Yasuke : Rise of the Black Dahlia

Yasuke, Chapter 14 : Deep Blue

Perseus unleashed a severe wave of chi as he built his blue aura.

"Deep Blue!"

Botaro and the others tried to build their auras as well until they started to feel a certain pressure. This pressure caused breathing to be abnormally difficult and it began to make it abnormally difficult to move.

"You won't last more than three minutes in this state." Perseus explained. "My Deep Blue allows me to emulate the pressure you would feel deep down into the ocean. I've just started at the maximum depth recommended for humans, but little by little, the pressure will increase until you feel as if you're at the bottom of the ocean."

"How did he even manage to make his chi this potent?" Kaji uttered as they were all soon forced to the ground. "I can't move at all."

"I created this technique in honor of my late father, Poseidon." Perseus replied. "His chi is amongst the most potent I've ever felt, even more potent than the King himself, and he loved water. Before I could train with him, I had to learn to create enough pressure to cause whirlpools in lakes. Then, I had to learn to completely reserve a river's flow with my own chi current. Lastly, I had to hold up the falling water of a cataract for days at a time. Doing these exercises helped me gain the potent chi you feel now."

"This is already bad." Nala thought. "And it's only going to get worse."

"This predicament is so bad I cannot hope to relax, because a certain pressure down deep in the ocean will make your lungs collapse." Gozu uttered.

"So, this is how it ends?" Botaro thought. "That's fine. With King Nebuchadnezzar on King Nobunaga's side, there's no way we'll lose."

It is said that in the few moments before death, ones life flashes before their eyes. To randomly begin the recalling of all of your memories is a phenomenon many were unsure of. But, Botaro began to see for himself how valid this idea really is. As Perseus' Deep Blue heavily constricted Botaro and his junior knights, he began remembering things that happened in his past.

*EVENT RECALLING BEGINS*

Botaro was standing over a group of kids with his chi built. His leg was over there bodies as he kicked all of them one by one repeatedly.

"Liars! Liars! You all are fucking liars!" Botaro announced.

"All that we did is tell you the truth!" One of the kids cried.

"You cannot become a part of the order!" another one added. "You can't even follow simple instructions!"

"No...I will become one!" Botaro replied. "To say otherwise is to not be truthful and I hate liars!"

"That's not the way a Knight would act." Botaro heard a voice say.

His ear's curiosity led his body to turn and see King Nobunaga looking back at him.

"King Nobunaga?" Botaro realized. "These three look down upon me because my family were merchants and not knights. I plan on showing them that I will be the one to change that. Firstly, by asserting my dominance over them. My enlightenment is deeper than theirs."

"Enlightenment Stage does not determine how good or bad a knight is." Nobunaga replied as he approached Botaro. "The most important thing is what you have in here."

Nobunaga gently but firmly poked in the center of Botaro's chest.

"Should your heart be consumed with the want for power or the want for peace?" Nobunaga continued. "Should you solve your problems with savageness or righteousness? If you truly want to become apart of the Order, this is something you should consider. There's a reason why King Agasga, the leader of the most peaceful Kingdom ever, is enlightenment stage five."

"Where do I start?" Botaro asked.

"Well for one, you need to apologize to these three. They haven't done anything to permit your actions." Nobunaga stated.

Botaro took a few moments before extending his arms down to assist them up. Botaro's head also went down as his shaky voice issued a nervous apology.

"I'm sorry I started attacking you guys."

"When others doubt you or what you're capable of, the best way to get back at them is by proving them wrong." Nobunaga instructed. "Because it's the people you think nothing of that turn around and do the unthinkable. That goes for all of you, not just Botaro."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Botaro asked.

"There's a lot you can learn by just listening." Botaro heard Nobunaga answer within his head. "Start developing your skills now, I'm sure all of you are capable of becoming a part of The Order."

*EVENT RECALLING ENDS*

Botaro's nostalgic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kaji and Nala cheering on Gozu, who was currently the only one amongst them standing against Perseus.

"Go Gozu!"

"Yes, show this Spartan your worth!"

In response to seeing Gozu withstand the pressure of his Deep Blue, Perseus gave a confused yet amused gaze. Gozu grew a smirk that one would grow once they know their idol finally acknowledged them. To Gozu, that description actually fit this situation.

"Would you believe what I say is the truth, if I told you that I already knew of your deep blue?" Gozu asked.

"You knew about my Deep Blue?" Perseus thought. "I've only used it four times."

"Go ahead and get it over with." Nala suggested. "We all know how you're going to tell the story all dramatic and overly-poetic."

"Once upon a time I was uninspired and dumb, until I heard about your legacy I stopped feeling numb." Gozu began. "I heard about your victories, overcoming opponents with might and that story drove me to want to become a knight. I learned about Deep Blue from one of my mentors who said it, so I too followed your dad's training and my chi became more potent with that method."

"Basically, you're fighting against a rehashed version of yourself." Nala stated as she rolled her eyes.

"Not only am I able to resist the pressure in this condition, but I also spread my chi to provide my allies with some resistance." Gozu continued.

"That's also true. While I still cannot move fully, I feel less than half of the pressure I felt before." Kaji chimed in.

"Well, young knight. I have no choice to believe you." Perseus admitted. "You're the first person since my lifelong rival Hercules and the King Leonidas to counter Deep Blue."

"Thanks for the slight praise it feels especially proper, but allow me to show you that I have more to offer." Gozu replied just before he built his aura of chi.

"Good job so far young knight." Perseus replied as he also built his aura. "But, let's see how long you can keep this up."