One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 170 Sha Youlan! Come out here!

The door opened and then closed, the brief sound breaking the silence, but quickly returning to normal. Neither of the two awake people in the living room spoke; Law kept his head down, while Katakuri stared at Yu, pondering Sora Mingwei's purpose.

As for Sweet, he lay quietly by the sofa, occasionally wagging his tail, keeping it company. Bepo was a little bored, looking left and right... and finally looking down at himself. He looked at himself and fell asleep.

The sounds were coming from the inner room, one after another, from different people. They were dancers who had just been rescued by Yu, and now, as they slowly woke up, they opened the door to find two rather intimidating figures in the living room.

"Who are you?" They didn't recognize the people and beasts, but judging from the room's decor, they knew they were still in Grantesoro, so they didn't feel much danger.

Luo then raised his head and gave him a cold look. "You've been rescued. Now you can go back to where you belong."

The dancers were intimidated by Luo's cold tone and icy gaze. Realizing they had been in the way, they cautiously whispered their thanks and then left one by one.

Yu regained consciousness, but was not yet fully awake. She first searched her mind for Sha Yulan. The heavy feeling before she lost consciousness had caused her to lose awareness, and Yu knew it wasn't due to overusing her abilities, but rather external factors. Her first thought was of Sha Yulan.

However, after calling out for a while, Sha Youlan did not respond. "Sha Youlan, speak to me, I know you're here." Youlan wouldn't give up so easily. The voice she heard before losing consciousness was Sha Youlan's voice. Who was she talking to?

"Shayoulan! Speak up!"

As time passed, Yu's voice grew less calm, even carrying a hint of anger. "Speak! Who told you to take the crystal! Was that person targeting Katakuri or Ace?!"

The crystal is currently only possessed by Katakuri and Ace; to seize it, only one of them can be chosen. Which one will it be?

No matter how Yu called out to her, Sha Yulan remained unresponsive and did not appear. Yu gradually realized that perhaps she had fallen asleep again. The last time, Sha Yulan had finished saying what she needed to say before succumbing to a deep sleep. Could it be the same this time?

However, since she couldn't find the answer from Sayuran, she would have to protect Katakuri and Ace herself. The crystal was meant to protect them, and she wouldn't allow it to be taken away!

"Yu?" The person in his arms suddenly frowned, even clenching her fists. Katakuri quickly called out to her, trying to wake her up.

The calls worked, but instead of opening its eyes, a clenched fist slammed down. Katakuri opened his hand and caught the fist, but the person in his arms didn't stop. "It's alright, you're safe now. Open your eyes and look at me."

You flinched and suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze initially filled with fear, then turning to exhaustion. It was as if she were having a nightmare, struggling to wake up.

Katakuri, seeing the exhaustion in Yu's eyes, lowered the hand he had been holding and gently rubbed Yu's face with his other hand to comfort her. Yu relaxed completely and closed her eyes once more.

Luo walked over and used his abilities to perform a simple check on You. "There's nothing wrong, just a little tired, you need to rest more." Fortunately, Kong Mingwei was no longer there.

As Luo said this, You continued to sleep.

Since Sora wasn't there, Katakuri took Yu to his room, leaving the current room for Law and Ace. "Sweet, you go play with Bepo."

"Aww." Sweet received Katakuri's command and slowly walked to Bepo's side.

Bepo was a little shy, but at least Sweet wasn't a mother bear, so he wouldn't be too afraid to say anything. He was just curious about what would happen if the captain and Ace were together. Would the captain take care of Ace all night, covering him with a blanket or something, just like before?

Luo naturally wouldn't let himself take care of him for the whole night. After everyone else left, Luo went into the inner room to rest. However, he left the door connecting to the living room open, just in case something happened and he couldn't detect it immediately.

Not long after returning to the room with Yu, Yu woke up. Her complexion looked a little better than before, and although she was still tired, she didn't need to sleep any longer. Perhaps because she hadn't made enough noise and didn't know anything, Katakuri still had his back to her, seemingly unaware that she was awake.

When Yu sat up and hugged Katakuri from behind, Katakuri was startled for a moment. It seemed he really hadn't noticed she was awake. "What are you thinking about so intently?"

"It's nothing, but how are you feeling?" Katakuri hesitated whether to tell Yu about Sora Miki, and if so, how to say it.

After all, Kong Mingwei is You's mother.

Yu leaned against Katakuri's back, her head resting on his shoulder as she looked at his face. "I'm a little tired, but it's okay." Seeing that the crystal around his neck was still there, Yu felt relieved. "Just now...did I hit you?"

During the period of unconsciousness, it seems that Sayuran was in control of her body. Yu only knows that Sayuran was being blackmailed and that the target was Crystal, but she has no idea what exactly happened. Hopefully, Katakuri wasn't harmed.

"No, I stopped her before she could make a move. Do you know you're being controlled?"

Yu wasn't surprised that Katakuri could discover that the person wasn't her, but rather that he discovered it so quickly, and even felt a little proud. "Yes, someone has invaded my consciousness and wants to take it away." Yu pointed to the azure blue on her neck.

However, she didn't explicitly state that the consciousness controlling her body was Sayuran. Firstly, Sayuran had fallen into a deep sleep again and wouldn't reappear. Even if she did say so, it would only give Katakuri an extra consciousness to be wary of that wouldn't actually appear. Secondly, Sayuran wasn't acting on her own initiative; the one unaware of this was the mastermind.

"crystal?"

Yu nodded, her cheek brushing against the fabric of Katakuri's suit on his shoulder. "She must know that the crystal has a special function." She fidgeted with the crystal, making it sway back and forth.

The crystal serves only two purposes: to find her and to pay with one's life. Yu doesn't believe that a stranger would take the crystal simply to find out where she is and what her condition is. So, the purpose would be to use Yu's life to pay for the life of a dying person.

Katakuri didn't think that way; he only knew that the crystal could lead to Yu's whereabouts. Naturally, he also assumed that Sora Mingwei stole the crystal to make it easier to find Yu. But if that was all, it didn't seem to make sense.

"By the way, is Ace alright? How's his crystal?" Yu thought of Ace, but he wasn't in the same room anymore. She could only find out about Ace's condition from Katakuri.

Katakuri pulled the person close and let Yu sit on his lap. "He accidentally drank the sleeping potion that person prepared for me, and he's still asleep. The little brother in the spotted hat is watching him."

"Drugs?"

"Hmm, drug me, control you, and take the crystal." Katakuri summarized the man's plan simply.

Yu frowned. That person was no ordinary individual. They knew the crystal's function and that she was the easiest person to get close to Katakuri. Yet, Yu couldn't think of anyone else like that.

Sha Yulan knew the power of paying with her life, but she had no chance to tell anyone in her mind. If she hadn't just used up her ability and been momentarily caught off guard by the intrusion, Sha Yulan wouldn't have had the chance.

"Shamo Jiu..." Right, he mentioned before that the crystal could open a passage to Shane Illusion Island. Could he know that too? But his abilities aren't enough to invade consciousness, let alone others!

“Yu.” Katakuri’s tone suddenly became serious.

"what happened?"

"The person who planned this operation is someone who can manipulate space."

You also had a guess, "I think so too. I guess she and Shamo Jiu should know each other. Shamo Jiu mentioned crystal before on Shanie Illusion Island. I guess that person has a close relationship with Shamo Jiu."