"Why… even without cursed energy reinforcement, your body is still this tough?"
Sukuna's body gradually dissipated, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
"You're just a human…"
As Sukuna completely vanished, the Corridor of Deathmatch entered its settlement phase. Chu Yang's cursed energy surged like a breached dam, flooding his body.
Malevolent Shrine was etched into his soul, becoming part of his own technique.
"With my current level of cursed energy alone, I should be able to suppress Gojo Satoru now, right?"
Chu Yang grinned mischievously."Respected Senior Gojo… I really want a day where I can tie you up and beat you senseless."
His consciousness returned to his body.
Chu Yang opened his eyes. A crowd of cursed spirits surrounded him, every one of them staring with anticipation written all over their faces.
No one believed he would be the one to survive that battle of consciousness.
How could Ryomen Sukuna possibly lose?
Just like how sorcerers would never doubt Gojo Satoru.
"Domain Expansion!"
Chu Yang grabbed the nearest Jogo and dragged him straight into the Corridor of Deathmatch.
"Is Sukuna's temper really that bad?"
"Trying to kill people without a word?"
"We didn't even say anything, did we?!"
The cursed spirits were shocked and furious. Kenjaku frowned deeply, while Uraume looked utterly incredulous.
With Jogo dragged into the domain, Hanami became extremely agitated. It suddenly appeared in front of Uraume and reached for her shoulder.
Uraume repelled its hand with cursed energy. Kenjaku immediately stepped in front of her, stopping the conflict from escalating.
"This situation wasn't something we anticipated either…"
Kenjaku tried to explain to Hanami, but a terrible thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Could it be… that Sukuna's possession had failed?
Kenjaku turned to look at Uraume and saw her utterly shaken expression. His heart sank straight to the bottom.
He was almost certain now—Ryomen Sukuna's possession had failed.
"Let's wait a little longer. Maybe they'll come out soon."
Kenjaku said this with a stiff smile, already preparing to flee.
Hanami refused to listen. It activated its technique and attacked Chu Yang's domain from the outside.
From the outside, the Corridor of Deathmatch looked like a massive black sphere. No matter how fiercely Hanami attacked, it didn't budge in the slightest.
Uraume stood there in a daze. The moment Chu Yang opened his eyes, she had felt Sukuna's presence vanish completely.
She simply refused to accept it.
Everything had been prepared perfectly—so why did the Curse King from a thousand years ago still fail?
No matter how she thought about it, Uraume couldn't find an answer.
While Hanami and Dagon were frantically attacking the domain, Kenjaku quietly slipped out of the underground chamber. If he didn't leave now, he feared he'd end up buried here as well.
"A sorcerer who can devour the King of Curses…"
"How could the modern jujutsu world give birth to a monster like this?!"
"Heh… the next King of Curses is about to be born…"
Before leaving, Kenjaku took Prison Realm with him—the key tool for dealing with Gojo Satoru. He couldn't afford to let it fall into anyone else's hands.
Moments later—
The domain dissipated.
But only Chu Yang walked out.
Jogo was completely gone.
Hanami and Dagon stared at him in shock.
The man who was supposed to lead them in creating a new world had actually killed Jogo!
"I've already used up today's domain count. Killing you all right now would be such a waste."
Chu Yang hesitated, considering whether to kill Hanami and Dagon as well. Special-grade cursed spirits were rare, and each one could bring him significant returns.
Before he finished speaking, Hanami charged at him, repeating its old trick—planting large numbers of cursed buds into Chu Yang's body, trying to drain his cursed energy.
"Have you still not figured out what's going on?"
Chu Yang used Universal Pull, dragging Hanami into his grasp, then punched straight through its vital point—without the slightest fluctuation of cursed energy.
A faint mocking voice echoed by Hanami's ear.
"I can kill you easily even without cursed energy. Thanks for bringing me here."
So it was me who killed my companions.
I was the one who brought this calamity back…
Hanami was filled with regret, struggling desperately in Chu Yang's grasp, letting out meaningless whimpers.
