It took about 3 months until they got near Wano. By the time they did, Majeh and Sora had already perfected the basic foot movements, and their sword swings felt much more natural. As they were unable to get into the city due to their harsh restrictions against foreigners, Majeh and Sora stayed on a nearby area, setting camp and organizing themselves while Kanimaku went in to deliver the spoils of his voyage. They were still settling down when Kanimaku came back with a few friends of his, all middle-aged men and women. He quickly introduced them before heading back to Wano. He only came back to make sure that his friends could quickly start constructing a new dojo, one that he decided to create the moment he committed to teaching the two of them. He wanted to start the construction immediately so that the two kids could have a warm place to sleep in as soon as possible. And since they were estimating to stay there for the next two years, the place needed to be decent, otherwise Kanimaku would just feel wrong.
Wano's constructors were indeed highly qualified as it only took a few hours to have their rooms ready. In the second day all the foundations were ready, and in only a week the rest of the Dojo had already been built. And it wasn't your average building, this was made by the best artisans, using the best materials. No one would be surprised if this place was considered as one of the wonders of Odyssey. If this was requested in Magnolia or Hazard, it would require a hefty fortune to make it, not to mention it would take years to do it … and it would probably still not look as good as this.
Majeh and Sora finally felt like they had a proper home. They had been travelling for months, sleeping in quickly made camps or trees. This was the first time they slept in proper beds since then, so they couldn't even tell if the beds' qualities were as amazing as they felt or if if just seemed like that because they were used to sleeping in uncomfortable conditions for so long.
With the new dojo they also received new wooden swords, a shinai and a bokken sword for each of them. This allowed them to continue their training and integrate spars into their routine. Since the dojo was almost completely built, with dozens of rooms available, Kanimaku decided to move his family to it, introducing them to the two of them. When he went back to his village, he told his family all that occurred and they convinced him that the best solution would be for all of them to move to the dojo as well. All of his kids wanted to learn from their father instead of the village instructors, but he had been postponing it. This was their perfect chance.
Firstly, he introduced his first son Ichimaku, a tall orange-haired teen boy with a thin physique, and his first daughter Nikiri, a petit green-haired slim teen girl. These two would be training partners for Majeh and Sora. They had already been learning from the village elders for a few years, only having received one or two lessons from their father. Now it was their best chance to convince Kanimaku to teach them properly. Kanimaku was a great and powerful warrior, one of the best among all of Wano, but he did not like to teach. He preferred to pass that task to someone else. However, something in Majeh called for him. Like some mystique force was convincing him that guiding him would be a good opportunity.
Following along came Kuroma, Kanimaku's wife, an average sized woman with blueish-white hair. She seemed to dress more like the typical Samurai, wearing something similar to a white kimono, tied at the waist by a fashionable waist band, with a katana sword on each side. On each arm she carried two identical babies, their only difference being their hair colors, as one baby has brown straight long hair, Estar, as the other has black straight long hair, Ertas. Hidden behind one of his mother's leg is the second son, Nimaku, with vivid bright red hair, similar to his father.
After introducing his direct family, Kanimaku presented his sister to the both of them, as he had planned for her to be Sora's master. After the last few months, Kanimaku realized that although Sora seems to have talent in handling swords, he considers that becoming a regular Samurai might not be ideal for her. She seems to have as much talent for mana as she has with swords. His sister, Bichia, is an Eldrich Knight, which allows her to integrate mana into her fighting style, making her more apt to teach Sora than himself.
Bichia, a pink haired muscular woman, wearing a tight revealing kimono and a white eyepatch on her right eye. She will also live in the dojo from now on, together with her children. Toshiro, her oldest son, around the same age as Ichimaku, has white hair and a pale complexion. Tura and Tuna, her twin daughters, a bit younger than Nikiri but still a bit older than Nimaku, extremely similar to each other except for their hairstyles, as one is long and straight and the other is shorter and wavy.
All 13 of them were living together in the dojo, training every day, having classes given by Kanimaku, Kuroma and Bichia every now and then, with constant duels and spars against each other, to put into practice the skills each of them were developing in their individual time. Due to the differences in experience, Majeh could only spar with Ichimaku and Toru, as the others were still unable to keep up with them. Sora was still unable to unlock her memories, but they could tell that she did not have as much sparring experience as the 3 of them, so, at the very least, her childhood must have been more peaceful than theirs.
Although Majeh was used to the thrill of battle and the dangers of fighting with sharpened objects, the others weren't, so they all had to use wooden swords for their spars. In the beginning, Majeh found it weird, but he had no choice but to get used to it. On the upside, there were fewer injuries and cuts than usual.
