Task Name: The Big Boss
Tier: 2
NPC or PC: NPC
Location: East Blue: Shimotsuki Village
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: After surviving the ninja attack, the fight is broken up by Master Sarutobi himself. After inviting Jackson to stay the night within his palace and a brief time of rest, Master Sarutobi acknowledges the reason that Jackson has been sent here by Master Seifu and accepts the challenge to a duel.
Enemy Details: N/A
Boss: Yes

Boss Name: Master Sarutobi
Tier: 3
Description: Master Sarutobi is an older man with below-average stature, tan skin, and graying hair. Though he sports a gaunt face, one would be a fool to assume that his age has withered his fighting technique. Sarutobi is able to use the martial art known as Ryusoken
Devil Fruit: N/A
Haki Aura: N/A
Equipment: N/A
Specs: 6 Hand to Hand, and 1 Marksman

With the sudden exclamation shouted out, everybody seemed to stop dead in their tracks while turning to face the person responsible. The ninjas that were once so focused on killing him were now sheathing their weapons as they realized who it was that had ordered them to cease their attack.

From Jackson's position face down on the ground, he wasn't able to see who it was that he had to thank for saving his life. Rolling over onto his back, Jackson was then able to sit up and get a good look at the new arrivals. It seemed an old man escorted by a full compliment of what appeared to be armed guards. Whoever this man was, he seemed to be a very important figure within Shimotsuki Village; otherwise, Jackson would have likely found himself decapitated without his intervention. After a few moments of awkward silence, the old man began to make his way forward before bowing slightly in Jackson's direction.

"I must apologize for the actions of my students...East Blue has only recently recovered after the Fishman attack caused by the Yonko by the name of Oceanus. My student were quick to assume that you were yet another agent sent here to do his bidding."

As the old man spoke, he sent a few glances in their directions. Judging from their reactions, they appeared to be ashamed of the mistake they'd made and Jackson couldn't exactly hold this against them. Fishmen weren't exactly a normal sight in the Blues and the only interaction that most of these people had ever had with Fishmen were already negative due to Oceanus' actions.

The only way that things would be righted is if Jackson acted in ways that directly opposed the actions of Oceanus' lackeys and allowed the people of Shimotsuki village to realize that Fishmen weren't some largely united group that only acted in the interests of wanton violence and destruction. Fishmen were individuals, the same way that humans were able to act individually as opposed to a group - their actions didn't necessarily reflect on humans as a whole, and the same was able to be said for Fishmen.

"There's no need to apologize, Sir. I was told briefly about what occurred in the Blues, and I'm only sorry that I wasn't here to at least help in the struggles that you all faced as a result of Oceanus' actions."

Jackson could tell that his reply to the old man's words seemed to simply go in one ear and out of the other when it came to a majority of the guards that were listening, but he could at least tell that the old man was able to tell that his words were genuine as he replied with a smile and a nod.

"You really are entirely too polite, Jackson. Master Seifu wasn't exaggerating in his letter."

Jackson's brow immediately rose as he heard both his name and Master Seifu's mentioned in quick succession. The old man must have noticed this as well, as his reply continued he began to answer questions that Jackson had yet to ask.

"Yes, I know about the reason you're here, though, I wasn't entirely sure you'd be able to make it past Master Roshi. You've shown a considerable amount of promise. Anyway, I'm Master Sarutobi - the leader of the Shimotsuki Village Dojo."

As Master Sarutobi said this, two of the ninjas that were once chasing him finally helped Jackson up to his feet - allowing him to have a more dignified conversation with the old master. 

"In order to apologize for the inhospitable greeting you had to endure, I'd like to invite you to spend the night within my dojo. Get yourself some rest, as I'm sure the voyage from Roshi's to here wasn't a light one. We'll handle our business withi one another tomorrow. What do you say?"

The offer that Master Sarutobi wasn't exactly one that Jackson felt he was in a position to turn down. It was true, the swim he'd just gone through to reach this pace wasn't a light one as he had to cross the Redline in order to do so. Another point was that he also just recently trekked through what one could call a rain forest to find Shimotsuki village and then he had to evade multiple trained ninjas not too long ago. All in all, Jackson had expended quite a bit of stamina; and attempting to fight someone that was possibly stronger than Master Roshi while so fatigued would have spelled utter failure.

Jackson quickly agreed to Master Sarutobi's offer and just like that, they were headed off through the streets of Shimotsuki and making their way to a very large dojo that appeared to be situated in the middle of the village. It wasn't hard to tell that this dojo was highly esteemed, as one could judge this simply by the placement of the dojo, as well as the very ornate design and structure of it. All of this made Jackson wonder about the strength of the dojo's master. There weren't many dojo's that could garner such a loyal following and command so many students to run to the defense of their island in such a manner. It showed that all of these men and women were highly trained  - and this likely reflected the master's skill as well. 

Soon enough, Jackson was lead to his quarters and instructed on where he'd have to go the following morning in order to follow through with his mission. Master Sarutobi would be waiting for him after he'd finished resting, and the fight would start as soon as he was prepared for it. Jackson couldn't help but wonder why he was being so gracious to a man that's sole intention had been to show up and challenge the strength of his dojo - but again, Jackson merely took this as a reflection of Master Sarutobi's skill and integrity. He obviously had supreme faith in both his skill as well as the honor of his dojo. The respect that Jackson held for this man was immense and he the fight they'd soon have was something he knew he'd need to be fully prepared for.

