Chu Yang, who shared memories, looked at the newly arrived "himself" in surprise.
The latest Chu Yang to join the Soul Palace came from the world of Demon Slayer.
Demon Slayer Chu Yang said with lingering fear, "You don't know how terrifying it is there. I live alone in the mountains, and after dark, I don't dare to go out at all!"
"The day before I entered the Palace, I happened to encounter a demon. If the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't arrived in time, I would have been dead already!"
Pirate Chu Yang asked curiously, "Where are you now?"
Demon Slayer Chu Yang thought for a moment and replied, "It should be Butterfly Mansion. I was brought here by the Demon Slayer Corps when I was injured and unconscious. After I woke up, I found that there were many patients here, and I even saw Shinobu Kocho."
Naruto Chu Yang reminded, "Then you must seize this opportunity to join the Demon Slayer Corps. Breathing Style is a good thing; it can unlock the potential of the human body."
"Before, I didn't dare to think about it in that direction. I just wanted to survive until the plot ended. In that ghostly place, just living was already difficult enough," Demon Slayer Chu Yang exhaled deeply. "But now, there's no problem."
Magic Chu Yang comforted him, "Don't have any psychological burden. Newcomers are always freeloaders the first time they come in. We are all our own people, and win-win cooperation is the way to go."
Naruto Chu Yang said with a chuckle, "Freeloading is freeloading, I'm already used to it anyway. But speaking of which, magic is quite interesting. I'm even thinking of temporarily putting aside Ninjutsu training and focusing on studying magic."
Magic Chu Yang immediately stopped Naruto Chu Yang's naive idea and explained, "Every time we return to the Soul Palace, skill synchronization is at the highest level among us. Everyone must specialize in one ability. It would be too much of a loss to divide your attention to cultivate multiple skills!"
Naruto Chu Yang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized. He had always thought that the Soul Palace's skill sharing was like talents, combining the talents of several people.
Pirate Chu Yang nodded and said, "I also only realized this after I went back. That's why during this time, I didn't divide my attention to cultivate Chakra and Wood Release, but instead continuously consolidated Haki."
Magic Chu Yang said, "Haki is the most powerful force in the Pirate world. When cultivated to a profound level, it can even suppress and forcibly break the abilities of Devil Fruit. Also, you need to master Haoshoku as soon as possible."
Pirate Chu Yang shook his head and said, "I know, but Haoshoku is innate. I might not have it."
Magic Chu Yang retorted, "For others, it might be innate, but for us, it's just a matter of numbers. If it's not possible now, it doesn't mean it won't be possible in the future. What you need to do is find a master proficient in Haoshoku and experience the power of Haoshoku."
Pirate Chu Yang felt that Magic Chu Yang made a lot of sense and began to ponder the Haoshoku masters he could contact in the near future.
Naruto Chu Yang teased, "Those who have read books are just different; they arrange everything clearly for us."
Although memories and abilities are shared.
However, each Chu Yang's personality will differ due to environmental growth factors.
Under Magic Chu Yang's suggestion, Chu Yangs from various worlds all chose to specialize in the unique powers of their own worlds.
After mutual sharing, the strength of each Chu Yang had a qualitative improvement.
The mist appeared on time, taking them back to their respective worlds.
Pirate World.
After several months on the Sun Pirates, Chu Yang gradually adapted to the pirate life. He had learned many steering techniques from Jinbe and could occasionally take Jinbe's place.
As the impact of the Holy Land fire incident became increasingly severe, the Marine's pursuit of the Sun Pirates became particularly fierce.
During this time, Chu Yang helped the Sun Pirates repel several waves of Marine encirclement.
To express his gratitude, Tiger invited him to join the Sun Pirates several times.
But Chu Yang still refused.
Tiger had his own goal, and the Sun Pirates' direction was determined by Tiger, while Chu Yang also had his own path to take, which meant he could not integrate here.
Chapter 51: Future Direction
At night, Chu Yang was training alone on the deck. A moment later, a figure walked out of the cabin and came to Chu Yang's side.
"Why don't you accept Captain Tiger's invitation?" Jinbe looked at Chu Yang in confusion. He originally thought that after so many battles, everyone had long become comrades.
Chu Yang stopped his movements, slowly sat down, and explained, "If it were Tiger who planned to travel the world before, I would have joined him without hesitation. But now, all his energy is focused on liberating slaves. That is his ideal, not mine."
Jinbe fell silent. Indeed, as Chu Yang said, everyone's ideals are different. Is it right to use one's own ideals to hijack others' freedom, no matter how great and righteous one's ideals are?
After a long period of contemplation, Jinbe sighed to the sky, his face filled with regret. In his eyes, Chu Yang was a junior with boundless potential. It was truly a pity for such a person to leave the Sun Pirates!
Jinbe, filled with regret, sat down on the deck and asked, "Then is your ideal the same as Captain Tiger's before, to travel the world?"
Chu Yang smiled and said, "Something like that. I want to travel around and see things, fight with some strong people to temper myself, and also see the scenery of various places in the world. It's not easy to come to this world for a trip, so I can't let the Marine keep chasing me like a dog, can I?"
Jinbe reminded, "Based on your previous performance, you've probably already attracted the Marine's attention. You'll still be wanted after you leave the ship."
Chu Yang replied firmly, "Wanted is wanted. At least I can freely decide where I want to go."
Jinbe sighed with emotion, "Now you truly resemble a real pirate."
"I already am…" Chu Yang also felt a little emotional. Then he patted Jinbe's shoulder and smiled, "Don't be discouraged. I'm not leaving immediately; I still have to stay for a while longer."
