Chapter Fourteen: Platinum Materials

“Huff…”
“At last, it’s over!”
For the moment, he had no energy to listen to the system’s chimes. After a grueling battle with Hammock, even though Chu Yi emerged victorious in the end—and even made another breakthrough, further attuning himself to his fruit—he was left utterly drained. A man with the potential to become an admiral was no easy prey; if fortune had not favored Chu Yi, the one now lying in a pool of blood might well have been himself.

At this moment, not only was his body exhausted, but the wound on his chest, struck by Hammock’s serpent tail, throbbed with pain. Chu Yi could no longer maintain his Asura form; the dark red glow gradually faded from his body, and he barely managed to stand before returning to his ordinary state.

Once his true form returned, a wave of fatigue crashed down on him, and with a heavy thud, Chu Yi collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat, utterly spent. Thankfully, the Asura’s regenerative ability was formidable—the wound on his chest had already begun to scab, and he no longer feared the battle would end in mutual destruction.

Even so, recalling the recent fight left his heart pounding with lingering dread.

He rested for a long while, only regaining his composure when he saw the bloodied black hole in Hammock’s chest. The sight eased his mental exhaustion, and he felt a surge of secret relief at his other gain from the battle besides the awakening material—a breakthrough in Fishman Karate.

Under Tiger’s tutelage, Chu Yi had only learned the basics of Fishman Karate, specifically the training of the Tile Breaking Fist. As Tiger had explained, once one broke through the basics and reached a certain mastery, further refinement required not endless practice, but grasping the techniques of exerting force. Moves like Tiger’s own Tang Grass Tile Breaking Fist, Gun Wave, and Ocean Current Shoulder Throw, which even the future War Lord Jinbei would master, would then come naturally.

During the battle with Hammock, Chu Yi experienced just such a breakthrough in the art of exerting force.

What was Hammock’s weakness? Essentially, he had none. With the Black Tortoise “shell” defending him, he was armored in the world’s toughest defense. To confront him head-on required strength many times greater than his own—like Tiger’s. Tiger could simply combine Fishman Karate with Armament Haki to shatter the Black Tortoise shell with ease, stripping Hammock of his greatest advantage.

But Chu Yi did not possess Tiger’s strength, nor did he know how to use Armament Haki. Compared to Vice Admiral Sakazuki—the future Admiral Akainu—he was utterly outmatched. To shatter absolute defense and defeat Hammock by brute force was hopeless.

Yet every coin has two sides.

Hammock’s greatest strength proved also to be his weakness—a truth Chu Yi gradually discovered in battle. With his “shell” granting seemingly absolute protection, Hammock grew almost maniacally confident, neglecting the defense of his own body.

At that point, Chu Yi thought, “If only I knew Mountain-Crossing Strike!” A burst of power from the ten-thousand Tile Breaking Fist, seemingly landing on Hammock’s shell, would actually pass through and strike the unguarded flesh beneath—the very method to defeat him.

With this inspiration, Chu Yi boldly experimented during his subsequent five-fold burst. By the end of his ten-burst sequence, relying on his Asura’s extraordinary talent, he executed a perfect Mountain-Crossing ten-thousand Tile Breaking Fist. Though the “shell” showed only cracks, the clear imprint on Hammock’s chest told Chu Yi that his foe was finished.

Even if he’d managed this Mountain-Crossing Fist only by luck, his Asura’s remarkable gift enabled his body and muscles to remember the technique.

The reason he kept replaying the battle in his mind was to better memorize the use of that fist. Once he felt he’d mastered it, Chu Yi, still resting, grinned to himself and thought, “Since I created this Mountain-Crossing Tile Breaking Fist, I should be the one to name it!”

“As for the name…”

“I’ll call it the Tang Grass Quake Fist!”

Well, after spending so much time with Tiger, it seemed his naming sense had grown a bit peculiar. Perhaps he should spend more time with Hancock in the future and adopt names like ‘Perfume Kick’ or ‘Sweet Fist’ instead.

