Chapter Three: Becoming an Asura

“Damn it, I’ve been shot!”

“We finally escaped. Even if I die... I refuse to go back!”

The humiliation suffered under the Celestial Dragons flashed before him like scenes from a movie.

Half-kneeling on the ground, Tiger clenched his fist with one hand, carefully shielding Chu Yi behind him. He was clearly prepared to fight to the death against the pursuers.

But before his end...

There was still a lingering regret.

Drawing a deep breath, Tiger kept his eyes on their pursuers, but couldn’t help stealing a glance at Chu Yi from the corner of his eye. He thought to himself that his life had been saved by this little kid, yet he had no way to repay the favor. Now, he might even drag him down to die together—a guilty light shone in Tiger’s eyes.

Yet, just as Tiger was filled with remorse and regret...

Suddenly!

A powerful surge of murderous intent erupted from Chu Yi’s frail body, startling Tiger so much that his eyes went wide.

“Kid, you...”

“Tiger, relax.”

Chu Yi, now empowered by the mutated Human-Human Fruit, smiled confidently, his eyes brimming with assurance. He replied lightly, “Wasn’t escaping from the Celestial Dragons back then even more difficult than now? These pursuers are nothing. Are you, Tiger, afraid?”

“Afraid?”

Tiger snorted with pride. “I don’t even know how to spell ‘afraid’. But you...”

Recalling the terrifying killing intent from earlier, Tiger narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do you have the ability to protect yourself now?”

“I believe I do...”

Closing his eyes, Chu Yi savored the strange taste lingering in his mouth and the mysterious changes in his body. The shock of the mutated Human-Human Fruit’s power was surpassed only by his relief that he could finally face the pursuers alongside Tiger.

Truth be told, Chu Yi didn’t even understand the sudden blaze that surged within his chest and belly. The only explanation might be the obsession of the original “Chu Yi”.

Having endured so much hardship as a child, the original Chu Yi had saved Tiger from starvation with his own stash of food. But in his heart, the big man who stayed by his side, who helped him escape the Celestial Dragons, was just as important.

He saw Tiger as family—the only family he had left.

So, watching Tiger wounded, Chu Yi grew furious, and his rage drove him to act.

Fortunately, Chu Yi’s impulsiveness brought him no harm. Instead, it bestowed many advantages.

While Chu Yi quietly felt the changes in his body and the power granted by the mutated Human-Human Fruit, the pursuers closed in with rustling footsteps, surrounding Chu Yi and Tiger.

“Damn filthy fish-man, you dare escape! Today, I’ll show you the price of running away!”

A burly, one-eyed man, as imposing as Tiger, stepped forward, brandishing his blade at Chu Yi and Tiger. “The master ordered that the kid must be taken alive! As for the useless fish-man... humph! Ten million Berries bounty—whoever brings his head gets it!”

“Hahaha, that’s Captain York’s bounty, boys! Go get them!”

“I want to see if a fish-man’s blood is red—does a filthy fish-man deserve red blood?”

“Kill them!”

Hearing the Celestial Dragon’s henchmen insult fish-men, veins bulged on Tiger’s forehead. He crouched, taking up a martial stance, ready to teach them a lesson with Fish-Man Karate.

He thought he was quick—but someone was even quicker.

That someone was Chu Yi!

Hidden behind Tiger’s imposing frame, neither York nor the other pursuers noticed the changes in Chu Yi’s body.

Almost at the very moment the pursuers arrived, unnatural dark red patches appeared on Chu Yi’s pale skin. As the color spread, his body grew stronger, and in a few seconds, he transformed from an eight-year-old child into a muscular youth, his physique streamlined with muscle.

More uncanny was the change in his face!

His once spirited gaze turned cold and hollow, like a black hole. A purple mark appeared on his forehead, resembling a vertical pupil.

If someone from another world saw Chu Yi now, they would cry out in shock, for after activating the mutated Human-Human Fruit, Chu Yi’s transformation was akin to the Asura spoken of in Buddhist lore.

Indeed, Asura!

The moment he consumed the mutated Human-Human Fruit, Chu Yi understood its true nature.

Human-Human Fruit, Asura Form—that was the full name of the Devil Fruit Chu Yi had eaten!

Now transformed into Asura, using his fruit’s power for the first time, Chu Yi was astonished. He had thought the Asura form would simply enhance his strength, but when he activated the power, mysterious combat memories flooded his mind, as if they were woven into his blood.

He didn’t need to know what battle was. The life of an Asura was battle!

So, before Tiger could use Fish-Man Karate, before York and the other pursuers could react, Chu Yi adjusted his posture, bent his knees slightly, and with a swift leap, darted straight to York’s side!

“Hm? That kid?”

York gripped his blade in reverse, ready to strike. He was surprised the one charging was not Tiger, but the kid his master wanted captured alive.

But so what if it was a kid?

He had killed plenty of children.

A bloodthirsty grin curled his lips. He thought he’d play with the kid before dealing with the filthy fish-man.

York dropped his blade, calmly watching Chu Yi’s fist fly toward him, unmoved. He planned to catch Chu Yi’s fist as it struck his face and toy with him.

But just as York brimmed with confidence, Chu Yi accelerated again mid-charge!

Bang!

The air compressed into visible ripples. Chu Yi, in his sudden burst of speed, saw York’s astonished eyes, but his fist did not hesitate, slamming into York’s head and smashing it like a watermelon!

Bang...

Silence...

A deathly silence!

Apart from the sound of York’s headless corpse collapsing into the blood, even the battle-hardened Tiger stared blankly at Chu Yi’s back, unable to comprehend how the once powerless child had dispatched York with a single punch!

York—the pirate who served the Celestial Dragons, with a bounty over a hundred million!

York’s subordinates and the other pursuers never expected that after just one exchange, the troublesome fish-man hadn’t even acted, and their Captain York had already died at the hands of Chu Yi, the supposedly harmless child.

Yet Chu Yi, who had smashed York’s head with his own fist, felt no discomfort.

The Asura instinct within him had awakened!

A bloodthirsty urge fermented in his heart!

He shook the blood from his fist, his cold eyes falling first on the remaining pursuers, then he turned to Tiger and smiled:

“I remember that guy had a bounty over a hundred million? Is that all he's got?”

“Tiger, it looks like these pursuers... can’t do anything to us!”