It took around one year for both Majeh and Sora to break through the first big barrier in the cultivation path, reaching the 3rd level. Each path is different, as one might have more trouble breaking through a specific level, compared to another cultivator of the same experience. Nevertheless, most warriors had a bit of trouble breaking through the 2nd level as that was the unofficial start of their journey. Any individual becomes a cultivator the moment they reach the 2nd level, but only once they reach the 3rd level are they apt enough to start the path they have choosen. Only then are they recognized as proper cultivators. Majeh could finally say he was a proper Samurai, as Sora was now, truly, an Eldritch Knight.
They could return to the SnowMane tribe by now, but Majeh recognized that if they did, it would probably take quite a few years before they could return to this Dojo. As such, they decided to stay one more year, as Kanimaku had originally planned. They kept following up with their previous classes and spars, with the occasional visit of one of Kanimaku's friends, that would go there to visit him and take the opportunity to give their own lessons and have a spar against Kanimaku, showing a bit of what a fight between high level swordsman looks like.
Eventually, all the students were all able to spar against each other, as the younger ones had gotten enough experience, so the fights became more interesting and varied.
In the middle of one of the classes, within the forest, an eagle suddenly landed on Majeh's shoulder. Majeh had noticed the bird observing from afar for a few days, but this was the first time it ever approached him. He slowly petted the animal as the lesson continued. Similarly to the cat, now named Micksa, the falcon also quickly bonded with Majeh, so he also gave it the name Roudah.
Kanimaku took this chance to introduce a new lesson, the different paths to becoming a warrior or a cultivator.
Kanimaku: All of us here have started the path of a Fighter, choosing the subclass of Samurai or Eldrich Knight, but there were a lot of other options, whether that is classes or subclasses. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Wano mainly creates Fighters and Rangers, but there exist many other classes, such as Barbarians, Paladins, Clerics, Druids, Monks, Rogues, Bards, Sorcerers, Wizards, Warlocks or Artificers. Each with their own subclasses. I have already taught you the specificities of all of them, but the important part right now is that most warriors choose to follow only one path, but it is possible to follow two or more of them at once, although very rare. It is incredibly difficult to progress on one path, so it is even harder to follow two paths at the same time. Majeh, although you are a Samurai, you have shown indices of the Beastmaster, from the Ranger path. Now you will have to choose which path you wish to put more focus on, or whether you wish to follow both of them equally. Although it is extremely rare, there are a few successful cases in history. With the proper effort everything is possible, although your progress will be much slower than those with a talent similar to yours that follow only one path.
Kanimaku left for a few days to deal with some matters in Wano, as he does every so often. When he returned, it was already time for Majeh and Sora to start their voyage back to the SnowMane. As a goodbye gift, he brought them some presents.
For Majeh, he had personally forged a curved Shirasaya katana, with a scabbard and hilt made from a beautiful green bamboo like tree. Once Majeh took the sword out of its scabbard, a lustrous dark blade shined. Kanimaku explained that he has smelted some type of special black metal to create it, as it was a great conductor for lightning, same as the bamboo hilt and scabbard. He realized that Majeh seemed to have a great affinity with this element, so he tried to create a sword that would allow him a better use of said element, once he became strong enough to do so. After Majeh had finished admiring the sword, Kanimaku offered him two books:
- one book with the techniques of his Swordsmanship, so that he could continue his progress;
- one book with basic teachings of beast taming, so that he could also advance on this as well.
For Sora, Bichia presented her with two small katanas, both around the same size as her but, perhaps, confused with toothpicks if given to the wrong person. Both the hilts, the scabbards as well as the blades were made of white silver, so that it could conduct energy more efficiently. This material was more adept towards Mana usage, but it would still be able to conduct Spirit energy, as long as she constantly polished, sharpened and casted maintenance spells on to the swords. It was extremely hard to find ores that could properly conduct Spirit energy and, as there are no warriors that need it in Wano, they did not have a need for those materials.
Both Majeh and Sora had the same conflicted emotions. They were as happy and excited for receiving these gifts and completing the first phase of their training, as they were sad and sorrowful to say their goodbyes to the people they had spent the last two years with. Nevertheless, they said their goodbyes and started their journey to Zou.
Unlike the first time, it only took about 2 months to get all the way from the outskirts of Wano to Zou. This time they were not performing sword movements, training their footsteps or following along the pace of the carriage. Not only that, as they had a map with the shortest and safest path and were constantly running to not follow behind on their physical training. The map took them until a point Majeh was familiar with, and from there on he knew the way back to his village. There were 5 Leonin villages in Zou, but it was extremely hard to find them hidden within all of the mountains. If Majeh did not know the way, they would eventually die lost in those harsh conditions. When he got lost more than two years ago, he was unable to find his way back to the mountains, but even if he did, he would have definitely gotten lost, as it would be hard to find anything he could recognize without the map he had with him now.
