Chapter Forty-Five: Racing Against Time
Three seconds? What an international joke!
Vice Admiral Mole is a Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, an expert in swordsmanship, proficient in the Six Styles of the Navy, and has mastered both Armament and Observation Haki to an extraordinary degree. If not for the towering presence of Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru blocking his path, Vice Admiral Mole might have advanced further, attaining the rank of Admiral and qualifying as one of the Navy's supreme combat forces.
Such a figure—claiming he could be defeated in three seconds—who would believe it?
Yet...
Lucchi’s gaze first revealed disbelief, but as he saw Chu Yi speak so calmly and casually, he remained silent, subconsciously accepting Chu Yi’s words as truth. Especially when their eyes met, without Chu Yi employing any techniques, Lucchi felt a chilling aura emanating from Chu Yi. His expression turned ashen, for in that instant, Lucchi realized that during his time as a prisoner, Chu Yi’s own presence had undergone a massive transformation!
The former Chu Yi was like a blade sheathed in a scabbard, whose sharpness could only be sensed when he transformed into Asura. But now, merely standing there, Chu Yi’s aura alone made Lucchi feel fear!
If one had to describe Chu Yi in a single word, it would be: his sharpness is fully exposed!
At the same time, as Chu Yi uttered those words, stirring Lucchi’s heart, Tiger quietly watched him, without a hint of doubt.
Why?
Because, using Observation Haki to sense, Tiger had personally witnessed how Chu Yi annihilated Vice Admiral Mole in a flash.
Three seconds...
Was three seconds even necessary?
Tiger quietly shook his head, denying Chu Yi’s earlier claim, and thought to himself:
“That Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, Mole, couldn’t even last a second against this kid! Foolish Navy, do you think our kid meant only Mole when he said three seconds? You’re wrong! What he meant was that in three seconds, he could wipe out every single Navy member here—including Mole!”
“The Navy Headquarters sent to protect that filthy Celestial Dragon!”
But...
As Tiger pondered this, a sudden realization struck him. Ignoring Lucchi’s ever-changing expression, he turned to Chu Yi and said, “Kid, is your captive from the Navy of no further use? If so, leave him here. With his strength, he won’t die. You were training while rushing here, and now you’ve fought the Navy, so your body must be exhausted. Leave the task of climbing the Red Line to me!”
As he spoke, Tiger patted his broad chest, as if afraid Chu Yi would refuse.
Chu Yi understood Tiger’s concern, and his heart warmed. Still, it felt wasteful to abandon Lucchi—a man of both potential and research value.
With this thought, Chu Yi gently shook his head, then smiled at Tiger and said, “Tiger, please give me a minute to rest. I’ll recover quickly!”
With that, Chu Yi beckoned Hancock over. Without needing many words, Hancock understood and came to him, embracing him in a comfortable posture, allowing Chu Yi to swiftly recover from the fatigue of battle.
And in just one minute, Chu Yi once again proved his word was law.
In that brief time, thanks to his terrifying regenerative abilities, the physical exhaustion from the journey and battle was fully restored, though his mental fatigue from arduous training still lingered.
Now, racing against time, their journey was about to begin!
“Tiger, to keep you at your peak, let me handle the task of getting everyone onto the Red Line!”
“Are you ready? Let those arrogant Celestial Dragons finally face the true judgment of ‘justice’!”
“I’ve been impatiently waiting for this!”
Clenching both fists, Tiger looked far into the heights above, a cold smile playing on his lips, thinking...
Yesterday’s humiliation—I, Fisher Tiger, will repay it a hundredfold today!
………………
Off the coast of the Red Line, aboard a hastily advancing armed Navy warship, Akainu’s angry roars echoed relentlessly.
“Hurry it up! Faster, I said!”
“Did you all skip breakfast? Or... did you not hear me telling you to move faster?”
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go faster; they simply couldn’t. Faced with Akainu’s rage, the Navy sailors dared not speak up, for arguing would lead to punishment—and if they truly angered the unpredictable Akainu, surviving even to be punished was uncertain.
Thus, under Akainu’s oppressive atmosphere, the warship, already at full speed, pushed itself harder, ignoring the risk of overexertion.
Finally...
Two minutes later, Akainu’s warship arrived in front of the Red Line.
From afar, he could see the ship of Saint Bolilia a few hundred meters ahead. Akainu, whose mood had been dark, finally felt some relief.
But as his warship drew closer, there was still no signal communication from Bolilia’s ship. Akainu narrowed his eyes, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
And so, in the next instant...
Boom!
Fiery magma erupted beneath Akainu’s feet. Using his Devil Fruit abilities to augment “Moonwalk,” Akainu’s figure instantly leapt from his warship onto Bolilia’s ship.
The moment Akainu landed, his pupils contracted sharply!
What did he see?
All around were glittering ice sculptures!
Had he not known Aokiji was still on Sabaody handling the aftermath there, Akainu might have thought Aokiji had suddenly appeared and attacked Bolilia’s ship!
And the further he moved onto the deck, the worse Akainu’s expression became.
“Damn Mole, when attacked, could you not stall for even a few minutes?”
“And his subordinates—useless! When attacked, why didn’t you use the Transponder Snail to call for help?”
“From the looks of things, the one who attacked Bolilia was probably Asura Chu Yi—the same one who fought with Kuzan and Borsalino. If it was him, then Bolilia…”
“There’s no chance he survived!”
With this thought, Akainu took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure, and began searching for Bolilia’s body. But when Akainu found the corpse and saw the words written in blood beside it, magma erupted skyward. Unable to control his emotions, Akainu punched the air in rage!
“In the name of the Slaughtering Heaven Pirate Crew? Declaring war on the Navy?”
“Asura Chu Yi! Today, I’ll see you dead!”