Make Something Big Happen

"Lord Hashirama, why have you summoned me?"

A gentle female voice came from within the slug’s body, soothing to the ear like a spring breeze.

"Here’s the situation…"

Hashirama Senju explained Chu Yang’s desire to embark on a Sage Mode training journey to the Slug Sage’s avatar.

If it had been an ordinary person, the Slug Sage would certainly have refused. Sage Mode training was extremely difficult, and the vast majority of people had lost their lives because of it.

But since he was a disciple strongly recommended by Hashirama Senju, there had to be something special about him.

After considering it for a while, the Slug Sage agreed to Chu Yang’s request and prepared to summon him to Shikkotsu Forest using the Reverse Summoning Technique.

The three great sacred lands and the ninja villages were actually part of the same world, not separate dimensions.

The essence of the Summoning Technique and Reverse Summoning Technique was spacetime Ninjutsu.

Their form merely differed from the Flying Thunder God Technique created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

The sensation of moving reminded Chu Yang of Apparition in the wizarding world.

Apparition had an implicit requirement: the destination had best be somewhere one had visited before or knew in detail.

Otherwise, one could not firmly focus one’s consciousness on a place one knew absolutely nothing about.

When the brief dizziness faded and Chu Yang opened his eyes again… he found himself standing in a place resembling a primeval jungle.

Every tree here was thick enough to require dozens of people to encircle it, and there were also some absurdly huge leafy plants.

A single leaf was as large as an adult human body and could completely block out the sunlight. Walking beneath them felt like walking through the night.

Only sparse areas allowed some sunlight through. Light and darkness interwove into irregular patches and faint halos, carrying even a hint of dreamlike color.

Standing here gave him the illusion of being in a fairy-tale kingdom.

"Now I finally know how Gulliver’s Travels was written…"

As he spoke, countless shadows began to surge forward, flooding toward him in a dense mass.

Chu Yang sensed no hostility and simply stood where he was.

Only upon closer inspection did he realize that those shadows were slugs. An ocean of slugs gathered before him, forming a gigantic slug vast enough to blot out the sky.

Chu Yang bowed slightly in greeting. "Hello, Slug Sage."

The Slug Sage asked curiously, "You seem very calm. Is this not your first time at a place of cultivation?"

Chu Yang smiled. "It is my first time. I’m just used to grander sights."

The Slug Sage sighed. "Children like you, who survived war, really are different."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

The Slug Sage led Chu Yang through the dense forest to an ancient temple.

This was where the Slug Sage cultivated.

"Starting today, you will train in Sage Mode here."

Meanwhile.

Chu Yang’s absence from school as a teacher caused a huge uproar at the ninja academy.

Chu Yang’s class contained not only geniuses like Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.

It also had children from the major clans.

In a sense, only he could keep those students in line.

The news soon reached Tobirama Senju. Busy with government affairs, he still had to make time to ask Hashirama Senju for the details.

After learning that Chu Yang was training in Shikkotsu Forest, Tobirama Senju temporarily assigned Chu Yang’s position at the academy to someone else.

In his eyes, Chu Yang’s future took the highest priority.

It concerned the village’s prosperity for the next hundred years!

The wizarding world.

Ever since returning from the Soul Palace last time, Chu Yang had been considering a problem.

As the logistics group, it would be best if he could synchronize his current condition with his counterparts in the other worlds in real time.

Just like Demon Slayer Chu Yang.

That way, he could update his research results at any moment instead of waiting until each visit to the Soul Palace to share them.

To accomplish that, Chu Yang needed to put killing Voldemort on the agenda.

Voldemort’s seven Horcruxes.

Chu Yang still had a massive amount of knowledge from various worlds to sort through, so he simply had no time to search for them.

Just attempting to combine Ninjutsu and spells, along with the Kido and cursed techniques he might obtain in the future, had already consumed a great deal of Chu Yang’s energy.

Researchers were all homebodies; their guiding principle was to avoid moving whenever possible.

When dealing with a BOSS, it was more reliable to leave it to the natives.

Chu Yang needed to find a way to leak this information to Dumbledore.

Saying it outright was definitely impossible, and even hinting at it would arouse Dumbledore’s suspicions.

He could not let Dumbledore become suspicious of him, or all his previous efforts would go to waste…

He needed to let Harry learn about these things first, then have Harry pass the information on to Dumbledore.

That way, Chu Yang could clear himself of any involvement.

