One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 108 Earth Dragon and Bamboo Stick

The sound of sharp blades slicing through the air continued, and the small navy soldiers screamed in agony. What was once a massive warship was now littered with casualties, some even falling into the sea while struggling to escape.

Although Vergo has reached the rank of Vice Admiral, victory is not in his favor against Katakuri.

In particular, Katakuri is now filled with rage and has no intention of leaving Vergo any way out.

Vergo's greatest pride is his Armament Haki, especially his ability to fully equip himself with it. Yet, over the years, no enemy has ever forced him to use it.

Facing Katakuri, Vergo, fully armed, dared not relax his guard in the slightest. Even he, usually calm and expressionless, frowned, a rare sight.

I'd heard Doflamingo mention it before; Yuu escaped last time thanks to Katakuri. I never expected that this time, she'd come out alone, with Katakuri chasing after her.

"Sticky rice!"

Katakuri coated his arms with Armament Haki and met Vergo's bamboo staff head-on. The punch was so powerful that it split Vergo's bamboo staff in two.

"Vice Admiral!" The surrounding junior sailors panicked upon seeing this. How could even a vice admiral be no match for them!

Vergo had no time to care about his surroundings; Jiao Nuomi's punch continued, hitting him squarely in the skull.

A feeling of weightlessness washed over him, and Vergo was thrown back and crashed into the mast. A "crack" sound followed, though he couldn't tell if it was his skull shattering or the mast breaking.

His ears were ringing, and his vision was blurry. He could feel liquid flowing on his face—his blood.

The boat rocked violently, and Vergo struggled to straighten up using the mast behind him. But as soon as he regained his footing, he was slammed against the mast again, the sticky rice clinging to him and making him unable to move.

"Where is Yu?!"

The crystal had never blinked so rapidly before it finally stopped blinking and lost its guiding light. This caused Katakuri to lose his composure and relentlessly attack Vergo, the leader.

"She's dead." Vergo's face was pale from bleeding too much from his wounds.

"Lying!" Conqueror's Haki erupted in that instant, stunning the few remaining Marines who were still putting up a fight. Even the chess soldiers on Katakuri's own ship were not spared.

Cracker, with his chess pieces, found Yu on the ship and rushed out. "Brother, Yu, Yu...!"

Yu's body, almost ice-cold, was held in Cracker's arms, eyes closed and motionless, like a wooden sculpture. Katakuri looked at Yu's appearance, his breath catching in his throat for a moment.

"What did you do to her?!"

When Vergo had his men bring her onto the warship, she was already unconscious, but he hadn't expected her condition to look even worse now. But it didn't matter anymore; he was going to die anyway, and having Yura take him down with him wasn't bad. "I told you, she's dead."

Katakuri's face was indescribably dark, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes fierce. He summoned the Earth Dragon and declared in a deep voice, "Then you will disappear too!"

With a sudden thrust of the rice, the earth dragon pierced Vergo's body. The sharp blade was stained with blood. Katakuri glanced at Vergo with disdain and removed the rice from his restraints.

Vergo's body went limp and he lay motionless on the ground.

"Lord Katakuri, the navy reinforcements are on their way." The chess soldier on Katakuri's ship spotted the warship in the distance and quickly notified them.

Cracker turned to look at the sea and saw the warship. "Everyone, back on the ship, prepare to leave."

"Brother, take Yu away from here first. There's a ship's doctor on board; let them take a look," Cracker said to Katakuri after directing the chess pieces.

Katakuri took Yu from Cracker and quickly returned to his pirate ship. The Marines were within sight, but it would take some time for them to catch up.

After escaping the Navy's pursuit, Katakuri took Yu back to her room, where the ship's doctor had already arrived.

The ship's doctor gave You a quick check-up, then looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

"Just say what you have to say!" Katakuri said, losing patience as he watched the ship's doctor hesitate, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Lord Katakuri, Lord Yu has no heartbeat." The ship's doctor stammered out his conclusion, and after glancing at Katakuri's face, he immediately added, "But, but, but Lord Yu is breathing, just very weakly."

"But, maybe she's just too weak, I can't detect a heartbeat." The ship's doctor felt her life was in danger. Could she jump into the sea now?

Cracker said irritably, "If you can't detect it, just say you can't detect it. What do you mean no heartbeat? How can a perfectly healthy person not have a heartbeat!"

"I...I...I'll check again." The ship's doctor stammered, genuinely unsure of what to do.

"go out."

It was Katakuri who spoke.

Having given the order, Katakuri walked directly to Yu's bedside, his gaze fixed on Yu, his expression unreadable. Even Cracker was unsure whether his brother's current demeanor was the calm before the storm or genuine composure.

The ship's doctor didn't dare linger and dashed out in a flash.

"Brother, Yu might..."

"Cracker, you go out too." Katakuri said calmly without turning around.

Cracker hesitated for a moment, but eventually turned and left.

Even the ship's doctor was helpless with You's condition. His presence here would only annoy his brother, so he should give up his space.

The door closed, leaving only Katakuri and Yu in the room. Apart from the sound of the surging sea outside the window, there was no other sound.

Katakuri took out the crystal from under his scarf, but there was still no reaction.

However, Katakuri noticed something was off about the crystal. What was originally a perfectly clear, deep blue crystal was now somewhat dull and grayish. He hadn't paid close attention when fighting the Marines on the warship earlier, but now he noticed this detail.

But what should he do now?

……

Yu was awakened by pain, her back burning. There were also cuts on her limbs from stones flying in from the explosion, and the dust particles left behind by the explosion caused constant pain to stimulate her nerves.

But unfortunately, I no longer have the strength to tremble or gasp for breath in pain.

Originally, this was considered damage caused by the Devil Fruit, which she could heal herself, but the physical exertion was too great, making healing impossible.

This place is on the other side of the island; there are no towns, and no one can come to rescue her.

I'm going to die here...

"Yu."

Hearing a soft call in her ear, Yu felt like she was really going to die; she was even hallucinating.

Judging from the sound, it seems to be Katakuri.

I wonder if there's any news about Katakuri, or if he's already back in World of Warcraft. If he goes back and she's not there, will he be worried?

My body aches so much... it hurts so much... I'm so sleepy...

"Yu! Don't sleep, wake up!"

"Brother! What's wrong with You!"

The calls grew more urgent, and You opened her eyes, which she had just closed, a crack in the skin.

Why is there the sound of firecrackers? Is he with Kakashi?

"Hold on, Yu! We'll find you soon!" The voice continued, and Yu could sense the panic in Katakuri's tone. "Cracker, watch over her and keep calling her name. Don't let her pass out."

It looks like Kakashi is instructing Xiao Baozhu. Watching her? Why would he watch her? There's nobody around. Who's watching her?

Yu was in a daze, unable to think clearly. But the sound of Katakuri was no longer in her ears; only the sound of small firecrackers, like clapping hands, could be heard.

It's so noisy...

There was no one around, but it was very noisy, and You didn't have the energy to think about what was going on.

Kaka said he would be there to find her soon, and told her to hold on and not faint.

Hold on... I can't sleep... I have to hold on...

When Kakashi came to find her...