Chapter 328

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

Let's rewind the clock more than a month, journeying deep into the world of Bai Ye's soul—a realm of shadow and light where his other half, Hei Ye, resided.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Hei Ye's face was a mask of numb disbelief. He had just heard the plan, and it was pure insanity.

"My mind is clearer than ever," Bai Ye countered, his calm unwavering. "And I feel, with absolute certainty, that I can pull this off."

He ignored the look Hei Ye was giving him, the one that screamed you're a monumental idiot. They were, after all, two sides of the same coin, identical down to the last detail.

"But this technique… you've failed to grasp it after more than a decade of brutal, relentless practice…"

"It isn't more practice I lack," Bai Ye cut in, his voice firm. "It's a spirit forged through real experience." He paused, his resolve like steel. "And now, I can feel it. The bottleneck that has held me back for so long… it's finally beginning to shatter."

-----

On the battlefield, the clash was a storm of raw power. Realizing they were facing a true monster, the three CP0 agents abandoned all pretense of subtlety and unleashed a storm of attacks. Sword moves tore through the air like screaming razors, fists and feet became a seamless blur of devastating combinations, and the very ground groaned under the force of seismic shocks.

Bai Ye could do little more than erect his golden light barrier and melt into the fluid, defensive forms of Tai Chi, gracefully redirecting their murderous intent.

But as the fight wore on, Doss, the swordsman, was the first to notice something was deeply wrong. "Is he... are his eyes closed?"

Every powerhouse on this field possessed Observation Haki, that was a given. But this was different. Bai Ye's focus was unnervingly absolute, almost transcendent.

"Why does it feel like his presence is getting stronger?" Bol, the Sealing-Sealing Fruit user, muttered, a cold dread seeping into his voice. At first, Bai Ye's aura was a tight sphere, three meters wide. Now, with every fluid motion, it pulsed outward, expanding to ten meters and beyond. Within this domain, the agents felt their movements subtly dragged, their balance thrown off by an unseen force. The effect was marginal, but for fighters of their caliber, the slightest imbalance was a death sentence.

This chilling anomaly pushed them to escalate their assault. Wounds that had just begun to close were torn open anew. Sword gashes and deep bruises from armored fists multiplied across Bai Ye's body, painting him in his own blood once more.

This time, however, he made no move for his healing pills. Instead, in a terrifying paradox, his aura only swelled, growing wider, deeper, and more profound with every blow he took.

-----

The true essence of Tai Chi. For more than ten years, his master had tried to drill it into him, but the core lesson had always slipped through his fingers like smoke. Bai Ye had even begun to doubt if the old man was the Daoist prodigy he claimed to be.

Then, one day, his master had pulled him aside. "It's not that you cannot learn, child. It is that you do not yet understand."

"You do not see the world as it truly is."

"You think Tai Chi is the simple balance of yin and yang. But in this world, yin and yang, good and evil, right and wrong… they are not opposites. They are intertwined. They exist within each other. There is you in me, and me in you."

"They bleed into one another seamlessly, yet they never lose their distinct shape."

"When you truly grasp this, you will have achieved mastery."

Bai Ye had been only twelve then, a boy raised in the sterile isolation of a temple. The words were meaningless. Even later, when the internet threw open a window to the world, true comprehension was impossible without living it.

But now… after months of navigating the glorious, violent, and morally grey chaos of the One Piece world, he finally understood. He saw firsthand how "good" marines could be tyrants and "evil" pirates could be saviors. He saw it all: the elements "intertwined, yet clearly distinct."

-----

Bai Ye's eyes snapped open. A serene smile touched his lips. "Master… I see it now."

BOOM!

A wave of energy—impossibly gentle yet sharper than any blade—erupted from his core. The true meaning of Tai Chi was his. The three CP0 agents were thrown back by the invisible force, scrambling to their feet with bewildered fury in their eyes. As veteran assassins for the World Government, they had ended countless formidable lives. Yet none had ever been like Bai Ye. He was a man who, when pushed to the very brink of death, did not break, but erupted with impossible new power. It was enough to rattle even their iron-forged composure.

Ignoring their turmoil, Bai Ye reveled in the sensation. He raised a hand and beckoned them forward with a single, hooked finger. "Now then. Let's begin round three."

With that, he vanished.

For the first time, he was on the offensive. Having unlocked the soul of his art, his form was perfect, each movement amplified far beyond its previous limits. He seized the advantage, but the agents were professionals. They adapted instantly, spreading out to form a triangle of death.

Meanwhile, in that inner world, Hei Ye's eyes opened. "So, it is my turn at last."

He rose, his body flowing through the same Tai Chi forms as his other half. Bai Ye's insane idea echoed in his mind: The arts I command—Tai Chi, the Golden Light Curse, Fenghou Qimen—are all pinnacles in their own right. Fused together… they will become something else entirely.

"Ah," Hei Ye breathed. "Tai Chi as the skill, Qimen as the technique, and the Golden Light as the law."

"You truly are the monster master always said you were."

As Hei Ye's movements quickened, the mystical array at his feet began to warp. Before, he had always sought direction within the Qimen array. Now, enlightenment struck like lightning: I am not bound by the array. I AM the direction. I AM fortune and misfortune!

In the world outside, Bai Ye's golden light solidified, transforming from a mere glow into tangible, living armor. He could feel it, command it, weave it into threads as fine as silk.

As the battle raged, the two halves worked in perfect sync. Tai Chi to balance. Golden Light to channel life. Qimen to unlock the laws of reality. What would be born when skill, magic, and sorcery were finally intertwined?

Bai Ye's epiphany was the key. Use the spirit of Tai Chi to command the Golden Light, and use the Golden Light to manifest Qimen!

Golden light ignites.

Qimen awakens!

As Hei Ye fully synchronized with Bai Ye, the array beneath his feet dissolved into nothingness.

Yin-Yang Qimen: Complete.

Bai Ye smiled. Spotting Bol lunging forward to seal his movements, he channeled the golden light into his fist.

"Zhen Trigram: Thunder Burst!"

A split second before impact, raw lightning crackled in his hand. He pivoted, his fist flowing into an open palm strike that slammed into Bol's chest.

"Palm Thunder!"

BOOM!

The resulting explosion sent Bol flying. In a flash, Bai Ye was above a mound of earth as it surged toward him.

"A Logia of the Earth-Earth Fruit?" Bai Ye grinned at the distant agent. "Unlucky for you. I know a similar trick."

A massive stone pillar launched at him like a spear. Bai Ye simply hovered, raising his palm to the heavens. "Kun Trigram: Earth Dragon Swallow!"

ROAR!

A sound like a mountain shattering echoed across the field. The ground itself churned as a colossal dragon of rock and soil erupted from below, its gaping maw swallowing the enemy's attack whole.

From behind, crimson sword ki screamed toward his back.

"You really do love your ambushes."

Without even turning, Bai Ye's golden light flared. A solid shield materialized from thin air, deflecting the lethal strike with contemptuous ease.

In that single, fluid motion, the tide had not just turned. It had become a tidal wave. The hunter had become the prey, and Bai Ye now utterly dominated his three legendary foes.