How could he let Harry find clues about the seven Horcruxes?

Chu Yang thought about it for a long time before finally coming up with a place.

The Room of Requirement.

Chu Yang planned to compile the clues about the seven Horcruxes into a book and hide it in the same place as Ravenclaw’s Diadem.

When Harry found it, he would assume that the Room of Requirement had answered his request.

And once Harry learned that he himself was Voldemort’s final Horcrux, he would definitely tell Dumbledore.

If everything went smoothly, things would likely unfold according to Chu Yang’s plan.

Late at night, Chu Yang arrived on the eighth floor of the castle.

After wandering around the corridor for a while, he found a tapestry.

The entrance to the Room of Requirement was on the wall opposite the tapestry.

Chu Yang stood before the wall, thinking, I need a place to hide something, then walked back and forth in front of it three times.

The next second, a smooth, massive door appeared in the wall.

Chu Yang pushed it open and entered. The room was filled with shelves.

"It really is amazing. I wonder what magical principles this room operates on. If time allowed, I’d really like to stay here and study it!"

After marveling at it, Chu Yang summoned a Wood Clone and began searching for Ravenclaw’s Diadem hidden within the Room of Requirement.

After the Room of Requirement had conjured up so many shelves, it actually became easier for Chu Yang to search. He went through them layer by layer, and in less than half an hour, he found Ravenclaw’s Diadem.

Chu Yang placed the book he had carefully prepared beside it, then left the Room of Requirement.

The next day.

While eating breakfast in the Great Hall, Chu Yang learned of Hermione’s plan to borrow books that day.

Once the meal was over, he did not go to class. Instead, he headed to the library ahead of her and slipped his fabricated book beside the books she intended to borrow.

The title on the cover was "Old Hogwarts Secrets You Don’t Know About."

Based on Chu Yang’s understanding of Hermione, a title like that would surely ignite her curiosity, and the contents would guide her to seek out the Room of Requirement.

Chu Yang was not worried that someone else would find the book before Hermione.

Because among all the Hogwarts students, the only person who arrived at the library earlier than Hermione every day was Chu Yang.

However, Chu Yang had not been visiting the library as often lately because he needed to organize the knowledge he had acquired from the Naruto world and the Marvel world. In that regard, Hermione was now unquestionably number one.

After placing his fake book, Chu Yang finally returned to the classroom for his normal lessons.

After class, Chu Yang silently followed Hermione to the library.

Then, under his watchful gaze, Hermione indeed picked up the fake book titled "Old Hogwarts Secrets You Don’t Know About."

The young girl’s cheeks were slightly flushed, her face brimming with excitement.

As though she had discovered something extraordinary.

Thud!!!

Hermione, walking with her head down, crashed straight into Chu Yang’s chest.

"What has you so happy? Can’t you even watch where you’re going?"

Chu Yang put on an expression of annoyance.

"Oh, sorry."

Hermione stared at him with sparkling eyes, hurriedly apologized, then impatiently left to find an empty corner where she could secretly read the book.

Seeing this, Chu Yang could not help snickering for a while before leaving.

Night fell.

Taking advantage of the late hour, Chu Yang quietly slipped out of Hogwarts and ran into the Forbidden Forest.

Then he Apparated to Knockturn Alley.

As for the Unforgivable Curses, if Chu Yang asked Professor Flitwick, the professor would most likely teach him.

But afterward, he would definitely report it to Dumbledore.

The thought alone gave Chu Yang a headache. It was better to come to Knockturn Alley, catch a dark wizard, and learn the incantations for the Unforgivable Curses from him.

This was standard equipment for Dark wizards. Dark wizards who didn’t know these three spells were truly few and far between.

Chu Yang had crouched there all night, capturing fifteen Dark wizards and killing ten of them before he finally gathered the complete incantations and casting details.

After returning to school, Chu Yang was about to head to class when Hermione mysteriously appeared beside him and whispered, "I discovered an incredible secret. Harry and the others are going to verify it tonight. Do you want to come with us?"

"Thank you for inviting me, Hermione." Chu Yang said helplessly, "But I’ve been a little busy lately…"

Hermione looked somewhat disappointed, but she quickly perked up and said, "We’re looking for a place like a secret base. If we confirm it really exists, I’ll take you there when you have time."

Chu Yang smiled. "I’m looking forward to it. Good luck to you all."

Hermione nodded, then skipped away with a bright smile on her face.