Dagon was trembling.Uraume was trembling too.
The man before them was more terrifying than any cursed spirit—exactly like Sukuna from a thousand years ago.
Unable to withstand the pressure, Dagon turned and fled, abandoning any thought of avenging its companions.
Chu Yang smiled faintly and activated Sukuna's technique.
A single slash split Dagon in half.
"I was going to let you go, but your hands are already stained with too much innocent blood. You should die."
Cursed spirits were different from monsters. They were born from negative emotions, and most were destined to commit evil from the moment they came into existence.
Even a special existence like Rika Orimoto, without Yuta Okkotsu's restraint, would still attack ordinary people.
Chu Yang flung Hanami's lifeless body aside—it landed right at Uraume's feet.
Uraume had already collapsed to the ground, prostrating herself as she said reverently,"Welcome back, my lord."
Chu Yang smiled with amusement."I'm not Sukuna."
Uraume's body trembled violently."That was Sukuna-sama's technique just now. No one else could use it."
Chu Yang looked at her with pity for a long moment.
"If you are not Sukuna-sama… then please kill me with Sukuna-sama's technique."
Uraume's voice shook, her heart already dead.
Chu Yang granted her wish, reducing her to dust in an instant.
He opened the door. A gust of wind rushed in, echoing through the room with faint, mournful wails.
Stepping forward—
Familiar mist enveloped him.
When Chu Yang came back to his senses, he found himself standing inside the Soul Palace.
Versions of Chu Yang from other worlds appeared one after another.
"Huh? No newcomer this time?"
Magic Chu Yang looked around and counted the numbers.
"Then it must be like me—someone who took down a signature boss."
Demon Slayer Chu Yang grinned broadly.
"Alright, alright, we know you were the first among us!" Naruto Chu Yang said helplessly.
"I'm the one who killed Ryomen Sukuna."
Jujutsu Chu Yang wore the same grin as Demon Slayer Chu Yang, then slowly explained everything from start to finish.
The Soul Palace instantly became lively.
"Why Sukuna and not Gojo Satoru?"
"Who knows! But I think it's probably because of alignment—Gojo's on our side!"
"Forget that—look! Why are the thrones over there lighting up?!"
Everyone turned to look.
The first row of thrones—five in total—had suddenly lit up, with four of them glowing, nearly forming a complete line.
The thrones in the Soul Palace had always been lifeless unless an external intruder appeared.
Like Black Zetsu from the Naruto world at the beginning, or Ryomen Sukuna later on.
Black Zetsu had been swallowed directly by the palace.Sukuna hadn't even managed to enter—he could only stand outside and take a glance.
Now, those front-row thrones suddenly becoming active caught everyone completely off guard.
They all crowded over, carefully examining them.
"Which seats are lighting up?"
Pirate Chu Yang asked curiously.
"My seat lit up!"
Magic Chu Yang raised his hand.
"And mine too," Demon Slayer Chu Yang added.
"Then there's mine as well," Jujutsu Chu Yang said softly.
"All of you defeated a BOSS… then whose is the fourth one?"
Among all the clones, only those three had clearly taken down a BOSS. So where did the fourth come from?
After a brief silence, Wuxia Chu Yang hesitantly raised his hand."Uh… I think it might be mine?"
Everyone stared at him with question marks all over their faces.
"When did you ever defeat a BOSS?"
"Haven't you just been bullying kids over there the whole time?"
"And you spend every day riding around in a carriage sightseeing—at most you've collected some martial arts manuals."
They all started roasting Wuxia Chu Yang at once, their tone thick with jealousy.
Wuxia Chu Yang scratched his head. "Don't ask me! I'm confused too!"
Magic Chu Yang said darkly, "Don't tell me you killed so many people that you replaced the BOSS slot and became the BOSS yourself…"
Wuxia Chu Yang's eyes lit up. He nodded. "That actually sounds possible."
Magic Chu Yang smacked his lips. "I wasn't praising you."
