Chapter Twenty-One: Are You Ready to Make a Name for Yourself?

"Kill you?"
"Why?"
Hearing Rob Lucci's astonished question, Chu Yi raised his eyebrows and countered, leaving Lucci at a loss for words.

Indeed!
Why would he want to kill me? Wouldn't it be more useful to take advantage of my status?

With this thought, Lucci couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He resolved not to give Chu Yi any chance to use him as leverage against the Navy or the World Government. As soon as he regained a bit of strength, he would end his own life on the spot.

But what about Chu Yi?
Did he truly want to use Lucci?
The idea had crossed his mind, but Chu Yi's intention was not to exert pressure on the World Government or the Navy. He simply wanted to continue learning Navy Six Styles from Lucci.

One could say Lucci's mindset was somewhat dark, but that was a result of the Navy’s training. The environment one grows up in shapes their character. Raised as an assassin by the Navy, Lucci’s outlook was naturally different from that of the more morally balanced Chu Yi.

Other than wanting to learn the Navy Six Styles, Chu Yi had no reason to kill Lucci. In fact, the thought never even occurred to him!

He had killed the Celestial Dragons’ lackeys because they deserved it.
He killed Hammock because the man had truly intended to kill him.
As for the enemies the Navy had previously faced, those were targets assigned by the system—he had no choice but to eliminate them.

In other circumstances, apart from Lucci being a somewhat renowned character in the original story, Chu Yi had no reason to kill someone with whom he had no enmity.

Thus, Lucci would certainly survive. He still had value—Chu Yi had to squeeze every last drop before letting him go.

Soon, soaring above the gravity-free Snapper Island, Chu Yi returned to the ship with Lucci in tow. There, Tiger and Hancock had been waiting for him. Seeing him fly back, Hancock, who depended on Chu Yi, ignored Lucci entirely and, as soon as Chu Yi set Lucci down, ran over to give him a warm embrace.

"Chu Yi, I was so worried about you! Are you alright?"
"Do I look like something happened to me?"

Wrapping his arm around Hancock’s slender waist, Chu Yi grinned and called over to Tiger, "Tiger, this guy is quite useful and capable. Could you keep an eye on him for me for now?"

"Hmm? Why did you bring someone back with you?"
It wasn’t hard to guess Lucci was Navy. Tiger frowned. "Kid, we have enough trouble as it is. If you don’t want to kill him, just leave him on the island—let him fend for himself. Why bring him here? He’s a trained Navy soldier; he’s hardly going to die on the island."

"Heh, of course I brought him back for a reason!"

Hearing this, Lucci sneered again to himself.

But what Chu Yi said next not only surprised Lucci but made him realize he’d misunderstood Chu Yi’s intentions.

"What use is he?"
"He can assist me with some research," Chu Yi answered seriously.

"Research?"
Tiger scoffed, looking at Chu Yi as if he were an idiot. "Ask him—besides fighting, what else can he do? Research? You’ve lost your mind. What research could he possibly help you with?"

Turning to Lucci and fixing him with a serious gaze, Chu Yi replied, "I’m going to research him."

"..."

For a moment, Tiger was left speechless by Chu Yi’s answer. He could only stand by Lucci’s side, watching over him closely.

Realizing his misunderstanding, Lucci’s mental knot was untied. He gave up, for the time being, on thoughts of suicide. Still, the humiliation of being a captive was hard to bear. If the opportunity presented itself, he would try to escape. Unfortunately, he underestimated his value in Chu Yi's eyes and overestimated his own strength.

During his days as a prisoner, Chu Yi paid Lucci little mind, focusing entirely on his own training.

There was so much he needed to master.

Every morning, he practiced Fishman Karate, hoping to comprehend more of its secrets after mastering the Tang Grass Breaking Fist. In the afternoons, he sparred with Tiger, reviewing the techniques Lucci had used—Navy Six Styles like Shave and Paper Art—to improve his own weaknesses. By dusk, Chu Yi would work on refining his Devil Fruit abilities, keeping himself endlessly busy.

Even at night, he trained in his sleep.

For every time he fell asleep, he would enter that strange, dark space and see the statue of the six-armed Asura.

In any case, sleep felt like sleep, and training in dreams was just as effective. And so, for nearly a month, Chu Yi’s life was a monotonous cycle of relentless training. Even when the ship docked on occasion, Chu Yi, like a true recluse, remained aboard, continuing his arduous practice.

With Chu Yi so reclusive, Lucci’s chances of escape were nil.

Especially after his injuries began to heal. Lucci tried to escape once, but his attempt was nipped in the bud by Chu Yi. From then on, Chu Yi used the "Gravity Field" every day to restrict Lucci’s movements, cutting off even the possibility of suicide. After that, escape became an impossible dream—Lucci had no choice but to resign himself to captivity.

A month passed. By now, Lucci had almost grown accustomed to his life as a prisoner.

But as he sat in a corner of the ship, catching sight of a familiar island on the horizon, hope flickered in his heart for the first time.

"Is that...the Sabaody Archipelago?"

Indeed.

After nearly a month at sea with Hancock at the helm and Tiger as navigator—with only brief stops for supplies—their journey was finally at an end. They had reached their destination: the Sabaody Archipelago!

According to what Hancock had revealed, she and her sisters were mere playthings favored by the Celestial Dragons. Even after a previous escape attempt, the worst they faced upon return would be some punishment—not death. Thus, Chu Yi deduced that Hancock’s sisters must currently reside where the Celestial Dragons lived: the Holy Land Mariejois.

Therefore, drawing near to the Sabaody Archipelago, which stood at the base of the Red Line and was the gateway to the New World as well as the threshold to Mariejois, was a strategic move of great importance.

Before crossing over, Chu Yi had only seen the Sabaody Archipelago in the manga. Now, witnessing its magnificence with his own eyes, he was truly awestruck.

The most striking feature of the Sabaody Archipelago was, of course, the natural resin secreted from the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees through respiration. The resin would expand in the air to form bubbles, floating toward the sky, turning the archipelago into a series of breathtaking islets. Even Hancock, the future Pirate Empress, was so captivated by the sight that her girlish heart soared. As for Chu Yi, who was seeing it for the first time, he was utterly spellbound.

Even from a distance, just seeing the silhouette of the Sabaody Archipelago filled Chu Yi with anticipation. Remembering his plan, which he would soon set in motion, he felt his blood race with excitement. Turning to Tiger, who stood beside him, Chu Yi asked with conviction:

"Tiger, are you ready to make a name for yourself?"

"Mmm... I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time!"