Chapter Eighteen: The Eye of the Soul (Part Two)

"This is..."

"The aura of the Asura Statue?"

As Kaido, Gecko Moria, and even the severely wounded Mihawk and Jinbe simultaneously felt an aura radiating from Chu Yi that made even their own souls tremble, the pupils in Chu Yi’s eyes dilated. Even he was shocked; the aura of the Asura Statue, which he could usually only perceive within the Statue Space, was now manifesting in the physical world.

Moreover...

What was the signal the Asura Statue was transmitting?

It was fury!

As Chu Yi felt the Asura Statue's rage, a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He realized that his struggle against Kaido was not destined to end only in death. He had seen the Asura Statue’s fury once before—back when he was pushed to the brink by Aokiji, facing imminent defeat at the hands of the future Admiral.

And now, Kaido had clearly forced him into the exact same situation.

So...

"Hum!"

The Asura Statue was enraged! Its fury would surely bring about a change in Chu Yi’s strength!

But it was strange, wasn't it? Not long ago, when battling Zephyr, hadn't the Asura Statue taken injuries in his stead? With the statue now severely damaged, causing Chu Yi to be unable to use his Devil Fruit abilities, what could it possibly do even if it were furious?

Fearing that the broken and unrepaired statue lacked the power to defeat Kaido despite its rage, the smile on Chu Yi’s face faded, replaced by a grave expression. He focused his mind on sensing the statue’s anger, hoping to find a way to overcome Kaido.

While Moria, Mihawk, and Jinbe were paralyzed by the soul-shaking dread of the unknown, Kaido was different. He was fearless. Or perhaps, the more terrified he became, the more aggressive he acted, using his overwhelming dominance to mask the awe stirring within his heart.

Because of this, just as Chu Yi was silently contemplating the statue's fury, hoping to use its mysterious power to avert disaster once more...

"Die!"

With a roar, Kaido’s iron fist struck out again. This time, it wasn't aimed at Chu Yi’s face, but his chest! If this blow landed, even if it didn't punch clean through, the resulting broken ribs—curving inward—would be enough to pierce his lungs or even his heart, causing either instant death or critical internal trauma.

There was no doubt why Kaido had switched his target; he desperately wanted to inflict a grievous wound on Chu Yi to alleviate the fear gnawing at his own soul.

Meanwhile, Chu Yi had gained no insight from the statue's fury. Distracted by his focus, he could only grit his teeth and crouch to evade the strike.

"Whoosh!"

He successfully ducked under the iron fist, but Chu Yi felt no relief. Crouching left him vulnerable; if Kaido attacked again, evading would become far more difficult.

*You can dodge the first day, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.*

That was Chu Yi's current predicament. Under the weight of Kaido’s suppression, even if he could scrape by for a few rounds, he would eventually falter without the strength to go toe-to-toe with him.

As he looked up at Kaido from his crouched position, realizing the statue offered no trump card despite its rage, he couldn't help but think bitterly:

"Kaido’s strikes are fast and heavy. If... if only that guy could lose his balance and fall to the ground!"

"That way... I’d have time to put some distance between us, and at the very least, I wouldn't have to trade blows directly; I could kite him for a few rounds!"

He chuckled self-deprecatingly at the thought. Kaido, losing his balance and falling? What a joke! Such a novice mistake was impossible for a peak powerhouse of the seas, or even anyone with a modicum of skill. He should stop dreaming and focus on dodging the next wave of attacks.

With that thought, Chu Yi took a deep breath, preparing to channel his remaining strength into a burst of "Flash Step" to escape the next iron fist.

But just as he prepared to execute the technique...

The impossible happened!

Kaido missed his punch, and seeing Chu Yi crouched down, the soul-deep tremor only fueled his savage grin. He raised his fist, preparing to hammer Chu Yi into the ground, but just as he adjusted his footing to strike...

His left foot tripped over his right!

"Boom!"

Kaido actually lost his balance, his massive body tilting and crashing toward the ground!

The sudden turn of events left Chu Yi stunned.

But he didn't freeze for even half a second. Realizing the danger of Kaido’s massive frame crushing him, he immediately used his prepared "Flash Step" to scramble away.

"What just happened?"

"Could Kaido... really make such a low-level mistake?"

Having successfully distanced himself, Chu Yi felt the situation was far too bizarre. It couldn't be a coincidence. At least, that's what he wanted to believe.

With a furrowed brow, he channeled his Observation Haki, searching for any sign of interference—whether Mihawk, Jinbe, or Moria had helped, or if some unknown ally was hiding nearby. But his Haki detected no one.

Only when his focus locked onto Kaido’s body did he see it...

"Whoosh!"

A pale purple light radiated from his Asura Eyes, enveloping Kaido! Judging by the expressions of Moria and the others, Chu Yi realized that this light was visible only to him.

Even more astonishingly, as the purple light washed over Kaido...

"Huh?"

Following the vision of his Asura Eyes, Chu Yi discovered a milky-white halo deep within Kaido’s body!

*What is that? Could it be... Kaido’s soul?*

He didn't know why, but he instinctively recognized that halo as Kaido’s soul. In that moment, as he realized the nature of the light, he finally grasped the trump card the Asura Statue had provided.

"So that’s it..."

"The ability the Asura Statue granted me this time is related to the soul, and its usage is crystallized within my Asura Eyes!"

"Kaido, it’s time to witness..."

"The power of my Soul Eyes!"