Chapter 54: Boarded the Emperor's Ship

The red-haired man chuckled, not taking it to heart, and added another warning, “This drink’s on me—remember, finish it and head home right away.”

“Captain Shanks, Itachi’ll get on the kids’ nerves if Itachi keep nagging!” Laki Lu, who was gobbling meat, grinned broadly, his fat rippling like waves, looking utterly comical.

Shanks laughed and scolded, “Itachi mind your own business, Laki—Itachi’re the one who talks the most.”

Then Machino walked back to the bar with a glass of rum and pushed it toward Chu Yang.

Chu Yang took the drink, raised it in salute to Shanks, who raised his own glass in return; Chu Yang drained it in one gulp, then said, “Itachi’re wrong about one thing—I can’t go home even after drinking this.”

Shanks’s smile faded suddenly, and his brow furrowed.

Chu Yang explained, “I’m a slave. I only just escaped a short while ago—the word ‘home’ is a luxury to me.”

Saying this, Chu Yang pulled his shirt down slightly, revealing a faint scar on his chest. Though faded, Shanks could tell from its shape it had once been a severe, life-threatening wound.

The tavern grew quiet; the crew of the Red-Haired Pirates fixed their gazes on Chu Yang. For a child to speak such words so calmly was a powerful shock.

Hearing Chu Yang’s tragic story, Shanks suddenly recalled the arson incident in Mary Geoise months ago, when many of the Celestial Dragons’ slaves had fled.

Shanks instantly understood Chu Yang’s identity; his eyes naturally filled with sympathy.

If slaves in this world could be ranked, then the slaves of the Celestial Dragons were undoubtedly the most wretched!

The capricious Celestial Dragons excelled at torturing slaves, wielding punishments no ordinary person could imagine as easily as picking up a spoon.

Chu Yang’s words and his scars made Machino’s eyes well up, but she didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

Only young Luffy continued clowning around, oblivious.

Yet thanks to him, the briefly silent tavern quickly came alive again.

Amid laughter and chatter, Shanks handed Chu Yang another drink—this time, he didn’t mention “drink and go home” again.

After all he’d been through, no matter his age, Chu Yang needed the comfort of alcohol.

They clinked glasses and exchanged a quiet smile.

“Luffy! What did Itachi just swallow?!”

The panicked cry instantly drew Chu Yang and Shanks’s attention.

Seeing the treasure chest beside him opened, Shanks’s expression changed drastically.

He grabbed Luffy’s leg, flipped him upside down, and shook him violently.

Trying to dislodge whatever Luffy had swallowed.

But in his panic, Luffy didn’t vomit it up—he simply swallowed it whole.

Glup!

Young Luffy stretched like a rubber band, stuck to the floor, his legs still in Shanks’s grip.

Everyone was terrified; the tavern erupted into chaos—except Chu Yang, who calmly sipped his drink.

At night, Machino’s tavern closed; the pirates returned to their ships at the harbor to sleep, and Chu Yang followed the crowd back to his small boat.

As Shanks prepared to board his ship, he happened to see Chu Yang’s tiny boat, drifting alone on the open sea like duckweed.

Beckman, standing beside Shanks, watched every move and smiled, “If Itachi can’t bear it, take the boy aboard. Leaving him adrift like this—can Itachi really be at ease?”

“What a nuisance,” Shanks grumbled, but his body moved faithfully toward Chu Yang, stopping before the small boat.

Chu Yang sat atop it, meditating.

“Hey, kid, come with me—your boat doesn’t even have shelter from wind or rain!”

The next day, Chu Yang became the youngest trainee aboard the Red-Haired Pirates, beginning his pirate career focused on mastering Haki.

The Naruto world.

Compared to Chu Yang’s smooth entry into one of the Four Emperors’ crews in the pirate world, Chu Yang’s teaching career here was far from smooth.

The Third Hokage’s childhood shyness and timidity were all faked; once he grew comfortable, he became more than just mischievous—he was even worse than Naruto had been as a child.

Within weeks of school starting, he turned the entire academy upside down!

Using the Body Replacement Technique to prank teachers had become his daily routine.

Add to that the seemingly honest but deeply scheming Danzo Shimura, and together they drove the academy’s teachers into utter confusion and despair.

One inside, one outside—they worked in perfect harmony, subtly revealing the embryonic form of future Leaf Village leadership.

The teachers couldn’t properly discipline them; the biggest concern was the Sarutobi Clan behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The same went for other noble families’ children in the academy—when they misbehaved, teachers usually chose to let it slide.

The Hidden Leaf had just been founded; rivalries among clans were fierce, and the ninja academy was a special institution—any misstep in handling matters risked unnecessary misunderstandings.

For example, if one clan’s heir beat another’s, the school siding with either side might be seen by the other as sending a hidden message.

So generally, Tobirama Senju, as headmaster, never personally punished students—even when they broke serious rules.

But Chu Yang felt this couldn’t continue.

If the extreme behavior of Hiruzen Sarutobi and other noble heirs was always tolerated and rarely punished, they would eventually grow bolder and cross the line entirely.

The worst-case scenario: these noble heirs would unite to oppress the commoner students.

Once class hierarchy took root in the academy, it would devastate students’ growth—remember, nearly half the students came from commoner families.

Having shared the magic world Chu Yang’s memories, the Naruto world’s Chu Yang fully understood the dangers of accepting bloodline superiority.

He didn’t want the ninja academy to develop an organization like Slytherin.

So Chu Yang went to Tobirama Senju that very night and laid out his thoughts.

Tobirama Senju, also from a noble family, was somewhat blinded by his background—it was natural he hadn’t considered this angle.

Without Chu Yang’s reminder, he might have taken a long time to recognize the severity of the issue.

After finishing his official duties, Tobirama listened to Chu Yang’s report, fell into deep thought, then sighed, “Itachi’re as perceptive as my brother in this regard—if the school’s stance isn’t clear and firm, this toxic trend will only grow stronger.”

“But who will handle it? Ordinary teachers would fear pressure from the noble clans.”

Chu Yang smiled, “I’m the best choice. Publicly, I’m a teacher. Privately, I’m a disciple of the Hokage and Itachi—Tobirama Senju, a member of the Senju Clan. I can withstand the pressure.”

Recommend a friend’s new novel: the protagonist arrives in a beast-taming world, unaware that in the real world, whether it’s his cold, intellectual female boss, the gentle neighbor girl, or the flamboyant goddess senior—all have been reincarnated as his beasts… until one day, the beautiful, aloof female boss corners him and asks: “Itachi’re my master, aren’t Itachi?”… Anyway, it’s wildly funny—highly recommend! Title: (My Beasts Are All My Female Friends?) Link below:

(End of Chapter)