The following night, the trio began their nocturnal adventure, searching for the Room of Requirement.

Chu Yang spread out his Observation Haki and silently followed behind them until he watched them find the Room of Requirement.

Once the three of them had successfully entered, Chu Yang left. Now that they had found the Room of Requirement, sooner or later they would discover Ravenclaw’s Diadem and the intelligence book Chu Yang had carefully prepared.

The rest would be left to time.

The Marvel world.

Going to university during the day and working as Tony’s assistant in his laboratory at night.

That was Chu Yang’s regular life lately.

Jarvis’s artificial intelligence was still not advanced enough to serve well in an assisting role.

Besides, Chu Yang could test the armor’s durability anytime, anywhere.

Tony believed that any suit of armor Chu Yang could destroy was not a good suit. Recently, he had begun incorporating aerospace materials into the armor.

Something slightly strange was that whenever Tony replaced the reactor energy rods in his chest lately, he would always avoid other people. During that time, neither Chu Yang nor Pepper was allowed into his laboratory.

Pepper did not understand why, but Chu Yang knew that Tony’s abnormal behavior was due to palladium poisoning. The toxins were continuously eating away at his body.

Even injections could only alleviate it; they could not cure it completely, unless Tony replaced palladium with a new element.

The key to solving the problem lay in the footage Tony’s father Howard had left for him, but Tony had never been willing to watch it through to the end.

This was a knot in Tony’s heart, and Chu Yang had no way to resolve it.

Because Tony had been holed up in his laboratory researching the Iron Man armor, he had completely failed to fulfill his responsibilities as president of Stark Industries.

Every day, piles of documents had to be handled by Pepper under the name of an assistant.

It was an extremely troublesome task, and the workload was immense.

When Pepper approached Tony again and asked him to return to his position as president, Tony impatiently handed the position over to her.

"Starting today, you are the CEO of Stark Industries!"

Tony gripped Pepper’s shoulders tightly and spoke with utmost seriousness.

But both Chu Yang and Pepper saw the indifference flash through his eyes.

Knowing that things would become a serious problem if this continued, Pepper could only nod helplessly for the sake of the company and Tony.

A few days later, Pepper brought her new secretary to see Tony, intending to have him sign the important documents approving the CEO change.

The new secretary swayed over with a seductive gait. Her sexy figure nearly stole Tony’s soul away!

"Hello, Mr. Stark. My name is Natasha Romanoff."

After finishing a full day of classes, Chu Yang came to Tony’s house as usual, ready to lend him a hand.

At the entrance, Chu Yang happened to run into Pepper as she was leaving with her new secretary.

"Hello, Yang."

"Good afternoon, Miss Potts. And this is?"

"Oh, this is my new secretary, Natasha. Tony just signed the documents changing the CEO."

"Congratulations, Miss Potts."

"Thank you, but I preferred my old job. Being an assistant was much easier than being a CEO."

The two exchanged smiles.

Chu Yang shifted his gaze to Natasha. He greatly admired this Black Widow from the Avengers.

After all, it was no simple matter for an ordinary person to work alongside superheroes who were either overpowered or mutated.

Natasha was extremely sensitive to men’s gazes. When she realized that Chu Yang was watching her, the corners of her lips rose involuntarily.

Most men Natasha had met were more or less the same. As long as they were physically capable, they could not help but stare at her with highly aggressive eyes.

Especially a boy in the prime of adolescence.

However, Natasha soon sensed that Chu Yang’s gaze seemed somewhat different.

His eyes were very clear, unrelated to desire, and carried a trace of admiration.

Natasha froze for a moment.

Chu Yang nodded to Natasha, then brushed past her.

Pointing at Chu Yang’s departing back, Pepper explained with a smile, "Let me introduce you. That’s Yang, Tony’s assistant, and also a genius sponsored by Stark Industries."

"You’ll be dealing with him often in the future. Remember to say hello later and get acquainted beforehand."

"Oh, I mean getting acquainted professionally. Don’t get any ideas—he’s still a kid…"

Natasha smiled faintly. "Thank you for the reminder, Miss Potts."

After completing his routine experiment, Chu Yang did not leave Tony’s home. Instead, he asked to stay the night.

Tony said with a look of disgust, "Good thing I’m going to Las Vegas tonight, or I’d definitely kick you out. Only beautiful women are allowed in my bed."

Chu Yang snorted. "I’ll sleep in the lab. Your bed might carry some kind of virus."

