After showing Taeyeon around the island and buying her a few little trinkets she liked, evening had already crept in. Over the course of the day, Shirakawa had run into several of his crew members, and now they'd all gathered together.
The plan was to find somewhere to grab dinner.
That was when Taeyeon raised her hand and said she knew a place. And of course—there was only one place to eat on this island that Taeyeon would know: Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
And so the crew's dinner plans were settled on that very bar.
"Yo, little Shirakawa, you're back again." Seeing Shirakawa walk in for the second time in a single day, a glint of interest flashed in Shakky's eyes.
"Bringing this many people with you—are you here to help my business out?"
"These are all my crewmates, so... Sister Shakky, could we maybe get a little discount when it's time to eat?"
"Sure, sure." Shakky flashed a sly grin.
"Captain, are you close with the people here?" Jora asked, a little confused.
"I guess you could say that." Shirakawa's tone was a bit uncertain as he said those three words. With Shakky... he supposed he was pretty familiar with her.
But Shirakawa didn't see Rayleigh around. Looked like the old man was off somewhere having fun.
Before long, Shakky brought out dish after dish and set them before Shirakawa and his crew.
The crew all took a bite, and in unison, their faces lit up with surprise. "Whoa, didn't expect the food in a bar to be this good."
"Thank you, Granny Shakky. Your cooking is delicious."
Taeyeon added very politely. But the moment Shirakawa heard those words, his expression instantly turned deadly serious.
"Killing intent." At that moment, every member of the crew felt a wave of murderous intent—and it was radiating from the bar's owner herself.
"Little girl, what did you just call me?"
Shakky turned around, smiling with her lips but not her eyes, and addressed Taeyeon through gritted teeth.
"Granny Shakky. The captain told me to call you that."
Taeyeon had also realized something was very wrong, and promptly passed the blame to Shirakawa.
"Is that so, little Shirakawa?"
Right now, Shakky's face was dark, her eyes gleaming with a golden light, and her entire body exuded a menacing aura.
"Hey, Taeyeon, don't go saying things like that! When did I ever tell you to call her that?!"
Shirakawa frantically waved his hands, trying to wriggle his way out of this mess.
"You told me to say that this morning."
Taeyeon's expression was utterly innocent, and there wasn't a single trace of lying to be found on her face.
"Little Shirakawa, and here you were asking me for a discount. Did you want me to discount your bones too?"
"No, no—no need for any bone-discounting."
Cold sweat beaded on Shirakawa's forehead. Sure, Shakky was no match for him now, but seniority was seniority, and there were lines he couldn't cross.
"Hmph. The price of this meal is tripled."
"Sure, sure." Shirakawa and his crew had money to spare—even if she'd multiplied it a hundredfold, it wouldn't have mattered. And if worst came to worst, the Sabaody Archipelago had nobles aplenty.
"Hmph." Shakky let out a cold snort and turned away. Then, as if remembering something, she turned back to Taeyeon.
"From now on, if your captain ever says anything bad about me, you be sure to tell me right away, okay?"
Shakky was smiling as she said it to Taeyeon, but Taeyeon could feel that the smile was a mask—and beneath that mask lay an expression cold and merciless.
"Don't worry, Big Sister! If our captain ever says bad things about you, I'll definitely tell you first thing!"
"Mhm, that's a good girl."
At the word "Sister," Shakky doted on Taeyeon and pinched her cheek—though from the looks of it, she'd put a fair amount of strength into those fingers.
Once Shakky had fully disappeared into the kitchen, every member of the crew let out a collective sigh of relief.
Even though they could feel that Shakky wasn't as strong as they were, the moment they saw their captain scared, they'd all gotten scared right along with him.
"Captain, why are you afraid of that woman?"
Jora asked curiously. After all this time with Shirakawa, this was the first time he'd ever seen their captain so meek in front of someone.
"Because she's one of my elders, so I have a great deal of respect for her."
"That's it?" The crew asked in disbelief.
"That's it." Shirakawa nodded with complete certainty.
Just then, the bar's door swung open again, and in walked a figure Shirakawa had just seen that very morning.
"Oh? We've got guests, do we?"
The person who entered remarked, sounding a little surprised.
But the moment they saw this figure, the members of the Silver Pirates were utterly stunned.
"Th-th-the Dark King!" Riddle shrieked outright. To them, Rayleigh was a figure out of legend—they never imagined they'd meet the real man here.
"C-Captain, that's the vice-captain of the Pirate King's ship!" Mute stammered to Shirakawa as well.
"Yo, Shirakawa. What are you doing here again?"
Rayleigh's tone carried a hint of displeasure. Had Shirakawa come during the day, Rayleigh would have welcomed him with open arms—and legs too.
But seeing Shirakawa show up at night, a flicker of annoyance crossed Rayleigh's face.
"I figured I'd let you meet my crew."
Hearing this, most of the Silver Pirates tensed up. They were about to come face-to-face with the Dark King Rayleigh himself—the vice-captain of the Pirate King.
"Oh? These are your crewmates, are they?"
This time, Rayleigh gave them a proper once-over. And upon closer inspection, he realized there were indeed a few among this bunch who were not to be underestimated—especially the one with two hammers strapped to his back.
That man was, of course, Kurokam. Rayleigh could sense tremendous power radiating from him—the kind of intensity he'd only ever felt from Whitebeard and Garp.
Of course, Kurokam's current level was still a far cry from those two.
The one with the gun was quite impressive as well. Rayleigh couldn't see through him. That could only mean one of two things: either the man was far stronger than him, or his Kenbunshoku Haki surpassed Rayleigh's own.
The first possibility, Rayleigh dismissed without a second thought. Someone far stronger than him? Rayleigh could say with absolute confidence—no such person existed.
Even figures like Garp and Whitebeard were only two or three tenths stronger than him at best.
In a fight with him, no one could ever produce a one-sided stomp.
The dual-swordsman was quite good too—a full-fledged Great Swordsman by the looks of it.
All the members of the Silver Pirates could feel Rayleigh's gaze sweeping over them, so most sat ramrod straight, awaiting his judgment.
Of course, Rayleigh was the only person alive who could put them in such a state.
First, Rayleigh was a living legend.
Second, Rayleigh had been the vice-captain of their captain's captain.
Third, Rayleigh's strength was genuinely terrifying.
Only with all three of these factors combined would the Silver Pirates ever find themselves in such a state.
"Mm. A fine bunch of crewmates you've got here, Shirakawa. You've got a good eye."
Hearing Rayleigh's praise of Shirakawa, the crew lit up with joy. After all, wasn't this Rayleigh acknowledging them?
/-\
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