"Lord Hashirama, did you summon me for something?"
A gentle female voice came from within the slug's body, soothing to the ear like a spring breeze.
"It's like this…"
Hashirama Senju explained to the Slug Sage's avatar that Chu Yang wished to embark on Sage Mode training.
If it were an ordinary person, the Slug Sage would certainly have refused. Sage Mode training was extremely difficult, and the vast majority of people died attempting it.
But since this was a disciple strongly recommended by Hashirama Senju, there had to be something special about him.
After thinking it over for a while, the Slug Sage agreed to Chu Yang's request and prepared to use Reverse Summoning to bring him to Shikkotsu Forest.
The three sacred lands and the ninja villages existed in the same world, not in separate dimensions.
The essence of summoning and reverse summoning techniques was spatial–temporal ninjutsu.
They simply differed in form from the Flying Thunder God Technique pioneered by the Second Hokage.
The sensation of being moved reminded Chu Yang of Apparition in the magical world.
Apparition had a strict underlying requirement:the destination ideally had to be somewhere you'd been before—or at least thoroughly understood.
Otherwise, it was impossible to focus your consciousness firmly on a place you knew nothing about.
After a brief wave of dizziness passed, Chu Yang opened his eyes again—
and found himself standing in what looked like a primeval jungle.
Every tree here was so thick it would take dozens of people holding hands to wrap around it. Enormous leafy plants towered everywhere.
Some leaves were as large as a full-grown adult, completely blocking out sunlight. Walking beneath them felt like walking through night.
Only sparse gaps allowed sunlight to filter down, light and shadow interweaving into scattered patches. The faint glow even carried a dreamlike quality.
Standing here gave the illusion of being inside a fairy-tale kingdom.
"I finally understand how Gulliver's Travels was written…"
As he spoke, massive shadows began surging forward in dense waves.
Chu Yang felt no hostility and remained calmly in place.
Looking closer, he realized the shadows were slugs—countless slugs gathering together, merging into a colossal, sky-covering super-sized slug before him.
Chu Yang bowed slightly in greeting."Greetings, Slug Sage."
The Slug Sage asked curiously, "You seem very calm. Is this not your first time at a training ground?"
Chu Yang smiled. "It is my first time. I'm just used to big scenes."
The Slug Sage sighed with emotion."Children who survive war truly are different."
After a brief exchange, the Slug Sage led Chu Yang through the dense forest to an ancient temple.
This was the Slug Sage's place of cultivation.
"From today onward, this is where you will train in Sage Mode."
Naruto World
At the same time—
Chu Yang's absence from his teaching duties caused a major uproar at the Ninja Academy.
Not only did his class include geniuses like Hiruzen Sarutobi, it was also filled with heirs from major clans.
In a sense, only Chu Yang could truly keep these students in check.
The news quickly reached Tobirama Senju. Despite being buried in government work, he had to take time to ask Hashirama about the situation.
After learning that Chu Yang was training in Shikkotsu Forest, Tobirama temporarily assigned Chu Yang's academy position to someone else.
In Tobirama's eyes, Chu Yang's future took absolute priority.
This concerned the village's prosperity for the next hundred years!
...
Wizarding World
Ever since returning from the Soul Palace last time, Chu Yang had been thinking about one problem.
As part of the logistics group, it would be best if he could synchronize his status with the other versions of himself in real time—
just like Demon Slayer Chu Yang did.
That way, research results could be shared continuously, instead of waiting to gather and exchange everything only upon entering the Soul Palace.
To do that, Chu Yang needed to put killing Voldemort on the agenda.
Lord Voldemort had seven Horcruxes.
Chu Yang was already juggling vast amounts of knowledge from multiple worlds and had no time to search for them personally.
Just attempting to fuse ninjutsu with spells—and potentially Kidō and cursed techniques in the future—was already draining most of his energy.
Researchers were homebodies by nature.Their principle was simple: if you don't have to move, don't.
When it came to dealing with a boss, leaving it to the natives was far more reliable.
Chu Yang needed a way to leak this information to Albus Dumbledore.
Directly telling him was impossible.Even hinting too strongly would raise Dumbledore's suspicions.