In the wuxia world, there truly was no one stronger than Chu Yang. Judging by his do-whatever-I-want style, he did fit the archetype of a final boss.
As a result, Magic Chu Yang's theory gained everyone's approval.
"No matter what, it seems that once one more BOSS is defeated, the Soul Palace will undergo some kind of change," Shinigami Chu Yang said, then shook his head helplessly. "I definitely can't help with that."
The Bleach world currently had the highest combat ceiling—and the highest difficulty.
Whether the world-designated BOSS was Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Yhwach, or Aizen, none were opponents Shinigami Chu Yang could deal with.
The One Punch Man world was unclear. The BOSS might be Garou, or the legendary "God."
It might even be Saitama himself.
As for Marvel, it would most likely be the purple potato—but the Battle of New York hadn't been over for long. If Chu Yang wanted to meet him, he'd probably have to wait several more years.
Wind and Cloud was a brand-new world—no need to even discuss it.
After some deliberation, everyone's gaze settled on two worlds.
Naruto and One Piece.
The targets were very clear.
In Naruto: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, or the Ōtsutsuki clan.
In One Piece: Imu, the king of the Celestial Dragons, or the Celestial Dragons as a whole.
Naruto Chu Yang was currently busy using Yin–Yang Release to reconstruct the Ten-Tails' chakra, preparing to revive the Divine Tree and obtain its fruit.
If he wanted to kill Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, he would first have to release her from the seal—walking Black Zetsu's old path—and risk becoming an enemy of the entire shinobi world if anything went wrong.
With Naruto Chu Yang's current strength, fighting Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju alone wouldn't be a problem.
But those people were now his closest family and friends—no amount of money would make him turn on them.
So the Naruto world was temporarily passed over.
That left only the One Piece world.
As the first Chu Yang to awaken in another world, Pirate Chu Yang becoming the turning point that pushed the Soul Palace's evolution felt like destiny itself.
After chatting for a while, the mist returned, and everyone went back to their respective worlds.
Jujutsu World.
Chu Yang walked out of the hideout, casually searching the surroundings for traces of Kenjaku.
That guy had already vanished without a trace. His ability to sense danger and avoid it made even Chu Yang feel impressed.
With no other choice, Chu Yang returned to Jujutsu High first.
During the time Chu Yang had been gone, Gojo Satoru had completely turned the school upside down. Even Masamichi Yaga hadn't been able to stop the conflict between Gojo and the higher-ups.
Using Chu Yang as bait, Gojo followed the trail and caught a higher-up who had been in close contact with curse users.
In front of everyone, Gojo cut him down, turning the faces of the other higher-ups ashen.
In truth, Gojo knew there were more people involved. But if he kept killing like this, the entire jujutsu world would fall into chaos.
And the consequences would be paid for with the lives of countless ordinary people.
That was something Gojo refused to see.
In the end, the incident ended with a lot of thunder but very little rain—more a warning than anything else.
Gojo pulled back in time, yet received no gratitude from certain people.
Some of the higher-ups felt a tremendous sense of threat. They saw Gojo's actions as open provocation and decided to eliminate him at any cost.
After the conflict, the atmosphere at Jujutsu High became heavy and oppressive.
It wasn't until Chu Yang reappeared that the gloom hanging over the school was finally broken.
"Long time no see, everyone!"
Chu Yang yanked open the classroom door, stunning Yuji and the others who were in the middle of class.
"Senior… weren't you already—"
Yuji's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"I took a trip to the cursed spirits' lair. It was really interesting—special-grade cursed spirits everywhere."
With a wave of his hand, several boxes suddenly appeared on the desks.
"What's this? It smells cursed," Yuji said curiously.
He opened one of the boxes—only to find minced cursed spirit flesh neatly arranged inside.
Yuji's face instantly turned liver-purple. He turned and started vomiting.
"Is it really that bad?" Chu Yang asked.
Nobara Kugisaki leaned over. After just one glance, she joined Yuji, crouching in the corner and retching nonstop.
