Rayleigh slowly pushed himself up from the ground, his face pale from exhaustion and blood loss.
The moment he stood upright, his body swayed slightly.
He immediately clutched the place where his left arm had once been. Pain twisted across his face.
The wound was horrifying.
Before he fell into the sea, the magma from Akainu had already burned the stump into a charred and bloody mess. After drifting in the ocean for days, the saltwater had repeatedly seeped into the wound.
Even someone as strong as Rayleigh struggled to endure that kind of pain.
Shanks stood nearby, watching silently.
His voice came out softly.
"Uncle Rayleigh… your arm…"
Rayleigh lowered his gaze toward him.
His eyes soon rested on the straw hat hanging on Shanks' back.
The moment he saw that hat, memories surfaced in his mind.
He remembered the first day he met Roger.
Back then, Roger had worn that exact straw hat when he invited Rayleigh to join his crew.
Thinking about Roger caused Rayleigh's eyes to redden.
He raised his hand and placed it gently on Shanks' head.
A strained smile appeared on his face.
"Shanks, Roger gambled his life for the sake of the new era."
He paused for a moment.
"Compared to that… what does the loss of one arm matter?"
Shanks quickly wiped the moisture gathering in his eyes.
He looked up at Rayleigh with a conflicted expression.
"Uncle Rayleigh… who exactly is the person Captain Roger was waiting for?"
His voice trembled slightly.
"Is it really worth paying such a huge price for someone who might never appear?"
Rayleigh frowned immediately.
His expression turned serious.
"It is worth it."
His tone was firm and unquestionable.
"Shanks, Roger thought very highly of you."
His gaze sharpened.
"Do not disappoint him."
"And do not disappoint the comrades who died."
Shanks opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more.
However, his eyes soon fell on the horrifying wound where Rayleigh's arm had been severed.
The brutal injury made the words in his throat disappear.
What he truly wanted to ask was something else.
Why could the person Roger was waiting for not be him?
Or Buggy?
Was everything in this world already decided long ago?
Shanks lowered his head and remained silent.
Seeing this, Rayleigh sighed quietly.
"Take good care of that straw hat."
He then looked toward Buggy, who was still unconscious nearby.
"Wake Buggy up."
"We will stay on this island for a few days to recover."
Shanks nodded.
After a moment, he asked another question.
"Where will we go after that?"
Rayleigh thought for a short while before answering.
"Sabaody Archipelago."
"I still have a friend there."
Shanks was surprised.
"Sabaody Archipelago?"
His expression turned uneasy.
"Uncle Rayleigh, that place is extremely close to Marine Headquarters."
"If the Navy discovers us…"
Rayleigh chuckled softly.
"Shanks, you are still too young."
He slowly explained.
"A huge number of pirates gather at Sabaody Archipelago all year long."
He looked at Shanks.
"Have you ever heard of the Navy conducting large scale purges there?"
Shanks thought carefully.
After a moment he shook his head.
"Not really."
Rayleigh nodded.
"Exactly."
Shanks became curious.
"Are there powerful people there that the Navy is wary of?"
Rayleigh gave a faint smile.
"There are certainly powerful individuals."
He paused briefly.
"But could they be stronger than Roger?"
Shanks fell silent.
Rayleigh continued calmly.
"What the Navy truly fears there are the Celestial Dragons."
"They do not like trouble happening in that place."
...
Meanwhile, far away in the East Blue, near Windmill Village, the sea remained calm and quiet.
A massive Navy warship slowly sailed through the waters.
On the shore of Windmill Village, several fishermen were staring at the enormous ship in the distance.
They began discussing it among themselves.
"Hey, that Navy warship has been staying around here for several days."
One fisherman scratched his head.
"Do you think they are carrying out some kind of mission?"
Another fisherman sighed.
"Who knows?"
"All I know is that they keep throwing explosive charges into the sea to catch fish."
He looked annoyed.
"Because of that, I haven't caught anything these past few days."
"If this continues, my whole family will starve."
Another fisherman quickly whispered.
"Keep your voice down."
"The Navy soldiers on that ship must be very important."
He pointed at the massive vessel.
