Chapter Forty-One: The Red Soil Continent

“Tiger, are you sure this is the right direction?”

“Kid, do you doubt the great adventurer, Fisher Tiger?”

“But… I’ve been flying you all around for an entire day!”

“That’s because you insisted on training while traveling! If you’d focused on flying, we’d have arrived ages ago!”

“All right, I’ll go as fast as I can…”

He bit his lip hard, forcing himself to stay awake. Listening to Tiger’s complaints, Chu Yi didn’t hesitate for a moment and immediately picked up his pace.

Little did he know, though Tiger’s words were full of grumbling, deep down he truly admired Chu Yi’s perseverance—the sheer willpower he displayed to persist through such harsh training.

Indeed.

Not long after Chu Yi said his farewells to Shanks and the others and hurried away, he and his companions landed briefly on an uninhabited island. It was there that Chu Yi changed their method of traveling to their next destination.

Now, Hancock, Tiger, and the captured Lucci were all floating forward, enveloped within Chu Yi’s “anti-gravity field.” Only Chu Yi himself, rather than simply gliding with the Asura Wings, advanced by stepping rhythmically atop the sea, using the force from his feet to manipulate the surrounding airflow, generating enough counterforce to keep him moving half a meter above the water’s surface.

The first time Lucci realized Chu Yi was traveling in such a peculiar way, he was utterly shaken.

Wasn’t this method precisely the prototype for “Moonwalk,” one of the Navy’s Six Powers techniques?

It was clear—the only reason Chu Yi understood the principles behind “Moonwalk” was because he’d learned “Shave,” another of the Six Powers, from Lucci.

In truth, when the Navy developed “Moonwalk,” they too used “Shave” as the foundation, just as Chu Yi had. But don’t forget, the Navy had teams of scientists repeatedly theorizing, and the marines participating in the development and experiments numbered in the thousands, even tens of thousands. After long efforts, “Shave” was finally upgraded into “Moonwalk.”

And Chu Yi?

Even counting the time he’d spent mastering “Shave,” it couldn’t have been more than just over a month. In that brief period, he’d first mastered “Shave,” then grasped the principles of “Moonwalk,” and now, even while traveling, he was training to perfect it—bringing his mastery to new heights.

Lucci, who had already realized Chu Yi’s monstrous talent back when he destroyed the Buster Call, was once again witnessing a miracle. Especially as Chu Yi’s “Moonwalk” grew ever more refined and flawless through relentless training, Lucci’s sense of shock became overwhelming, leaving him silent and speechless for the entire journey.

Tiger, on the other hand, didn’t know just how difficult it was for Chu Yi to progress from understanding “Moonwalk” to mastering it. He only knew that Chu Yi’s training methods were nothing short of suicidal.

Chu Yi was a Devil Fruit user. Training “Moonwalk” above the open sea, even a moment’s distraction, a single failed step, would send him plunging into the water—certain death.

Was this training? It was practically a leap of faith with his life on the line!

Even more terrifying, he actually succeeded. How could Tiger not be impressed?

Yet, Tiger was not a man of many words, so he kept his admiration to himself, unwilling to let Chu Yi know. Watching Chu Yi, drenched in sweat and pushing himself to the limit, Tiger, who had just been complaining about their slow progress, found a faint smile appearing on his face.

“Kid, seeing you train so hard… it really makes you seem all the more reliable.”

He sighed silently, and as he gazed forward with his keen eyes, the destination finally appeared on the horizon. Tiger’s smile faded, and he said quietly, “Kid, do you see that mountain-like thing up ahead? That’s where we’re headed.”

“At last… we’re finally here?” Chu Yi forced a weary smile. After traveling for a full day using “Moonwalk,” his body had already reached its limit during his previous conversation with Tiger.

But now, hearing that their destination was just ahead, the joy in Chu Yi’s heart erased all exhaustion, and in that moment, he sensed himself breaking through an invisible barrier.

His old strength faded, replaced by new power surging from within—precisely the result Chu Yi had sought from his training.

There was no doubt—with the Asura Wings, mastering “Moonwalk” was little more than a flourish, not something he desperately needed. What truly mattered was breaking his limits. Only by surpassing himself could he better master the power of his Visualization Fruit, improve his synchronization with his abilities, and lay a solid foundation for his next awakening.

Now, having achieved satisfying results, Chu Yi didn’t slacken. Instead, he pressed forward at an even greater speed toward their destination.

That destination’s name—

The Red Line.

In the world of pirates, the Red Line intersects the Grand Line, forming a ring-shaped continent. When pirates first set out from the Four Seas, their first sight of the Red Line is as they enter the Grand Line—the entrance known as Reverse Mountain is part of it. The last time they see the Red Line is at the Grand Line’s end.

To lay eyes on the Red Line three times is to stand at the very summit of the pirate world, to earn the title of Pirate King as Captain Roger once did.

But for Chu Yi and his companions, their destination was clearly not the section at Reverse Mountain, nor the one seen at the journey’s end.

The Red Line before them was at the very heart of the Grand Line—the entrance to the New World, and equally—

The location of the Holy Land, Mariejois.

“Climb up this continent to its summit, and that’s the seat of the World Government—the Holy Land, Mariejois!”

“There, atop Mariejois, reside the Five Elders, the supreme rulers of the world, and the headquarters of the World Government. More importantly, it’s home to the so-called Celestial Dragons, the world’s aristocracy. According to information from Hancock, her sisters are imprisoned here, waiting for us to rescue them!”

As they rapidly approached the crimson land ahead, Chu Yi’s heart surged with excitement at the thought of storming Mariejois with Tiger and Hancock—he felt no fear, only exhilaration. Just as he prepared to accelerate and land on the Red Line with his companions, a luxurious ship came into view below, catching Chu Yi’s eye.

“That emblem…”

“The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon!”

The ornate ship flew the emblem of the Soaring Dragon’s Hoof, marking it as belonging to the Celestial Dragons.

Back when Chu Yi had announced his crew’s name to Shanks, he’d made his goals clear.

Now, with a Celestial Dragon vessel before him, was there any need to hesitate?

Eradicating the Celestial Dragons was not just talk—it was a vow that demanded action.

Staring into the distance, Chu Yi spotted a masked, lecherous face aboard the ship. A cold smile curled at his lips as he abruptly halted in mid-air, his figure vanishing and reappearing in an instant right before that repulsive creature.

“God says… you are guilty!”