"It's over. Things have finally come to this."
Bonney covered her face in pain and let out a weak groan.
Capone Bege's forehead was covered in cold sweat. His cigar fell to the ground without him even noticing. "They say this crew is completely unreliable. Today I've seen it for myself."
"Daring to attack a Celestial Dragon—they're truly insane."
Hawkins looked at the Tarot card showing great misfortune. His hand trembled so much he could barely hold it. "No, not just attack. Are they trying to kidnap—or even kill—a Celestial Dragon?"
The divination results showed that this Celestial Dragon had a clear death omen!
"An Admiral will definitely be dispatched. This island is not safe to stay on."
Trafalgar Law pulled down the brim of his hat, his tone more grave than ever. "So this is what Straw Hat-san meant when he said he had other business? Truly insane."
Even so—
For some reason, he was excited!
His blood surged like crazy. Law looked at Luffy with an indescribable fervor.
Such boldness!
"The whole crew is planning to attack a Celestial Dragon? It looks like they've already discussed this."
Drake frowned deeply, his heart full of confusion and shock. "What are they trying to do? Use a Celestial Dragon as leverage? What kind of deal do they want to make with the World Government?"
In the midst of this extreme chaos and shock, Charlos, still pinned under Zoro's foot, seemed to finally snap out of the pain and dizziness.
Feeling the weight on his back and the gazes of the pariah around him, he let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered:
"AAAHHH! IT HURTS! YOU DAMNED! HOW DARE YOU HIT ME! I'LL CALL MY FATHER TO KILL YOU! MARINE ADMIRAL! SOMEONE CALL THE MARINE ADMIRAL!"
His wails were like a death knell, ringing in the hearts of everyone still conscious.
The sky over the Sabaody Archipelago seemed to darken completely at that moment.
"Annoying." Luffy glanced at Charlos.
"Yeah. Annoying." Zoro grinned. The flat of his blade smacked Charlos on the head.
THUD. A crisp sound.
The world became quiet.
Rumble, rumble...
The world was quiet, yet not quiet. When Luffy closed his eyes, he sensed a large number of presences approaching.
"Vivi, check the situation." Luffy opened his eyes and said.
"Got it."
Vivi understood. Air currents swirled slightly around her. The power of the Fū Fū no Mi allowed her to soar lightly, rising like a feather into the air, looking down into the distance.
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
Between the huge mangrove trunks of the Sabaody Archipelago and on the surrounding sea surface, countless white dots were rapidly gathering and converging, like a surging ant colony, closing in on their area in a huge encirclement!
Though they were extremely far away, Vivi had dealt with the Navy enough to be very familiar with the iconic white uniforms and warship silhouettes.
"Why are there suddenly so many Marines?"
Vivi frowned as she descended, her tone a mix of confusion and gravity. "Did they already have prior information?"
This was too unusual. From the moment they had acted to now was only a few minutes at most.
Although the Sabaody Archipelago was adjacent to Marine Headquarters at Marineford, it wasn't surprising that the Navy had troops stationed there. But the reaction speed and the scale of the deployment were alarmingly fast.
To put it simply—this didn't seem like the Navy's usual productivity.
"The Marines are here. Does that mean a Marine Admiral is coming?"
It had been a while since his fight with Aokiji. It was time to see how much his strength had improved.
He had fought a former Admiral before.
But that was a former Admiral an old man with asthma who was about to retire. What kind of fighting ability could he have?
But he had to admit, he was a good teacher.
Unlike the Supernovas, who turned and left at the news of an Admiral's arrival, Luffy was not nervous at all. If anything, he was looking forward to it.
"I can't wait."
He rubbed his hands together.
Which of the Navy's top combatants would come this time?
However, the reason for the Navy's rapid mass buildup didn't seem to be entirely because of them.
Just then, a loud noise came from the most magnificent building nearby.
Everyone turned to look.
The doors of the auction house were slammed open from the inside by some huge force. As broken wood fragments flew, two figures walked out, one after the other.
"Look, Giant-san, it's already a mess out here."
A cheerful, deep voice rang out. The speaker was an elderly man with glasses, silver wavy hair, and a calm yet uninhibited temperament. He brushed the dust off his clothes and laughed. "I've borrowed some money. Time to go back to the casino and try to win back my losses."
Behind him was an exceptionally tall giant. He said in a deep, rumbling voice, "You're really a bad old man. You sneaked into the auction just to steal money, didn't you?"
"If I was lucky, I was planning to rob my buyer." Rayleigh pushed up his glasses. "Well, now I need to go buy some sake. This is quite a bit of trouble. I hope the Navy doesn't notice me."
His tone was light.
As if he had just taken a bit of pocket money at the auction.
But only the giant who had come out with him knew what kind of riot he had caused.
Let's just say—
He hoped to escape before the Admiral arrived.
Just as the two walked out, they saw the tense standoff outside.
