Chapter Eighty-Four: Destruction Before Renewal

The "Tiger Tremor" technique, learned from the Asura Golem, truly proved to be formidable in power! With two consecutive strikes of "Tiger Tremor," the diamond armor of "Diamond" Joz was utterly shattered, leaving Joz, now sprawled at the bottom of the deep pit, in a state of unprecedented disarray.

Yet at this moment, Chu Yi's attention was not on the might of "Tiger Tremor," nor on the wounded Joz. Instead, his gaze fell upon... the diamonds scattered across the ground, remnants of the shattered armor!

Before crossing over, Chu Yi had heard a dark joke. The question: Who is the wealthiest person in the pirate world? The answer: "Diamond" Joz! With a casual donning of clothes and a mere activation of his Devil Fruit ability, he could transform cheap garments into priceless works of art made entirely of diamond.

Of course, Chu Yi, still unfamiliar with the intricacies of Joz's Devil Fruit, was unsure whether the diamond forms he created could be maintained permanently. But the diamonds scattered across the battlefield were undeniably real!

If he could seize this opportunity and sell all these diamonds to the system shop, he would surely make a fortune! And if he could capture Joz and use his Devil Fruit ability to manufacture diamonds endlessly and feed them into the system shop...

Why bother collecting awakening materials at all? He could simply buy them from the system shop!

This thought ignited a burning greed in Chu Yi's eyes as he looked at Joz, making him forget he already possessed the golden-grade material, the Diamond Fruit. He even forgot that after using the Diamond Fruit for his own awakening, he could manufacture diamonds himself for sale.

At this moment, Chu Yi knew only one thing: The more times he shattered Joz's diamond armor, the more he could clean up the battlefield and get rich once everyone had left!

But just as Chu Yi was lost in these fantasies...

With a deep breath, Joz slowly climbed out of the pit, once again standing tall before Chu Yi. He even managed to muster a faint smile on his battered, lacerated face, then turned towards Chu Yi and uttered a phrase that left Chu Yi utterly perplexed:

"Kid, thank you."

"If it weren't for you, I might have had to wait a long time to take the next step forward!"

As he spoke, the doubt that had lingered in Joz’s expression after his diamond armor was shattered by Chu Yi’s Asura Blade disappeared!

Under Chu Yi’s consecutive "Tiger Tremor" attacks, Joz, whose diamond armor was completely destroyed, managed to reshape his resolve, break through his limits, and grow even stronger in a matter of moments!

"Ah, how could Whitebeard ever allow anyone unworthy to serve as captain of his third division?"

"If I didn’t know that Luffy is the protagonist of this pirate tale, Joz, I might have mistaken you for the main character!"

Faced with greater adversity, Joz’s spirit not only failed to falter—it transcended itself, broke through the barriers in his heart, and became stronger, a matter that deeply shocked Chu Yi.

But what exactly had allowed Joz to rebuild his confidence? Chu Yi was eager to solve this mystery. As he narrowed his eyes, he sprang into action!

"Shave!"

Before Joz, Chu Yi held nothing back, displaying his peak strength after his rapid advancement in swordsmanship.

With a sudden burst, Chu Yi used "Shave" to close in on Joz. Without the defensive aid of his Diamond Fruit, Joz, who had always relied on his powers to confront enemies head-on, could not lock onto Chu Yi’s movements.

In fact, aside from Jinbei, Marco, and a few others adept in Observation Haki, Chu Yi’s "Shave" was beyond the visual grasp of anyone present.

With a single "Shave," Chu Yi left Joz riddled with vulnerabilities and swiftly appeared behind him. Taking advantage of the brief window as Joz searched for his attacker, Chu Yi quickly entered a state of "Focus."

When his mind was clear and devoid of distractions—

"Slash!"

The Asura Blade descended!

Chu Yi’s sword technique was the very one famed for shattering ships.

Its name—

Jade Breaker!

Moreover, to avoid any mishaps, Chu Yi did not rely solely on "Jade Breaker" to deal with Joz.

At that same moment, as Chu Yi poured his concentration into delivering "Jade Breaker," there was a sudden "bang" at his side!

A shadow clone appeared beside Chu Yi.

Of course, the clone was not meant for attack, but for support!

Once Chu Yi entered the state of "Focus," unleashing "Jade Breaker" was his limit. To simultaneously amplify it with the "Gravity Domain" would have been impossible for him alone.

This was where the brilliance of the shadow clone shone through.

It could substitute for Chu Yi, seamlessly accomplishing two tasks at once!

As Chu Yi’s main body slashed with "Jade Breaker," the clone, upon being created, rapidly expended its stamina to bestow a hundredfold "Gravity Domain" to support Chu Yi’s strike!

Earlier, "Wave Sever" combined with a two-hundredfold "Gravity Domain" had been enough to crack Joz’s diamond armor...

Now, "Jade Breaker" with a hundredfold gravity!

Joz!

Your diamond defense is about to collapse once more!

Brimming with confidence, Chu Yi’s Asura Blade became a streak of light, giving Joz not a moment to evade, and struck again at his diamond-coated shoulder.

But this time—

"Crack!"

Only a single "crack" was heard!

Under Joz’s confident gaze, Chu Yi, who had been so assured, saw his plan fall completely flat!

His "Jade Breaker," bolstered by a hundredfold "Gravity Domain," landed squarely on Joz’s diamond defense—yet it failed to leave even the slightest crack!

His once confident eyes now brimmed with disbelief.

Yet in that instant, Chu Yi’s thoughts did not stall; his mind, filled with incredulity, recalled Joz’s earlier enigmatic words and fell into contemplation.

"Could the method of cultivating the Diamond Fruit be..."

"Destruction for rebirth?"

A sudden epiphany—seeing Joz’s breakthrough, Chu Yi found himself drawn into the revelation, feeling as if he had grasped a crucial thread.

A thread that could make his own Devil Fruit powers stronger!

But just as Chu Yi was pondering the insights gained from Joz, a massive hand seized the Asura Blade resting on Joz’s shoulder. Joz bared his teeth in a ferocious smile!

"Kid, I thanked you earlier. Now..."

"It’s your turn to thank me!"