A group of people reluctantly squeezed into the snake-formed passage. Orochimaru was still very thoughtful; the passage was very clean, provided you didn't look around randomly.
After leaving the encirclement, everyone went their separate ways. Luffy and the others followed Rayleigh to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Robin found the name of the bar very familiar, feeling like she had heard it somewhere before. She lowered her head and thought hard.
"Rip-Off Bar... Rip-Off... Sabaody Archipelago... Island 13."
Just then, Luffy's exaggerated shout suddenly came from inside the bar: "What! You were on the Pirate King's Crew!!" The sound was so loud it seemed to make the bar shake.
Rayleigh, however, was calm. He slowly poured himself a drink and said casually, "Hmm... I used to be Roger's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"first mate!!!!" The others, upon hearing this, looked as if they had been struck by lightning, their eyes wide, mouths agape, exclaiming in unison.
Nami covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
"I've read about it in books."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Brook blankly ate his beans, thinking hard.
"Gol D. Roger seemed to have a new member like that... or maybe not."
Robin came back to her senses, looking at the astonished group.
"Why didn't you guys realize... Wait... Rayleigh???
Pluton Rayleigh????
Pluton Rayleigh!!
Hahahahaha... Orochimaru... he really is something."
Robin seemed to suddenly understand something, the corners of her mouth curling slightly upwards, and then she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Her laughter echoed through the bar, completely unladylike. She held her stomach, laughing so hard that tears almost came out.
The group looked at Robin, utterly bewildered, exchanging glances... What was wrong with Robin... Why was she suddenly laughing like that? Was there something funny?
Rayleigh was also a bit confused. He looked at Nico Robin, who was doubled over with laughter upon hearing his nickname, and couldn't help but ask,
"Little girl, what's wrong with you? Is the name Pluton Rayleigh that funny?"
Robin finally managed to stop laughing, reaching out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her gaze sweeping over her bewildered Companions.
"I'm so sorry. Do you still remember Crocodile?" Robin said, trying to suppress her laughter.
"Crocodile? That guy with the Sand-Sand Fruit? Of course I remember him, that pervert who tried to steal Orochimaru!" Luffy opened his mouth wide, gritting his teeth, and waved his fists as if Crocodile was right in front of him.
Everyone nodded. Although Brook and Franky hadn't personally experienced the events related to Crocodile, they had heard about them from Usopp and had even seen related reports in the newspapers.
"Then do you know what Crocodile was desperately searching for in Alabasta?" Robin's eyes sparkled with a subtle light.
Everyone shook their heads, completely confused by Robin's sudden question.
"He was looking for the ancient weapons Pluton. The blueprints were originally in Franky's hands, but they were later destroyed.
In Alabasta, Orochimaru once made a deal with Crocodile. Orochimaru promised to tell him the whereabouts of Pluton." Robin paused, trying hard to keep the corners of her mouth down.
"And then?" Everyone still didn't understand, asking in unison.
"The whereabouts Orochimaru spoke of were..." Robin deliberately built suspense, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her eyes full of cunning.
"Were???" Everyone tilted their heads in unison, looking bewildered like a group of curious children.
Robin pursed her lips, pointed at the bar's sign, and said word by word, "Sabaody Archipelago Island 13, Rip-Off Bar..."
But everyone still looked bewildered. Seeing this, Robin pointed at Rayleigh again.
"Rayleigh... Pluton Rayleigh."
At this, the group finally reacted. First, they were stunned, then burst into laughter.
Luffy rolled on the floor laughing: "Hahaha, that idiot, he actually got tricked by Orochimaru."
Everyone was laughing so hard they were on their knees, hitting the floor and shedding tears of laughter.
Nami was hitting the sofa, still unable to stop laughing.
"This is too tragic! Crocodile is probably still in the dark even now, after all, he's still in Impel Down, hahahaha!"
Franky was laughing uncontrollably, constantly hitting the floor.
"You can do that... If I had known, I wouldn't have destroyed the blueprints... I really want to see Rob Lucci being tricked too."
Usopp wiped away tears of laughter.
"I remember when Crocodile was arrested, the newspaper said Orochimaru was a liar. He would never have guessed... Orochimaru is still lying, right?"
Pluton Rayleigh covered his forehead, his mouth twitching. These young people nowadays are really something.
"Doesn't anyone consider the feelings of this retired old man? Just as Shanks said, they're unpredictable."
After everyone had their fill of laughter, they sat back down on the sofa.
Sanji lit a cigarette and took a puff.
"I'm very curious, Gol D. Roger was executed 22 years ago, but you, as his first mate, weren't beheaded? The Pirate King's Crew should have all been captured, right?"
Rayleigh took a sip of his drink, a little silent.
"He wasn't captured... Roger surrendered himself. The World Government only claimed to have captured him to show off their power."
"The Pirate King surrendered himself?? Why?" Nami's surprised voice rang out.
"Because our journey had reached its end, about four years before the public execution.
Roger contracted an incurable disease. Faced with an illness that no one could treat, even Roger was in great pain.
At Twin Capes, there was a lighthouse keeper named Crocus, but he was also a very skilled doctor. Only he could alleviate Roger's pain.
We repeatedly pleaded with him to join us as our Crew Doctor for our final voyage. Roger held on for more than three years and conquered the Grand Line, which was thought to be impossible."
Sanji pressed his cigarette into the ashtray, extinguishing it.
Luffy, still biting his sausage, remained motionless, maintaining his posture as he listened to the story of Roger.
"Then what? After conquering the Grand Line?"
"After that, Roger began to be known as the Pirate King by the world. He wasn't the Pirate King from the start.
For a dying man, titles... held no meaning, but... Roger was still very happy.
That man liked to do everything with flair, no matter what.
Whether it was a banquet or a battle, he had already made plans for his bleak future and seemed to enjoy it.
So, at the Captain's command, the Roger Pirates quietly disbanded. The Crewmates disappeared one by one.
I have no idea where the Companions who fought so bravely are now, or what they are doing.
A year after the disbandment, Roger went to surrender and was then captured.
The news of his public execution was announced in Loguetown, his birthplace in the East Blue.
I heard that the excellent young people who gathered in the square that day are still dominating the seas.
But I didn't go. His last words were these:
I will not die... brother.
The World Government must have been shocked. What was originally a public execution meant to deter pirates,
instead, because of Roger's dying words, ushered in the Great Pirate Era.
With the brief flame of life in his last few seconds, he ignited a raging fire in the world.
I have never been as happy as I was that day, and I have never been as pained as I was that day.
My Captain's life was truly extraordinary."
Luffy, with the sausage still in his mouth, trembled with excitement.
Rayleigh picked up his wine glass. "About ten years ago, I saw Shanks, but his straw hat was gone.
When I asked him why, he excitedly told me about you. However, when he mentioned your younger brother, his expression was a bit dejected, with a hint of something subtle.
As if he was disliked... Hahahaha."
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