The unconscious pirates everywhere. The Celestial Dragon pinned under Zoro's foot. And that straw hat.
At this utterly chaotic scene, even Rayleigh's face showed a flicker of surprise. He clearly hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.
"Stop right there, you damned slaves!!"
"Guards! Where are the guards?!"
Sharp screams came from the auction house entrance.
A man and a woman one old, one young both wearing bubble headgear and white spacesuit-like outfits, supported by a stumbling black-suited bodyguard, rushed out in a rage.
They were the Celestial Dragon father and daughter who had been "visited" by Rayleigh inside the auction house.
"You're dead! The Marine Admiral will come and kill you all!!"
The young female Celestial Dragon, Shalria, shrieked, pointing her fan at Rayleigh and the giant.
The elderly Celestial Dragon, Roswald, was still vainly calling for his guards—who had already been taken care of by Rayleigh.
"What happened inside?" Luffy asked Rayleigh curiously.
Most people's eyes would naturally go to the giant first.
Who would notice an old man?
But Luffy could feel the courage of a strong person.
This old man—was very strong!
"There were some noisy crashing sounds, so we took the opportunity to come out. The guards tried to stop us, so I stretched my muscles a bit. Now it looks like it's even more troublesome out here."
Rayleigh looked at Luffy, then glanced at the straw hat on his head. A barely noticeable gleam flashed in his eyes.
Then he stroked the stubble on his chin and laughed heartily.
"Are we being too conspicuous?"
"No. Not at all."
Law muttered coldly from not too far away, his gaze sweeping over Charlos pinned under Zoro's foot and the two Celestial Dragons who had just emerged.
At least, this legendary old man hadn't gone so crazy as to attack a Celestial Dragon directly—yet.
Though his actions were still provoking the powers that be.
This kind of boldness—it seemed the rumors were true.
A legendary pirate.
How many were still left on this sea?
You didn't run into them easily.
"R-Rayleigh!"
Hatchan shouted excitedly from nearby.
"Oh? It's Hatchan."
Rayleigh saw an old acquaintance and smiled genuinely. "Long time no see. What are you doing here?"
Hatchan scratched his head, all six of his arms somewhat unsure where to put them. "That's a long story."
"Dark King" Rayleigh?
The legendary vice-captain of the Pirate King.
He had finally met him.
Luffy took over the conversation directly, his eyes burning into Rayleigh. "I asked Hatchan to bring me to find you."
"You came looking for this retired old man for something?"
Rayleigh looked around.
The mostly incapacitated Marine vanguard. The scattering Supernovas. And the three Celestial Dragons. He smiled knowingly. "Looks like things are about to get very dangerous."
"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine." Hatchan quickly said.
Camie nodded emphatically. "In a little while, Hatchan and I will jump into the sea from the tree roots. Underwater, no one can catch us!"
The abilities of mermaids and fish-men in the water were beyond doubt.
They had been with Luffy and the others for a while.
Camie also understood that the situation was quite dangerous.
Rayleigh looked at the surroundings, then at Luffy and his group of companions with their varying expressions. He had already figured out most of what was going on.
"I roughly understand what's happening now."
His gaze finally settled on Luffy. His glasses reflected Luffy's figure. "That straw hat suits a tough man. I've wanted to meet you for a while, Monkey D. Luffy."
"Eh? You know me?"
Luffy pressed his straw hat. "Whatever. That's not important right now. I need to discuss something with you."
"You've come to discuss something with this retired old soldier?"
Rayleigh smiled. He tilted his head and listened to the increasingly close sounds of footsteps and ship whistles in the distance. "But these people probably won't give us much quiet time to talk."
Luffy glanced at the Celestial Dragon father and daughter still shouting behind Rayleigh. He grinned. "Leave it to me."
His figure flickered. Like a ghost, he appeared before Roswald and Shalria. Before the black-suited bodyguard could react, two clean, sharp punches struck their abdomens. The severe pain knocked them unconscious.
Then he dragged them like sacks to Zoro's feet, stacking them with Charlos.
Rayleigh watched Luffy's smooth operation. He smiled, neither approving nor disapproving. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Was that astonishing aura just now your power?"
Aura?
Luffy was momentarily confused. Then he realized Rayleigh was referring to Conqueror's Haki. He nodded. "That was me."
A flicker of appreciation passed through Rayleigh's eyes. Then he let out a bold laugh. "Then let's do it together buy ourselves a bit more quiet time for our conversation!"
Luffy was first surprised, then understood Rayleigh's intention. An excited, knowing expression appeared on his face.
"Nami, Uta. Brace yourselves."
Brace themselves?
"What?"
Before Uta could react, Nami's large chest was already pressed against her face.
Vivi stood in front, forming a wind wall with her ability.
The Straw Hat crew knew their captain well enough to know what he was about to do.
The next moment—
Two indescribably terrifying breaths erupted from Luffy and Rayleigh at the same time!
***
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