Chapter Seventeen: The Eye of the Soul (Part Two)

“Did he... did he actually break free?”

A look of astonishment flashed across Chu Yi’s eyes. He had calculated everything, yet he had never anticipated that Kaido—who by all appearances was already at the end of his strength—would, at the very moment his body was completely swallowed by the black hole formed from the power of nothingness, suddenly shatter it with a single punch and escape the judgment of that void power within “Shinra Tensei.”

And the consequences of failing to account for such a possibility were bound to be terrifying.

Although Kaido looked utterly battered now, with nearly sixty percent of the bones in his body pulverized and not a single patch of flesh left unscathed, the armament haki still hardening his body remained unmistakable. Chu Yi could barely stand, yet even so, he once again tasted the bitterness of despair.

Of course, Chu Yi was not the only one in despair.

Mihawk was as well. Jinbe was as well. Gecko Moria most of all.

When he saw Kaido break free from the black hole formed by the power of nothingness, Gecko Moria’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in astonishment. At the same time, boundless regret surged through his heart.

Ten seconds...

At most, he had only needed to hold on for ten more seconds!

Gecko Moria thought bitterly that if he could have endured for ten seconds longer, Chu Yi would certainly have finished Kaido, leaving him not the slightest chance of survival.

But regretting it was useless.

In a world where the strong ruled supreme, the process of a battle was never important.

What mattered was who could truly survive.

And so, just as Kaido escaped death and successfully broke free from the entanglement of the void, a sinister grin slowly rose across his face. Ignoring the pain wracking his body, he fixed a savage gaze upon Chu Yi and said with a vicious laugh:

“I was only a little short of dying!”

“Just a little short, Shura, and you would have succeeded!”

“But why was it only a little short? Come on, Shura! Again!”

“The taste of death is truly wonderful!”

“Come on! Kill me!”

If I could kill you, would I not?

Brother...

Why not try killing yourself in your current condition?

The corner of Chu Yi’s mouth twitched violently. Unable to understand Kaido’s twisted mentality, he could only silently hope that, in his eagerness to experience death once more, Kaido would choose not to fight them and instead go kill himself while gravely wounded and on the brink of death.

Unfortunately, Kaido had one particularly admirable habit:

Before committing suicide, he had to eliminate the target he had set his sights on.

And Chu Yi was undoubtedly the target Kaido had chosen—and placed his hopes in.

When Kaido had first set sail in search of Chu Yi, he had already imagined that he would surely be able to feel the breath of death at Chu Yi’s hands.

Now Chu Yi had truly accomplished it.

He simply had not gone far enough.

Because of this, while his expectations of Chu Yi grew even greater, Kaido was also desperate to savor the taste of death once more. Unfortunately, his method earned no approval from Chu Yi whatsoever. The moment Kaido decided to seek death again, he strode forward and drove a fist straight toward Chu Yi’s face.

“Boom!”

At that moment, Chu Yi desperately wanted to evade with “Gale Step,” but his body was far too weak. He could not even use Gale Step anymore.

Thus, Kaido’s fist landed squarely on his face.

If Kaido’s strength had not been greatly depleted as well, that punch alone would have been enough to disfigure Chu Yi.

Even so, as his body was sent flying backward, Chu Yi caught sight from the corner of his eye of the warm blood spraying from his nose.

Pain...

It hurt so much.

Twisting his body forcibly in midair, Chu Yi relied on the last reserves of strength within him and, with immense difficulty, landed steadily on both feet.

But Kaido standing before him had no intention of giving him even half a chance.

One second, Chu Yi had only just regained his footing.

The next—

“Boom!”

Kaido’s figure came hurtling forward at terrifying speed, and in the blink of an eye, his fist was once again about to crash into Chu Yi’s face.

“This punch is even stronger than the last one. That man Kaido...”

“Can he really recover that much strength in only a few seconds?”

To speak honestly of physical constitution, Chu Yi had never truly admired anyone.

Except Kaido standing before him.

Eight awakenings—eight full awakenings!

Chu Yi’s physical strength was already monstrous, yet Kaido’s constitution was still superior to his. While Chu Yi had not even recovered enough strength to use Gale Step, Kaido’s power was gradually returning, enabling him to throw a punch even more forceful than the one before.

Such strength. Such a body.

There was only one word in Chu Yi’s heart:

Respect.

If he fell to Kaido, Chu Yi could accept it without resentment. This was simply the difference in strength.

An overwhelming difference.

But just as when he had faced danger before, Chu Yi could admire Kaido’s power, yet he could not stand there and silently wait for Kaido to take his precious life.

Even if he had to die, he would die with dignity.

Then he would fight to the end.

Chu Yi bit down hard on his lip, using the pain to force himself into greater clarity.

As Kaido’s fist continued to enlarge before his eyes, on the verge of striking his face—

“Bang!”

Using the predictive power of observation haki, Chu Yi retreated explosively by a single step. Then he punched directly toward Kaido’s fist, hardened by armament haki.

“Boom!”

Fist met fist.

Chu Yi’s fist collided with Kaido’s. Shockwaves of wind scattered in every direction, while the deafening roar completely drowned out the sound of the bones in Chu Yi’s hand—and the bones in his arm—breaking.

Then the aftermath of their collision caused the ground beneath and around them to collapse entirely.

“He actually... caught it?”

Gecko Moria could hardly believe that Chu Yi, in his current condition, had still managed to receive one of Kaido’s punches.

Even though Chu Yi’s entire arm had bent at an unnatural angle after blocking Kaido’s blow, Gecko Moria was still filled with admiration.

At the very least...

Chu Yi was still holding on.

He would never surrender.

That spirit of Chu Yi’s undoubtedly inspired Gecko Moria once again.

Thus, when Chu Yi’s arm twisted grotesquely while his fist remained locked against Kaido’s, Gecko Moria—whose injuries had worsened further after using “Shadow’s Gathering Ground” once already—was about to employ his Devil Fruit power again.

If he could help Chu Yi even a little more, then he would help him as much as he could.

But just as the shadow beneath Gecko Moria’s feet began to tremble faintly, displaying the first signs that his shadow power was about to be unleashed—

“Hm?”

All at once, both Gecko Moria in the distance and Kaido, who stood face-to-face with Chu Yi, suddenly saw an eerie purple radiance spilling down from the center of Chu Yi’s brow.

As that strange purple light gradually spread, descending from Chu Yi’s brow and slowly enveloping Kaido, Gecko Moria, and the others—

“Buzz!”

A chill that pierced straight into the soul suddenly arose within the hearts of Kaido, Gecko Moria, and the others.

As their very souls began to tremble faintly, Kaido, Gecko Moria, and the others looked on in panic and shifted their gazes toward Chu Yi’s face.

“Whoosh!”

The Ashura Eye in the center of Chu Yi’s brow...

Suddenly opened!

And within the Ashura Eye, the third purple ripple abruptly transformed from something illusory...

Into something real.