Escape from the Holy Land, Thoughts on the Future

The blaze Chu Yang had created with a large amount of flammable material far exceeded the fire from the original storyline. Now, all of Mary Geoise was engulfed in a sea of flames.

The situation was so dire that the Celestial Dragons could no longer spare any attention for pursuing Tiger.

Even Aokiji, who had just arrived, immediately joined the firefighting efforts.

Coupled with the slaves fleeing in every direction, the Holy Land's forces were stretched beyond their limits.

In the rooftop garden at the highest point of Pangea Castle, a solitary figure quietly watched the flames burning throughout the city.

As the true master of the Holy Land, Imu did not find this humiliating. Instead, an amused smile curled across her lips.

After obtaining the most supreme authority in the entire world, she had rarely encountered anything this interesting in her long life.

Especially over the past century, the boredom had made her lose interest in everything.

Today... this was rather entertaining.

Like an uninvolved spectator, Imu watched the situation develop with great interest.

As for how many slaves escaped or how much Beli was lost, she did not care in the slightest.

While Imu leisurely admired this magnificent "bonfire," Chu Yang and Tiger had already escaped the bounds of the Holy Land and reached the edge of the Red Line.

Chu Yang had not expected this fish-man to keep following him.

He had only helped because those Marines had happened to block his escape route. With no other choice at the time, Chu Yang had acted.

That previous attack had nearly drained all of Chu Yang's Chakra.

If not for the astonishing recovery granted by Wood Release, he would probably have passed out long ago.

Along the way, Tiger kept studying Chu Yang.

The ability Chu Yang had displayed earlier made Tiger suspect that he was a Devil Fruit User.

Tiger was curious what kind of ability it was, but he was not foolish enough to pry into it.

Their relationship was not close enough for them to exchange secrets.

When the two reached the cliff's edge, Chu Yang looked at the sheer mountain wall that plunged thousands of feet below, then at the raging waves at its base, and instinctively swallowed.

He was not afraid of heights.

But at such a terrifying altitude, even an ordinary person would have weak knees after one glance.

"I remember there being lift ships..." Chu Yang looked around. He remembered that special lift ships transported people to and from the Red Line.

"There are usually many soldiers guarding the lift ships, but they're all busy putting out fires in the city now. There should be no one guarding them. As long as we find a lift ship, we can leave Mary Geoise safely."

The moment Tiger heard that Chu Yang was looking for a lift ship, he immediately said, "I know where it is!"

Chu Yang looked at him in surprise. Wasn't this a fish-man slave who had just escaped from prison?

How did he know about that?

Seeing that Chu Yang seemed unconvinced, Tiger explained, "When I climbed up from below earlier, I saw the lift ships."

"I see..." Chu Yang nodded, then suddenly froze. "Wait, where did you climb up from?"

Tiger pointed to the bottomless abyss beside them.

Only then did Chu Yang finally realize who the fish-man before him was.

Over the years, there had been only one person capable of climbing to the Holy Land Mary Geoise with his bare hands: the hero who freed the slaves—Fisher Tiger.

After learning Tiger's identity, Chu Yang could not help looking him over again. Only then did he realize how familiar Tiger looked, especially with that bright red skin.

Tiger's scalp tingled beneath Chu Yang's intense stare, and he hurriedly said, "Little brother, don't worry. I definitely wasn't lying to you."

"I know." Chu Yang asked curiously, "Did you come up to set fires too?"

Having already been misunderstood once, Tiger could not bear such an accusation. He immediately explained, "I didn't set the fire. I only took the opportunity to rescue some slaves..."

As he spoke, Tiger felt that something was off. He asked in confusion, "Hm? Why did you say 'too'?"

Chu Yang's expression changed, and he quickly changed the subject. "There's no time to chat. If we stay any longer, the Marines will catch up. Hurry and take me to the lift ship."

"Ah, right, right." Tiger came to his senses and led Chu Yang along the cliff. After a while, the two successfully found the lift ship access point.

Just as Chu Yang had expected, very few soldiers guarded the entrance. Four of them stood there alone, and Tiger knocked them out one by one with a punch each. They had no ability to fight back.

Tiger could not help sighing. "The defenses here are so weak. It should be about the same elsewhere. I hope those innocent civilians can leave this hell and return home safely."

He really was a good man who cared about the whole world...

Chu Yang, who preferred looking out only for himself, genuinely admired Tiger.

There was not the slightest hint of mockery in that thought.

Under the cover of night, the two took a lift ship away from the Red Line and returned to the embrace of the sea.

There was a small town directly beneath Mary Geoise that served as the lift ships' landing point.

People traveling to and from the Red Line usually gathered in this town.

With no guards around, Chu Yang and Tiger's arrival did not alert anyone. As they walked through the quiet streets, Tiger suddenly asked, "Little brother, are you planning to go home?"

Home?

What home could a transmigrator possibly have?

Chu Yang gave a bitter smile. "My home is gone. I can't go back."

Tiger assumed that human traffickers had destroyed Chu Yang's family and felt deeply sympathetic toward him. He then asked, "Then where do you plan to go next?"

That's right, where should I go next?

Chu Yang fell into thought.

I need to find somewhere to learn some useful skills!

Whether it was Haki or Taijutsu, Chu Yang needed to learn something as soon as possible. Otherwise, the next time he met his other clones, he would waste another opportunity.

While getting things for free was satisfying, freeloading off himself had no meaning at all.

What should I learn?

In Chu Yang's eyes, the most valuable skill in the One Piece world was undoubtedly Haki.

There was no question about Haki's strength. In terms of enhancing combat power, it was in some ways even better than Devil Fruits.

Moreover, Haki did not have such obvious weaknesses as Devil Fruits.

But the problem was, where could he find someone to teach him Haki?

Although there were many powerful Haki users in the New World, with Chu Yang's current abilities, even with Wood Release protecting him, he would most likely only be walking into his own death.

Outside the New World, the only place Chu Yang could reach was the Amazon Lily Kingdom, where Hancock lived.

There was a ban on men there. Without a protagonist's plot armor, Chu Yang would die if he entered as well—at least for now.

Other than Haki, the next options were swordsmanship and Taijutsu.

At this stage, the only place where he could learn superior swordsmanship was the East Blue Shimotsuki Village Isshin Dojo—meaning he would become Zoro's fellow disciple.

For Chu Yang to return to the East Blue from the Grand Line by himself was simply unrealistic.

As for Taijutsu, there was not much that Chu Yang thought highly of. Aside from the Navy Six Styles, the overall level of Taijutsu in the One Piece world was inferior to that of the Naruto world.