Chapter 45: Ghostly Shadow Step

Devil Fruits are unique.
Taking Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit as an example, while Whitebeard held the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, a second Tremor-Tremor Fruit could not possibly appear in the world of pirates. Only when Whitebeard, the current possessor, died would the Tremor-Tremor Fruit reappear in the pirate world, and even then, only a single one would emerge anew.
Similarly, an ability user who had consumed one Devil Fruit was incapable of consuming a second one to acquire a secondary fruit power.
According to the original lore of the pirate world, if an ability user were to consume a second Devil Fruit, the moment they ate it, the user would detonate and die.
However...
In the original story, Chu Yi had never witnessed any ability user perish from consuming a second Devil Fruit.
Chu Yi had only ever witnessed a single individual simultaneously wielding two fruit abilities!
That person was...
Blackbeard!
Originally named Marshall D. Teach, he had once been a veteran-tier figure of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even before acquiring any fruit ability, he possessed formidable strength, at the absolute minimum on par with a Vice-Admiral!
Although whenever Blackbeard appeared in the original pirate saga and encountered formidable foes, he would invariably be struck down instantly at first, collapsing to the ground to wail in agony for a while. Yet, any observant person would notice that almost every time after wailing, Blackbeard managed to conquer the mighty enemy before him. If this alone were not enough to demonstrate Blackbeard's strength prior to obtaining his fruit ability, there was another fact that clearly illustrated just how powerful he truly was beforehand.
Because the scar across the left eye of "Red-Haired" Shanks—one of the future Four Emperors—was inflicted by Blackbeard himself!
And this formidable Blackbeard was undoubtedly a villainous character in the original tale.
First, he lusted after the power of the Darkness-Darkness Fruit, murdering a comrade within the Whitebeard Pirates. Later, he handed over Portgas D. Ace—the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the older brother of the original protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy—to the Marines, thereby securing the position of a Warlord of the Sea.
Then, when the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates triggered the "Summit War" on account of Portgas D. Ace...
The very instant Whitebeard breathed his last, Blackbeard commenced his world-shaking performance!
And that was none other than...
As the wielder of the Darkness-Darkness Fruit, Blackbeard used some unknown method to strip away Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability, becoming the very first person in the history of the pirate world to possess two fruit abilities!
Precisely because Blackbeard was the sole individual in the original saga capable of harboring two fruit abilities, when Chu Yi clearly sensed with his Observation Haki that the black-robed man before him possessed the lingering presence of two separate Devil Fruits, Chu Yi was struck with astonished realization that this black-robed man was of the same ilk as Blackbeard from the original story!
After all, based on the clues provided by the original lore, there was only one detail hinting that Blackbeard's ability to wield two fruits was not a mere coincidence.
It were the words spoken by Whitebeard before his death—though extremely brief, they merely noted that Blackbeard's physical constitution was different from ordinary people.
Seen in this light, could the black-robed man before Chu Yi similarly possess a physique different from ordinary people, just like Blackbeard?
If that were truly the case...
Then the value of this black-robed man would likely become utterly incalculable!
"Interesting. First an island saturated with the aura of Devil Fruits, and now these mysterious black-robed men who not only comprehend the profound mysteries of space, but can also master two or even more fruit abilities, acting just like Blackbeard!"
"No wonder Luffy in the original story loved adventures so much. Adventures turn out to be such fascinating things!"
"Since that's the case..."
"I'll capture you mysterious fellows alive first, and then find a way to snatch a few renowned scientists from the pirate world to thoroughly study your physiques!"
At this thought, Chu Yi smiled faintly.
Immediately afterward...
"Clank!"
The Diamond Fruit ability was activated!
Gleaming, brilliant diamonds instantly formed a suit of armor that enveloped Chu Yi's entire body.
Aside from his eyes, Chu Yi was entirely wrapped within the diamond armor without a single flaw. Then, when the steel needles condensed from the black-robed man's fruit ability came hurtling toward him, accompanied by a continuous chiming of crisp metallic sounds, the densely packed rain of flying steel needles not only failed to breach the defense of Chu Yi's diamond armor, but could not even leave a single scratch upon it!
"The Diamond Fruit, broken and then rebuilt!"
"Right now, my Diamond Fruit ability is probably..."
"On par with 'Diamond' Jozu!"
Recalling the evolution of his Diamond Fruit, Chu Yi could not help but think of the current Marine Admiral, Zephyr!
That guy...
Was truly terrifying!
If Whitebared hadn't rescued me in time, I probably would have died right there in front of Zephyr!
Still, this is for the best. With you around, Zephyr, I have a goal!
I, Chu Yi, will definitely defeat you before you fall from grace, even if I lose the use of my fruit abilities, even without the assistance of the System...
I will still defeat you!
"Boom!"
The moment Zephyr's phantom flashed through Chu Yi's mind, a towering surge of killing intent erupted from his body!
That terrifying killing intent formed a tangible red aura around Chu Yi, and as the killing intent diffused, it actually materialized the shadow of an Asura demon statue in mid-air!
The Asura demon statue manifested!
"Boom!"
The black-robed man standing before Chu Yi felt as though his head had been heavily struck by a hammer, involuntarily plunging into a state of dizziness.
Stunned by sudden vertigo, the black-robed man naturally could not maintain his fruit ability. After all, even for Chu Yi to use his fruit abilities, he needed to remain in a completely clear-headed state.
With the black-robed man trapped in a state of dizziness, his fruit ability was effectively neutralized without a fight.
The steel needles filling the sky vanished, and countless afterimages disappeared...
In an instant, the true body of the black-robed man was directly exposed to Chu Yi's sight. The moment Chu Yi realized the black-robed man's physical body was right before him...
"Whoosh!"
He lunged forward!
Without employing the "Gale Step," Chu Yi simply lowered his body, unleashing the abnormal physical fitness brought forth by his ninth awakening. Dragging a long trail of afterimages behind him, he closed the distance to the black-robed man in the blink of an eye.
Yet, right amidst Chu Yi's charge, as he drew closer and closer to the black-robed man...
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, the advancing Chu Yi furrowed his brows slightly, and the moment he frowned, another "whoosh" rang out!
The next second!
Accompanied by this secondary sound, Chu Yi's figure actually vanished directly from before the black-robed man!
The sensation it imparted was precisely like the spatial mysteries previously employed jointly by the two black-robed men. At this moment, Chu Yi mirrored their actions, his figure abruptly disappearing amidst the invocation of spatial principles.
Yet Chu Yi possessed one crucial distinction from those two black-robed men...
Approximately two seconds after his figure completely vanished!
"Swish!"
Two seconds later, Chu Yi's silhouette abruptly materialized directly behind the black-robed man!
Maintaining his forward-charging posture, he gripped the crimson Blade of Asura within his palm.
Then, another two seconds passed...
"Thud!"
Instantly, the black-robed man now standing behind Chu Yi inexplicably split into two halves, losing all traces of life as he crashed onto the ground.
Conversely, as Chu Yi listened to the sound of the black-robed man hitting the ground, the smile curling the corners of his lips naturally grew even richer and deeper!
"Swift as a phantom, leaving no trace behind!"
"The new profound technique of the 'Gale Style' that I inadvertently comprehended shall be called..."
"Phantom Shadow Step!"