Tony burst out laughing. After downing a glass of red wine, he said, "At your age, there’s really no need to spend all day cooped up in the lab. Some things, once you miss the right time, can never be experienced again."

Chu Yang shook his head inwardly. There were plenty of things he could experience countless times.

For example, being a student…

Not long afterward, Happy came to pick Tony up. For once, their trip to Las Vegas was not for fun, but for work.

Chu Yang continued building the reactor in the laboratory. He tried many times, but every attempt ended in failure.

If he built a reactor based on the model Tony had already established, he could actually complete it very easily.

But that would be meaningless.

Chu Yang wanted to build his own reactor. From the foundational theoretical data, to the mature-stage model, to the final complete form, he wanted to complete every step independently.

It was difficult.

Even a genius like Tony, whom Thanos had called "cursed with knowledge," had needed more than twenty years of accumulated learning before successfully creating something like the Arc Reactor from theory.

For Chu Yang to catch up in such a short time was incredibly difficult.

Unless he made a few more clones.

Night gradually deepened. Apart from the faint hiss of the lasers, the only sounds in the entire laboratory were Chu Yang’s and Jarvis’s voices.

Under his intense concentration, Chu Yang’s five senses became exceptionally sharp. A tiny, nearly imperceptible sound reached his ears.

It sounded like someone walking while crouched low.

"A thief…"

Chu Yang smiled. Choosing this time clearly meant they knew Tony was away, and anyone capable of bypassing the layers of security and advanced alarm systems in Iron Man’s home was no ordinary person.

Only one person met both conditions: the Black Widow, disguised as "Little Pepper’s" secretary.

Natasha Romanoff.

The Iron Man armor had already caught Nick Fury’s attention. Sending Black Widow over to obtain some data was entirely in keeping with his style.

Because the course of events had deviated, Tony had not fought Obadiah Stane, and Nick Fury did not have much combat data on the Iron Man armor.

So curiosity was perfectly normal.

So far, all of Tony’s actual combat had been carried out with Chu Yang’s help.

And he had lost every battle.

That had also stimulated Tony’s pride to some extent, driving him to bury himself in the lab and frantically create new armor.

How could he have the nerve to wear Iron Man armor outside if it could not even beat a minor?

Chu Yang did not stop what he was doing. His Observation Haki remained fixed on Natasha the entire time.

Her movements were extremely quiet; hearing alone would have made her difficult to track.

If not for Observation Haki, Chu Yang truly would have had a hard time keeping tabs on her.

Seeing Chu Yang sitting motionless in the lab like a Buddha, Natasha grew a little anxious. She decided to make some noise outside and lure him away.

Natasha deliberately smashed a wineglass Tony had just bought and started a fire, setting the entire bar ablaze.

She crossed the distance in a few strides, then leaped up and hung from the ceiling.

Soon after, Chu Yang came down the stairs into the living room and headed straight for the bar. He saw the flames and began searching everywhere for a fire extinguisher.

Before the laboratory door below could close, Natasha sprang forward and rolled into the lab.

At the same time, Chu Yang, who had been putting out the fire, stopped what he was doing. He turned back to look at her and could not help laughing.

After entering the lab, Natasha looked around and slowly approached the main terminal. As a super agent, Natasha’s hacking skills were not bad.

But compared to Tony, the difference was basically that between a Massachusetts Institute of Technology PhD and an elementary school student.

An elementary school student was fine. It was enough to steal data. After inserting a specially modified USB drive loaded with a program into the main terminal, Natasha watched the progress bar slowly rise. Reassured, she casually examined Tony’s laboratory.

The next second…

Her entire body froze.

Chu Yang, who should have been outside putting out the fire, was standing silently behind her. If he had launched a surprise attack, she would already have been dead.

"Miss Potts said you were working alone in the lab until now, so I thought I’d bring you something to eat…"

"That excuse was a bit clumsy, Miss Natasha. Doesn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. train you for this sort of thing?"

Chu Yang mercilessly exposed Natasha’s lie, leaving her somewhat embarrassed and angry.

"Yes. Usually, when something like this happens, we act directly!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Natasha drew several tranquilizer darts from her waist and flung them straight at Chu Yang.

She could have drawn her gun and fired, but before the mission began, Nick Fury had warned her not to kill anyone—especially Chu Yang.

Chu Yang was a highly promising talent Nick Fury desperately wanted to recruit into S.H.I.E.L.D.