Megumi Fushiguro was smarter—he didn't even look. He decisively shut the box again.
Not long after, Maki Zenin, Toge Inumaki, and Panda appeared at the classroom door as well.
Taking advantage of everyone being present, Chu Yang explained how he'd been taken away by cursed spirits—carefully avoiding any mention of Sukuna.
"Senior Yang was deliberately taken by cursed spirits? That's way too dangerous!"
"But how did Senior know cursed spirits would appear? From the way you talk, it sounds like you planned it from the beginning…"
"Instead of asking how Senior knew, shouldn't we be asking how special-grade cursed spirits even showed up here? This is Jujutsu High—there's Lord Tengen's barrier!"
"We asked Gojo-sensei, but he didn't say anything."
"Could it be related to that recent incident?"
From Yuji and the others, Chu Yang then learned about the clash between Gojo Satoru and the higher-ups.
Just as Chu Yang was about to ask more questions, Gojo suddenly appeared, cutting off the discussion.
As usual, Gojo slung an arm around Chu Yang's neck and dragged him out of the classroom, smiling back at the students.
"Kids, I'm borrowing your Senior Yang for a bit. I'll return him later."
The moment they stepped out of the classroom—
Gojo's cursed energy came crashing down on Chu Yang like a mountain.
His voice turned icy.
"Should I call you Ryomen Sukuna?"
As a Six Eyes sorcerer, Gojo was extremely sensitive to the flow of cursed energy. Several strands of cursed spirit energy lingered on Chu Yang's body.
Among them, Sukuna's cursed energy was the most obvious—and the most vile.
If Gojo hadn't still been able to sense Chu Yang's own cursed energy, he would have attacked the moment they met instead of patiently asking.
In truth, Gojo had already guessed why the cursed spirits took Chu Yang away. That was why he'd been deeply worried that, during Chu Yang's disappearance, Sukuna might have successfully possessed him.
"Senior, that joke really isn't funny."
Chu Yang spread his hands.
"You'd better prove it," Gojo said, tightening his grip.
"If that's what you want, then you're about to suffer."
Chu Yang turned his head. His eyes transformed into Rinnegan.
Caught completely off guard, Gojo met his gaze—
And instantly fell into a genjutsu space.
A moment later.
Gojo Satoru's consciousness returned to reality. He casually wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with a pained tone, "Next time, let's just talk it out."
Chu Yang smiled and nodded. "That's exactly what I think too."
After being tortured yet again, Gojo confirmed that the person in front of him was still Chu Yang. Ryomen Sukuna's personality would never do something with this kind of malicious sense of humor.
"I didn't expect you to actually kill Sukuna. From the very beginning, I was already prepared to collect your corpse."
Recalling it now, Gojo couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Senior, could you please stop using such a calm expression to say something so annoying?"
Chu Yang kindly reminded him. "The current me might be able to pin you to the ground and rub you into the dirt, you know."
That immediately piqued Gojo's interest. "That's true. After eating Sukuna, you should finally be able to fight me, right?"
Chu Yang couldn't use his own Domain against Gojo, so the fight held no appeal for him at all. He was about to refuse—
"If you win, I can consider giving you half of my savings!"
Gojo spoke like a devil, his voice echoing endlessly in Chu Yang's mind, smashing his reason to pieces.
"Come on! Let's have a real one-on-one battle between men!"
Chu Yang was overjoyed, the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably.
Joking aside—
How rich was the head of the Gojo clan, Gojo Satoru?
Just skimming a little off his bank account would be enough for Chu Yang to eat and drink without worry for the rest of his life!
Who could possibly resist that?
Chu Yang asked, "How are we judging the winner? We can't exactly fight to the death, can we?"
Gojo thought for a moment. "How about comparing Domain strength? Whoever's Domain breaks first loses."
Chu Yang frowned. "Once my own Domain is deployed, someone has to die. Otherwise, it can't be lifted."
Gojo looked at him curiously. He had never really understood what Chu Yang's Domain did.
