Over the next few days, Peach Blossom Spring entered a tense state of preparation for battle.
Relying on their agility and the keen perception granted by the power of Reshiram, which Zhao Yun was gradually growing familiar with, Chen Yu and Zhao Yun slipped into the outskirts of Bluestone Town and the area around the abandoned shipyard several times. They established the Water Ghost Gang's approximate numbers, routines, and the shipyard's basic layout. They discovered that the gang had roughly twenty to thirty core members who stayed at the shipyard, while the rest were mostly peripheral thugs. Their leader, Cui Gui, was usually at the shipyard in the afternoon.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei also made considerable progress in their training at home. Zhang Fei's control over Earth Power became more precise, allowing him to shake the ground slightly to disrupt an enemy's balance. Guan Yu could glide farther, and his punches carried sharper gusts. Liu Bei's life aura grew increasingly dense, and his healing over a small area improved noticeably. All three had increased their Awakening levels.
Chen Yu's power of Arceus was also growing slowly, extending both the range and duration of his control over plants.
That day, Chen Yu decided to act.
"The time has come," Chen Yu told his brothers. "From what we've observed, most of the Water Ghost Gang's core members take a nap every afternoon. That's when their defenses are weakest. We'll seize that opening and strike straight at their heart. Our target is to capture, kill, or severely injure their leader, Cui Gui! Without their leader, the Water Ghost Gang will fall into chaos!"
"Good!" Everyone's spirits soared.
Chen Yu laid out the plan in detail: Zhang Fei would launch a frontal assault to create chaos, Guan Yu would push in from the flank to locate Cui Gui, Zhao Yun would eliminate hidden sentries and provide support, and Liu Bei would support them from the rear. Chen Yu would use the surroundings to control the battlefield and assist them. "This battle will be the first to make our names known throughout the Flower Country! We must win. Failure is not an option!" Chen Yu held out his hand. "Victory!" Four palms stacked together heavily, their fighting spirit soaring!
That night, the moon was dark and the wind high-the perfect opportunity to act. Under cover of darkness, Chen Yu and the others quietly approached the perimeter of the abandoned shipyard. The air smelled of briny seawater and rotting wood. The shipyard covered a considerable area, with several dilapidated docks and warehouses. A few lights glimmered faintly within, and they could hear the night-watch thugs chatting and yawning.
Chen Yu gave a hand signal. Following the plan, Zhang Fei charged from hiding like a humanoid tyrannosaurus and kicked the crude wooden gate at the shipyard entrance clean off its hinges! Boom! The crash was especially piercing in the still night!
"We're under attack!" The shipyard instantly erupted into chaos.
"Water Ghost Gang scum! Your granddaddy Zhang Fei is here!" Zhang Fei roared as he charged into the crowd, fists swinging like a tiger among sheep. Anyone he touched was injured; anyone he struck went flying. In moments, he had sent the thugs in the front courtyard sprawling.
Amid the chaos, Guan Yu moved like a phantom. Using his control over air currents, he leaped silently onto a rooftop and searched keenly for Cui Gui. Zhao Yun was like a white streak of lightning in the darkness. With the speed and perception granted by Reshiram's power, he targeted sentries hiding in the shadows and preparing to launch sneak attacks. White blasts of air shot precisely from his fingertips, silently dispatching his enemies. Liu Bei stood in the shadows a little farther away, his hands glowing faintly, ready to provide healing and support to his brothers at any moment.
Chen Yu did not join the fighting directly. He focused, spreading the power of Arceus outward. The overgrown weeds and tough vines within the shipyard seemed to come alive, silently winding around the ankles of thugs trying to report the attack or strike from the side, causing them to fall or be easily dispatched.
"What's going on?! Who dares cause trouble in my Water Ghost Gang?!" A shrill, angry voice came from the largest dock. A tall, thin middle-aged man with sinister eyes and a short silk jacket stepped out. It was none other than the Water Ghost Gang's leader, "Poison Eel" Cui Gui!