It was a matter of time until they got to the village. Majeh knocked on the huge stone gate, connected to the gigantic, dense stone wall that surrounded the village. The guards quickly opened the gate, as they recognized he was one of them. It didn't take long for the news to reach his family, as his 3 brothers, Flash, Kaiou and Tourou, welcomed him not much longer after he passed the gates. They were all tearing up as they hugged him, repeating several times how they didn't want to believe he was dead and kept waiting for the day he returned to them. The 4 of them only stopped crying once Sora presented herself. The 3 brothers were caught by surprise, as Majeh introduced his sister and explained what happened to him and where he had been for the last two years. After a long conversation, they proceeded towards the Silverclaw mansion.
There he was received by his remaining siblings. They all welcomed him back, without much fuss, but he could tell most of them were trying to hold back their tears, especially Maya. Although she might not admit it, she viewed Majeh as her rival, so she was really dispirited when she heard that he was probably dead. Even her training started to get affected until Moraa made sure that all her sons and daughters knew that her offspring does not die that easily. She claimed not to have the smallest doubt in her mind that Majeh was still alive and kicking, and she would not believe otherwise until she saw his dead body with her own eyes.
After all the siblings had their moment, Moraa and Bratool welcomed Majeh, giving him a pat on his back, showing a slight smile.
Moraa: I knew my son could not be that weak! None of you is allowed to die such a measly death! Good job Majeh, I can tell you have grown much stronger in the last 2 or 3 years. Show me how much! Let's go to the arena on our backyard and have you spar with Maya.
Majeh looked at Maya, as she looked back at him. From a simple look, they could both tell that the two of them were excited for this encounter. They nodded at each other, agreed with their mother and moved towards the backyard. The village is quite big, but there is no other house as massive and flamboyant as theirs. Most houses have a space for spars and practices, but the Silverclaw family is the only one with an arena in the whole village. The only thing that was superior to it was the coliseum in the center of the village where the most important events took place.
Majeh and Maya positioned themselves in the center of the arena, while the siblings and the parents seated themselves. Sora also took this opportunity to present herself to the ones she still had not met.
Bratool would be serving as the referee, only there to intervene if things got too dangerous. He gave the sign to start the fight, as Maya sprinted towards Majeh with her halberd. Majeh remained calm and immobile until she was within his range. Just then, he took his sword from its scabbard and used it to parry the halberd to the ground as, almost in the same move, he jumped and kicked her away. Maya was surprised but her reflects were quick enough to react in time, as she used her arms to guard herself and avoided most of the damage. Everyone was surprised as, although Majeh used to be able to spar properly with Maya, he had never gotten the upper hand in such a way. Not only that, as he was using a weird skinny sword instead of the thick and heavy ones they typically see.
Maya stabilized herself quickly, as Majeh was following after her, taking the offensive. Both of their blades clashed numerous times, as they both got a few minor cuts from the fight. After some time, Bratool considered they had done enough, as he put an end to the fight, without a clear winner. All of them could tell Majeh had grown stronger, but no one expected for the fight to end in a tie. Ever since he disappeared, his 3 brothers had been having a hard time training against the older siblings, even when Maya wasn't part of the spars. Now that Majeh had returned in such an astounding way, they had regained their confidence.
Althought they were not really proficient with katanas, Majeh decided to teach his brothers the Samurai way, teaching them a few techniques and movements that he believed could be beneficial for their training.
Majeh showed the village's blacksmith drawings of a few of the weapons that he got to know while he was training with Kanimaku, as he happily considered them as his new projects. He was unable to create proper katanas, as he was incable of forging such thin blades without running their durability. But he was confident he could create the other weapons successfully, as he was already used to produce similar things. Flash started using twin sabers, Kaiou a long spear with a rod made of metal instead of wood, and Tourou used a long bow that was more apt to be used in close combat if the situation demanded it. After observing them, Maya tried a few of the new weapons as well and decided to change her main weapon to a Naginata. Although they still divided the family within the two sides, they all wanted to become stronger, so Majeh had no problem helping her get used to the new weapon.
The training kept increase with each passing day, as the spars within both sides became more and more reoccurring. In the beginning, the fights between the siblings were 4 vs 4, with Maya staying out of it, but the results heavily favoured Majeh's side. It didn't take long to change into a 5 vs 5 with both Maya and Sora participating as well. After their first fight, Maya got somewhat accustomed to Majeh's fighting style, so she was able to gain a minimal upper hand provenient from more experience, making her side win slightly more battles. The main difference seemed to be because she was a couple of years older, so it was possible, perhaps even likely, that her side would eventually be surpassed. Nevertheless, all the elders and instructors still showed most of their support to Maya, as they knew one requires more than pure strength to rule. Majeh was still not interested in being the village leader, so he was happy his sister was getting most of the attention.
Their training consisted mostly of fights and spars, as they had already received most of the theoretical classes by that age. Complementing their training, they performed trips to the forest and mountains, to become stronger as well as proper hunters. Ever since Majeh got lost, they took extra care to make sure that does not happen to anyone else.