Chu Yang explained the effect of Deadly Duel Corridor.
Instead of losing interest, Gojo became even more intrigued and asked excitedly, "When you fought Sukuna, how many times stronger did he get?"
"Five times," Chu Yang replied.
Gojo took a deep breath and couldn't help laughing. Hearing that Chu Yang had defeated a five-times-enhanced Sukuna put him in an unprecedentedly good mood.
After waiting so many years, he had finally found a truly equal opponent!
Someone he could go all out against!
"Then use Sukuna's Domain to fight me."
"Come on! Let me see just how strong you are now!"
A moment later.
Chu Yang followed Gojo to a barrier-sealed area.
The defenses here were strong enough to withstand the backlash from colliding Domains.
Both of them unfolded their Domains at the same time.
On one side was an eerie shrine beneath a blood-red moon.
On the other was a dazzling, multicolored cosmic illusion.
Malevolent Shrine vs. Unlimited Void.
In Chu Yang's hands, Malevolent Shrine wasn't merely Sukuna's five-times-strength version.
The enormous shrine carried a crushing presence that overwhelmed Unlimited Void.
The collision of the two Domains made the entire Jujutsu High tremble, everyone scrambling to find the source of the disturbance.
Masamichi Yaga was the first to notice something wrong.
He locked onto the barrier containing the duel in the shortest possible time.
At first, he thought a special-grade cursed spirit was invading the school. But when he arrived, he discovered two colossal Domains colliding with each other.
"Yang! Gojo Satoru! What the hell are you two doing?!"
"This is Jujutsu High, you little brats!"
Yaga stood outside the barrier, shouting curses, already determined to give them a brutal lecture once they finished.
After venting his anger, the terrifying shockwaves from the Domain clash still made Yaga inwardly uneasy.
It felt like two real planets crashing into each other!
The commotion kept escalating!
In the end, everyone at Jujutsu High ran over to watch the duel.
Exclamations rose one after another.
A boy standing next to Yuji was so frightened that his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.
"Junpei, don't be so scared. There's a barrier blocking the cursed energy—it won't hurt us," Yuji said, pulling Yoshino Junpei back up.
"Yeah, I know," Junpei replied, staring at the battlefield with envy. "So this is what sorcerers are like? Strong to the point they don't even seem human."
Yuji scratched his head. "Not all sorcerers are like that. Senior Yang and Gojo-sensei are special."
"Oh right, you know Senior Yang, don't you? He's the one who eliminated Mahito not long ago."
"You could've met him, but Senior doesn't like doing cleanup work."
At the mention of Mahito, Junpei shuddered. After arriving at Jujutsu High, he finally realized how dangerous his situation back then had been.
If that cursed spirit hadn't been eliminated, his fate would've been just as miserable as the other victims'.
With that thought, Junpei's gaze toward Chu Yang changed. Ignoring the surprised looks around him, he shouted loudly:
"Senior Yang, you're the strongest! Don't lose!!!"
The moment he finished shouting, laughter erupted around him.
"Hahaha, is this kid a chuuni or what?"
"That age, it's understandable."
"If Senior Yang knew he had such a loyal fan, he'd probably be pretty moved, right?"
"No way! With Senior Yang's personality, he'd probably feel super embarrassed and might even beat this kid up afterward!"
"Hahaha, look! Senior Yang's expression changed!"
The tense atmosphere was shattered by Junpei's shout, and the price paid was Chu Yang's embarrassment reaching critical levels.
So much so that even his Domain began to destabilize.
Damn it!
Where did you come from?!
Son of a—!
Is this guy a black fan or what?!
Chu Yang cursed Yoshino Junpei for several thousand bytes in his head and shot him a vicious glare.
Junpei shrank back in fear.
"Don't be scared—that's Senior Yang acknowledging you!" Yuji encouraged him.
"You sure?" Junpei asked suspiciously.
"Of course. When I did missions with Senior, he looked at me like that too," Yuji said confidently.