He couldn't afford to let Dumbledore doubt him—otherwise all his previous efforts would be wasted.
First, Harry had to learn about it.
Then, through Harry, Dumbledore would find out.
That way, Chu Yang could completely distance himself.
But how could he guide Harry to clues about the seven Horcruxes?
After a long time thinking, Chu Yang finally thought of one place—
the Room of Requirement.
He planned to compile all the Horcrux clues into a book and hide it in the same place as Ravenclaw's Diadem.
When Harry found it, he would assume it was the Room of Requirement responding to his need.
And once Harry learned that he himself was Voldemort's final Horcrux, he would certainly tell Dumbledore.
If everything went smoothly, events would unfold exactly as Chu Yang planned.
Late at night, Chu Yang came to the eighth floor of the castle.
After wandering the corridor for a while, he found a tapestry.
The entrance to the Room of Requirement was in the wall opposite it.
Standing before the wall, Chu Yang thought, I need a place to hide something, and walked back and forth past the wall three times.
The next second, a smooth door appeared in the wall.
Chu Yang pushed it open. Inside were shelves upon shelves of stored items.
"Truly magical… I wonder what the principle behind this room's magic is. If time allowed, I'd love to stay here and study it."
After a moment of admiration, Chu Yang summoned Wood Clones to search for Ravenclaw's Diadem.
With the Room of Requirement generating countless shelves, searching actually became easier. Layer by layer, he combed through them—
and in less than half an hour, he found Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Chu Yang placed the carefully prepared book beside it, then left the Room of Requirement.
The next day—
While eating breakfast in the Great Hall, Chu Yang learned about Hermione Granger's plan to borrow books that day.
After breakfast, instead of going to class, he went ahead to the library and slipped his fabricated book beside the ones she planned to borrow.
The title on the cover read:"Hogwarts' Forgotten Secrets You Never Knew."
Based on Chu Yang's understanding of Hermione, her curiosity would be instantly ignited by a title like that—and the contents would guide her straight to the Room of Requirement.
He wasn't worried about anyone else finding the book first.
Because in all of Hogwarts, the only person who arrived at the library earlier than Hermione every single day—
was Chu Yang.
Lately, however, because he'd been organizing knowledge from the Naruto World and Marvel World, he hadn't been visiting the library as often.
So in that regard, Hermione was now the undisputed number one.
After placing the fake book, Chu Yang finally returned to class as usual.
When lessons ended, he quietly followed Hermione to the library.
And just as expected—
right before his eyes, Hermione picked up the book titled "Hogwarts' Forgotten Secrets You Never Knew."
The young girl's cheeks flushed slightly, excitement written all over her face—
as if she'd discovered something incredible.
Bang!!!
Hermione, walking with her head down, crashed straight into Chu Yang's chest.
"What's got you so happy? Don't you even watch where you're going?"Chu Yang put on a deliberately complaining expression.
"Oh—sorry!"
Hermione blinked her bright, sparkling eyes, apologized hurriedly, then rushed off without another word. She quickly found an empty corner and, acting all sneaky, started reading the book in secret.
Seeing this, Chu Yang couldn't help but chuckle to himself for a moment before turning and leaving.
Night fell.
Taking advantage of the late, quiet hours, Chu Yang slipped out of Hogwarts and headed straight for the Forbidden Forest.
From there, he cast Apparition, traveling to Knockturn Alley.
As for the three Unforgivable Curses—if Chu Yang asked Filius Flitwick, the professor would most likely teach him.
But afterward, he would definitely report it to Albus Dumbledore.
Just imagining that hassle gave Chu Yang a headache.It was far simpler to grab a Dark wizard in Knockturn Alley and learn the incantations for the three Unforgivable Curses directly.
Those spells were practically standard equipment for Dark wizards.A Dark wizard who didn't know all three was truly a rare sight.
Chu Yang lay in wait all night, capturing fifteen Dark wizards and killing ten of them before finally gathering the complete incantations and casting details.
Back at school, just as Chu Yang was about to head to class, Hermione appeared beside him mysteriously and whispered,
"I found something incredible. Tonight, I'm going to check it out with Harry and the others. Want to come?"
