Chapter Forty: Slaying the Heavens

Diamond-level awakening material! The highest grade of awakening material! Never in his wildest dreams did he expect his luck to be so extraordinary—just the second spin of the system’s reward lottery, and he drew the precious diamond-level awakening material.

At this moment, were it not for Hancock falling asleep once again in his arms, Chu Yi, his heart surging with emotion, would have been tempted to kiss the beauty nestled against him once more. But now…

He needed to see what this diamond-level awakening material actually was.

Suppressing his excitement, Chu Yi retrieved the diamond-level awakening material from the warehouse. Fixing his gaze upon it, he was stunned.

“Diamond-level awakening material… Multiple Shadow Clone material?”

“What on earth!”

As a fan of manga, Chu Yi was well aware of the Shadow Clone technique—it hailed from Naruto. Though its creator was the Second Hokage of the Leaf Village, Tobirama Senju, the technique was truly popularized by Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of the series.

By utilizing chakra, the power system within the world of Naruto, one could create a tangible clone—this was the basic use of the Shadow Clone technique. What elevated the Shadow Clone to the level of a divine skill, however, was its other ingenious application: accelerating training by leveraging the unique properties of the clones.

The principle behind accelerated training was simple—when a Shadow Clone dispelled, all the information it gained, such as intelligence and training experience, was fed back into the original body.

Of course, there were drawbacks to using Shadow Clones for accelerated training. When each clone vanished, any mental exhaustion or physical fatigue it suffered was also transferred to the original. Thus, even within Naruto, few could exploit the technique for rapid growth; Naruto himself was a special case, treating the clones as a kind of “cheat code.”

When Chu Yi realized his first diamond-level material was Multiple Shadow Clone material, he understood the reason for its exalted grade likely lay in the “cheat code” properties of the technique.

Yet…

Should he use this diamond-level material for his sixth awakening now?

Shaking his head vigorously, Chu Yi sighed deeply, temporarily abandoning the idea of a sixth awakening.

The reason was simple—Chu Yi felt his recent progress was almost too rapid, bordering on reckless. Though the Infinite Awakening System granted him dramatic leaps in power with each awakening, as he grew more familiar with the system, he began to notice that relying solely on awakenings to strengthen himself brought its own set of drawbacks.

A simple example illustrated the drawbacks of frequent awakenings within a short span: during subsequent awakenings, Chu Yi noticed the enhancement to his physical attributes diminished with each round.

Certainly, as long as the number of awakenings was sufficient, the slower gains in physical strength with each new awakening wouldn’t matter much. Yet, as Rayleigh had tried to teach him, relying solely on Devil Fruit abilities was an error.

Even if Chu Yi could exploit the system’s wonders to push the path of Devil Fruit users to its limits and forge a new road, he still wished for each awakening to be perfect, not just a means of growing stronger while neglecting his foundation.

With this in mind, despite his eagerness to use the diamond-level material for his sixth awakening, Chu Yi forced himself to quell his burning desire.

“Hancock’s Sweet Fruit material, and this diamond-level Multiple Shadow Clone material—let’s keep them as trump cards for now!”

“Anyway, with my current strength, I’m already fifty percent confident I can accomplish that task!”

At this thought, his eyes lit up like flames. Clenching his right fist tightly, Chu Yi began to plan his next move.

……

Three days later.

On the deck of the Red-Haired Pirates’ ship, Chu Yi, holding Hancock’s delicate hand, was bidding farewell to Rayleigh, Shanks, and the others.

Though Chu Yi’s interactions with Rayleigh and Shanks seemed brief, in just three days of conversation, all three—Chu Yi, Rayleigh, and Shanks—had come to regard each other as friends worthy of trust.

Some people, even after a lifetime together, scheme against each other in silence.

Others, like Chu Yi, Rayleigh, and Shanks, find a kindred spirit after only a short meeting.

For this reason, when Chu Yi announced his departure, Shanks was reluctant to see him go. It wasn’t because Chu Yi had bested him and he wanted to reclaim his honor; rather, Shanks felt that if Chu Yi left the protection of the Red-Haired Pirates now, he might encounter troubles difficult to resolve.

Yet, seeing Chu Yi’s resolve, Shanks didn’t press him to stay—he still needed to return to his homeland, accumulate his strength, and venture out once again onto the Grand Line.

At that moment, Chu Yi quietly thought…

Shanks, when you set out once more, you’ll surely earn the title of Emperor of the New World—the “Four Emperors.”

As for Rayleigh…

Well, during their farewell, he mentioned swimming back to Sabaody Archipelago to see how things fared, and whether the negative repercussions of the Celestial Dragons’ assassination continued to ferment.

It seemed that, after the disbandment of the Pirate King's crew, Rayleigh had made Sabaody Archipelago his home.

Knowing that, after accomplishing his next plan, he would likely return to Sabaody Archipelago and see Rayleigh again, Chu Yi felt little reluctance at Rayleigh’s departure. But as he watched Shanks prepare for his journey home, Chu Yi breathed deeply and said with a trace of regret, “Shanks, as we part today, who knows when we’ll meet again!”

“Hahaha, Brother Chu Yi, it might be hard for you to find me, but it’s easy for me to find you!”

With a grin, Shanks produced Chu Yi’s wanted poster, slung an arm around his shoulder, and laughed, “For someone like you, raising your bounty is just a matter of time! So, I’ll look forward to your bounty rising, and through the news in the papers, I’ll know what you’re up to!”

“But…”

Glancing with a dark expression at Tiger, who stood nearby and refused to interact with anyone, Shanks’ mouth twitched as he lowered his voice, “Brother Chu Yi, if you plan to form a pirate crew in the future, is that quiet guy your first mate?”

“Not at the moment!”

Chuckling, Chu Yi hugged Hancock’s slender waist tightly and said, “My first mate is right by my side! Hancock, will you be my first mate?”

“Of course!”

With a sweet smile, Hancock’s beauty stunned Shanks for several seconds, undoubtedly giving Chu Yi an added sense of accomplishment.

Seizing Shanks’ dazed moment, Chu Yi quickly waved farewell.

If he didn’t leave now, who knew how long they’d drag things out.

The Wings of Asura unfurled!

Whoosh!

As he waved, Chu Yi first soared skyward with Hancock in his arms, then used “Universal Pull” to draw Tiger and the captive Lucci into the air as well.

Shanks, only when Chu Yi was already flying away, remembered an important question he hadn’t asked. Hastily, before they had flown out of earshot, he shouted:

“Brother Chu Yi, you haven’t told me—what will your pirate crew be called?”

“A name?”

Chu Yi was stunned for a moment by Shanks’ question, then smiled faintly and called back loudly, “Shanks, when you hear of a pirate crew called ‘Sky Slayer,’ that will be mine!”

With that, wearing his smile, Chu Yi accelerated, carrying Hancock, Tiger, and the others out of sight.

Upon learning the name of Chu Yi’s future crew, Shanks smiled in satisfaction, turned to Jesus Burgess, Beckman, and the others, and said, “Sky Slayer… That’s quite the name!”

“Wait! Sky Slayer?”

Repeating the name several times, Shanks, Jesus Burgess, Beckman, and the others’ smiles suddenly froze, their eyes, once full of mirth, now brimming with shock.

Clearly, they had deciphered the true meaning behind the name “Sky Slayer.”

Sky Slayer! What does it mean?

The implication is clear—Sky Slayer refers to…

Slaying all the Celestial Dragons!