But Natasha never could have imagined…

Chu Yang caught the tranquilizer darts with one hand, then threw them back even faster.

Several dark shapes flashed past, lodging neatly in Natasha’s ample chest.

"Oh, I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. That was an accident…"

Chu Yang was still explaining when Natasha crashed heavily to the floor.

"A lone man and woman alone in a room can easily get carried away, Miss Natasha!"

Chu Yang did not approach the unconscious Natasha, maintaining a certain distance from her.

Natasha remained motionless.

Chu Yang shook his head and said, "This room is full of mechanical arms. I can strip you naked without laying a hand on you. If you keep this up, I’m going to take advantage while you’re still warm…"

Natasha, who should have been unconscious, immediately rolled over and sat up.

Natasha sighed. "You don’t look like someone who should still be in high school."

Chu Yang asked, "Didn’t Agent Hill tell you anything about me when she went back?"

Natasha curled her lip. "We didn’t exactly talk about you, but she had plenty of things to curse you over. Want to hear them?"

Chu Yang waved a hand. "Forget it, then."

With that, Chu Yang walked over to the main console.

He pulled out the USB drive, whose reading progress had reached 80%, tossed it onto the floor, and slowly ground it beneath his foot.

"You should take a friendlier approach instead of breaking into someone’s home to steal things."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. needed some information to determine whether Tony Stark was worth cooperating with. Don’t worry, we have no intention of claiming his research results for ourselves."

"If you were me, how much of what you just said would you believe?"

Faced with Chu Yang’s question, Natasha shrugged and said helplessly, "If it were me, I probably wouldn’t believe a single word from someone caught in the act."

"Very good awareness." Chu Yang nodded with a smile. "Since you’re being so sincere, you can leave. But after you return, please tell S.H.I.E.L.D.’s director that if he wants to cooperate with Tony, sincerity is essential."

"Really?" Natasha looked at Chu Yang in surprise.

Chu Yang said nothing, merely stepping aside to clear a path for her.

Natasha walked over doubtfully. Just as she brushed past Chu Yang, she suddenly stopped.

"Both Hill and Coulson said you were very skilled."

"I think you already got a taste of that just now."

"To be honest, I was a little careless earlier."

"So?"

Natasha revealed a malicious smile and suddenly attacked Chu Yang. However, she showed restraint and did not use any weapons.

Chu Yang guessed that this might have been a task Nick Fury had given her: find a suitable opportunity to thoroughly test his combat ability.

The two began fighting in the laboratory. Chu Yang used only Fish-Man Karate and Observation Haki against her.

He had originally intended to use only Fish-Man Karate, but he was afraid she might resort to dirty tricks once she got desperate, so he had also used Observation Haki.

As it turned out, Chu Yang’s concern was not unfounded.

After getting beaten badly enough to lose her temper, Black Widow gradually began using shameless moves aimed below the belt, even pulling out items like hypnotic spray.

She used every trick at her disposal.

Agents were agents—no one knew what equipment they had hidden on them.

After a while.

The mansion’s front doors opened, and Natasha limped out while covering half her face. After standing by the roadside for a moment, a black supercar pulled up in front of her.

It was not some bored rich second-generation heir, but Agent Coulson.

Coulson rolled down the window and stared at Natasha in shock.

"Oh, my God. What did he do to you?"

"Nothing. I fell down myself!"

"Where did you fall to end up like that? Is there a hundred-story spiral staircase hidden in there?"

"Shut up, Coulson!"

Natasha, seated in the passenger seat, glared at Coulson in mortified fury. "Do you want to roll down a hundred flights of spiral stairs too?"

Coulson shut his mouth sheepishly, and the supercar’s engine immediately roared deafeningly.

Coulson drove Natasha back to S.H.I.E.L.D.

After getting out of the car, Natasha went alone to see Nick Fury.

In the empty office, Nick Fury stood by the window, staring out at something unknown.

Knock~ Knock~ Knock~

The sound of knocking in the dead of night seemed especially heavy.

"Come in!"

Natasha pushed the door open and entered. "The mission failed!"

Nick Fury abruptly turned around and stared at Natasha as she slowly approached him.

"That kid named Yang is in the lab."

"So?"

"Your assessment of him seems to have been a little low."

"He spotted you?"

"Yes."

Nick Fury was immediately intrigued. At the same time, he noticed the bruises on Natasha’s face.

He said in surprise, "Looks like you had quite a conflict with him."