"Thanks for the invitation, Hermione," Chu Yang said helplessly, "but I've been a bit busy lately…"
Hermione looked disappointed for a moment, but quickly perked up again."We're looking for a place kind of like a secret base. If it really exists, I'll take you there when you're free!"
Chu Yang smiled. "I'm looking forward to it. Good luck."
Hermione nodded, her face full of smiles, and skipped away happily.
The next night, the trio began their nocturnal adventure, searching for the Room of Requirement.
Chu Yang spread his Observation Haki, quietly following behind them, watching until they successfully found the Room of Requirement.
Once the three of them entered, Chu Yang left.
Having found the Room of Requirement, it was only a matter of time before they discovered Ravenclaw's Diadem and the intelligence book Chu Yang had carefully prepared.
From here on, everything could be left to time.
...
Marvel World
Attending university during the day and working as an assistant in Tony's lab at night—
that was Chu Yang's regular routine lately.
At this stage, JARVIS wasn't advanced enough to serve as a fully capable assistant.
And Chu Yang could also help test the durability of the suits anytime.
Tony believed that any suit Chu Yang could destroy was not a good suit, so lately he had begun incorporating aerospace-grade materials into the armor.
One slightly strange thing was that recently, whenever Tony Stark replaced the reactor energy rod in his chest, he would deliberately avoid people.
During those times, neither Chu Yang nor Pepper Potts was allowed into the lab.
Pepper didn't understand why, but Chu Yang knew exactly what was wrong.
Tony was suffering from palladium poisoning—the toxin was continuously eroding his body.
Injections could only alleviate the symptoms, not cure them, unless Tony replaced palladium with a new element.
The key to solving the problem lay in the recordings left behind by Tony's father, Howard Stark—but Tony was unwilling to watch them to the end.
This was Tony's emotional knot, something Chu Yang couldn't untangle.
Because Tony spent all his time locked in the lab working on the Iron Man suits, he completely neglected his duties as CEO of Stark Industries.
Mountains of paperwork were handled by Pepper in her role as his assistant.
It was an enormous burden.
When Pepper once again urged Tony to return to his position as CEO, Tony impatiently handed the position over to her instead.
"From today on, you're the CEO of Stark Industries!"
Tony gripped Pepper's shoulders and spoke solemnly.
But both Pepper and Chu Yang saw the carelessness flicker in his eyes.
Knowing things would go seriously wrong if this continued, Pepper could only nod in reluctant agreement—for the sake of both the company and Tony.
A few days later, Pepper brought her new secretary to see Tony, planning to have him sign the official documents approving the CEO change.
The new secretary walked up to Tony with a seductive sway, her figure nearly stealing his soul.
"Hello, Mr. Stark. My name is Natasha Romanoff."
After finishing a full day of classes, Chu Yang went to Tony's place as usual to help out.
At the entrance, he ran into Pepper, who was leaving with the new secretary.
"Hello, Yang."
"Good afternoon, Miss Potts. And this is…?"
"Oh, she's my new secretary, Natasha. Tony just signed the CEO transfer documents."
"Congratulations, Miss Potts."
"Thanks, but I actually preferred my old job. Being an assistant was much easier than being a CEO."
They exchanged a smile.
Chu Yang shifted his gaze to Natasha. He deeply admired this Black Widow of the Avengers.
After all, working alongside superheroes—people who were either overpowered or mutated—while remaining an ordinary human was no simple feat.
Natasha was extremely sensitive to men's gazes. When she noticed Chu Yang looking at her, the corner of her lips lifted unconsciously.
Most men Natasha had met were all the same—as long as they were physically capable, they couldn't help staring at her with blatantly predatory eyes.
Especially a boy in his teens.
But very quickly, she realized Chu Yang's gaze was different.
It was clear and calm, unrelated to desire, carrying a hint of respect.
Natasha froze for a moment.
Chu Yang nodded politely to her and walked past.
Pepper pointed at Chu Yang's retreating back and explained with a smile,
"That's Yang. Tony's assistant—and a prodigy sponsored by Stark Industries."
