Chapter Fifty-Seven: I Haven't Even Used My Strength Yet

“Quit smoking?”
“What kind of joke is that! Bastard, go to hell!”
No sooner had Chu Yi finished speaking than Smoker, momentarily stunned by Chu Yi’s wild and fanciful manner of speech, snapped back to his senses. The fury in his eyes burned brighter, convinced that Chu Yi was mocking him with words. Without a care for the terrifying speed Chu Yi had just displayed using “Shave,” Smoker spun around and unleashed a “Finger Gun” straight for Chu Yi’s throat.

Clearly, even before acquiring the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, this Logia Devil Fruit, Smoker had already been a master of physical techniques. Just judging from his use of “Finger Gun,” Chu Yi could tell that Smoker possessed a high level of proficiency in the Navy’s Six Powers. No wonder he was considered a match for Lucci among the new generation of elite marines.

But what a pity...

Staring at the “Finger Gun” thrusting toward him, Chu Yi quietly shook his head and sighed. “Smoker, you’re too slow!”

A soft sound swept through the air.

In the instant Chu Yi’s indifferent words fell, Smoker could still sense that his “Finger Gun” had indeed pierced Chu Yi’s throat. But in the next heartbeat, the Chu Yi before him began to blur and fade. When Smoker’s pupils narrowed, he realized the Chu Yi in front of him had turned into nothing but an afterimage!

What terrifying speed was this?

This was Smoker’s first real confrontation with Chu Yi, and he had no understanding of the unfathomable depths of Chu Yi’s strength. Now, discovering that Chu Yi’s speed was on an entirely different level from his own, Smoker’s eye twitched violently. He prepared to call upon his Devil Fruit’s powers, intending to use the formidable might of his Logia abilities to contend with Chu Yi.

But as the afterimage before him gradually solidified again, what did Smoker see?

He saw that after evading his “Finger Gun” with blistering speed using “Shave,” Chu Yi then used the move repeatedly, flashing right back before him!

In that moment, time seemed to stand still.

From Smoker’s perspective, he could feel beads of cold sweat dripping down his forehead, sliding slowly along his cheeks.

At the same time, Smoker clearly saw Chu Yi perform a sword-drawing motion.

The blade he drew was none other than the Asura Blade.

Then—

A piercing hum split the air!

Smoker hadn’t even seen how Chu Yi drew his sword. He hadn’t even had the chance to “elementalize” with his Smoke-Smoke Fruit. All he felt was a sharp pain on his cheek, as some warm liquid from within his body trickled down and dripped onto the ground.

“What… what was that?”

Smoker froze, feeling the pain on his cheek.

What was that just now? Was that Chu Yi’s sword?

So fast!

Such a sharp blade!

If that strike hadn’t been aimed at his cheek, but at his chest instead, wouldn’t he have…

At that thought, a wave of terror crashed down upon Smoker, leaving him motionless before Chu Yi, who was returning his blade to its sheath. He dared not move a muscle, terrified that even the slightest motion would see Chu Yi’s keen edge pierce his heart.

And beside him, Lucci—who had witnessed Chu Yi’s strike with his own eyes—was seized by the same fear.

From Smoker’s vantage, he could at least see Chu Yi’s sword-drawing motion, though he hadn’t seen what happened after the strike. He’d simply been wounded, left only to marvel at the sheer speed of Chu Yi’s attack.

But from Lucci’s perspective, he hadn’t even seen Chu Yi draw his sword at all! Chu Yi had merely stood before Smoker, doing nothing, but in a flash of cold light, a bloody cut had appeared on Smoker’s cheek.

What on earth was going on?

Could it be…

A vague suspicion crept into Lucci’s mind that Chu Yi’s swordsmanship might have reached another realm entirely during the preceding battle—a realm beyond the human. For the first time, Lucci felt fear toward Chu Yi. Smoker’s defeat was proof enough: if he dared to challenge Chu Yi, he’d only be marching to his death.

Chu Yi, standing calmly before Smoker, observed the panic, the disappointment, and finally the tension on both Smoker and Lucci’s faces. It was clear they hadn’t comprehended the true essence of that previous strike.

Perhaps, among everyone present, Chu Yi alone understood the profound meaning behind his sword.

When he drew his sword just now, Chu Yi hadn’t relied on his extraordinary physical prowess. Instead, he’d used the body of an ordinary person from the world of pirates to swing down the Asura Blade gripped in his palm.

The reason that strike was so devastatingly powerful was simple: sword intent.

It was the amplification of sword intent that allowed Chu Yi, whose physical capacity was no greater than an average person’s, to effortlessly overpower Smoker and Lucci.

It was through sword intent as well that Chu Yi left Smoker no time even to activate his Devil Fruit powers before he was dispatched in a split second.

As for what Chu Yi’s sword intent truly was—

In a word: speed.

As swift as a gale, supremely fast.

Having grasped sword intent, regardless of whether he used the strength of an ordinary person or his own peak, demonic power, Chu Yi could unleash the fastest possible strike. To achieve that ultimate speed, the insight he’d gained through accelerated training with his shadow clones was that, to make his sword as fast as lightning, he had to break through the barrier of “wind” surrounding him.

Wind…

It was omnipresent.

In other words, the “wind” was the resistance of the air—the very barrier hindering Chu Yi’s sword from becoming faster still.

Once he shattered that barrier, even with the strength of an ordinary person, Chu Yi’s sword became as swift as the wind itself. If he used his demonic physical might, wielding the Asura Blade with sword intent, he could imagine his swing being as fast as thunder.

Yet Smoker had not given Chu Yi the chance to unleash his strongest blow; before Chu Yi had even exerted himself, Smoker had already fallen.

So, after effortlessly defeating Smoker, Chu Yi felt not the slightest joy of victory. Instead, there was a faint sense of disappointment, as the Smoker who had shown some promise in the original story now seemed a letdown in person.

He shook his head in silent resignation, heaved a deep sigh, and prepared to deploy his “gravity field” to capture Smoker—turning both twin stars of the Navy’s new generation into his prisoners, and incidentally forcing Smoker to quit smoking, thus completing the system’s awakening material collection.

But just as Chu Yi brought his hands together, ready to unleash the “gravity field”—

Suddenly, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, he saw Smoker’s legs turn instantly into smoke.

Chu Yi gave a scornful laugh and muttered, “Trying to use your Smoke-Smoke Fruit to take advantage of my lack of Armament Haki?”

“Smoker, should I call you naïve? Or… just naïve?”