"Besides the warship Vice Admiral Garp once sailed on, I have never seen one this large."
At the mention of Garp, the group fell silent for a moment.
One of them sighed deeply.
"I wonder how Vice Admiral Garp is doing now."
"He used to be the pride of Windmill Village."
Another man shook his head bitterly.
"Do not talk about that."
"It is all because of his son, Dragon."
He clicked his tongue.
"That unfilial brat."
"I could already tell something was wrong with him when he was young."
"He always behaved mysteriously."
Another fisherman added angrily.
"That kid really caused trouble and then ran away."
"Now his father has to bear the consequences."
Someone suddenly looked nervous.
"Wait…"
"Do you think that warship came here to capture Dragon?"
He swallowed nervously.
"Please do not let them accidentally bombard our village."
"For a place as small as ours, just a few cannon shots from that ship would destroy everything."
...
At the bow of the massive warship, Aokiji stood quietly while staring at the ocean.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"This is strange."
His voice carried a trace of confusion.
"I have been searching for nearly a week."
He looked across the sea.
"Forget Sea Kings."
"I have not even seen any large sea beasts."
Akainu and the others had taken Lloyd's final instructions extremely seriously.
Not long after returning to Marine Headquarters, before their injuries had even fully healed, they immediately began carrying out Lloyd's first order.
However, they were all important military forces of Marine Headquarters.
It was clearly impossible for all of them to leave at the same time.
After discussing the matter, they decided that Aokiji should handle the mission first.
His abilities made him extremely effective at operating in the ocean.
Yet despite that advantage, Aokiji had been patrolling the waters around Windmill Village for almost an entire week.
He still found nothing.
Just as he was feeling frustrated, something suddenly rose from the sea.
A giant dandelion shaped plant slowly surfaced.
Moments later, Aramaki appeared while standing on top of it.
He was wearing a bright floral shirt and equally ridiculous floral shorts.
In his hand he dragged a thin man whose eyes had already rolled back.
Seeing Aramaki dressed like a street thug, Aokiji frowned.
"Aramaki."
"You went drinking in the village again, did you not?"
His tone carried irritation.
"This mission was entrusted to us by Senior Lloyd."
"Can you be a little more serious?"
"I should never have brought you along."
Aramaki rolled his eyes and casually tossed the unconscious man onto the deck.
"Stop talking nonsense."
He looked annoyed.
"I am far more serious than you."
"Otherwise I would not have bothered coming."
He crossed his arms.
"You need to use your brain when doing things."
"Wandering around the ocean like a headless chicken will never help you find that Sea King."
Aokiji stepped forward angrily.
The two nearly stood face to face.
"Then tell me."
"How exactly should we find it?"
Aramaki snorted.
"That is exactly why I said you are brainless."
He raised a finger.
"When searching for anything, whether it is a person or a Sea King, the most important thing is information."
He tapped his chest proudly.
"Gathering information is my specialty."
"When I was doing this work, you probably did not even know where you were hiding."
Aokiji crossed his arms.
"Oh really?"
"Then tell me what information you found."
Aramaki grinned smugly.
"I heard something interesting at the tavern."
"There really is a Sea King nearby that looks like an eel."
He raised his eyebrows.
"The locals call it the King of the Near Sea."
"Quite a grand title."
He chuckled.
"It sounds like a troublesome creature."
Aokiji nodded slowly.
"And?"
"What else did you learn?"
Aramaki waved his hand.
"Relax, I have not even told you the most important part yet."
He continued.
"The villagers said that Sea King likes attacking small fishing boats."
"It especially enjoys eating humans."
Aokiji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So your idea is…"
Aramaki smiled.
"You still do not understand?"
"It is very simple."
"We just need someone to act as bait."
He then pointed at the unconscious man lying on the deck.
"I already found our bait."
He nudged the man with his foot.
"This idiot was drinking in the tavern and bragging loudly."
"He claimed to be some great Mountain Bandit King Higuma."
Aramaki laughed.
"And he was even showing off his wanted poster."
He smirked.
"When I saw it I was shocked."
"His bounty is actually 2,500,000 Berries."
____
Patreon = _Zeph