"You'll be working with him often in the future. Remember to say hello sometime and get familiar."
"Oh, I mean work-wise familiar," Pepper added quickly."Don't get any ideas—he's still a kid."
Natasha smiled. "Thank you for the reminder, Miss Potts."
After finishing the day's experiments, Chu Yang didn't leave Tony's house. Instead, he asked to stay the night.
Tony looked at him with disgust."Good thing I'm heading to Las Vegas tonight. Otherwise, I'd definitely kick you out. My bed is only for beautiful women."
Chu Yang snorted. "I'll sleep in the lab. Your bed might be carrying some kind of virus."
Tony burst out laughing, downed a glass of red wine, and said,
"At your age, you don't really need to spend all your time in a lab. Some things—once the moment passes—you'll never experience again."
Chu Yang shook his head inwardly.
There were plenty of things he could experience countless times.
For example—being a student.
Before long, Happy Hogan arrived to pick Tony up.
For once, their trip to Las Vegas wasn't for fun—but for work.
Chu Yang continued working in the lab, trying repeatedly to build a reactor, but every attempt ended in failure.
If he simply built a reactor based on Tony's existing models, it would be easy.
But that would be meaningless.
Chu Yang wanted to build his own reactor—from foundational theory, to a mature model, to a complete final form—all independently.
That was extremely difficult.
Even a genius like Tony—once called "cursed by knowledge" by Thanos—had only succeeded after accumulating more than twenty years of expertise.
For Chu Yang to catch up in a short time was incredibly hard.
Unless he had more clones.
As the night deepened, the lab was filled only with the faint zzzt of lasers—and the voices of Chu Yang and JARVIS.
In a state of intense focus, Chu Yang's senses became razor-sharp.
A very faint sound reached his ears—
someone moving in a crouch.
"A thief, huh…"
Chu Yang smiled.
Choosing this timing meant they knew Tony wasn't home. And anyone capable of slipping past Iron Man's layers of security and advanced defenses was no ordinary person.
Only one person met both conditions.
The Black Widow, disguised as Pepper's secretary—
Natasha Romanoff.
The Iron Man suits had already attracted the attention of Nick Fury. Sending Black Widow to gather some data fit his style perfectly.
Because of deviations in how events had unfolded, Tony hadn't fought Obadiah Stane, leaving Fury with very little real combat data on the Iron Man suits.
Curiosity was only natural.
Up to now, all of Tony's real combat tests had been conducted with Chu Yang's help.
The results—
total defeat.
This, in turn, dealt a serious blow to Tony's pride, pushing him into a frenzy of nonstop work in the lab as he poured himself into creating new suits of armor.
A suit of Iron Man armor that couldn't even beat a minor—how could he possibly have the face to wear it outside?
Chu Yang didn't pause the work in his hands. His Observation Haki remained locked onto Natasha the entire time.
Her movements were extremely quiet—nearly impossible to track by sound alone.
Without Observation Haki, Chu Yang really wouldn't have been able to keep tabs on her so easily.
Seeing Chu Yang sitting motionless in the lab like an unmoving Buddha, Natasha began to grow impatient. She decided to create a disturbance outside to lure him away.
She deliberately shattered one of Tony's newly bought wine glasses, then lit a fire. In an instant, the entire bar area was engulfed in flames.
In three swift steps, she leapt up and hung from the ceiling.
Moments later, Chu Yang climbed the steps into the living room and headed straight for the bar. Seeing the flames, he began rummaging around for a fire extinguisher.
Taking advantage of the lab door still being open below, Natasha dropped down in a swift roll and slipped into the laboratory.
At the same time, Chu Yang—who had been putting out the fire—paused, turned his head to look at her, and couldn't help but smile.
Inside the lab, Natasha scanned her surroundings before slowly walking toward the main terminal. As a top-tier agent, her hacking skills were nothing to scoff at.
But compared to Tony Stark, the gap was about the same as between an MIT PhD and an elementary school student.
Even so, an elementary schooler was more than enough for data theft.
She plugged a specially prepared USB drive into the main system. Watching the progress bar slowly climb, Natasha relaxed and casually began observing Tony's lab.
The next second—
her entire body stiffened.
