Silvers Rayleigh — the Dark King.
There was no need for any introduction; everyone knew exactly who he was.
"I don't recall ever meeting such a wealthy young man before," Rayleigh said, shaking the empty bottle in his hand. "How shall I thank you?"
"He's the slave the Marines have been searching high and low for these past few days," Shakky said from the side, chuckling softly.
Even without her saying it, Rayleigh had already recognized Oboro, since Oboro had removed his disguise.
"Would a great man like you do me the favor of taking this off?" Oboro asked, pulling open his collar to reveal the slave collar around his neck.
Rayleigh smiled but said nothing.
At that moment, Shakky slid a glass of liquor toward the old man and reminded him, "He paid off all your debts, you know."
"Ah, well… in that case, I suppose I have no choice but to give it a try. After all, it's hard to refuse when someone's been so generous. And truth be told, my finances have been rather tight lately," Rayleigh joked.
He set the bottle down on the table with a loud clack, then walked over to stand in front of Oboro. Oboro stood up as well, meeting his gaze directly.
"Only something made by the Celestial Dragons could be so unusual… it's far more troublesome than a regular slave collar," Rayleigh murmured. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes behind the lenses fixed intently on the object around Oboro's neck.
"…There's a chance you might die, you know," he added after studying it for a moment, glancing up at Oboro.
Dom swallowed hard, his body tense with anxiety.
"It's fine. Do what you must," Oboro replied calmly.
At once, Rayleigh's rough, calloused hand gripped the collar. His fingers applied pressure, and at the same time, the skin on his arm became coated in a metallic, gleaming sheen — the manifestation of Haki.
Oboro focused his gaze, closely examining the power being displayed right before his eyes.
He was observing every detail.
The reason he had sought out Rayleigh was twofold: first, to destroy the collar and break free from the Celestial Dragons' control; and second, to witness Haki firsthand, so he could understand the principles and techniques behind its use.
Crack!
First, fine fractures appeared on the collar's surface, shards of metal exploding outward. Immediately after, flashes of electricity and sparks erupted from it.
A bright gleam flashed across Rayleigh's glasses. In an instant, he crushed the collar completely, ripped it free from Oboro's neck, and then, pushing off powerfully with his legs, shot out of the tavern at a startling speed.
BOOM!
The three people inside heard a deafening explosion.
The door frame shook and rattled violently…
Moments later, Rayleigh walked back in, his slippers slapping against the floor. He was covered in a layer of black ash, and his white hair was disheveled, but he was completely unharmed.
"Truly dangerous work, that was," Rayleigh muttered to himself, returning to his seat.
"Boss!"
Dom's eyes lit up, overwhelmed with excitement.
Without that collar, at the very least, Oboro was no longer under an immediate threat to his life.
Who exactly is this old man? Dom wondered.
Thinking back to what had just happened, he couldn't help but stare at Rayleigh. The man seemed… absurdly strong.
Dom had initially taken him for just a drunken old vagrant. But the aura and the speed he had displayed in that split second… in all his years sailing the seas, Dom had never seen anything like it.
And he had never even heard rumors of such a figure living on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Thanks," Oboro said with a faint smile.
"No need. Now… we're even," Rayleigh replied, lifting the glass Shakky had filled for him and raising it toward Oboro.
In truth, Oboro couldn't be certain Rayleigh would actually help him. But at that moment, Rayleigh was the only person on the entire archipelago capable of doing what needed to be done.
Oboro had come to him purely on a gamble.
"Tell me then… how did you come to know about me?" Rayleigh suddenly asked, shifting the topic.
He had lived in seclusion here for years, keeping his head down, just like any ordinary old man.
Only Shakky knew his true identity, and she would never reveal his whereabouts to outsiders.
"Actually… your presence on Sabaody isn't exactly a secret," Oboro answered.
In the original history, Oboro recalled, when Luffy and his crew arrived here, Admiral Kizaru had reported to Marine Headquarters that intelligence regarding Silvers Rayleigh had been appearing on the island for about two years… but each time, it had been suppressed by Garp, who insisted it wasn't worth bothering Sengoku over.
