Chapter Fifty-Nine: Reduced to Rubble

"Chu Yi, you're back!"
Catching sight of Chu Yi descending from the sky, Hancock felt that even their brief separation had seemed as long as several years. Seeing Chu Yi land gently, carrying the captured Smoker and Lucci, she let go of her sisters' hands, a sweet smile blooming on her face as she walked straight up to Chu Yi and gave him a big hug.

Meanwhile, seeing their elder sister take the initiative to embrace a...
Uh...
Boy?
Sanda and Mary stared in astonishment, mouths agape in utter disbelief. After their brief shock, curiosity overtook them, and they sized up Chu Yi, both wondering silently—was this boy the one their sister had feelings for?

After their short embrace, Chu Yi grinned and tossed Smoker and Lucci onto the ground without ceremony. Wrapping his arms around Hancock’s slender waist, he gave Tiger a thumbs up and said with a laugh, "Well done, Tiger. I imagine the number of slaves you've freed this time is considerable?"

"Hmph, of course," Tiger replied, a look of pride spreading over his face. "If even you, a kid, are willing to fight the Navy for their sake, how could I, the great adventurer Fisher Tiger, do any less? No exaggeration, from today onward, there are no more slaves in the Holy Land of Mariejois. They are... forever free!"

As he spoke, Tiger’s shining eyes dimmed slightly, recalling the moment he could not bring himself to kill the Celestial Dragons.
Why?
Why couldn’t he eliminate the very root that kept those yearning for freedom in chains?
Tiger! Compared to this kid, you’re still a step behind!
In the future...
You must have the resolve to eradicate this evil at its core!

With that thought, Tiger clenched his fists tightly, a gesture of his renewed determination.

Unaware of Tiger’s subtle change in expression, Chu Yi felt a strange sense of urgency rise within him, even as he felt proud that he had played a role in such a world-shaking event—especially when Tiger confirmed that he had freed far more slaves than in the original tale, several times more, in fact.

Indeed!
What he and Tiger had done was a humiliation the Navy, the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons themselves could never conceal. It was as if they had barged into Mariejois single-handedly, slaughtered hundreds of elite marines, and liberated all the Celestial Dragons' slaves. No attempt at a cover-up could hide such a thing; after all, there are no walls in the world that can block every breeze, are there?

To save face, surely the World Government and Celestial Dragons would retaliate. The next time Chu Yi and Tiger faced pursuit, it would hardly be ordinary marines—they would likely have to confront the likes of Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, Garp, or even the current Admiral Zephyr.

"I must grow stronger, and quickly!"
"This sixth awakening boosted my strength greatly, and with my breakthrough in swordsmanship, I’ve practically caught up to the very top tier of the seas."
"But even that is not enough to face the World Government and Celestial Dragons’ wrath!"
"At the very least... the very least, I need the power to fight two or more admirals at once, only then can I ensure the safety of Hancock and Tiger!"

With that realization, a confident smile returned to Chu Yi’s face. Clearly, whether with the system’s assistance or his own training plans, his power would soon ascend to a new level.

If the coming dangers could be overcome, why not embrace one more moment of madness while he still could?

The smile at the corner of his lips deepened as a wild idea echoed in Chu Yi’s mind. The next instant, he pressed his palms together and turned to Tiger, asking:

"Tiger, those slaves you freed—they’ve all left the Celestial Dragons’ quarters by now, haven’t they?"

"Of course," Tiger answered at once, but then something occurred to him, and his eyes widened in alarm. "Kid, you’re not about to—"

"Of course I am!" Chu Yi grinned at Tiger, brimming with confidence. "Did you think we’d have another chance to come to Mariejois? Don’t kid yourself! In this lifetime, this is likely our only chance to infiltrate the Holy Land. Since we’ll never return, shouldn’t we leave a memento for the Navy and Celestial Dragons, something they’ll never forget?"

As he spoke, the smile faded from Chu Yi’s face, replaced by a look of grave intent.

At that very moment, as Chu Yi’s expression grew serious...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Navy’s elite captains and commanders suddenly realized that the Chu Yi clones who had been fiercely fighting them only moments before had vanished in an instant!

Clearly, Chu Yi was gathering his strength, needing to restore his body to its peak, and so had withdrawn his shadow clones.

With all the power from the clones returned to his main body, the surging energy filled him once more. Chu Yi pressed his palms together and let out a deep, resonant shout:

"Farewell, Holy Land Mariejois!"

Boom!

His words had barely left his lips before a thunderous roar filled the air. Tiger, Hancock and her sisters, along with Smoker and Lucci, all witnessed an unforgettable sight.

As Chu Yi’s shout echoed through the Holy Land, an overwhelming gravity field enveloped the Celestial Dragons’ quarters. Under its crushing force, the grand buildings of Mariejois collapsed in succession, raising clouds of dust that swept through the city.

In mere moments, half of Mariejois was buried beneath a shroud of smoke and dust.

As the dust slowly settled and the devastated region came back into view, everyone present—including Tiger, Hancock and her sisters—was stunned to discover that the area was now nothing more than a flattened wasteland, razed to the ground by Chu Yi’s "gravity domain."

And then, as Chu Yi announced to the world once more the madness of the Asura, Tiger, Hancock, and the others stared at him in shock, while Smoker and Lucci, now prisoners, gazed at Chu Yi as if he were a madman.

They wanted to ask: Asura, have you lost your mind?

But the words stuck in their throats.

With half of Mariejois leveled, there was simply no point in asking.

Meanwhile, Chu Yi, feeling the mental exhaustion from his clones and the physical toll of battle and unleashing the gravity domain, found himself barely able to stand. He had no time to notice the shocked faces around him.

Only when his gaze fell upon Hancock’s sisters, who were looking at him with awe and astonishment, did Chu Yi manage a faint smile. He clapped his hands lightly and said with a laugh:

"I’ve put a perfect end to the battle of Mariejois. Now that the final stroke has been made, it’s time..."

"It’s time for us to leave!"

With that, Chu Yi unfurled his Asura wings, gathered Hancock into his arms, and used the gravity domain to lift Tiger, Smoker, Lucci, and the others into the sky. Their figures soon vanished from Mariejois.

And at that very moment, at the gates of Mariejois...

Boom!

Amid the deafening noise and the horrifying sight of half of Mariejois obliterated, Akainu, who had rushed back in haste, clenched his fists tight, his gaze locking onto the departing figures of Chu Yi and his companions in the sky.

"You..."

"You won’t escape!"