Rayleigh was not truly looking down on Pini and Youki. He was simply conserving his stamina.
In his assessment, the rest of the crew aboard the Dawn ship posed little threat. The only slightly troublesome ones were Pini and Youki. As for his true objective, it was the man known across the seas as the Heavenly Emperor, Ash.
According to the intelligence gathered through Shakky's network in the underworld, Rayleigh already knew most of what there was to know about the Dawn Hunter Pirates. That included a crucial detail, Ash would always appear whenever the Dawn ship docked, whether in the Four Seas or during their time in Paradise.
Based on that, Rayleigh and Shakky had formed a theory. The crew likely possessed a long distance movement type Devil Fruit.
Because of that, going directly to Gourmet Island to confront Ash was not a wise decision. If things turned unfavorable, Ash could simply escape. On top of that, Gourmet Island was densely populated. Any large scale conflict there would draw the Marines' full attention.
So Rayleigh chose a different approach.
He would attack the Dawn ship directly, eliminate the crew as quickly as possible, and wait for Ash to come to him.
He had not intended to come alone. Before setting out, he had arranged to travel with Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea.
Hatchan was not only Rayleigh's savior, but also Jinbe's junior. Bringing Jinbe along would ease the burden. At the same time, the incident involving Amazon Lily had already put Rayleigh and Shakky at odds with Wyper, making Jinbe's involvement even more convenient.
However, after entering the New World, Jinbe never showed up. Rayleigh's small boat was eventually overturned by the waves, leaving him no choice but to swim and pursue the Dawn ship on his own.
Now, as Pini and Youki continued to see through his tactics, Rayleigh began to take them more seriously.
They were still young, but their instincts were sharp.
Against such opponents, he had no intention of holding back any longer.
"Hmph, if you want to see my Haki so badly, then watch carefully."
Rayleigh let out a quiet sigh. Conserving stamina was no longer realistic if he wanted to end this quickly.
So he would finish it in one decisive exchange.
As his voice faded, his body twisted with unnatural precision, narrowly avoiding the lightning Pini released. At the same time, his left hand, coated in Armament Haki, moved to intercept Pini's incoming punch.
Just as their fists were about to collide, Rayleigh's wrist shifted again. With a subtle motion, he deflected the strike and seized Pini's wrist.
In an instant, the situation flipped.
Pini was pulled off balance and thrown behind Rayleigh. Without hesitation, Rayleigh's greatsword descended toward Pini's neck.
On the other side, Youki had just emerged from the aftermath of the previous clash. A thin line of blood marked his right shoulder, evidence of a minor injury.
Even as he moved earlier, shifting position and dropping rapidly, Rayleigh's slash had still managed to graze him.
It was clear.
Rayleigh had already predicted his movement.
The moment Youki landed, he saw Pini's arm twisted behind his back, the blade about to fall.
Forgetting all restraint, he shouted, "Transform, idiot!"
Pini had not completely lost the ability to fight back. His attack had simply been neutralized too easily. Worse, in that brief moment, he felt like he had almost grasped Rayleigh's deflection technique, which distracted him at the worst possible time.
Hearing Youki call him an idiot again only irritated him further, but he had no room to argue.
He had indeed made a mistake.
Whether it was his own lapse or the lingering influence of Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki, he could not tell.
There was no time to think.
Lightning surged.
Responding instinctively to Youki's shout, Pini activated his transformation.
This was the first time in three years that he had used the full power of his Mythical Zoan.
His body began to expand rapidly.
At that exact moment, Rayleigh's blade struck.
But Pini's form was already swelling. What should have been a fatal strike to the neck instead hit his back.
The blade, even with Armament Haki, only tore through the outer membrane. It did not draw blood.
Rayleigh's eyes narrowed slightly.
A Mythical Zoan, and such overwhelming durability.
Could it be comparable to Kaido's Azure Dragon?
He did not dwell on it for long.
Pini and Youki had no time to care either.
For three years, they had restrained themselves. Under Ash's instructions, none of them had used their full transformations, only their hybrid forms.
Now, that restraint was gone.
Pini's body surged past fifty meters in height within seconds, rivaling the massive corpse of Oars that Youki had once seen.
But it did not stop.
One hundred meters.
One hundred and fifty.
Three hundred.
Still growing.
His form completely changed. A human face, a horse's body, tiger like stripes, and massive bird wings. A true manifestation of a mythical divine beast.
"No, Pini, get higher!"
Youki's expression changed as he realized the transformation had not stopped. Pini's sheer size already occupied a large portion of the forest area.
The destruction of the forest did not matter much. They had people who could restore it later.
But beyond the forest were Saff and Nojiko's orchards, along with the courtyard where everyone usually gathered.
If those were destroyed, Pini would not escape punishment.
For a brief moment, Youki hesitated, almost reconsidering whether he should have warned him.
Meanwhile, Pini continued to grow.
By the time his transformation stabilized, he had become a colossal beast stretching nearly a thousand meters in length. Thunderclouds formed beneath him as he rose into the sky.
His enormous shadow covered the Dawn ship entirely.
Even Kaido's transformed form could not compare in sheer presence.
From the tower behind the ship, Saff stood with Nami and Nojiko, watching the battlefield.
Nami's eyes widened. "Sister Saff, is that the Demon God Transformation? Will we become like that too?"
Saff kept her gaze fixed on the battlefield, particularly the devastated forest. She silently thanked the fact that they now had several wood type ability users. Otherwise, Tsuki would be left alone to repair everything again.
After a moment, she replied, "My brother and I haven't used it either. Ash said our Devil Fruits are Ancestral Shaman types, different from the Mythical ones Pini and Youki have."
"He mentioned we could choose between a humanoid form and a divine beast form, but I don't know the details."
Nojiko frowned slightly as she looked at the damage below. "When is the captain coming back? Kirk and Tsuki have been searching for him for a while."
Saff let out a quiet sigh.
"If Ash isn't off at Carnival Island watching Carina perform, then he's probably somewhere chasing after new food."
She paused, then added calmly,
"It's fine. My brother will find him."