Natasha shrugged. "It’s not what you think…"

Then Natasha explained everything from beginning to end.

Nick Fury fell silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think he’s a mutant?"

Natasha shook her head. "Other than being strong, there’s nothing suspicious about him, and there’s no direct evidence that he’s a mutant."

Nick Fury frowned. "When he beat you up, he didn’t use any powers at all?"

The words "beat you up" stabbed deeply at Natasha’s pride.

Grinding her teeth, Natasha replied word by word, "Yes. He beat me so badly with just his fists that I could barely find my teeth afterward. Is that enough, sir?"

"Relax, that’s not what I meant." Only then did Nick Fury realize his blunder and hurriedly tried to soothe her.

Black Widow wasn’t buying it. She asked coldly, "Anything else you need to ask?"

"No. You can go." Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Nick Fury quickly sent her back to rest.

After Natasha left, Nick Fury once again stood alone by the window.

"Sincerity…"

"It’s been a long time since I heard that word."

The next day.

When Tony returned from Las Vegas, Chu Yang told him about what had happened the previous night.

The anger he had expected never came. Under Chu Yang’s astonished gaze, Tony slowly sat down on the floor of the lab and stared blankly into space.

"Hey, Yang, do you think I should hand over what I have?"

"That way, if something happens to me one day, someone else can continue this research…"

Even Pepper probably could not have imagined that playboy Tony would one day be this despondent.

Chu Yang said, "Don’t be stupid. Who besides you could research this thing?"

Tony gave a bitter smile. "I’m not as outstanding as you think. Just because I can do something doesn’t mean others can’t."

Chu Yang shook his head. "You may have misunderstood what I just said."

Chu Yang pulled a playing card from his pocket.

The moment Tony saw the familiar card, he sprang off the sofa like a coiled spring and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no, don’t…"

The card traced a graceful arc from Chu Yang’s fingertips, then left its mark on the newest suit Tony had developed.

Tony stood there in a daze, utterly crushed.

Chu Yang smacked his lips. "What I meant was, something this trashy might not even be worth anyone’s attention."

The flesh on Tony’s neck visibly reddened, veins bulging as his eyes seemed ready to spit fire.

"Just wait! I’ll definitely develop the best suit ever!!!"

Chu Yang smiled happily.

See? He had perked right back up.

One Piece world, Water 7.

It was also the birthplace of the ancient weapon, "Pluton," eight hundred years ago.

This place was highly unusual and possessed an extremely high degree of autonomy.

Though it was called a city, it was more like a country.

Its extensive autonomy stemmed from the many shipbuilding companies in Water 7, which handled over 90% of the Navy’s warship construction.

If Water 7 ever suspended operations, it could even affect the Navy.

Therefore, although Water 7 welcomed all customers and even accepted business from pirates, the World Government turned a blind eye.

However, ever since the Red Force appeared in Water 7, the number of pirates coming here to repair their ships had dropped sharply.

After several major battles, Shanks’s reputation had gradually caught up with those of the other "Emperors of the Sea," and the framework of the Four Emperors was beginning to take shape.

The Red Force’s modifications had yet to be completed, so with nothing better to do, Shanks took his crew to drink in Water 7’s bars every day.

"I have no idea where Yang got all those strange instruments and equipment from. He moved them onto the ship and studies them every day, never even leaving his room. If this keeps up, his brain’s going to break." Sniper Yasopp downed a huge mug of liquor and couldn’t help complaining to the people around him.

"Yang is far healthier than you. Instead of worrying about his brain, why don’t you worry about yourself? Keep drinking that much, and yours will definitely be the first brain to break!"

Ship doctor Dego shot back, making everyone present burst into laughter.

"But seriously, what exactly is Yang researching? He even asked the captain for a private room. If the Red Force’s modifications hadn’t only been half finished, it really would have been hard to make such a large room available for him."

Curiosity was written all over cook Lucky Roux’s face. But the captain had strictly forbidden them from disturbing Chu Yang, so no one knew what was inside his room.

They had only caught a brief glimpse of those strange instruments on the day Chu Yang returned.

"I happened to see it once. It looked like he was doing research with his own blood, muttering nonsense about things like ‘factors’ and ‘cells.’ Captain, is he really all right?"

Beckman turned to look at Shanks, worried that Chu Yang might be going down the wrong path.

"Yang has a mind of his own. He knows exactly what he’s doing, so everyone should stop worrying over nothing."