Jinbe rarely showed a faint smile.
Chu Yang looked at the moon hanging high above the horizon and began to ponder what Magic Chu Yang had told him in the Soul Palace.
There are many people proficient in Haki in the Pirate world, but those with Conqueror's Haki are extremely rare. Currently, only a dozen or so are known, excluding the not-yet-grown Boa Hancock, the deceased Pirate King Roger, and Kozuki Oden. The rest are almost all famous great pirates.
The Marine also has strong individuals who understand Haoshoku, but Chu Yang, having been a Celestial Dragons slave and then on a pirate ship, could not possibly join the Marine.
Therefore, if Chu Yang's Haki is to become stronger, he still has to find a way on the pirate side.
There are only a few candidates that can be pinpointed on the pirate side.
First are the Four Emperors.
At the current timeline, Kaido has been operating in Wano Country for nearly 12 years, and the underground black market's weapon trade is in full swing, with even the World Government involved, making him incredibly powerful.
"Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin has completely established a power base with Cake Island. As her children grew more numerous, the number of pirate crews under her allegiance surged, and her Totto Land also subtly gained momentum.
It was in this year that the calls for both of them to become "Sea Emperors" grew louder and louder.
Eventually, they formed a tri-cornered stance with Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world.
At this time, Shanks, the Red Hair, was also famous, but compared to the momentum of the other three, he was not just a little inferior.
The formation of the Four Emperors'pattern would have to wait another 6 years.
Chu Yang thought it over repeatedly and still chose to give up on learning Haoshoku from Kaido and Big Mom.
Not to mention that both of their locations are very far, in the latter half of the Grand Line, their conduct alone is incompatible with Chu Yang.
Both of them are a bit neurotic, and what Chu Yang dislikes the most is neurotics.
The Whitebeard Pirates would be a good place to go, but he would have to call Whitebeard "Dad," and the thought of himself calling Whitebeard "Old Man" made Chu Yang shiver.
Although Chu Yang greatly admired Whitebeard, he refused to acknowledge him as his father.
Among the Four Emperors, Shanks currently has the weakest strength, and the difficulty of joining him is also the lowest.
But the problem is that Chu Yang cannot confirm Shanks' Haoshoku level at this stage. It should be known that there are still 6 full years until he becomes a Four Emperors.
The remaining Silvers Rayleigh, on the other hand, is very easy to contact; he is right there in Sabaody Archipelago.
But as a pirate who has been living in seclusion for many years, the probability of Rayleigh being willing to come out and teach Chu Yang is not very high.
Not everyone has something like a protagonist's halo.
Others, like Doflamingo and Chinjao, the pillar of the Happo Navy, are even worse options.
After counting them all, Shanks actually seems the most reliable.
Thinking of this, Chu Yang was suddenly startled. This year, besides being the year of Kaido and Big Mom's rise, it was also the year Shanks met Luffy in Foosha Village!
Rubber-Rubber Fruit!
The true name after awakening is Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nika Form!
Shanks took the Rubber-Rubber Fruit from Who's-Who, originally intending to give it to Pirate King Roger's posthumous son Ace, but Luffy accidentally ate it!
If Shanks completely didn't know the secret about the Rubber-Rubber Fruit, Chu Yang would find it somewhat unbelievable.
It's not strange for a pirate of his caliber to take a Devil Fruit from the World Government.
What's strange is that he brought this fruit and just happened to arrive at Foosha Village, where Ace was.
Clearly, Shanks hoped Ace would become the child of destiny, but the result was that destiny chose Luffy, and Shanks himself also saw Captain Roger's shadow in Luffy.
Therefore, he respected destiny's choice and gambled everything on Luffy.
Now, as long as Chu Yang is willing to pay the price and bear Shanks' wrath, he can turn the wheel of destiny, directing it towards an unknown path.
The protagonist doesn't have to be Luffy; it can be anyone, including Chu Yang himself.
Is Chu Yang willing?
Of course not!
The success rate is too low, and the price to pay is unimaginable!
Are such small actions under Shanks' nose easy to pull off?
Not to mention how strong Shanks' own Observation Haki is, Usopp's father, Yasopp, possesses top-tier Observation Haki. Chu Yang would probably be headshotted before he could even get close to the Rubber-Rubber Fruit.
Luffy was young, and everyone was not wary of him, which allowed the accident to happen. Chu Yang is clearly not the kind of person who could make the entire Red Hair Pirates drop their guard, even if he could successfully join them.
The only outcome Chu Yang could influence…
Probably just preventing Luffy from eating the Rubber-Rubber Fruit.
But what would be the point of that?
The next day, Chu Yang found Tiger and told him about his idea of going to the East Blue.
Tiger was very surprised. He had anticipated Chu Yang disembarking at any stop on the Grand Line, but he never expected Chu Yang to go to the East Blue.
However, despite his surprise, Tiger still respected Chu Yang's decision and decided to escort him back with the Sun Pirates.
Their current location's fastest route to the East Blue was to force their way through the Calm Belt.
Chapter 52: Red Hair
For Fishman, crossing the Calm Belt is much easier than for other races. Through their connection with fish schools, they can avoid many dangers.
Although not as simple and effective as the Marine embedding Sea Stone at the bottom of their warships, it is enough to ensure safety.
The news of Chu Yang's imminent departure still caused quite a stir on the ship. Several months of fighting side-by-side had already made most of the Fishman on board consider Chu Yang a comrade.
Some radical Fishman, led by Arlong, also stopped their antagonism towards Chu Yang. Besides their awe of Chu Yang's strength, they also felt some gratitude.