Chapter Five: Traces of the Enemy

"Thump..."

The boundless darkness was oppressive enough as it was. Thus, when Lucci’s presence suddenly vanished from Chu Yi’s Observation Haki, he felt as if his heart were being tightly gripped and constricted within his chest, making even breathing a difficult task.

The next second...

"Mihawk, Jinbe, we have a situation!"

"We must return at once!"

An ominous premonition hung over his head like a blade suspended by a thread. His pupils contracted sharply, and without a moment’s hesitation, Chu Yi turned back, intending to take Mihawk and Jinbe with him to the ship to discover why Lucci had disappeared.

Mihawk and Jinbe were completely baffled by Chu Yi’s sudden command. But there was no help for it. Chu Yi was their captain, after all. Although Mihawk was not yet officially a member of the "Heaven-Slaying" Pirates, the world’s greatest swordsman currently lacked any real direction; he simply followed wherever Chu Yi went. As for Jinbe, he was Chu Yi’s captain, and it was only natural for him to obey.

However, just as Chu Yi was rushing back with Mihawk and Jinbe in tow... something even more bizarre occurred!

They had only traveled a short distance; one could see the ship moored at the coastline with the naked eye, without even needing to rely on Observation Haki. Yet, the ship in the distance was like a mirage in the desert. No matter how Chu Yi and his companions pressed forward, the distance between them and the vessel did not shorten in the slightest.

At first, the three of them were merely walking. After a while, seeing that the distance remained unchanged, they began to jog, and soon, their jog turned into a wild sprint!

They sprinted for nearly an hour...

"Hah!"

Chu Yi stopped, gasping for air due to his internal injuries, and said, "Mihawk, Jinbe, I fear... we cannot return for the time being!"

"This is truly bizarre!"

Jinbe frowned, staring intently at their ship, and said solemnly, "Chu Yi, just now, while we were sprinting back, I tried to lock onto our ship with my Observation Haki. Do you know what I discovered?"

"In my perception, we have remained at a constant distance from our ship the entire time. There hasn't been the slightest change!"

"In other words..."

"We have been... walking in place the whole time!"

Yes.

It was exactly that—walking in place. If Jinbe knew to use his Observation Haki for perception, how could Chu Yi have forgotten his own? It is no exaggeration to say that in terms of mastery over Observation Haki, Chu Yi surpassed Jinbe, and could vaguely rival the Haki of Fisher Tiger. Furthermore, being only one step away from the third stage of evolution, Chu Yi’s Observation Haki could be considered top-tier even within the Four Blues.

However...

In Chu Yi’s perception, he discovered exactly what Jinbe had found! It was as if this island possessed some inexplicable power that was interfering with them, forcing them to walk in place, preventing them from returning to their ship no matter what they did!

But just as Chu Yi and Jinbe were concluding that some force on the island was affecting them... the silent Mihawk suddenly spoke a single sentence. At first, it caused a flash of realization to cross the faces of Chu Yi and Jinbe.

But immediately after!

That flash of realization transformed into a sense of inexplicable dread!

"Your judgment is too hasty. What if..."

"What if it is our Observation Haki that is failing?"

Indeed!

The judgment was far too hasty. What if it was their own perception that was at fault? Mihawk was that kind of man. Despite his usual silence, his tendency to zone out, and his often disjointed speech—which made him appear flawed in communication—it was precisely such a person who could, with a single remark, wake one from a dream.

But...

Was it truly possible for their Observation Haki to fail? If it were just one person, it might be different, but if there were a mysterious power on Dark Island capable of interfering with the perceptions of three top-tier Haki users, then Dark Island truly deserved its reputation as a forbidden zone! How many pirates entering the New World, even the Supernovas of later generations, could leave Dark Island unscathed?

And this...

This was precisely what terrified Chu Yi and Jinbe! Because of this, when Mihawk finished speaking, Chu Yi and Jinbe fell into silence.

Perhaps due to the oppressive, boundless darkness of the island, or perhaps because of their mounting concern for the situation on the ship, negative emotions like tension and annoyance—triggered by Mihawk’s short sentence—instantly invaded Chu Yi’s "focused" thoughts, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, shattering his state of "returning to simplicity."

Just at that moment...

"Hmph!"

As a ripple appeared in Chu Yi’s "returning to simplicity" state, a faint, lingering killing intent drifted toward them from behind.

Undoubtedly, if this intent had been directed at anyone else—whether Mihawk or Jinbe—they would have been unable to detect it.

Unfortunately...

Chu Yi was a Shura who wielded the path of slaughter!

Therefore, the moment that faint killing intent arrived, Chu Yi, having sensed it, gripped his right hand in the air. He let out a cold snort, followed by a low shout!

"Sneaking around and afraid to show your face?"

"Then don't bother coming out at all!"

As his shout echoed through the surroundings, Chu Yi’s empty hand suddenly executed a slashing motion!

"Swish!"

Gale Style! Ocean Splitter!

During his days of grueling, monotonous training, Chu Yi, who had already mastered the "Heaven-Breaking Sword Intent" at his peak, had now fully grasped the sword technique of splitting the ocean with a single strike. Combined with the fusion of swordsmanship and intent...

Chu Yi’s invisible blade of "Ocean Splitter" descended. Before the form arrived, the intent had already struck! Even the great swordsman Mihawk could not react in time; Chu Yi had already "drawn his sword," and the gale-force sword intent had already slashed before the sneaky figure!

This strike was unavoidable, impossible to dodge! One could only resist it head-on!

Such swordsmanship caused the sharp eyes of "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk to shine with brilliance, and it made Jinbe, standing beside Chu Yi, narrow his eyes and instinctively clench his fists.

But as Chu Yi’s fierce sword intent, channeled through his invisible blade, landed on that bizarre figure...

"Crack!"

First came the sound of clashing metal. Then, under the watchful gaze of Chu Yi’s narrowed eyes, something silver-white fell from the sneaky figure’s body.

Immediately after...

Wrapped in a shroud of black shadow, the figure shattered into countless fragments and, out of thin air... dissolved before Chu Yi’s eyes!