With Daigo and Camearra's departure settled for now, attention aboard the Bamboo Staff turned to another imminent farewell. In what seemed like cosmic synchronicity, both Daigo and Chu Zihang had not only been injured and recovered at nearly identical times, but had chosen this same day to announce their intention to return home.
"You want to go back too?" Gustave stared at Chu Zihang in disbelief. "I thought you'd want to stay longer, perfect your new Haki techniques before facing whatever's waiting in your world."
The young mixed-blood's awakening of Armament Haki had been impressive, but Gustave had assumed he'd want to consolidate those gains through additional training. Dragons, after all, weren't opponents to face with half-mastered abilities.
"I need to see my mother," Chu Zihang replied quietly, his golden eyes carrying an unexpected vulnerability. "This injury... it made me realize something. In the future, when I begin hunting dragons in earnest, situations like this may happen repeatedly. I could be badly wounded, or worse—I could die, or simply vanish without a trace."
His voice grew softer, more introspective than Gustave had ever heard it. "If that happens, I want her to know I was thinking of her. I want to see her face one more time while I still can."
The admission struck Gustave unexpectedly. "I understand completely," he said after a moment. "Hearing you talk about your mother... it makes me think of my own. I wonder if the Gate of All Worlds could somehow connect to the world where I originally lived."
The thought of his own mother—her warm smile, her patient hands teaching him to knead dough, her proud tears when he'd graduated culinary school—sent an ache through his chest he'd been carefully avoiding.
"Family is precious," Chu Zihang agreed. "I've spent so much time focused on revenge, on becoming strong enough to face Odin, that I've neglected the people who matter most."
"Go then," Gustave said, placing a supportive hand on the young man's shoulder. "Home is always there when you need it. And you'll have nothing to regret when you finally face whatever's waiting for you."
After exchanging farewells with the rest of the crew, Chu Zihang activated the Gate of All Worlds. Since Gustave had previously used him as an anchor point for that ramen-cooking expedition, he materialized in the small courtyard apartment rather than Cassel College itself. It took a moment of spatial disorientation before he realized he needed to make his way back to campus.
The dormitory hallway felt strangely foreign after his time aboard the Bamboo Staff. Everything was exactly as he'd left it—the same institutional lighting, the same worn carpeting, the same sounds of student life filtering through thin walls. Yet somehow it all seemed smaller, more constrained than he remembered.
He'd barely gotten his key into the lock when footsteps approached from behind.
"Hey there, junior brother! Where did you disappear to this morning? I knocked on your door for ten minutes—thought maybe you'd been abducted by aliens or something!"
Finger's familiar voice carried its usual blend of curiosity and barely contained gossip hunger. The disheveled student looked exactly as Chu Zihang remembered: rumpled clothing, overeager expression, and eyes that missed nothing while pretending to notice very little.
"I had some business to attend to," Chu Zihang replied with his customary coldness, maintaining the aloof persona that had served him well at Cassel College.
During his brief disappearance from this world's timeline, he'd actually spent those "missing" hours sitting in Gustave's courtyard kitchen, watching the chef demonstrate electromagnetic ramen preparation techniques. Time flowed differently between dimensions, but his absence here had been measured in mere minutes.
"Business, huh?" Finger's head tilted like an inquisitive bird. "You know, junior brother, there's something different about you today. Can't quite put my finger on it, but..."
Chu Zihang paused in unlocking his door. "Different how?"
"Your presence, maybe? You always had that cool, untouchable vibe, but now there's something else underneath. Like..." Finger struggled for words. "Like you've been through something serious. Battle-tested, you know?"
The observation was more perceptive than Chu Zihang expected. His awakening of Armament Haki, combined with the life-or-death struggle against Arlong, had indeed changed something fundamental about his aura. Even without activating his golden pupils, he now carried the subtle confidence of someone who'd faced death and emerged victorious.
"Your imagination is overactive as usual," Chu Zihang replied dismissively, pushing into his room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make."
"Preparations?" Finger's journalist instincts immediately sharpened. "What kind of preparations?"
But Chu Zihang had already closed the door, leaving the information broker to stew in frustrated curiosity.
Inside his modest dorm room, Chu Zihang began planning his journey home. Without Gustave's help, he'd need to purchase his own airline ticket—a mundane task that somehow felt significant after weeks of interdimensional travel and cosmic battles.
Meanwhile, Finger remained in the hallway, his mind racing through possibilities.
"That aura," he muttered to himself, "where have I felt something like that before?" His eyes widened with sudden recognition. "The foreign aid! That mysterious guy who helped with the dragon situation—junior brother's presence reminds me of him!"
As Cassel College's most notorious information broker, Finger possessed an almost supernatural ability to detect connections others missed. The realization that Chu Zihang might have encountered Gustave during his absence sent his scheming mind into overdrive.