Chu Yang, who should have been outside dealing with the fire, was now standing silently behind her. If he had launched a surprise attack, she would already be dead.
"Miss Potts said you were working alone in the lab this late, so I thought I'd bring you something to eat…"
"That excuse is a bit clumsy, Miss Natasha," Chu Yang said flatly. "Doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. train you better than this?"
Chu Yang mercilessly exposed her lie, making Natasha flush with embarrassment and anger.
"Yes. Normally, in situations like this, we'd just attack."
The moment the words left her mouth, Natasha drew several tranquilizer darts from her waist and flicked them straight at Chu Yang.
She could have drawn a gun instead, but before the mission, Nick Fury had warned her not to kill anyone—especially Chu Yang.
Fury very much wanted this high-quality talent recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.
What Natasha never imagined—
was that Chu Yang would calmly catch the tranquilizer darts midair and throw them back even faster.
Several dark flashes streaked through the air, embedding themselves squarely into Natasha's full chest.
"Oh—sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. That was an accident…"
Chu Yang was still explaining when Natasha collapsed heavily onto the floor.
"A man and a woman alone in a room—it's easy for things to get heated, Miss Natasha."
Chu Yang didn't approach her unconscious body, maintaining a safe distance.
Natasha didn't move.
Chu Yang shook his head. "This room is full of mechanical arms. I could strip you naked without even touching you. If you keep this up, I might just take advantage while you're still warm…"
The "unconscious" Natasha instantly flipped up and sat upright.
She sighed. "You don't look like someone who should still be in high school."
Chu Yang asked, "Did Agent Hill not tell you anything about me when she went back?"
Natasha pursed her lips. "She didn't talk much—just complained about you a lot. Want to hear it?"
Chu Yang waved his hand. "I'll pass."
He walked over to the terminal, pulled out the USB drive—now at eighty percent completion—and dropped it to the floor, crushing it under his foot.
"You should try a friendlier approach," Chu Yang said calmly. "Sneaking into someone's house to steal things isn't exactly polite."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to determine whether Tony Stark is worth cooperating with," Natasha replied. "So we needed some data. Relax—we had no intention of stealing his research."
"If you were me," Chu Yang asked, "how much of that explanation would you believe?"
Natasha shrugged helplessly. "If I were you, I wouldn't believe a single word from a suspect caught red-handed."
"A very honest answer." Chu Yang nodded. "Since you're being sincere, I'll let you go. But when you get back, tell your boss this—if he wants to work with Tony, sincerity is essential."
"Really?" Natasha looked at him in surprise.
Chu Yang said nothing, simply stepping aside to clear a path.
Still suspicious, Natasha walked past him. At the moment they brushed shoulders, she suddenly stopped.
"Hill and Coulson both said you're very skilled."
"I think you've already seen that for yourself."
"Honestly, I was careless just now."
"And?" Chu Yang asked.
Natasha flashed a mischievous smile and suddenly launched an attack—careful not to use any weapons.
Chu Yang guessed this was probably another task from Fury: to find the right opportunity to thoroughly test his combat ability.
The two fought inside the lab. Chu Yang relied only on Fish-Man Karate and Observation Haki.
Originally, he planned to use only Fish-Man Karate, but he was worried she might resort to dirty tricks if pushed too hard—so he kept Observation Haki active.
That concern turned out to be well-founded.
As she grew frustrated, the Black Widow started using increasingly underhanded tactics—low blows, ambush techniques, even hypnotic spray and other gadgets.
Anything went.
That was the nature of agents—no one ever knew what they were carrying.
After a while—
the mansion's front door opened. Natasha emerged, covering half her face and limping slightly. After standing by the roadside for a moment, a black supercar pulled up in front of her.
Not some bored rich kid—but Phil Coulson.
Coulson rolled down the window, staring at her in shock.
"Oh my God… what did he do to you?"
"Nothing. I fell on my own."
"Where exactly did you fall? Was there a hundred-story spiral staircase in there?"
"Shut up, Coulson!"
Natasha snapped angrily as she got into the passenger seat. "Do you want to roll down a hundred-story spiral staircase too?"
