Chapter Four: Fortune in Love Arrives

“Hmph, arrogant brat!” Hearing what Chu Yi said, Tiger curled his lips in apparent disdain, yet he couldn’t hide the joy gleaming in his eyes.

Without a doubt, the most troublesome among the pursuers was John, the pirate with a bounty exceeding a hundred million, whom Chu Yi had felled with a single punch. In these times, bounty increases were hard to come by; a pirate with over a hundred million on his head was a remarkable figure—such a bounty would have made him a great pirate back in Luffy’s era.

Unfortunately, John had underestimated his opponent. He couldn’t have imagined that the child he sought to toy with would suddenly unleash such terrifying power.

Now, with the only real threat eliminated, Tiger, no longer worried about conserving his strength or the exhaustion of days spent fleeing, felt his burdens lift. All that remained was to deal with the stragglers.

Taking a deep breath, now relaxed, Tiger let out a low shout: “Tang Grass Tile Fist!”

With a thunderous boom, Tiger’s punch sent invisible currents swirling outward, and in an instant, half the pursuers fell beneath his fist.

The remaining pursuers, seeing their doom, tried desperately to escape, but how could Chu Yi let them slip away? Harnessing the wondrous power of his fruit, suppressing his bloodthirsty impulse, Chu Yi became an unwearied machine, swiftly darting before the fleeing enemies; sometimes he used his fist, sometimes his knee, sometimes a sweeping kick. Those who dared to run fell one by one into pools of blood.

The battle lasted only a few minutes.

A few minutes later, as the dark red aura faded and Chu Yi released his fruit’s power, he felt the surging strength within him vanish as if sucked away in an instant, leaving him too weak to stand.

Luckily, Tiger noticed his poor condition and quickly moved to support him, sparing Chu Yi from harm. But Tiger, worn out from days of flight, was also in poor shape. After helping Chu Yi, the two sat slowly on the ground. Amid the carnage and blood, they sat silently for a long time. Having prepared a whole explanation in advance, Chu Yi glanced at the silent Tiger before speaking in a muffled voice, “Tiger, don’t you… don’t you think I’m a monster?”

“Monster?” Tiger recalled Chu Yi’s battle, and the dreadful killing intent when he first ate the fruit. He grinned carelessly. “It’s just a fruit’s ability. Hardly a monster.”

“Don’t you want to know why I ate the Devil Fruit?”

“Not really…”

Well, so much for my carefully crafted excuse.

Chu Yi stared at Tiger, speechless, a black line running across his brow. He’d planned it all—the tale of the Celestial Dragons treating him as a plaything, giving him a Devil Fruit on a whim, thus making him a fruit user.

Now, he didn’t even need a story.

No need to lie to Tiger; Chu Yi felt a weight lift from his shoulders. His only thought now was to quickly use the system’s gifted awakening opportunity and see what changes would come with his fruit’s awakening.

And… he needed to check the bodies of the pursuers to see if they carried any money.

John, the pirate with a hundred million bounty, had said it: bring him Tiger’s head, and he’d pay. Surely these men carried money, right?

With enough money, he could buy suitable materials in the system’s shop—maybe even achieve a second awakening!

Always a man of action, Chu Yi immediately set about his task. Especially with the hope of a second awakening ahead, he forgot his fatigue and went to search the bodies of the pursuers. Having released his fruit power and lost his Shura instinct, he found the stench of blood distasteful, so he pinched his nose as he rummaged among the corpses. Unfortunately, apart from blood-soaked clothes and weapons, there was nothing else.

He asked the system if he could sell the clothes and weapons for money.

Receiving a negative answer, Chu Yi felt a little disappointed. Tiger, on the other hand, watched Chu Yi’s odd behavior with interest and asked, “Brat, what are you looking for?”

“Money!” Chu Yi sighed. “With money, our days on the run will be easier—we can eat well, sleep well, and have strength to deal with those relentless pursuers!”

As he spoke, Chu Yi kicked a corpse hard, grumbling, “Too bad these guys are all paupers, not a single coin on them!”

“Brat, you really are an idiot.”

Tiger stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, “Those guys came after us—how could they carry money? Come on, let’s check their ship!”

True, idiot—I’d forgotten to check their ship!

Chu Yi slapped his forehead and cursed himself silently, following Tiger, wondering if his brain had slowed down, unable to think of such a simple solution.

Soon, the two reached the island’s shore and found the pursuers’ ship.

Chu Yi hurried toward the ship, full of hope, but Tiger’s face darkened as he saw the black flag emblazoned with the hoof of the Heavenly Dragon.

When Chu Yi boarded the pursuers’ ship, he finally understood why Tiger’s face had darkened.

The empty deck was lined with cages. Inside, a few prisoners—either dying old men, girls ravaged to near death, or boys covered in lash marks, with bones showing in places, tortured to death.

Clearly, these were slaves who had tried to escape, only to be hunted down and recaptured.

Staring at the cruel scene before him, Chu Yi’s face turned livid. First, because he imagined what fate awaited him and Tiger if they were caught, and second, because he was furious at the evil deeds of the Celestial Dragons and their henchmen.

Just as Chu Yi longed to slaughter all the Celestial Dragons and their lackeys to vent his rage, Tiger suddenly let out a soft “Hmm?”

“What’s wrong, Tiger?”

“There’s someone still alive—not yet tortured to death. Let’s check it out!”

“How do you know?”

“There’s a thing called Haki, brat—you wouldn’t understand.”

“Pfft, it’s just Observation Haki!”

“Hm? You know about it?”

Tiger’s curious gaze fell once more on Chu Yi. His curiosity grew—just what was Chu Yi’s true identity, that even the Celestial Dragons wanted him captured alive?

In the end, Tiger didn’t ask. Everyone has their secrets.

Chu Yi didn’t think much of it and followed Tiger into the ship’s cabin, where he saw a girl in a pink dress kneeling, her hands and feet bound by chains.

Looking at Tiger’s appearance, Chu Yi knew he’d have to rescue her himself—what if Tiger scared the young girl?

Unexpectedly, when the girl caught sight of the fierce, burly Tiger, she showed not a hint of fear. Ignoring Chu Yi, who tried to comfort her, she fixed tearful eyes on Tiger and pleaded, her voice trembling, “You… are you Tiger? I’m Hancock! Please… please hurry and save my two sisters!”

What?

Boa Hancock? The future Empress?

My luck with women has arrived!