Shanks raised his glass with a smile, and the rest of the crew followed suit. Before long, everyone was focused on drinking again.

In fact, on the day Chu Yang returned, he had already explained the matter of Lineage Factors to Shanks.

Though Shanks did not really understand Lineage Factor technology, he vaguely sensed how important it was and thus granted Chu Yang’s request.

During the Red Force’s refit, Chu Yang had remained aboard the ship conducting research.

He was attempting to use Lineage Factor technology to separate part of Wood Release’s abilities from his body.

Just as Vegapunk had extracted Kizaru’s Glint-Glint Fruit ability and added it to the artificial weapons known as Pacifistas.

If he could accomplish this, Chu Yang would be able to create the bloodline of the Six Paths in the Naruto world and obtain the Sage of Six Paths’ Chakra.

The Red Hair Pirates continued staying in Water 7 for another week. Their prolonged presence even drew the attention of Navy Headquarters.

Navy Headquarters, located at Marineford, was neither particularly close to nor particularly far from Water 7—a rather sensitive distance.

To the Navy, the Red Hair Pirates’ stay in Water 7 felt like allowing someone else to sleep soundly beside their bed.

As time passed, Navy Headquarters reacted, and warships began frequently patrolling around Water 7.

However, both the Navy and the Red Hair Pirates remained restrained, and no conflict broke out.

Neither side would wage war in Water 7, because once any damage was caused, they would all become targets of public condemnation overnight.

"I should go out for a walk."

After fighting through a full week of work, Chu Yang had made great progress in Lineage Factor technology, but his mind was clearly at its limit.

Realizing that he had been in Water 7 for nearly half a month without taking the time to look around, Chu Yang could not help smiling bitterly. He had become a little obsessed lately.

When Chu Yang reached the deck and looked out, he saw that the Red Force had become four or five times larger than before.

He had stayed in his room the entire time and had not noticed the changes to the Red Force at all.

At the moment, aside from Chu Yang, only a few newly arrived apprentice crew members remained aboard to watch the ship. The moment they saw him, they hurried over.

"Yang, you finally came out! I heard there’s some event today, and everyone in Water 7 has gathered for it. The captain and the others went to watch too," one apprentice crew member said excitedly.

Chu Yang asked curiously, "What kind of event could actually interest Shanks?"

The apprentice crew member scratched his head. "I heard it’s something about the Sea Train being completed. See that? Isn’t there a railway leading into Water 7 over there?"

Chu Yang was stunned, then suddenly remembered that the current point in the timeline was more than ten years earlier.

Without even taking the time to say goodbye to the apprentices, Chu Yang raced off the ship and dashed into Water 7 at incredible speed.

The world’s greatest shipwright, the Fish-Man Tom, had been convicted for building a pirate ship for Pirate King Roger.

Yet because he had accomplished the great feat of completing the Sea Train, he had been given a chance to offset his crimes with merit.

Unfortunately, that chance could not save his own life.

At the time, Spandam had not yet become the chief of the World Government’s secret intelligence agency, Cipher Pol No. 9, but he knew that Tom possessed Pluton’s blueprints.

Unable to seize them by force, the resentful Spandam stole the Battle Franky invented by Tom’s disciple Franky and used it to attack the judicial ship sent from Enies Lobby.

That was a grave crime!

A crime no less severe than Tom’s crime of helping Pirate King Roger build a ship!

Spandam had framed Franky for heinous crimes in this way. To protect his disciple, Tom used the credit for inventing the Sea Train to atone for Franky’s crimes.

But he himself had to stand trial and be taken to Enies Lobby for execution.

Today was the day the Sea Train was completed, and also the day Tom, the world’s greatest shipwright, was executed!

Chu Yang passed through the crowded harbor and happened to witness Tom being shackled.

Young Iceburg’s eyes were filled with despair.

Chu Yang took a deep breath and looked around for Shanks.

Since they were here to watch the spectacle, there had to be members of the Red Hair Pirates nearby.

After searching around without spotting anyone, Chu Yang prepared to activate his Observation Haki. Even with so many people and so much noise, he had no other choice.

The next second.

Chu Yang felt someone pat his shoulder. When he turned around, he found Shanks standing there.

"Kid, you haven’t left the house in days, and you had to wait until today. We were just getting ready to leave."

Shanks looked at Chu Yang helplessly. The latter suddenly revealed a hair-raising grin, making Shanks shudder.

"Captain, before we leave, how about we do something big?"