In one of those trips, a polar bear had approached them, somewhat intrigued, somewhat scared. It was an interesting beast, however Majeh was not particularly fond of bears, and he had decided that he would focus on becoming a Samurai instead of a Beast Tamer. He would only learn the techniques for animals that he was already familiar with, such as felines or birds and he would avoid turning them into battle beasts. He had to learn quite a bit for these two, as each animal as its own characteristics and if they did become battle beasts, that would require much more extensive training and learning. He would avoid getting another type of pet, as that would demand more extra work and time.
However, Sora was particularly found of the bear, perhaps even obsessed with it, so she asked Majeh to teach her the basics of taming, as she would latter on learn what she needed to take care of the bear. Although surprised, as this was the first time she showed such desire, Majeh helped her. Since it wasn't hostile to them and it also seemed curious about what they were doing, it was quite easy for the bond to be formed between the two. And just like that, Sora got her first companion and started following the path of a Beast Tamer as well. As she knew it was hard to follow two paths, she would do the same thing as Majeh and not focus on Beast Taming. She only wanted to tame this bear, so she was sure this would not hinder her future path.
Time kept moving and, eventually, all of them turned 15 years old. This meant that they were somewhat treated as adults in the SnowMane village. Majeh and his brothers wanted to leave the village, so it was Majeh's responsibility as the leader of the group to approach their mother and get her permission. Most leonin from other families would be able to leave by this age, as they were already considered responsible for their own choices, although they would be heavily advised against it.
However, as the SilverClaw were treated like royalty this was a serious matter and not so simple, so they would need to properly convince their mother to let them leave. Worst case scenario they could try to run away, but it would be better not to enrage her unless they had no choice. There weren't a lot of times they saw their mother angry, but when they did … it was enough to make sure they would never oppose her.
It was a difficult conversation, as Majeh and his brothers were still too weak and young to go through the Warrior's Voyage, the trip where the Leonin travel throughout the continent in search of adventures, while trying to make a name for themselves, honouring their village. That trip was only performed not necessarily by the strongest of the village but by those that had broken through a certain threshold and could at least compete with the strongest. As talented as they were, they were still just a bunch of kids, weaker than a vast majority of the adults in their tribe.
Trying to justify himself, Majeh explained that they would not be performing the Warrior's Voyage right away. They would only take the safe way towards his teacher, the same path he took years ago, while he was much younger and weaker. Only once his master gives them permission, acknowledging that they are strong enough, will they go on their voyage. His mother approved only under one condition: the remaining 3 brothers must return to the village once they attain enough training. Majeh could go as he had shown enough grit to survive, but if all of them went together, things were destined to end up badly for at least one or two of them. Majeh was a bit disappointed, as he was hopping that he could take his brothers with him on his voyage, but he had no choice but to accept as that would be much better than going against his mother.
He told his brothers that they had to compromise for now, as this was their best way to leave the village and experience, at least, a bit of the world. Although this wasn't the perfect scenario they were expecting, they were still happy to leave the village and get to know the companions Majeh and Sora had spoken so highly of. They gave their goodbyes to their teachers, veterans, siblings and parents and started their new journey.
It took less than two months to sprint all the way from their village to the Dojo in the Wano outskirts. They were much faster and stronger than before, but they needed to travel through harsh places and avoid catching the attention of dangerous beasts. The Dojo was really similar to when they first left, almost as if it was just built, as Kanimaku's family had resided in that same place for all those years, making sure everything remained in perfect condition. Majeh introduced his brothers to everyone else, as it didn't take long for them to feel more comfortable than in their own home. Although the relationship with their parents or remaining siblings wasn't awful, it was nowhere near how the Koruto family treat eachother. In recent years, they had gotten along better with their remaining family, but they couldn't call that love when they see how the Koruto behave and treat themselves.
After meeting them and agreeing to train them as well, Kanimaku decided to observe the fighting styles of Flash, Kaiou and Tourou. He agreed to help them but he believed he should watch how they fight so that he could get them the correct masters. Kanimaku has a lot of friends that would be interested in taking students, so this would be a win win situation. Masters that had a better understanding of their fighting style could explain to them more clearly what they were missing and helped them progress farther and faster.
They spent two more years training in the Dojo, with constant duels and more advanced lessons. With the addition of the new members and their masters, the Dojo had received a significant expansion, as it was now even bigger and more impressive than before. It was now a proper martial school, comparable to the most beautiful monk monasteries.
After these two years, Majeh had broken through, finally reaching level 6, as Sora had reached level 5 not too long ago. At this point, Kanimaku considered they were strong enough to start traveling the world. There were still a few things they could learn about the Samurai way, but they needed to become much stronger than they were now, so it would be better for them to experience the world and grow stronger than to stay there indefinitely. The 3 brothers still had a lot to learn, as they had far fewer lessons than Majeh and Sora and were still creating or adapting to their new fighting styles. Because of this and the agreement Majeh had with his mother, they decided it was time to part ways.