Coulson sheepishly shut his mouth, and the roar of the engine filled the night.
...
Coulson drove Natasha back to S.H.I.E.L.D.
After getting out, Natasha went alone to see Nick Fury.
In the empty office, Fury stood by the window, gazing into the distance.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound of knocking echoed heavily in the dead of night.
"Come in."
Natasha pushed the door open. "Mission failed."
Fury spun around sharply, fixing his gaze on Natasha as she walked up to him.
"That kid named Yang was in the lab."
"And?" Fury asked.
"Your evaluation of him might be a little low."
"He noticed you?"
"Yes."
Fury's interest was instantly piqued. At the same time, he noticed the bruising on Natasha's face.
"It looks like you had quite a clash with him."
Natasha shrugged. "Not the way you're thinking…"
She then recounted everything from start to finish.
After a moment of silence, Fury asked, "Do you think he's a mutant?"
Natasha shook her head. "Aside from his strength, there's nothing suspicious. And there's no direct evidence he's a mutant."
Fury frowned. "He didn't use any powers when he beat you?"
That word—beat—stabbed straight into Natasha's pride.
Grinding her teeth, she replied slowly and clearly,"Yes. He beat me senseless with his bare fists. Is that good enough for you, sir?"
"Relax. I didn't mean it that way," Fury said quickly, realizing his mistake.
But the Black Widow wasn't having it.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
"No more questions. You may go," Nick Fury said, seeing that she was in a foul mood and waving her off to rest.
After Natasha left, Fury stood alone by the window once more.
"Sincerity…""It's been a long time since I've heard that word."
The next day.
When Tony Stark returned from Las Vegas, Chu Yang told him everything that had happened the night before.
The anger Chu Yang had expected never came. To his surprise, Tony slowly sat down on the floor of the lab, staring off into space.
"Hey, Yang… do you think I should hand what I have over?""That way, if something happens to me one day, someone else could keep the research going…"
Even Pepper would never have imagined that the flamboyant Tony Stark could look this dejected.
"Don't be stupid," Chu Yang said. "Who else besides you could possibly research this stuff?"
Tony forced a bitter smile. "I'm not as exceptional as you think. Just because I can do it doesn't mean others can't."
Chu Yang shook his head. "I think you misunderstood what I meant."
He pulled a playing card from his pocket.
Seeing the familiar card, Tony sprang off the couch like a startled cat, frantically waving his hands. "No, no, no—don't—!"
The card traced a beautiful arc between Chu Yang's fingers, then left a clean mark on Tony's newest suit of armor.
Tony froze, utterly stunned.
Chu Yang clicked his tongue. "What I meant was—something this trashy probably isn't even worth stealing."
Tony's neck visibly flushed red. Veins bulged as his eyes nearly spat fire.
"Just you wait! I'll make the greatest suit of armor ever!!!"
Chu Yang laughed happily.
See? That perked him right up.
Pirate World — Water Seven.**
Eight hundred years ago, this was also the birthplace of the Ancient Weapon Pluton.
This place was special—highly autonomous.Calling it a city was almost inaccurate; it was closer to an independent nation.
That autonomy came from the sheer number of shipbuilding companies here. Water Seven handled over ninety percent of the Navy's warship construction.
If Water Seven ever halted production, it would seriously affect the Marines themselves.
Because of this, even though Water Seven accepted all customers—pirates included—the World Government usually turned a blind eye.
However, ever since the Red Force arrived, far fewer pirates had come here to repair their ships.
After several major battles, Shanks's reputation had steadily risen, nearly catching up with the other "Emperors of the Sea." The shape of the Four Emperors era was already beginning to emerge.
The remodeling of the Red Force wasn't finished yet. With nothing else to do, Shanks and his crew spent their days drinking in Water Seven's bars.
"That kid Yang brought a bunch of weird instruments onto the ship and stays locked inside researching all day," the sniper Yasopp complained after downing a huge mug of alcohol. "If this keeps up, his brain's gonna break."
"Yang's way healthier than you," the ship's doctor countered dryly. "Instead of worrying about his brain, worry about yours. At this rate, you'll be the first one whose brain rots."
