Chapter Thirty-Five: Returning Once More

"Lucci!"

"You... you..."

Enveloped by the eerie aura, Lucci felt his vision go dark. To his utter shock, the person who reappeared before his eyes was none other than Smoker, who remained a captive of the "Heaven-Slaying" Pirates. For a moment, Lucci was completely frozen, his mind a total blank.

Yet, if Lucci was shocked by his sudden, inexplicable return to Smoker's side, how could Smoker not be equally astonished to suddenly see Lucci materialize right in front of him?

For a full day, Smoker had been worrying about Lucci.

Because he knew that if Mihawk and Gecko Moria had set out to recapture Lucci, no matter how fast Lucci was, lacking a ship and unable to escape Dark Island, Mihawk and Moria would definitely find a way to drag him back!

It was only when Smoker saw that Mihawk and Moria showed not the slightest intention of pursuing Lucci that he gradually began to feel his worries were unnecessary.

Especially after realizing that Lucci had managed to evade them for a full day, finding a way to hide on Dark Island and dodge Mihawk and Moria's tracking, Smoker had grown quite hopeful that Lucci might actually escape.

Never in his wildest dreams...

Just as Smoker was beginning to think Lucci had a strong chance of getting away, Lucci's figure had reappeared before him out of thin air.

Had the strange phenomena of Dark Island brought Lucci back?

No!

Just as that thought of Dark Island's weirdness just crossed Lucci's mind...

Suddenly!

Behind Lucci, Smoker caught sight of a figure slowly materializing out of the shadows!

"It's... it's you!"

"Shura!"

The moment Smoker finished speaking...

"Whoosh!"

Hearing Smoker's voice, the gazes of Mihawk, Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, Gecko Moria, and the others instantly locked onto the space behind Lucci, spotting the figure they had longed to see for so long!

"Damn it, brat, you've finally come back!"

"Chu Yi, you really didn't disappoint us!"

Seeing Chu Yi's return, Mihawk, Tiger, and the others completely forgot about Lucci, whom Chu Yi had just dragged back. They quickly gathered around Chu Yi. Though they didn't say much, the excitement in their eyes was impossible to conceal.

Seeing so many people concerned about him, especially as he met the warm, caring gazes of Mihawk and Tiger, a faint smile slowly spread across Chu Yi's face as well.

However, when his gaze fell upon Lucci once more...

"Hmph!"

With a soft cold snort, the gentle smile on Chu Yi's face instantly transformed into a sneer.

"Lucci, go on and try running away from me again!"

"Just like I told you before, as long as I refuse to let you go, no matter to the ends of the earth you flee, I will... drag you back!"

"Shu... Shura..."

Trembling as he whispered Chu Yi's epithet, listening to Chu Yi's indifferent voice, Lucci's eyes not only reflected pure despair, but buried deep within them was another emotion...

Awe!

There was no doubt that the terrifying power Chu Yi had previously displayed was what had forged this deep sense of awe in Lucci's heart.

From this moment onward, it was safe to say that even if Lucci were to encounter an even better opportunity to escape in the future, he would never harbor the slightest thought of running away again.

Because Chu Yi's might had forcefully...

Smoothed away every last defiant edge left in Lucci's soul!

As Lucci trembled inwardly with awe under Chu Yi's calm gaze—unaware that Chu Yi didn't even need to use his eyes to perceive the terror raging in his heart—that sense of awe deepened just a fraction more.

That's right.

That was the might of the Human Path!

Despite an accidental mishap that had once again fractured the Shura Golem within the golem space, making Chu Yi's journey through the void fissures seem to have brought him back to square one.

Yet, during this trip into the void fissures, the fact that Chu Yi had recovered a portion of his Devil Fruit abilities while the Shura Golem was still damaged was proof enough that his gains were immense.

Furthermore...

Chu Yi's harvests from the void fissure journey were far more than just that!

Take his ability to instantly capture Lucci just now—that was one of the spoils from this expedition.

It was the power unlocked by his ninth awakening!

An ability obtained by completing a special awakening trial!

And that was...

The profound mysteries of space and time!

It was precisely by mastering the mysteries of space and time that, upon returning to the real world and locking onto Lucci's aura, Chu Yi had been able to instantly materialize before him and subdue him. Then, after using Observation Haki to lock onto the auras of Mihawk and the others, Chu Yi had relied once again on his mastery of space-time to instantly transport the captured Lucci right back to their presence!

Thus, it was only because he had mastered the mysteries of space and time that Chu Yi could declare with absolute certainty that no matter where Lucci fled, he could bring him back.

Of course.

Using his newly mastered space-time abilities to perform teleportation-like dimensional travel was not without its cost.

To begin with, the energy consumed by each jump was massive, nearly rivaling the expenditure of using the ultimate power of "Shinra Tensei" a few times over.

Even worse, the physical toll inflicted by spatial travel was what Chu Yi found hardest to accept.

Within three successive uses of space-time travel, Chu Yi might barely feel any backlash.

Yet the moment he exceeded three consecutive jumps...

Even Chu Yi's tremendously enhanced physique from his ninth awakening would begin to experience a faint, tearing sensation. Therefore, aside from testing it out right now in front of Lucci, Chu Yi realized that spatial travel could only be treated as a trump card for the time being.

Aside from the space-time mysteries comprehension granted by his ninth awakening, Chu Yi's soul energy had also grown significantly during his time in the void fissures.

And thanks to this enhancement in soul energy, Chu Yi discovered that the power of his Human Path had grown stronger.

Right now, for instance, without even needing to activate the Shura Eyes, he could faintly sense Lucci's innermost thoughts using the Human Path's power alone. This was undoubtedly a massive boost granted to the Human Path by his heightened soul energy!

"If the proficiency I've now attained in the Human Path is combined with Observation Haki..."

"The two will definitely produce a chemical reaction, making my future sensory perception even more terrifying!"

Carefully contemplating the changes brought to the Human Path by his increased soul energy, Chu Yi silently mused that the combination of the Human Path and Observation Haki would undoubtedly forge an even greater sensory ability. The smile at the corner of his mouth grew all the more radiant.

Yet, just as Chu Yi was reveling in the joy of returning to the real world, reuniting with Mihawk, Tiger, and the others, and sensing his own steady progress, little did he expect that this reunion would be short-lived.

Because shortly after Chu Yi returned to reality—having completely broken Lucci's will and discussed the void fissure events in detail with Mihawk and Tiger—Gecko Moria, who had previously been quite excited, suddenly fell silent. Then, wearing a forced smile, Moria turned to Chu Yi and said:

"Chu Yi, now that you're back, I can finally leave with a peace of mind."

"To be honest, this trip to Dark Island has made me realize just how many shortcomings I still have, so..."

"I've decided that once I leave Dark Island, I'll sail back to the beginning of the Grand Line and start my adventures all over again!"