At the sight of the chaotic courtyard, especially Zhang Fei fighting like a god of war, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, only to turn vicious a moment later. "You've got some skill! But coming here to provoke me? You're courting death!" Cui Gui's body suddenly began to change! His skin became slick and slimy, dark yellow markings appeared across it, and his mouth split open to reveal rows of fine, sharp teeth. His neck seemed to lengthen somewhat as well, and a foul, fishy stench emanated from his whole body!
Zoan-type Salamander Fruit-Eel Form! Cui Gui pushed off with both feet and shot toward Zhang Fei with astonishing speed, like a slippery loach. His fingernails grew long and sharp, gleaming dimly, clearly venomous!
"Bring it on!" Zhang Fei neither dodged nor retreated. With a roar, he met the attack head-on with a fist coated in Earth Power! Thud! Fist and claws collided with a dull impact. Zhang Fei felt as though he had punched slippery rubber. More than half his force was dispersed, while a cold sensation from his opponent's nails left his arm slightly numb.
"Poison?" Zhang Fei was startled, but the scorching aura of Groudon circulated within him, and the numbness vanished instantly. Cui Gui was even more surprised. This move rarely failed him, yet his opponent had merely paused? He twisted his body and slipped around to Zhang Fei's side as though he had no bones, his sharp claws driving straight toward his heart from behind!
Just then, a figure in green swept over like the wind! Guan Yu had arrived! Holding his fingers together like a blade, he sliced straight at Cui Gui's wrist with wind pressure that tore through the air! Cui Gui reacted swiftly, pulling back his hand and retreating, but the fierce wind blade had already slashed through his sleeve. He stared at Guan Yu in shock and anger. "Another one?"
Before he had finished speaking, a white figure descended from above-Zhao Yun had leaped off the roof-and a white blast of air shot from his fingertips toward Cui Gui's face! Its scorching aura made Cui Gui intensely uncomfortable! "Damn it!" Caught in a three-way attack, Cui Gui immediately felt the pressure multiply. Relying on his slippery movements and poisonous claws, he barely held on, narrowly escaping danger again and again.
Watching clearly from a distance, Chen Yu knew they had to end this quickly. Any delay might draw the town's garrison. He gathered all his concentration and fixed on the patch of ground beneath Cui Gui's feet!
Grow! Chen Yu shouted inwardly. In an instant, the weeds and moss beneath and around Cui Gui grew wildly, reaching like countless green tentacles to wrap tightly around his ankles! Although Cui Gui's slimy body made it difficult to bind him completely at first, they still severely restricted his movement!
"What the hell are these things?!" Cui Gui's expression changed in alarm, and his movements faltered. In a battle between skilled fighters, how could an opening go unpunished? Zhang Fei seized the chance and drove a fist toward his chest! Guan Yu chopped at his neck with a knife-hand strike! Zhao Yun thrust a finger straight toward his heart from behind!
There was no escape! Despair flashed in Cui Gui's eyes! Thump! Crack! Hiss! The three sounds rang out almost simultaneously! Cui Gui's chest caved in, his neck twisted, and the spot over his heart on his back was charred black! Eyes wide, he stared at the youths before him in disbelief, then collapsed limply to the ground, dead!
With their leader dead, the remaining Water Ghost Gang members broke completely. Some knelt and begged for mercy, while others fled in all directions, throwing everything into chaos. Chen Yu and the others did not slaughter them all. They confiscated their weapons and drove them away.
"The Water Ghost Gang is finished," Chen Yu said coldly, surveying the wrecked shipyard.
Through this battle, Chen Yu and his four brothers had not only resolved their crisis but wiped out the Water Ghost Gang that had plagued the area in a single stroke! Although news was being kept under wraps for the moment, it was foreseeable that once dawn came, the incident would shake all of Bluestone Town and might even spread throughout the Flower Country! In this way, the name of Peach Blossom Spring would quietly step onto the stage of history. And from this moment, Chen Yu's path toward supremacy had officially begun!