The two of them said their goodbyes, but Kanimaku and Bichia did not let them leave without giving them goodbye gifts.
Majeh received a black and golden armour, made essentially of the same black metal they used to forge his sword. The armour was made with his fighting style in mind, as there were a lot of open spaces and missing connections in order not to restrain his movement. In fact, most people wouldn't even call it an armour as it seems to only cover his arms, shoulders, the back of his hands, as well as parts of his legs, leaving most of the torso unprotected. Some samurais fought in full armour while others fought completely unprotected, so Kanimaku tried to create something that would give Majeh some protection while it still gave him enough freedom to move and fight as he liked.
Sora received two purple silver katanas, similar to the ones she had received the first time, except that this pair of swords was more fitting for her Spirit energy usage. She no longer needed to have such an exhausting routine to take care of her swords. She spent the last decade carefully taking good care of her swords, day after day, with up most attention and care, but she could tell if she kept using them consistently they would break someday soon.
Once again, they departed their Dojo, their home, excited with the new presents but gloomy about leaving the people they cared about behind. They travelled through the Namek forest without a map, as the Warriors voyage is about going where fate takes you. They encountered a few beasts, but nothing the two of them couldn't easily take care of. Most of the creatures just backed away or hided once they had seen Majeh or Kyoku, Sora's polar bear.
It didn't take them too long to reach Dressrosa. But, after hearing all the stories about how beautiful human cities can be and how all the streets are so organized and how everything works differently from they were used to, both Majeh and Sora were left surprised.
Unlike everything they had heard from Dressrosa, all they could see in the streets were what seemed like abandoned buildings and poorly taken cared of streets. Most houses had a bunch of holes through the walls and roofs. It seemed like a war had occurred in that city.
They took a turn and reached a street filled with people lying on the floor, filled with bruises and scars all over their faces and bodies, having blood dripping all over them.
Majeh approached one old man that seemed to be on the verge of dying and helped him. After making sure he was in a better condition, he questioned what took place.
Old man: It all started a few months ago, when the new mayor took control … Ever since, the city just went downhill … He constantly asks for enormous taxes, when he knows the people do not have enough to pay them. We were never rich, but we used to have enough to live a decent life. Nowadays we can barely survive as all we make goes towards the mayor. And when they don't have enough …
Before he could even finish his sentence, a huge ruckus interrupted him. Majeh excused himself and followed the noise. It didn't take long for him to reach it, as he was now face to face with what appeared to be the guards of the city. One of them was holding a middle-aged woman, as the remaining ones kept using their hammers to smash the building in front of them. After a quick analysis of the situation, Majeh understood that the guards were destroying what should be this woman's property while demanding something from her. He was not sure what were taxes, but he could understand the woman would not be able to pay them. Tired of witnessing the situation from afar, Majeh approached them and intervened.
Majeh: Hey! Let the woman go! Can't you see she does not have what you want?
Guard#1: … a skinwalker? Around these parts? Doesn't matter, if you are not from here, I advise you to run to another city before other guards find you.
Majeh: I am Majeh SilverClaw, a Leonin from SnowMane, in Zou! And I am not going anywhere until you leave this old woman alone. Why are you so adamant on destroying her house? I can tell that you take no pleasure on her pain … What is the point?
Guard#1: I can tell you have just arrived. You seem to have valuable stuff with you, so you should leave. There is no time to explain, we are doing this because we have no choice. Now, run away before any official finds you!
Majeh: Not until you let her go!
As they kept the commotion going, other guards walked towards them. In front of the group was an older fellow, dressed in some fancy uniform, with several medals and pins of honour on top of his left chest. Even though his uniform was quite extravagant, the first thing most people noticed was his enormous gut disproportioned to the rest of his body. He had long slim legs and somewhat muscular arms but, put together with that large of a belly, that just made him look weird and unpleasing to the eye. As soon as got close enough to the situation, his gaze immediately moved towards Majeh, focusing mainly on his armour and swords. Majeh was by far the biggest figure in the vicinities and his mane, his rough white skin, his muscles or simply the fact that he was a skinwalker were all peculiar aspects that would be enticing to almost anyone on those lands. So, the fact that this figure kept focusing on his equipment, almost completely ignoring the remaining out of the common features, was definitely weird.
Official: So, it seems we have a new visitor … very well, you shall need to go see the mayor. Panim restrain him and take him to the mayor's assistant so that he can handle the situation.
Panim seemed to be the name of the guard that was previously talking with Majeh.
Panim: But sir, we were taking Misses Outer's tax payments. As she was struggling this month, she decided to offer minerals that were part of her very house.