"Did junior brother somehow meet up with the foreign aid guy for private training? This could be huge news!" He rubbed his hands together with barely contained glee. "I have to investigate this properly!"
Finger's "investigation" consisted of following Chu Zihang with all the subtlety of a bloodhound on a scent trail. Despite his enhanced senses from Observation Haki training, Chu Zihang failed to notice his persistent shadow—Finger's skills as a professional stalker were genuinely impressive.
The next morning, Chu Zihang made his way to Cassel College's travel services office. As one of the world's premier institutions for the supernaturally gifted, the college had anticipated that students might need to travel on short notice for family emergencies or urgent missions. Their booking service could arrange everything from commercial flights to private jets, depending on the situation's urgency and the student's financial resources.
"I need a ticket to China," Chu Zihang told the clerk, a middle-aged woman who'd probably helped hundreds of students with similar requests.
"Certainly. We have direct flights to both Beijing and Shanghai. Any preference?"
Chu Zihang considered his options. Shanghai would be closer to his hometown, but those tickets were completely booked. "Beijing will be fine. Business class, departing as soon as possible."
The clerk's fingers flew over her keyboard. "I can get you on a flight tomorrow evening. The journey is quite long—fourteen hours—so business class is definitely recommended for comfort."
Despite his generally frugal nature, Chu Zihang agreed. After months of sleeping in hammocks aboard the Bamboo Staff and beds in interdimensional guest quarters, the prospect of a reclining airplane seat seemed like luxury.
From his concealed position behind a decorative pillar, Finger frantically scribbled notes. "Beijing... tomorrow evening... business class... definitely visiting family!" His mind was already calculating how to turn this information into profit, possibly by selling "exclusive access" to Chu Zihang's travel itinerary to interested parties.
The next evening at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chu Zihang settled into his business class seat with relief. The spacious cabin felt almost decadent after weeks of functional ship accommodations, and he looked forward to fourteen hours of peaceful solitude to process everything that had happened.
He stowed his carry-on luggage, adjusted his seat to a comfortable position, and put on noise-canceling headphones before closing his eyes. The gentle hum of pre-flight preparation promised a restful journey ahead.
The sensation of someone settling into the seat beside him barely registered—until a familiar voice spoke directly into his ear.
"Hello there, junior brother!"
Chu Zihang's eyes snapped open to find Finger's grinning face mere inches from his own, radiating the kind of shameless good cheer that made homicide seem reasonable.
"What are you doing here?" Chu Zihang demanded, his voice carrying enough menace to intimidate most people. Unfortunately, Finger had long since developed immunity to intimidation.
"What a coincidence!" Finger exclaimed with theatrical surprise. "School hasn't officially started yet, and I was getting bored hanging around campus. Decided to take a little vacation, you know? And wouldn't you know it, I just happened to choose China as my destination! What are the odds?"
The odds, Chu Zihang reflected grimly, were exactly zero. This was clearly planned stalking disguised as coincidence.
"Where did you get money for international travel?" he asked suspiciously. "Last time I saw you, you were begging for food money at the train station."
"Ah, well, your senior brother has his ways!" Finger's grin widened with obvious pride. "Amazing what kind of opportunities present themselves to an entrepreneurial spirit at a school full of wealthy students!"
What Chu Zihang didn't know—and what Finger would never voluntarily reveal—was that his financial windfall had come from selling exclusive photographs and personal information about the college's newest mysterious student. Chu Zihang's combination of devastating good looks, impressive academic performance, and aloof personality had made him incredibly popular among the school's female student body.
Finger had capitalized on this demand by becoming Chu Zihang's unofficial paparazzi, selling candid photos, class schedules, and even details about his favorite library study spots to eager admirers. The business had proven surprisingly lucrative, easily funding international travel in style.
"Since you have money now," Chu Zihang said coldly, extending his palm, "you can repay what you borrowed from me at the train station."
"Junior brother!" Finger clutched his chest with exaggerated hurt. "How can you talk about money between friends? We're practically brothers! Family doesn't nickel and dime each other over small loans!"
He threw an arm around Chu Zihang's shoulders with forced familiarity. "Besides, think of this trip as a bonding experience! Two Cassel College students exploring the mysterious East together!"
"Return. The. Money." Chu Zihang enunciated each word with crystalline clarity.
"Now, junior brother—"
"Gentlemen, we're preparing for takeoff. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts."
A flight attendant's professional intervention saved Finger from Chu Zihang's escalating annoyance. Both students complied with the safety instructions, though Chu Zihang's expression promised that this conversation was far from over.
As the aircraft taxied toward the runway, Chu Zihang stared out the window at the receding lights of Chicago. Soon they would be airborne, crossing an ocean toward the country of his birth and the mother who'd worried about him every day since his father's disappearance.