With the travel from Master Sarutobi's residence completed, Jackson now found himself in the area that the master had specified that they'd meet in order to conduct the business of their duel. Jackson still wasn't sure of the abilities that this man held as far as his fighting style was concerned, but he knew he couldn't afford to let his guard down at all when facing this man. Judging from a bit of the fighting style that Jackson had noticed while facing his underlings the day before, Jackson figured that Sarutobi's style may have incorporated some of the same things; making use of a style that seemed to focus on holding one's fingers in a claw-fashion, and attempting to crush whatever was gripped by the "claw" with a powerful force. 

Though the students of Master Sarutobi hadn't been able to inflict any damage on him by way of this martial art, Jackson had to assume that Sarutobi would be more skilled in its usage and something that focused on grip and crushing force would be enough to take him down immediately if he wasn't on his guard. With this in mind, Jackson readied himself for the fight that would soon come. 

After about ten minutes of waiting, the man that Jackson had come all this way to challenge had finally arrived. This time he wasn't followed by a full compliment of guards, but merely what appeared to be a young man that had been allowed to come and witness the upcoming bout. With a few words that Jackson couldn't quite discern between the Master and the young man now out of the way, the fight seemed ready to commence as the old man soon dropped down into what appeared to be his fighting stance. This stance was the same one he'd previously seen the ninjas from the day before readying themselves in, so it was now only safe to assume that he was indeed going to be using the same style of combat.

Taking Master Sarutobi's act as a signal, Jackson dropped down into his fighting stance as well; yet, before he could take any other action outside of this Master Sarutobi was already clearing the distance between himself and Jackson. The old man seemed to be able to move entirely faster than Jackson was prepared to give him credit for, but with the distance between the both of them now being less than a meter, Jackson didn't exactly have much time to think about how much else concerning Master Sarutobi's abilities he'd assumed wrong. 

With Master Sarutobi's arm cocked back before he extended it forward in the direction of Jackson's shoulder, it was obvious his intent was to grab hold of it with his "clawed" right hand. Raising his left hand up, Jackson immediately reacted to Master Sarutobi's offensive by pressing his left palm against the old man's right wrist, completely diverting the attempted strike before attempting to make use of his Kachiage Haisoku technique to strike the old man against his left side. 

However, before Jackson's right leg could land a hit against Sarutobi's side, Jackson felt a large force grip his shin. With his eyes glancing down quickly, Jackson was able to see that the old Master had been far too fast for him - reacting quickly enough that he'd been able to stop Jackson's offensive while also grabbing a hold of his shin with his left "claw". Jackson attempted a few tugs, but it was to no avail. The grip this old man had was something Jackson had never experienced before, and with each attempted tug to free himself the old Master merely increased his grip on Jackson's leg. 

Jackson soon realized that tugging himself out of this position wouldn't be a possibility, so the only other thing he could do would be to force Master Sarutobi into a position where he had no choice but to release his limb. With this in mind, Jackson made use of his Hyakumaigawara Seiken technique with his left hand in order to strike Sarutobi's chest. Despite how close they were and the assumption on Jackson's part that this technique would be able to land unhindered - the opposite of what he assumed soon occured when Master Sarutobi was also able to react to his attack and counter it by catching his fist within yet another "claw", before clamping down with an immense amount of pressure.

Master Sarutobi didn't exactly appear to be making any overt moves, but merely increasing his grip on both of Jackson's limbs each time the young man struggled to free himself. It was obvious to Jackson that Sarutobi's goal wasn't to harm Jackson at all unless he was forced into doing so - thus, he was intending on winning this fight through submission. Jackson wasn't exactly sure if this meant that Master Sarutobi was looking down on his abilities or if he merely felt that this was the best way to go about the fight. Either way, Jackson knew he couldn't let himself lose in such a demeaning way.

Though disrespectful, there was really only one other way that Jackson felt he could attack - and with the growing pressure on his limbs he knew he had to either attack now or submit. Internalizing the electrical attributes of his Hunter's Organ, Jackson prepared himself to make use of his Raisoku Shundo technique. Master Sarutobi held a speed that far outclassed his own. The only way that Jackson would be able to defeat him was if he'd be able to attack in a manner that the old man wouldn't be able to discern. In an instant, a headbutt directed towards Sarutobi's face was fired off that impacted his face.

As Jackson heard the yelp of pain yelled out by Master Sarutobi, he decided to continue his offensive against the old master. Though he thoroughly respected the man, this was a duel for the honor of their respective dojo's and Jackson needed to be sure that he followed through completely. If he gave this old Master an ounce of slack he was sure that he'd end up brutalized as repayment for the broken nose he'd just given the old man. With no hesitation in his actions, Jackson continued on with his offensive and struck forward with a hard punch that impacted Sarutobi's gut, causing him to bend forward. Once in this position, Jackson moved forward with upward open palmed strike  - impacting him hard against his jaw and sending him flying upwards.

With the old Master now waning in and out of consciousness while floating in the air after his open palmed strike, Jackson knew he had to close out the fight quickly and end it before Master Sarutobi could recover in any capacity. Jumping up into the air to meet the old man, Jackson brought his knee to his chest before extending his leg fully with his knee bent slightly, before dropping his leg down with as much force as possible. With the kick landing against Sarutobi's shoulder, it worked against his body's upward momentum and swiftly sent him hurtling downward before slamming face first into the wooden floor of the dojo - the wooden planks splintering under the force of the impact. Master Sarutobi was now down for the count, and the winner of this bout was Jackson Hyde.

-Exit-

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