HIATUS

I left my house and went to my grandfather's mansion to continue one part of my training. One of the rooms in his mansion was used during this training session. Floor mats were placed on the floor. Waiting for me were 15 men. Some were military men, a few just fancy a good fight. I can see one man who is out of place, maybe trying his luck with the prize money.

This is how I train to fight. My inheritance just taught me how to defend myself. I still needed experience to fully learn. The more I fight the sooner I can make a style that is suited for me. This all began when I went to my grandfather two years ago.

FLASHBACK: 2 YEARS AGO (1982)

I decided to visit my grandparents and just chill for the day. It was 7 am in the morning when I went there. With me was Bernard who has decided to come along with me.

In the garden of my grandparent's mansion I saw the patriarch of the Carter Family, he was doing Tai Chi. He was moving in a slow and gentle rhythmic movement. He took slow deep breaths as he did his Tai Chi routine.

"Maybe I should do this too," said Bernard behind me.

"It's good for your health, especially for you Bern. It offers the benefits of flexibility, muscle strengthening, and endurance training. Tai Chi can improve the health of seniors without worsening existing impairments," I told him.

"Enjoy your youth while you still can young master," Bernard said to me.

"Don't worry about it, I intend to," I said to him.

"It seems that you have something to discuss with your grandfather. I believe that I should just return to the mansion and help your mother. The twins are probably awake already and I will need to be there to help her out. Take care and good luck young master", Bernard said as he left me in the garden.

"Okay, take it easy Bern, Bye," I said to a leaving Bernard.

"Why are you here Ethan?" said my grandfather as he still continues doing more movements in Tai Chi.

My grandfather was an ambitious man. He already has a business empire and that still wasn't enough for him. He wanted something else in life. Right now he is the Secretary of Commerce of the United State. I always thought grandpa has this oozing charisma flowing out of him. The confidence, the determination in his movements, but most especially his pride. Spend a few moments with the man and you'll notice that too.

"Nothing just chilling," I said.

"Chilling... I know your smart Ethan. I know you came here for something. Spit it out," he said still focusing on his routine.

"Ok, here goes. I want to learn how to fight. Real fighting," I said with determination.

"Oh, you want to become a delinquent now I see," he said sarcastically.

"Who knows, only time will tell," I responded sarcastically as well.

"Why come to me with this issue? What about your parents?" he asked.

"Oh please, you know why. Even if I get more control due to me being responsible, I'm still their kid. They can prevent or force me to stop learning how to fight," I said plainly to my grandfather.

"Well done. Using me as a shield to stop your parent's ire. I don't know if I'll be disappointed or impress," he said.

"Next question then. Why should I let you train in something dangerous," he said as he took the last deep breath of his Tai Chi routine.

"Cause just like you, I have ambition," I said will the seriousness of a 12-year-old could make.

There was a strange silence between the both of us. My grandfather slowly moves his head and stares at me. After a few seconds, he sighed.

"If only I had the same ambitious drive I had when I was your age. I was only able to be truly driven during the war," he said with a rare moment of weakness.

"Visit me here again tomorrow, I'll see what I can do," he told me as he grabs a towel and walks inside the mansion.

I smiled and went straight to their kitchen.

'I hope grandma made some cookies,' I thought.

….

  THE NEXT DAY:

…

I went to see my grandfather and he ushered me into a large room. A man with an exterior look that would scare most children was there, drinking a cup of coffee.

"This is the kid. So, you want to learn how to fight huh," the man said looking at me.

"This is Marcus Brown, a newly retired soldier. He'll teach you how to fight," my grandfather said.

"How about a spar? One on one, if you win you get $ 1000 and if I win you're fired," I said. 1000 dollars is a huge amount of money in this era. I did some research and the average salary was at least $11000. He'll get a month's worth of income in just a short amount of time, as long as he wins.

"Really now," the man said. He looks at my grandfather for confirmation. My grandfather reluctantly nodded.

The two of us went to the middle of the room. I did the seal of confrontation before we start.

"What are you doing kid," he asks curiously about what I was doing.

"Oh this, I read this in a Japanese book. It's a hand gesture meaning seal of confrontation.  The gesture is used between two fighters to symbolize that the fight between both of them is a spar. Which basically means no serious physical damage," I said to him lying. This knowledge was in the inheritance I had. In the naruto world, the seal of confrontation was thought to academy students.

"You're a weird kid but whatever," he copied my seal of confrontation.

"In the count of three. This spar will start….1…..2....3 start," said my grandfather.

I charge directly at him. His face showing no signs of worry. He probably thinks that I can't do anything to him. I refuse to use my chakra in this spar. This fight was for me trying to get experience after all.

I charge a punch at his face. He catches my fist and holds my arm. I quickly use my right leg to use as a foundation for my body weight and deliver a high left kick in his midsection.  A direct hit, he let go's of my arm and hold the side of his stomach just below his left ribcage. The pain was visible in his face. I quickly followed it with a roundhouse kick of my right leg. My kick hit the side of his head causing him to pass out.

"I win. Next time you should be more serious…. Why am I giving you advice, you're knockout...Oh yeah, I almost forgot after every spar you should do the Seal of Reconciliation...I'll teach you next time when you're conscious," I said to an unconscious Marcus.

"I see, you have talent in fighting. I will arrange for your training here. You will receive a call when I have men prepared for you to fight," he said with amusement in his voice.

For a while, my grandfather and I were able to keep this "training program" just between the two of us. But all good things must come to an end. My mother got suspicious of me and investigated why I was always going to my grandparent's house. One day she went to my grandfather's mansion and opened the room where I was finishing one last guy in my fight.  She saw 4 guys on the floor groaning in pain. I stared at her and all I could remember during that time was 'I'm in deep shit right now'.

My mother was pissed at me during that day. She had a serious conversation with my grandfather. My father was called in to calm my mother down. My grandfather was able to persuade my mother that what we were doing was for my benefit. My mother wanted it to end but I strongly disagreed with her. After much talking back and forth she had reluctantly agreed to allow my "self-defense training". But my grandfather didn't tell them that all the people I was fighting weren't actually teachers' per se. They were trying to beat the shit out of me due to the prize money that my grandpa offered.

Both of us decided that it was better for my mother not to know.