Official: So, you are still taking that sort of payments despite my previous advice, eh? Very well, you are the one that will have to carry them to the market and sell them yourself, before delivering the money to the mayor's assistant yourself. Honestly, I don't understand why you go through all the trouble, should just do it like me and kill them once they can't pay the taxes. But just postpone her taxes for now and focus on this new fellow. As your superior I declare this matter to be more important.
The guard seems to sigh, before signalling his companion to put the hammer aside and follow their new orders.
Sick of just listening, Majeh intervenes.
Majeh: Who is this mayor people keep mentioning? Is he the one responsible for all this destruction and grief?
Official: How dare you speak ill of the mayor? Shut up before I cut your tongue! Now surrender yourself before I have to take action myself! Turn around and …
Before he could finish his sentence, a hand twice the size of his face grabbed his head and threw him to the side. Majeh only slightly moved his arm, with the slightest of efforts, but this was enough to send the disproportionate man flying, before he inevitably hit the ground. Majeh kept walking, ignoring him as he passed by, to question Panim the same question.
Before Panim has a chance to respond, the Official gets up and charges at him.
Official: How dare you attack me with a surprise strike? You should be ashamed! Guards accompany me and attack this filthy skinwalker! Wylde creatures like you really have no sense of manners, conduct or dignity … attacking while someone is talking …
He was in front of the rest of the guards while he ordered them to accompany him on the attack, but he kept complaining so much that, once he actually moved towards Majeh, all the other guards were already in front of him. One might think he was just trying to avoid being the forefront of the attack.
Majeh put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but he did not take it out of the scabbard. As the first guard approached, Majeh simply dodged to the side and left his foot behind, making him collide face first against the wall behind them. Immediately after, the second and third guards slashed their swords horizontally towards the area between his knees and waist, as the size difference made it harder to target any higher. Majeh jumped over their attacks, as he landed one foot on each of their heads. With only his weight, he sent both of the guards' heads straight to the ground, as they might even have neck problems for the rest of their lives, to remind them of this encounter.
It finally became the official's turn. Whether it was arrogance or confidence in his skills, the official did not back down and kept charging towards the giant humanoid lion. He took out his spear and thrusted towards the beast in front of him. However, Majeh easily dodged by moving to the side. Really quickly, with barely any movements, he slightly pulled his sword from its holder, as he hit the official with the swords hilt, straight to his face. Just as quickly as he pulled the sword, he put it back on its scabbard, making only a slight ascending and descending movement during the full encounter. Most people looking at the commotion were not even able to properly tell what happened. All they could see was the official charging at the lion and the very next moment, that same official was pushed slightly backwards before he fell forwards, straight to the floor, face first, as what appeared to be teeth flew in several directions before his head even hit the ground.
After all this, Majeh turns around and heads towards Panim once again.
Majeh: So, who is this mayor?
Panim: … ah … ah … Sorry, yes, the mayor is the one in charge of this town. He only became in charge a few years ago. In the beginning, he seemed like the previous mayor, not changing any of the previous rules or lifestyles. But since about a year ago he has been increasing his taxes more and more. If the people can't pay them, he just gets them killed. I am a low rank guard so I do not know much... I also do not have the power to change things in the slightest ... but I try to do everything I can to make sure the people stay alive! My father always told me, money and materials goods may come and go, but the people are what we need to protect. You can always retrieve or rebuild another house, but you cannot retrieve a life that has been taken.
Majeh listened attentively to his story. As he was still wondering what to do, a small fairy came out from his mane.
Sora: Majeh! We need to do something about this bastard of a mayor! We can't just leave like this.
Majeh: Sigh … You are right, we need to do something. Do you know where the mayor is right now?
Panim: He should be in his mansion, but even if I take you there, I do not have enough authority to get you directly to him. Best I can do is take you to his assistant, but he stays on the other side of the town.
Majeh points at the official, still in the exact same position he left him.
Majeh: Does he have the authority?
Panim: Yes, Sr. Mounimo is one of the mayor's officials and one of his few thrusted companions. He should definitely be able to take you to the mayor but … I doubt he would betray him…
Majeh: Hmmm, so it seems even scum has some sort of honour among themselves. Very well, restrain me with those handcuffs you carry around and give the keys to the fairy. Sora, stay hidden in my mane until I give you the signal. Once you hear it, quietly free me without anyone noticing, if possible.
Both Panim and Sora nodded to his orders. Majeh put his hands behind his head so that Sora could free him more easily once the time came. Once they were both ready, Panim woke Mounimo up. It took a little bit of time and cold water, but the official came to his senses. He was looking even weirder than before as now he also had a crocked nose and only half of his teeth. Panim explained that he caught the lion when he wasn't paying attention and was able to restrain him, but he wasn't sure he had the strength to take him away. He also pointed out that it would be easier to take him directly to the mayor as there were designated places there to restrain prisoners. Mounimo somehow agreed with him, as he was still scratching his head. Apparently, he had a massive headache and possibly even a concussion from the previous altercation.
