kind of devil fruit this was?"
Ignoring the name, the old man let go of Ling and sat down weakly, "I have seen it before in a book, it is called The Perfect Control Devil Fruit. It said that if one eats this devil fruit, he would have perfect control over their body, mind, and spirit."
Ling suddenly felt a flood of memories, like a dam broke in his mind. Before the old man knew it, he watched as his grandson fainted.
Rouge's eyes widened as he rushed towards Ling to try to wake him up, the old man calmed her down in a few minutes, but he was also very worried.
Helping the old man, Rouge carried Ling to their shared bed that they were raised on. It was a straw mattress with wool for pillows. Laying Ling's head on the pillow, Rouge looked at the old man with fear in her eyes.
"Is...brother gonna be okay?" as tears began to overflow from Rouge.
Gulping, the old man sighed heavily, "I think...so, your brother is the strongest 5-year-old I have ever seen, be it his mental or physical skills."
Wiping away some of the tears, Rouge smiled happily, "Brother won't leave me, he said he will protect me forever."
The old man sat with Rouge until she fell asleep next to Ling, tucking both of them in, he went to his room and fell asleep knowing that Ling's pulse was still pulsing.
In his mind...
Ling was in front of an old man who looked majestic, his muscles were defined and strong. Every part of his body was chiseled as if he were a Greek statue, "Who...are you?" asked Ling walking towards the muscular old man.
The muscular old man smiled, "I am you, just from another world."
Staring at the old man's eyes, he could tell he was sincere about his words. "So, where am I?"
"You are inside of the mindscape of your mind."
"Mindscape? Like inside of myself?"
The old man chuckled, "You caught on quick, no wonder you are me." Ling's confusion grew until the old man coughed and added, "I used to be the best fighter in my world, you can have a look."
Touching Ling's forehead, a flood of memories invaded him, the hellish training, regret, enemies, rivalries, and death.
Ling couldn't handle the memories and almost collapsed until the old man stopped giving him memories. "You...are crazy."
"Haha, everyone said that about my training." The old man looked at Ling and sighed, "If you want to stop having nightmares, we must become one."
"One? How will that work?"
The old man pulled Ling up and shook his hand, suddenly a white light enveloped the two of them, and Ling's body began spasming in the outside world. Waking up Rouge who saw that Ling was tweaking the f*ck out.
Yelling out for the old man, he rushed out of his bed at light speed and looked at Rouge who was holding down Ling's body that was spasming.
"Grandpa! Help, he is acting scary," said Rouge as tears fell down her eyes.
Suddenly, Ling opened his eyes and stopped spasming to the relief of Rouge who held him tightly as if he was about to disappear from thin air.
"Little Ling, are you...okay?" asked the old man checking Ling's pulse and temperature.
Ling had a dazed look in his eyes but currently, at this moment, his mind was being assaulted by memories of training like a madman.
A red glint appeared in his eyes...