We All Arrived a Little Early

One Piece world, "Holy Land" Mary Geoise.

In a Dungeon so dark it never saw the light of day, Chu Yang listened to the wails coming from outside the cells, his heart exceptionally heavy.

Less than a month after crossing into this world, Chu Yang, now in the form of a teenager, had been trafficked to the Sabaody Archipelago and selected by the Celestial Dragons to become a slave.

Fuck, what rotten luck.

Other people got systems when they crossed over, eating well and living well. He was about to be branded with the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon."

At least he would be left with a local specialty.

The smell of scorched flesh in the air made Chu Yang extremely tense. Even though he had spent years struggling through society before crossing over, he still could not remain calm.

In the cell beside Chu Yang's were three girls around his age. Compared to him, they were much calmer, as though they had grown accustomed to it.

The three sisters had completely different hair colors.

The biggest girl had green hair, while the tall and slender one had brown hair.

The smallest girl had black hair, yet she carried the strongest presence, every bit the image of a bossy big sister.

"Kid, you're new here, right? Remember, if they take you out later, no matter what happens, you have to endure it. Don't scream recklessly, or if you anger those people, you'll end up terribly!"

Of the three girls, the relatively petite black-haired girl wore a grave expression as she warned Chu Yang. Chu Yang nodded, accepting her goodwill.

Only then did the girl's iceberg-like stern expression soften.

As the wailing outside gradually died down.

The originally eerie, terrifying atmosphere eased considerably, and the girls began chatting with Chu Yang.

"Kid, what's your name?"

"My name is Chu Yang. Could you please stop calling me kid? You don't look that much older than me!"

"Chu Yang? What a strange name. It's so awkward to say. My name is Boa Hancock. You can call me Big Sister Hancock, kid!"

Hancock deliberately emphasized "kid" again, seemingly trying to annoy Chu Yang, but he had no mind to argue with her over it.

Hancock?! The Pirate Empress?

Looking at the young Empress, still a slave in Mary Geoise, Chu Yang understood the point in time he had arrived in. It was at least around thirteen years before the story officially began. As for the exact year, that depended on when the "hero" Fisher Tiger would carry out the Burning of the Holy Land.

Given Mary Geoise's defenses, escaping from here would be harder than ascending to heaven.

At that thought, Chu Yang's expression could not help turning ugly.

The feeling of being at someone else's mercy, of placing his entire life in another person's hands, was truly unbearable.

Just as Chu Yang was about to pry more information from Hancock, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar.

The jailers!

They were going to brand Chu Yang with the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon."

Hancock's expression changed as well, and she hurriedly reminded him again, "Chu Yang, you must hold on."

Chu Yang forced a strained smile onto his pale face.

With a bang, the cell door was kicked open, and a tall, muscular man stepped out of the darkness.

The man wore a black uniform from head to toe, with his head covered by a black hood. He looked exactly like an executioner from ancient Western times.

Chu Yang took a deep breath, doing his utmost not to reveal any fear.

Without a word, the jailer grabbed Chu Yang as though lifting a chick. After giving him a cold, appraising look, he took Chu Yang out of the cell.

Hancock stared fixedly at their departing backs. She did not want anything to happen to this boy who had just arrived.

Over the years, quite a few slaves had been tortured to death because of a jailer's "momentary whim."

Most of them had been ordinary humans like Chu Yang.

Other races were more valuable to the Celestial Dragons. If even one went missing, the jailers would face severe punishment.

Amid his terror, Chu Yang was hoisted up by a group of jailers. Beside him was a furnace spitting sparks, its interior holding a red-hot branding iron.

A jailer picked up the branding iron and approached him with a vicious expression.

Chu Yang stared fiercely at him like a wild beast at death's door. At that moment, all his fear was replaced by rage and hatred.

"I've seen that look in plenty of people. None of them ended well!" The jailer sneered as he raised the branding iron and viciously pressed the scorching metal against Chu Yang's chest.

The burn itself lasted only an instant. The agonizing pain that followed was beyond description.

As the jailer continued exerting force, the branding iron sank into Chu Yang's chest. The pain made Chu Yang's body arch taut as he trembled all over.

Willpower from nowhere kept Chu Yang from crying out. He continued staring at the jailer, and his eyes gradually turned blood-red.

That hysterical madness sent fear rising in the jailer's heart!

The branding iron slipped from his hand, and he instinctively staggered back several steps.

When he came back to his senses, he realized Chu Yang had already passed out.

"Heh, I thought he was tough. Turns out he fainted that easily!"

As the jailer mocked him, Chu Yang's soul arrived in a mysterious palace.

The palace was majestic and imposing, yet upon closer inspection, many parts were damaged and weathered. A sense of ancient history washed over him.

Deep within the palace stood numerous thrones, stretching as far as the eye could see... densely packed.

The vast majority of the thrones were incomplete.

Only the twelve thrones closest to Chu Yang were perfectly intact.

The two thrones at the very center glimmered with terrifying red light, like spreading blood.

A figure sat upon one of those thrones. That person seemed to see Chu Yang as well and hurriedly stood up.

Through the haze, they both saw each other's faces clearly. They froze, then their expressions changed drastically!

They looked exactly alike!

The moment the two lookalikes met each other's gaze, a peculiar feeling filled their bodies. An incomparable sense of closeness made them realize that they were the same person—both were Chu Yang!

Immediately afterward, a set of memories that did not belong to them surfaced in both their minds.

Clearly, those extra memories belonged to the other.

"I never expected another me to cross into a different world..."

"It seems our souls encountered some kind of accident during the crossing and split into many parts..."

"And this palace appears to be our shared soul space."

After sharing their memories, the two Chu Yangs began making simple deductions about the strange events that had happened to them.

Chu Yang from the One Piece world looked at the other Chu Yang in amazement. "I didn't expect you to end up in the Naruto world..."

Chu Yang from the Naruto world smiled bitterly. "It's just that the point in time I arrived at is terrible. I came many years too early, so for now, I've lost the advantage of knowing the plot."

Chu Yang from the One Piece world sighed as well. "Same here. I came thirteen years early and am now trapped in Mary Geoise as a slave."

"Then you've got it much worse than I do. At least I didn't end up as a slave." Hokage Chu Yang joked, "Though I came more than thirteen years early."

Pirate Chu Yang asked curiously, "So how many years early did you arrive?"

Although they had shared memories, it would clearly take more than a short while to sort through them completely.

Hokage Chu Yang instantly became melancholy and said as if on the verge of tears, "I don't know the exact time, but at this point, the Ninja Villages of every nation haven't even been established yet..."

Pirate Chu Yang immediately sucked in a cold breath and exclaimed, "Damn, it's actually the Warring States Era!"

Hokage Chu Yang said solemnly, "In the Naruto world, I have another name: Senju Yang."

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