He wanted to let out his anger on the responsible figure, but once he approached Majej with the intent to physically harm him while he was restrained, the Leonin growled and looked down at him. This was enough to make the official almost pee himself. He tried to regain his face and, instead, let out his anger on the remaining guards that had been so easily knocked out. Even I am not sure if the concussion was the reason he forgot to take away Majeh's sword, or if he was simply afraid to approach him close enough to take it.
Panim had tied a rope to Majeh's handcuffs and the three guards used it to make Majeh follow them. Sometimes he would even pretend to be unwilling to follow, so that they could pull the rope and not question the situation. Anyone would wonder how such a big figure was so easily captured by a lower rank soldier, when the four of them couldn't even touch him. They were either too worried or scared to worry about it, or they simply were that naive.
It took only a couple of hours to reach the mayor's mansion. Mounimo went in front of the group and lead them all the way towards the front yard. He left them behind as he went to the mansion himself to contact the mayor and let him know the situation. Majeh had no one behind him, so he stealthily gave the signal to Sora, as she quickly and silently used the key to free him. Majeh kept his hands on the same position, holding the rope in his hand, so that the other guards would not notice anything.
A few minutes later, Mounimo came back with a tall and extremely fat man by his side, with around 20 guards behind them. Mounimo was already quite fat, but it would be ridiculous to compare him to this round figure. Calling him morbidly obese would be an understatement. But what might be even more disgusting was Mounimo's face as he returned. He kept an eerie smile on his face, which had became even worse since most of his front teeth fell.
Mounimo: Ahahahahah! You will regret this day until the end of your life you scoundrel! You will regret ever messing with Mounimo, one of the officials of mayor Sindaco, the best mayor this lousy city has ever seen! I don't know what, but I can tell you were planning something. My intellect is far too great to be fooled by a measly Wylde creature! With all of these guards it would be impossible for you to do anything! AHahahahah! Just give up!
It seems Mounimo wasn't as stupid as his figure makes him seem. However, Majeh did not seem the least bit intimidated by all of the guards. He stopped pretending to be locked up as he let go of the rope and was starting to position himself in a combat stance.
Majeh: So, fat man … I am guessing you are the mayor. I will give you a moment to explain why you are doing all of this. If your explanation pleases me, good. Otherwise, this will be your end. So I advise you to speak carefully.
Mayor Sindaco: Oh, so Mounimo did not exaggerate about your figure. All this muscles! And your size … You are even bigger than me! I cannot remember the last time I had to look up … I am guessing Mounimo also did not exaggerate on your strength! Join me. Someone with your skills would be highly valued here. You can have all you want … food, money, women … as much as you want.
Majeh: … So is that what you are using the people's money? All that grief and misery for this?
Mayor Sindaco: Oh, that? Ahahahaha, that's what those rats deserved. Ever since I took control of this city, I had no choice but to deal with them. Seeing their poverty-stricken faces everyday… smelling all their odours everyday … even hearing them speak or sing was enough to make me nauseous. It took a bit of time, but I was able to convince some rich friends of mine to come live here… Now, all that is left to do is keep collecting taxes until all of the current villagers are kicked out or killed. After that, I will build mansions and extravagant houses everywhere and Vellora will become a proper city. The best city. So join me and …
Before he could finish, Majeh takes his sword out of his scabbard and started moving towards the mayor, with a menacingly look on his face, as the growls from deep within him become louder and louder.
Mounimo became surprised when the mayor tried to recruit the Leonin, but his smile came back once he saw Majeh take the offensive.
Mounimo: Guards, attack! Make sure to kill him, or else!
All the guards immediately rushed towards Majeh. Several spears, swords and hammers tried to hit him but, with only his sword and movement techinques, he was able to avoid or deflect all it.
While the guards still have their gaze on Majeh, a bunch of heads start falling. Sora had remained hidden until now, but not anymore. When she saw all those figures move towards her brother, she could no longer held herself back. However, after this first quick attack, she felt sick and had to fly away to throw up. The two of them had gone hunting numerous times, but this was the first time they actually killed another humanoid. They fought the remaining swordsman disciples and many other Leonins, but this was the first time they were participating in a death match. Those guards were the first humanoid lives Sora had taken. She thought she was mentally prepared for this, but quickly found out she wasn't. Majeh immediately understood what was happening and told her to stay out of the fight while she regained herself. He had been training on such harsh conditions since he could remember. No way would he loose to these weaklings, even if they all attacked him at once.
It didn't take long for him to take all of them down. He was just as prepared to kill, and since his personality and Sora's are quite different, he did not feel so remorseful about it. Most of the guards had similar strength to the 3 he had fought before, so he easily took care of them.