Surrounded by countless spectators' gazes—
Chu Yang used his eyes to shut Junpei's cheering down.
Then he threw Yuji a murderous look as well.
Even with Yuji's thick nerves, he realized Chu Yang's current mood.
Yuji grabbed Junpei and quietly backed away.
"Don't be so mean. He's your little fan!" Gojo teased mockingly.
Chu Yang ignored him completely. This was about financial freedom—nothing could shake his resolve now!
Chu Yang began increasing his Domain's output, compressing Malevolent Shrine as much as possible.
Gojo's expression shifted as well, and he likewise shrank Unlimited Void.
In the end, two black holes the size of soccer balls collided with each other.
Yet the residual force was enough to affect the barrier.
Clear cracks appeared before everyone's eyes.
Yaga shouted loudly, "Everyone evacuate immediately! Don't stay near the barrier!"
The next instant—
The barrier shattered with a thunderous crash!
The violent surge of cursed energy swept across the surroundings in an instant!
Several people standing closest to it were struck by the shockwave and immediately passed out.
Crack!
Cracks appeared in Unlimited Void, which began to tremble on the verge of collapse.
Malevolent Shrine remained completely intact.
Gojo Satoru froze for a moment.
Had he… actually lost in a pure contest of cursed energy?
Gojo voluntarily dispelled his Domain.
The cursed energy storm vanished instantly, and Jujutsu High returned to calm.
"Gojo-senpai, don't forget the transfer. You know the account."
In an excellent mood, Chu Yang whistled and slowly walked toward Yuji and Yoshino Junpei.
Gojo stretched lazily and smiled.
His thoughts drifted back to his student days—having a rival he could chase after again didn't feel bad at all.
Sensing the murderous aura radiating from Chu Yang, Yuji and Junpei clutched each other in terror.
Just as Chu Yang placed his hands on their shoulders, Masamichi Yaga's hand landed on Chu Yang's shoulder as well.
"Before you talk to them, come have a chat with me."
Yaga mimicked Junpei's tone and warmly called him "Senior Yang." The killing intent he was releasing at that moment was several times stronger than Chu Yang's.
Chu Yang forced a dry laugh. "Principal… what a coincidence. You're here too?"
Yaga stared at him coldly.
Chu Yang immediately pointed at the Gojo Satoru who was trying to sneak away."It was all him! He forced me into a duel for no reason! I'm the victim here!"
Yaga's gaze instantly shifted to Gojo.
The killing intent surged once more.
Gojo halted, scratching his head and playing dumb. "The weather's really nice today."
Yaga revealed a cruel smile, grabbed Chu Yang with one hand and Gojo with the other."You two—come with me."
Watching the three figures disappear into the distance, Yuji and Junpei finally let out a breath of relief.
...
One Piece World.
Wano Country.
After returning from the Soul Palace, Chu Yang began preparations to launch a counteroffensive against the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
During this period, he had been absorbed in experiments involving bloodline factors and hadn't participated much in Revolutionary Army affairs, letting them grow unchecked.
The strategy of reverse bounties against the World Government and the Celestial Dragons had worked remarkably well, inflicting heavy losses on the World Government in recent years.
The Revolutionary Army, along with several independent forces, had risen rapidly to prominence.
The World Government had once attempted a direct military assault on Wano, but Chu Yang repelled them at the entrance alone, causing massive casualties.
Seeing that the World Government truly couldn't deal with the Revolutionary Army, nations and factions that had long been oppressed began raising banners of rebellion.
As for pirates—after Kaido and Big Mom were defeated, chaos only worsened. Even someone as powerful as Whitebeard could only intimidate the regions under his control.
Turmoil spread everywhere.
Ordinary people's lives became increasingly difficult.
Chu Yang went alone to the Flower Capital of Wano and found the Revolutionary Army leaders discussing their next move.
Dragon and Fisher Tiger were both in the meeting room, their faces filled with surprise when they saw Chu Yang.