After reviewing the battle and consolidating his experience, Chu Yi, now mastering the Tang Grass Quake Fist, asked the system, “System, have you stored the awakening material I just obtained in the warehouse?”

“Host, the Platinum Awakening Material: Visualization Fruit Material, has been successfully stored in the warehouse. Please check it at your convenience.”

Oh?

A platinum awakening material? That’s fantastic!

But…

What on earth is a Visualization Fruit? Wasn’t it supposed to be the Divine Beast Black Tortoise Fruit?

System, are you messing with me?

Twitching at the corner of his eye, Chu Yi stared speechlessly at the second platinum material in his warehouse. He had no idea what a Visualization Fruit was.

While Chu Yi puzzled over his first high-level awakening material, a sudden “whoosh” sounded. He looked up to see Tiger, panting and breathless, suddenly appear before him.

“Kid, you… you’re actually alright?”

……

Time rewinds.

It was the beginning of Chu Yi’s battle with Hammock, when Chu Yi first unleashed his Asura form’s full power and struck with the ten-thousand Tile Breaking Fist.

Tiger gazed in astonishment toward the battlefield. He had always known both Chu Yi and Hancock were prodigies—one with freakish learning ability, the other a wielder of Conqueror’s Haki. Still, he never expected Chu Yi, with his monstrous training speed, could use the ten-thousand Tile Breaking Fist so soon!

Then again, considering Chu Yi’s fruit ability…

Well, it made sense to Tiger.

He consoled himself that Chu Yi must have drawn on his fruit power to push his limits, took a deep breath to calm his surprise, and continued coaching Hancock in her training.

But soon after…

“Bang!”

Chu Yi suddenly unleashed a double burst, and Tiger could no longer contain his shock.

“Damn it, did that kid take something? Is a double burst really his limit?”

“What the—! Triple burst, quadruple burst, quintuple burst! What is with this kid? After just half a month of Fishman Karate, he’s matched what took me three years!”

“Nani? Six bursts! Hancock, stop training—come with me to meet the gods!”

“Seven bursts, eight bursts, nine… sigh, I’m going numb!”

“Wait! Ten bursts! That kid… could he be in trouble?”

It took Chu Yi only a few minutes to take Tiger from shock to numbness. At this rate, if Chu Yi claimed tomorrow to be the Pirate King, Tiger would simply accept it in stride.

But when Chu Yi reached the ten-burst stage, Tiger snapped back to his senses and realized Chu Yi might be in danger. He swiftly hid Hancock in a safe place and dashed over at full speed—only to find Chu Yi’s fight already over.

He glanced at Hammock’s corpse, lying in a pool of blood, then at Chu Yi, whose only wound was a scabbed chest injury and who seemed merely exhausted.

Relieved, Tiger thought it was good for the brat to face some tough battles—it would help him grow. Feigning severity, Tiger eyed Hammock’s corpse in a navy uniform and said, “Kid, not bad. After just half a month’s training, you used your fruit ability to take down a navy major. That’s real progress!”

What? Navy major?

Damn, I thought he was a Rear Admiral! He was that hard to beat?

Learning that Hammock was a mere navy major, Chu Yi thought bitterly that it had taken all he had, even a breakthrough in the heat of battle, to defeat just a major. He couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected. “Oh, so he was just a major. I thought… I thought the Visualization Fruit user would be of admiral rank. Turns out beating a mere major took so much effort. Tiger, am I a failure?”

“As long as you understand that,” Tiger replied, smugly nodding. Internally, he chuckled—finally, the kid’s been humbled!

But as Tiger recalled Chu Yi’s words, and realized the dead navy major Hammock had been a Visualization Fruit user, his gaze toward Chu Yi turned blank with disbelief.

What? A Visualization Fruit user?

The very person Headquarters considered admiral level?

Hancock, get me a new pair of trousers…

That kid Chu Yi has scared me out of my wits!