Mounimo joined what seemed to be the other officials, as they had different, more extravagant clothes, similar to Mounimo's. They seemed to be much more talented than the remaining guards. Nonetheless, they were unable to pose any threat to Majeh. But he still had a bit of trouble killing them, as they seemed to have decent teamwork. When he attacked one, 2 or 3 others would try to help the victim defend themselves, as the remaining ones tried to attack Majeh. They had decent defensive skills, but their offense was quite lacking, so they were in a bit of a stalemate. While he was still fighting them, Sora regained herself and joined the fight. After that, it took less than a minute for the whole thing to be over.
After witnessing the massacre happening in front of him, the mayor lost what little strength he had left in his legs and fell to his knees. His eyes filled with tears and a huge puddle of pee appeared below him. Just as he was about to request Majeh's mercy, a slash occurs and his head falls to the side.
After the big commotion, a butler opens the door, trying to understand what it's happening. As soon as he opens the door, he gets scared by the lion covered in blood right in front of it. However, as soon as he looks at the dead mayor, his scared face fills with joy. This joy did not last long, as he notices all the dead guards and starts crying. Majeh and Sora try to calm him down but end up discovering why the old man had so many mixing emotions.
The only reason the mayor had been able to keep all these guards obeying him was because he kept their families in the prison cell on the basement, as hostages. They had no choice but to follow his orders. Majeh now understood why so many of them seemed unwilling to fight back in so many occasions since he first came to this city. Majeh freed all the hostages, but he still felt extremely guilt, as he was the one that killed their loved ones. The butler tried to reassure him that what he did was not wrong. Even if he knew they were coerced, it still would not be wrong to kill the ones that tried to kill him. Nevertheless, Majeh still couldn't push back the guilt he felt.
Majeh and Sora stayed in the city for a few more days but he still could not push the guilt away. He even took care of the mayor's assistant and his friends, so that they wouldn't just take his place. This time he avoided killing anyone he did not need to. But the guilt was still there. Sora initially suffered more with the idea of killing, but their positions were now reversed. She had moved on from what happened but Majeh was still internally dealing with it.
Majeh: I am sorry Sora. I know I promised you that we would remain together, but I think I need to atone for what I did… One of the first things master taught us was that we may make mistakes, but we must accept the reason why we made that mistake and all actions we take must be to achieve something we find honourable. I accept the reason, but I think I need to atone for it to retain my honour. An investigation is already going on about what happened. I am going to confess to the murder of all those guards … you should return to Wano and stay with our brothers. When ..
Sora interrupted him.
Sora: What are you talking about? We promised that we would always be together! Besides, I am just as guilty as you of killing those guards! If you believe you need atone for it, then I should do It as well.
Majeh: But I am the problem. Logically, I know it wasn't wrong, but I can't stop thinking I need to atone for it!
Sora: Honestly, I don't know why but I also feel something similar. Like my conscience is convincing me that we should atone for it. If you think we need to go to those investigators and tell them the truth to have this feeling go away, then I will do it as well.
Majeh: … You truly are the best, you know that?
They smile at each other and keep looking into the sunset. Eventually, they get up and move towards the mansion, where the investigation was taking place. A lot of villagers tried to convince them to run away, a few of them were even related to some of the guards that died on Majeh and Sora's hands. Nevertheless, the two of them remained unconvinced and kept going towards the investigation.
When they finally got there, they could see a lot of new guards with different attires from the local ones. They could tell these guards were much stronger than the ones they faced before. There were about a dozen of them, and they seemed much more coordinated and to work much more efficiently than the local guards. Majeh and Sora were confident enough to take on one of them if it came to it, but two would be hard, not to mention a dozen.
The two of them approached the one that seemed to be leader figure and told him the truth. The guard kept his stoic face from the moment the giant humanoid lion approached him, all the way to the end of their conversation, once Majeh finished telling him everything that had occurred in that mansion.
The guard waited for him to finish talking before he ordered his subordinates to restrain the two culprits in front of him.
Guard Leader: Since you have confessed to your crimes, I will take it upon myself, Immobile Minella, to declare you both as guilt of the crimes of murder. For killing a political figure such as mayor Sindaco, I sentence you to spend the rest of your life imprisoned. Guards, prepare the two of them to travel all the way to Amestri Prison, in Magnolia.
Majeh: Political figure? What about the guards? That is what I want to atone for!
Guard Leader: We only concern ourselves with more serious matters. We could care less about a few guards dying. We only intervene once a matter that can affect the country occurs… such as the death of a mayor.
Majeh cannot contain his anger and resists as they try to confine him in his horse pulled cell. The guard leader approaches and knocks him out with a baton. By the time he wakes up, they were already far away from Vellora city, heading to Magnolia.