Z's Revenge (Part 1)

Xiao Shan's Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul was still unawakened, so her domain had plenty of room to grow. But simply having one was enough to prove that you were extraordinary.

"By the way, Xiao Huang, let's grill some meat," Xiao Shan said with a smile. She had killed several Soul Beasts today, and there was still a rabbit in her Storage Soul Tool.

"Whoa, what a huge rabbit. It's almost as tall as me," Chen Huang said, gesturing at it.

Although he had not met Xiao Wu yet, he had once wondered what her true form looked like. A Soft Bone Rabbit, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... Judging by the size of the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, this rabbit should not have been small either. If he had to guess, it might even have been bigger than a truck.

Since he did not have a Storage Soul Tool himself, Xiao Shan's Soul Tool contained things Chen Huang might need, such as a cotton candy machine, saltpeter, a food cart, all kinds of sugar, and various seasonings.

Chen Huang was highly skilled at dressing the rabbit. He found a large container for the organs and blood. Maybe he could use those things to make another good meal tomorrow. He did not like eating organs, but they could serve as bait. They would be perfect for setting traps in the deep mountains or fishing in the river. If he could catch meat, even better.

Most of the rabbit ended up in Chen Huang's stomach. He ate as much as he digested. He somehow stuffed a rabbit nearly as large as himself into his belly without it even swelling. The rabbit skin could probably be made into a decent piece of clothing.

They had only been given a short break. Once the two days were up, they had to return to school. Xiao Shan had come back because she needed to hunt for a Spirit Ring; otherwise, they would usually wait until the end of the school year for a four-month holiday. Damn, they had not opened the stall for two days—no, actually, including the day they returned, that made three days. They had lost several dozen Gold Soul Coins in earnings. Before leaving, Chen Huang had secretly left quite a bit of money at home.

Only after returning to campus did Chen Huang think of the Shadow Clone technique. Without hesitation, he found it and exchanged for it. Shadow Clone, 1,000 Points. The Mall had its own evaluation system. He had known that long ago. There was a reason Shadow Clone only cost 1,000 Points: it did not count as a physical clone. Or rather, it exploded at the slightest touch. A Wood Clone might be worth more.

He knew the advantages and disadvantages of Shadow Clones well. First, they were not suitable for going out with valuables. If a clone exploded, would the valuables not be lost too? So it would be great to have Shadow Clones read in the library. Or they could study the Six Powers. It would not matter if they exploded; they were only clones, so there was no need to feel bad.

In his previous life, someone had apparently claimed that Shadow Clones could extract Chakra on their own. What nonsense. A lump of Chakra extracting Chakra by itself? That was pure bullshit in broad daylight. Sage Energy could do that, though, because it did not come from one's own body, but was absorbed from the outside world. Once absorbed, it would return to the original body when the clone was dismissed.

Or he could use Shadow Clones to practice Observation Haki. That should not be a problem.

His Soul Power was limited. If a separated Shadow Clone did not use any Soul Power at all, it could probably last around half a day. But the premise was that creating such a Shadow Clone required all of his Soul Power. Still, he could finally free up more time to do other things and casually chat in the Chat Group during his spare time.

He was in no rush to finish the library's books. It would be enough if he could finish them within the next two years.

When he set up his stall each day, things went just as he had expected. Once Candied Hawthorn and cotton candy became familiar sights that everyone took for granted—

Chen Huang found a blackboard and set it up beside the stall. On it, he wrote the shop's menu, along with four large words: NEW ITEM AVAILABLE.

"Yo! Little boss, you've got another new item?" a customer asked in surprise.

"What do you think? Want one?" Chen Huang asked with a smile.

"Sure. Since I'm the first one, I'll have one. I'll be the first to try it. Let's see what good stuff you can come up with this time."

Chen Huang could tell from the man's clothes that he was not short on money. There were more and more customers like him. Once he had enough money, he really ought to buy a storefront.

Chen Huang took several large blocks of ice from the compartment beneath the food cart.

"Ice?"

Holding an ice-shaving knife, Chen Huang scraped a serving of shaved ice from one of the blocks. Then he drizzled a spoonful of fruit juice over it.

"Oh, I've heard of this. Isn't this iced slush? Shaved ice, right? I heard it's usually only sold in the Extreme North. It really is rare," the customer said with a smile. He took the cup of shaved ice and spoon, then ordered two skewers of Candied Hawthorn as well before cheerfully paying and leaving.

Watching him spend money so freely, Chen Huang almost thought he had set the price too low. But that was fine too. Countless little coins were waving at him.

Making money by the bucketful became part of his life, and he gradually got used to it. He could now earn around fifty Gold Soul Coins a day. Whether business was good or bad depended entirely on how hot the weather was. Fifty was the average.

The Chat Group was as peaceful as ever. Nice and peaceful. At least, it was in the group. In reality, Tsunade's side had never been peaceful, and neither was Zephyr's. But after his wife and child were murdered, Zephyr had already become chief instructor and no longer needed to hunt pirates. Now that his students had been killed by Whitebeard Jr. as well, he was in a state of having nothing to do.

It was not that he was idle, but rather because of the emotions in his heart. Again and again, he woke from nightmares, seeing the terrified looks in his students' eyes. He truly wanted revenge. His current state was not suitable for teaching students either, so much of his work was gradually handed over to his assistant.

He had previously asked Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru to keep an eye out for Whitebeard Jr., but several months had passed without a single scrap of news.

He clenched the fist on his severed arm tightly and muttered, "My strength seems to have mostly recovered. As long as I eat this Youth Returning Fruit, my strength can return to its peak, right?"

"Then let's do it." Zephyr did not hesitate. He swallowed the Youth Returning Fruit in one bite. Looking into the mirror, he could visibly see some wrinkles on his face fading away. His purple hair also seemed to become more lustrous.

"I've never felt better. Scum of the seas, just wait. I, Zephyr—no, Z—is here. Zephyr is already dead." Zephyr looked into the mirror as a tear ran down his face.

Whitebeard Jr. had killed his students. The ridiculous part was that when he first fought him, he had worried about killing him with one punch, so he had not used his full strength. He had probably used only thirty percent of it. In return, he lost an arm—and those lovely students.

Again and again, he asked himself whether his belief in not killing had been wrong all these years. Otherwise, why had he ended up like this? He had wanted to spare others' lives, yet they had wanted to kill his students.