"What a rare guest. No matter how much we call you, you never come—always holed up in that little lab of yours doing research. Why show up now?" Tiger joked with a grin.
"Don't tell me there's some major issue that needs your personal instructions?"
Dragon also smiled.
The Revolutionary Army's rapid growth had given them real hope of overthrowing the Celestial Dragons, so everyone was in good spirits.
"There is something very important I need to discuss with you," Chu Yang said solemnly.
Seeing his expression, the two quickly dropped their smiles and looked at him in confusion.
"Starting today, I will officially declare war on the Celestial Dragons. We've hidden here long enough—it's time to go out and face the world."
His words shocked both of them. They never expected Chu Yang to flip the table so suddenly.
"Isn't this a bit too hasty?" Tiger immediately tried to persuade him. "The Revolutionary Army has only just taken shape. Declaring war on the World Government now won't give us any advantage."
Dragon didn't try to stop him. Instead, he asked directly, "Why make this decision?"
Chu Yang replied seriously, "The method of placing bounties on the World Government and Celestial Dragons has been effective, but it's also produced severe side effects."
"The Navy's authority has plummeted, and as a result, pirates have grown more rampant. Many places have been looted, and civilians are living extremely hard lives."
"If this continues, ordinary people will collapse before the Celestial Dragons do."
Dragon and Tiger exchanged looks, their expressions heavy. If Chu Yang hadn't brought it up, they wouldn't have realized the problem.
In the current environment, there were very few places left that were truly safe.
Either they were protected by the Revolutionary Army, the Navy, or under the control of great pirates like Whitebeard.
"It seems we really can't delay any longer…"Dragon sighed. Letting things develop naturally would benefit the Revolutionary Army the most—but it went against the very purpose for which the army had been founded.
"In that case, let's prepare early. Don't worry too much—we've already gathered many allies. We might not be at a disadvantage," Tiger said, boosting morale as he always did.
His words eased Dragon's worries considerably.
"To attack the Holy Land, the Ancient Weapon Pluton is indispensable. Let's go retrieve it now," Chu Yang said.
Chu Yang had informed them long ago that Pluton lay dormant in the seas around Wano, but how to raise it had always been a massive problem.
They didn't know its exact location, its size, or how much manpower and resources it would take.
"That's simple. Just smash the surrounding walls," Chu Yang said calmly.
Long ago, there had been an enormous Mount Fuji-like peak here. Wano was built at its base, and back then, its elevation matched sea level.
During the Void Century, Wano faced some unknown threat. The Kozuki clan led the people to build massive walls around the country, sealing it off.
Over time, those walls became sheer cliffs. Rainwater kept accumulating, like filling a cup drop by drop, until old Wano was completely submerged.
With no other choice, people abandoned the original city and built a new Wano higher up the mountain.
Thus, Wano's inner sea was actually rainwater, not true seawater.
Pluton was hidden at the base of Mount Fuji, in the Wano of 800 years ago.
To bring that area back into the light, the massive cliffs surrounding Wano—its long-standing natural defenses—had to be destroyed.
"Smash the walls? You mean destroying Wano's terrain? That's the barrier that's protected countless people," Dragon objected immediately.
"The useful thing is people, not terrain. Otherwise, Kaido wouldn't have enslaved them for so long," Chu Yang replied.
"If we fail, keeping this so-called natural fortress is meaningless. The Navy could break through it easily."
His reasoning was sound. Wano's defenses had worked largely because Chu Yang himself guarded the entrance.
Dragon fell silent. He didn't want to admit it, but Chu Yang was right.
"I agree with Yang," Tiger said. "If we've decided to attack Mary Geoise, we shouldn't leave ourselves a retreat. That kind of thinking could weaken morale."
Morale.
If everyone treated Wano as a fallback, they'd hesitate on the battlefield, lacking the resolve to fight with their backs to the wall—and that would only get them killed.
Dragon pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded and exhaled deeply.
"Then we'll smash the walls and let this country see the sun again."
(End of Chapter)