The crew burst into laughter.
"But seriously," someone added, "what is Yang researching? He even asked the captain for a private room. If the Red Force wasn't only halfway through its refit, it'd be hard to spare that much space."
Curiosity was written all over the cook's face, but Shanks had strictly forbidden anyone from disturbing Chu Yang, so no one knew what was inside his room.
"I saw it once by accident," Benn Beckman said, turning to Shanks with concern. "He seemed to be experimenting with his own blood, muttering things like 'factors' and 'cells.' Captain… is he really okay?"
"Yang knows exactly what he's doing," Shanks replied calmly, raising his glass. "Everyone, stop worrying."
The rest of the crew followed suit, and soon all attention returned to drinking.
In truth, Chu Yang had already explained bloodline factor research to Shanks on the day he returned.
Shanks didn't fully understand the technology, but he could sense its importance—and approved Chu Yang's request.
During the Red Force's refit, Chu Yang stayed aboard, immersing himself in research.
He was attempting to use bloodline factor technology to strip parts of Wood Release from his own body.
Just like how Vegapunk had extracted Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit abilities and implanted them into the Pacifista.
If successful, Chu Yang could artificially create Six Paths bloodlines in the ninja world—and obtain the Sage of Six Paths' chakra.
The Red Hair Pirates remained in Water Seven for another week. Their prolonged stay even caught the attention of Marine Headquarters.
Marineford wasn't particularly close to Water Seven—but not far either. It was a sensitive distance.
The Red Hair Pirates lingering here felt like someone sleeping right under the Marines' bed.
Before long, Marine warships began patrolling the surrounding waters.
Still, both sides showed restraint. No conflict broke out.
Neither the Marines nor the Red Hair Pirates would dare start a war in Water Seven—any damage would instantly make them public enemies.
"Time to get out and walk a bit," Chu Yang muttered.
After a week of nonstop work, he had made major breakthroughs in bloodline factor research, but his mind was at its limit.
Realizing he'd been in Water Seven for nearly half a month without sightseeing once, Chu Yang let out a wry smile. He'd been completely obsessed.
He stepped onto the deck and looked around—the Red Force was now four or five times larger than before.
Locked away in his room, he'd barely noticed the transformation.
Aside from Chu Yang, only a few new trainee sailors remained aboard to watch the ship. When they spotted him, they hurried over.
"Yang, you finally came out! Something big's happening today—everyone in Water Seven's gathered. Even the captain went to watch!"
"What kind of event could interest Shanks?" Chu Yang asked.
"Apparently the Sea Train's completion ceremony," the trainee replied. "See the tracks leading into the city?"
Chu Yang froze.
He suddenly realized the timeline—this was more than ten years in the past.
Without another word, he bolted off the ship and sprinted into Water Seven.
The world's greatest shipwright, Tom the Fish-Man, had been convicted for building a ship for the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
Yet he'd earned a chance at redemption by completing the Sea Train.
Sadly, that chance would not save his life.
Spandam—who was not yet the head of CP9—knew Tom possessed the blueprints for Pluton.
When coercion failed, Spandam stole Franky's invention, the Battle Franky, and used it to attack a Judiciary ship.
A crime no less severe than helping the Pirate King build his ship.
To protect his disciple, Tom used the merit of inventing the Sea Train to clear Franky's name.
He himself would be taken to Enies Lobby… and executed.
Today was the Sea Train's completion day—
and the execution day of the world's greatest shipwright.
Chu Yang pushed through the sea of people and saw Tom in chains.
Young Iceburg stood nearby, eyes filled with despair.
Chu Yang took a deep breath, scanning the crowd for Shanks.
If this was just sightseeing, the Red Hair Pirates had to be nearby.
Failing to spot anyone, Chu Yang prepared to activate Observation Haki—crowded or not.
The next instant—
someone tapped his shoulder.
He turned and saw Shanks.
"Kid, you disappear for days, then show up right when we're about to leave," Shanks said helplessly.
Chu Yang suddenly smiled—a chilling smile that made even Shanks shiver.
"Captain," Chu Yang said softly,"before we go… how about we make something big happen?"
(End of Chapter)