"The Senju Clan! You've latched onto a golden thigh!" One Piece Chu Yang was incredibly envious. They were the exact same person, yet their circumstances were worlds apart.
"Bro, it's the Warring States Period right now, not the founding year of Konoha. We are literally beating the brains out of the Uchiha clan next door. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?" Naruto Chu Yang spread his hands helplessly.
"That's still way better than my situation," One Piece Chu Yang asked curiously. "Who is the current head of the Senju Clan? Have you met the First Hokage?"
Naruto Chu Yang smiled rather proudly. "The First just took over as clan head. Furthermore, he took in a portion of the clan's youth as disciples to teach his unique Wood Release. I happen to be one of them."
Hearing this, One Piece Chu Yang's envy was practically overflowing. But he knew that as a Kekkei Genkai, the chances of actually learning Wood Release were miniscule.
Wood Release was formed by merging Earth and Water chakra natures. It sounded simple, but it was incredibly difficult to achieve in practice. More importantly, merging different chakra natures carried massive risks; failure meant suffering a terrifying backlash. However, as members of the Senju Clan, their unique genetic makeup allowed them to better mitigate this backlash.
Naruto Chu Yang continued, "I am the only one among that group who successfully learned Wood Release. Coincidentally, right after I learned it, my consciousness entered this palace."
"Can I see it?" One Piece Chu Yang looked at him with eager hope.
A portion of Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu didn't require hand seals. Naruto Chu Yang simply smiled, clapped his hands together, and a unique energy surged from within him. A massive cluster of branches and vines rapidly sprouted and spread from his upper body.
"How about that?" Naruto Chu Yang laughed smugly.
"Badass..."
One Piece Chu Yang was just about to praise him when he suddenly felt an inexplicable, profound change occurring within his own body.
Instinctively, he mimicked the other's gesture and clasped his hands together. What happened next was deeply shocking!
A massive amount of branches began wildly sprouting from One Piece Chu Yang's body as well!
He was using Wood Release!
Naruto Chu Yang stared at the scene, utterly dumbfounded! Recovering from his shock, he said, "You can use my power... which means, conversely, I can use your power."
One Piece Chu Yang nodded. "That should be the case. Too bad I don't know how to do anything right now."
"Wait, no."
Naruto Chu Yang closed his eyes to feel the changes in his body, his expression growing even more astounded. "My chakra is much more active than usual. The capacity has almost doubled."
One Piece Chu Yang voiced his guess: "The more of us there are, the faster our strength grows?"
Naruto Chu Yang nodded excitedly. "That must be it! If we manage to find all the other versions of 'ourselves', wouldn't we ascend to the heavens in a single bound?"
The two were still excitedly imagining their bright future when a thick mist suddenly flooded the interior of the palace. By some unspoken instinct, they simultaneously realized they were about to leave this place.
"I don't know when we'll meet again, but you have to increase your strength as fast as you can!" Naruto Chu Yang advised earnestly.
Chu Yang had just nodded when, in the very next second, his consciousness violently snapped back into his physical body.
Intense, blinding pain jolted him completely awake. In reality, the jailer had just pulled the branding iron away. Chu Yang had clearly stayed in the palace for a long time, but in the One Piece world, it had only been a fraction of a second.
Seeing Chu Yang wake up from his faint so quickly, the jailer sneered and raised the branding iron again. "Woke up pretty fast, huh? Then let's give you another taste."
But the jailer didn't notice...
The horrific burn on Chu Yang's chest was healing at a rapid pace—a regenerative ability far beyond that of any ordinary human.
Chakra flowed steadily through his veins. Chu Yang's entire body filled with explosive power. With a furious roar, he forcefully shattered the iron chains binding him.
Under the jailer's terrified gaze, Chu Yang lunged forward and grabbed him by the throat. Countless thick vines surged from Chu Yang's body, instantly wrapping tightly around the burly man.
Crack... Crack...
As the vines relentlessly constricted, the sickening sound of bones fracturing echoed from the jailer's body.
"An... Ability User..."
The jailer stared at Chu Yang in absolute disbelief. His face twisted into an expression of sheer remorse, and a few moments later, he stopped breathing entirely.
Time to go!
Killing the Celestial Dragons' running dog right under their noses was undoubtedly a severe provocation to their absolute authority. Chu Yang definitely couldn't stay in Mary Geoise any longer. Every extra second he lingered meant an exponential increase in danger.
"But escaping aimlessly like this... the chances of success are just too low."
To protect the absolute safety of the Celestial Dragons, a Marine Admiral was permanently stationed at the Holy Land. The Marine base below housed countless experts, not to mention the presence of abnormal, monstrous organizations like CP0.
Chu Yang knew that with his current rudimentary abilities, he couldn't possibly evade a coordinated pursuit by these powerhouses.
"I need to make some noise. Create chaos to the maximum degree."
Chu Yang suddenly recalled Fisher Tiger's legendary feat of setting the Holy Land ablaze. In for a penny, in for a pound; he prepared to emulate the fish-man's actions.
Stepping out of the dim torture chamber, Chu Yang sprinted back the way he came based on his memory, only skidding to a halt when he neared the slaves' cell block.
Seeing Chu Yang return safe and sound, the three Gorgon sisters first looked at him with pleasant surprise, which was almost immediately swallowed by sheer panic.
Chu Yang wasn't escorted back by a jailer; he had come back entirely on his own. In a place like this, there was only one possible explanation.
The second sister, Sandersonia, cried out in horror, "You!!! Don't tell me you... the jailer..."
Chu Yang nodded calmly.
The third sister, Marigold, trembled violently in fear. They had been trapped in this hell for years, and while they constantly harbored desperate thoughts of killing the jailers, they had never dared to act on them.
On the other side of the bars, the eldest sister, Hancock, also stared at the boy before her in absolute shock. From the very first glance, she had felt there was something different about him. But she never expected Chu Yang to actually dare do something so world-shaking.
Fear aside, Hancock felt an unparalleled sense of vindication and satisfaction in her heart, because Chu Yang had just done what she had always wanted to do but didn't dare to.
Hancock hurriedly pressed against the bars to warn him, "Take advantage of the fact that no one has noticed yet and run! If the Celestial Dragons catch you, your fate will be worse than death."
Chu Yang nodded. "I know. But before I go, I'm going to rescue everyone."
"What?!" Sandersonia and Marigold exclaimed simultaneously. They couldn't believe that in such a critical, life-or-death moment, Chu Yang was actually thinking about the other people rotting in the dungeon.
"Don't play the hero! You have no idea how many slaves are locked up here. How long will it take you to save them one by one?!"
Although she was deeply moved, Hancock yelled at Chu Yang, desperately hoping he would leave quickly. The Celestial Dragons had ruled for centuries, and an incident of this magnitude had never occurred. Chu Yang's fate if caught was too horrifying to imagine.
However... she had no idea that Chu Yang was only saving people to divert the Marines' attention, giving himself a much higher chance to successfully escape Mary Geoise.
Showing no intention of leaving, Chu Yang crouched down under the three sisters' bewildered gazes and pressed both of his hands firmly against the solid stone floor.