The night deepened. The smell of blood in the abandoned shipyard mingled with the briny sea breeze, telling of the brief but fierce battle that had just ended. The corpse of Cui Gui, leader of the Water Ghost Gang, lay on the ground, shock and unwillingness frozen on his face. The remaining gang members had long since scattered, leaving only wreckage and extinguished lights behind.
Chen Yu stood in the center of the shipyard and looked around. Although this had been the five brothers' first battle together, they had coordinated seamlessly, fully bringing each of their abilities into play. Zhang Fei's overwhelming frontal assault, Guan Yu's flanking advance, Zhao Yun's precise kills, Liu Bei's steady support, and his own control of the overall battlefield through the environment already formed the beginnings of an elite squad.
"Big Brother, we shouldn't stay here," Guan Yu said quietly, vigilantly sensing the movements around them. "We made quite a commotion just now. It may bring the garrison."
Chen Yu nodded, suppressing his excitement over their first victory, and calmly gave the order. "Be quick about it. Gather the spoils, especially money and any Devil Fruit Encyclopedia or intelligence that might be here, then withdraw immediately."
The five moved swiftly. Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun stood guard while Chen Yu, Guan Yu, and Liu Bei quickly searched the rooms occupied by several leaders. They found a considerable haul: a locked iron chest held a substantial amount of Beli and some gold and silver jewelry, clearly ill-gotten wealth taken through plunder or extortion. They also found a crude nautical chart and several secret letters exchanged with a certain tax official surnamed Zhou in town, conclusive evidence of collusion between officials and criminals.
"These letters might prove useful someday." Chen Yu carefully put them away. As for the money, it was precisely the resource they urgently needed for development.
After swiftly clearing the battlefield and making sure they had left no obvious traces pointing to Peach Blossom Spring, the five vanished like phantoms into the vast mountain forests under cover of darkness and returned to their secluded haven.
By the time they returned to Peach Blossom Spring, the horizon had begun to turn pale. Exhaustion from the fierce battle washed over them, but excitement and high spirits outweighed it.
Taking stock of their gains, they found that the Beli would be enough to purchase large quantities of everyday supplies and tools, and even some basic weapons. That Devil Fruit was an even more unexpected windfall. Most importantly, the battle had brought the understanding and trust between the five brothers to new heights.
[Liu Bei's favorability +3. Current favorability: 98 (reverence)] [Guan Yu's favorability +3. Current favorability: 98 (reverence)] [Zhang Fei's favorability +2. Current favorability: 97 (reverence)] (He felt he had not had enough of a fight.) [Zhao Yun's favorability +3. Current favorability: 100 (absolute loyalty)]
The increase in favorability was expected. Chen Yu looked at the system interface. He had now bestowed four templates, bringing him another step closer to awakening the next stage of Arceus's power.
Over the following days, Peach Blossom Spring entered a period of rapid development.
With funds available, Chen Yu sent Guan Yu or Zhao Yun, the most agile among them, in disguise to nearby towns with relatively lax oversight. Making purchases in batches, they bought shovels, axes, saws, cookware, salt, crop seeds, fabric, and even several decent hunting bows and a batch of arrows. Their base became more fully developed, and with the slight boost from Chen Yu's [Life Creation] ability, the crops on their newly reclaimed land grew gratifyingly well.
Training remained their highest priority. The battle at the shipyard had shown everyone the shortcomings of their own strength and the importance of coordination. Besides honing their individual abilities every day, Chen Yu intensified their teamwork training. How to better combine Zhang Fei's frontal charges, Guan Yu's mobile surprise attacks, Zhao Yun's precision strikes, Liu Bei's supportive healing, and his own control over the environment became the subject of their daily drills. Chen Yu also worked hard to learn combat techniques from Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, steadily improving his physical fitness and his use of Arceus's power.
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