"The Senju Clan! You really grabbed a powerful thigh!" Pirate-world Chu Yang said with undisguised envy. "We're both me, yet our circumstances couldn't be more different."
"Brother, this is the Warring States Era, not the start of the ninja age," Naruto-world Chu Yang replied helplessly, spreading his hands. "The clan next door—the Uchiha—and us are practically beating each other's brains out every day. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"
"Still better than my situation," Pirate Chu Yang said curiously. "Who's the current head of the Senju Clan? Have you met the First?"
Naruto Chu Yang smiled proudly. "The First has just taken the position. He's selected some of the younger clan members as disciples to teach his self-created Wood Release. I'm one of them."
Hearing this, the envy in Pirate Chu Yang's eyes practically overflowed. Still, he knew that Wood Release, as a Kekkei Genkai, had an extremely low success rate.
Wood Release was formed by fusing Earth and Water chakra natures.
It sounded simple, but in practice it was extraordinarily difficult.
More importantly, fusing different chakra attributes carried immense risk. Failure could result in terrifying backlash.
Members of the Senju Clan, due to their similar genetic makeup, were better able to avoid such backlash.
Naruto Chu Yang continued, "Out of everyone, I'm the only one who managed to learn Wood Release. Coincidentally, the moment I succeeded, my consciousness entered this palace."
"Can I see it?" Pirate Chu Yang asked eagerly.
Some Kekkei Genkai techniques didn't require hand seals. Naruto Chu Yang simply smiled and clapped his hands together. A unique energy surged from his body, and countless branches and vines spread out from his upper torso.
"Well?" he asked smugly.
"Insane…"
Just as Pirate Chu Yang was about to heap on the praise, he suddenly felt a strange change occurring within his own body.
Instinctively, he copied the hand sign—and an astonishing scene unfolded.
Branches erupted wildly from Pirate Chu Yang's body as well.
He was using Wood Release too!
Naruto Chu Yang stared, dumbfounded. Then he said in shock, "You can use my power. That means—conversely—I can use yours as well."
Pirate Chu Yang nodded. "That seems right. Too bad I don't know any techniques yet."
"Wait… something's off."
Naruto Chu Yang sensed his condition and grew even more shocked. "My chakra is far more active than usual—almost double."
Pirate Chu Yang speculated, "The more versions of us there are, the faster our strength grows?"
Naruto Chu Yang nodded excitedly. "That must be it. If we gather all of our 'selves' back together, wouldn't that be an instant leap to the top?"
The two were still enthusiastically imagining the future when thick mist suddenly filled the palace. They both felt, at the same time, that they were about to leave.
"We don't know when we'll meet again," Naruto Chu Yang urged earnestly. "You have to get stronger as fast as possible!"
Pirate Chu Yang nodded—and the next instant, his consciousness snapped back into his body.
Agonizing pain jolted him awake. The guard had just pulled the branding iron away.
Although Chu Yang had spent a long time in the palace, in the pirate world only a single instant had passed.
Seeing that Chu Yang had regained consciousness so quickly, the guard sneered and raised the branding iron again. "Woke up pretty fast. Then have another taste."
The guard didn't notice—
The brand on Chu Yang's chest was healing rapidly, at a speed no ordinary person could achieve.
Chakra flowed gently through his body.
Power filled Chu Yang from head to toe. With a furious roar, he shattered the chains binding him.
Under the guard's horrified gaze, Chu Yang grabbed him by the throat. Countless vines burst forth from Chu Yang's body, instantly wrapping the guard from head to toe.
Crack—crack—
As the vines tightened, the unmistakable sound of bones breaking rang out.
"A… ability user…"
The guard stared at Chu Yang in disbelief.
Regret covered his face. Moments later, his breathing stopped entirely.
Time to leave.
Killing the Celestial Dragons' lackey right under their noses was an outright provocation of their authority.
Chu Yang couldn't stay in Mary Geoise any longer. Every extra second meant greater danger.
"But escaping without a plan has too low a chance of success."
To ensure the Celestial Dragons' safety, the Holy Land was permanently garrisoned by a Marine Admiral. The nearby Marine base was packed with experts, not to mention freak organizations like CP0.
Chu Yang knew that with his current strength, he had no chance of evading pursuit from people like that.
"I need to create a disturbance—cause as much chaos as possible."
He suddenly thought of Fisher Tiger's legendary act of setting fire to the Holy Land. With no turning back, he decided to imitate it.
Leaving the dark torture chamber, Chu Yang retraced his steps by memory, running until he neared the slave cells. Only then did he stop.
Seeing Chu Yang return unharmed, the three sisters first looked at him in surprise—then were instantly swallowed by fear.
Chu Yang hadn't been escorted back by guards.
He'd come back on his own.
There was only one possible explanation.
The second sister, Sandersonia, cried out in terror, "You—don't tell me you… killed the guard?!"
Chu Yang nodded.
The third sister, Marigold, began trembling violently.
They had been trapped here for years. Though they'd often thought about killing guards, they had never dared to act.
On the other side, as the eldest, Hancock stared at the boy in shock.
From the moment she'd first seen him, she'd felt there was something different about him.
But she'd never imagined he'd do something so earth-shattering.
Fear aside, Hancock felt an indescribable exhilaration—because Chu Yang had done what she had always wanted to do, yet never dared.
She hurriedly warned him, "No one's noticed yet—run while you can! If the Celestial Dragons catch you, your fate will be worse than death."
Chu Yang nodded. "I know. But before I go, I'm going to save everyone."
"What?!" Sandersonia and Marigold exclaimed at the same time. They never expected that, in such a critical moment, Chu Yang would still be thinking about the others in the dungeon.
"Don't play the hero! Do you have any idea how many slaves are imprisoned here? How long would it take to save them one by one?"
Though deeply moved, Hancock shouted at Chu Yang, urging him to leave immediately.
The Celestial Dragons had ruled for so many years—nothing this severe had ever happened. Chu Yang's fate was obvious.
But—
What she didn't know was that Chu Yang intended to rescue others to divert the Marines' attention, giving himself a greater chance to escape Mary Geoise.
Chu Yang showed no intention of leaving. Under the puzzled gazes of the three sisters, he crouched down and pressed both hands against the ground.
(End of Chapter)