But within the Marines, there were definitely those who knew traces of Rayleigh's existence… Besides, Sabaody Archipelago was practically right under the nose of Marine Headquarters at Marineford.
Both sides had simply reached a silent, unspoken understanding.
"Hahaha!" Rayleigh laughed heartily.
"I see… so you're more than just a slave of the Celestial Dragons. You're an interesting one. There aren't many young people as sharp as you left on these seas… Do you intend to set sail?" Rayleigh asked, continuing the conversation.
Oboro was already preparing to leave with Dom.
Rayleigh's question meant: Do you plan to become a pirate?
After all, it was obvious at a glance that Dom was a pirate.
Moreover, almost every slave who managed to escape the control of the Celestial Dragons eventually found themselves unable to escape the sea itself.
Finding a place completely cut off from the world to live out one's days in peace was simply impossible.
You could call it fate… or you could say that the only way to seize control of your own destiny was to stand up and fight.
"I do," Oboro nodded.
"Now that the situation has calmed down a bit, you should leave quickly. If you stay here much longer, no one will be able to save you," Rayleigh warned. "I hope I'll be reading news about you in the papers before long."
Oboro offered no reply. He simply turned and walked out the door with Dom.
...
"Boss… seriously, who was that man?" Dom finally asked once they were outside, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.
"Nothing more than a remnant from a bygone era," Oboro replied dismissively.
...
"What do you make of him?" Shakky asked Rayleigh back inside the bar.
An escaping slave — something that hadn't happened in many, many years.
For the Celestial Dragons, such an act was a blow to their authority, so the manhunt would undoubtedly become even more intense and widespread.
But the fact that Oboro had successfully escaped proved he possessed extraordinary abilities.
"He's… somewhat terrifying," Rayleigh said, downing his drink in one go. His expression had suddenly turned grave.
"Hmm?" Shakky paused, her fingers still holding her cigarette.
Terrifying?
Coming from him… she almost thought she had misheard.
"When I was using my Haki just now, I clearly saw the change in his eyes. At first, he was observing… but in the next moment, his look shifted to one of understanding. It was as if… in just a split second, he grasped the fundamental principles of how Haki works. Him coming here to find me… it might not have been just about removing the collar. That might have been his true goal all along," Rayleigh explained.
"Is that for real? Can someone really be that exceptional?" Shakky asked, looking stunned.
To understand it just by watching once?
That was impossible…
"Maybe you're just imagining things?" she challenged.
"Perhaps… even I find it hard to believe," Rayleigh replied with a dry laugh. "I might just be overthinking it."
"But let's say, for argument's sake, that he really did understand it just by watching… Haki isn't something you can master in a day or two. Without systematic training and proper guidance, even if you manage to produce some semblance of it, it will never be solid or reliable."
"There's something strange about him… At first glance, he seems like just an ordinary person. But the feeling he gives off… is actually quite dangerous."
"Besides, finding this place means he definitely has an 'intelligence network' backing him up," Shakky added.
"I recognized the tattoo on the other pirate who came with him. It belongs to a group called the Flame Dragon Pirates — a very small, unremarkable crew. Their captain's bounty isn't even very high."
She moved closer to Rayleigh. "You were happy about it, weren't you?"
"Happy about what?" Rayleigh replied, feigning ignorance.
"Since when did you become such a kind‑hearted soul, helping anyone who asks?"
"Didn't you tell me he paid off all my outstanding bills?" Rayleigh scratched his head and grinned foolishly.
Shakky didn't press the matter further. She walked out from behind the counter and switched off the lights, preparing to close up for the night.
"He's certainly a mysterious one…" Rayleigh murmured, thinking about Oboro, who had just left.
He had expected Oboro to ask for his help in escaping the Sabaody Archipelago.
To only ask for help removing the collar… that suggested he had no intention of leaving the island anytime soon.
It seemed things were not going to be peaceful on the archipelago for quite some time.
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