Chapter 160: What Are You Pretending For, Rayleigh!
Kuina's footsteps faltered slightly, and she glanced over her shoulder.
But it was only a glance. She quickly turned back and continued walking ashore, leaving only a calm sentence in her wake: "You are not worthy."
"Huh?!"
Sasaki's wild laugh froze on his face, a vein throbbing on his temple. "Don't look down on me! You bastard! Do you know who I am—"
Before he could finish his sentence, his figure had already shot forward, his blade aimed at Kuina's back!
THUMP!
With a dull thud, Sasaki was brought to a dead stop in mid-air. He was taken aback and looked up.
A massive, tower-like black shadow was blocking his path. A large hand, coated in a dark Armament Haki, was clamped around his blade like an iron vice.
"Oh? A fellow Fish-Man," Jack grinned, revealing his sharp fangs. "You've got some strength, but your hearing isn't so good. Didn't our vice-captain make it clear enough…"
"...that a guy of your level is not worthy of challenging her!"
His right hand suddenly squeezed.
CRACK—
In an instant, Sasaki's blade was crushed.
"How?!"
Sasaki's pupils constricted. Before he could react, Jack had already thrown a heavy punch, which slammed into his chest!
BOOM!!!
A terrifying force of impact instantly erupted, and Sasaki was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through several pirate ships docked at the port before finally slamming into a distant mangrove trunk!
The dust settled.
Sasaki's eyes were vacant as he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his chest. His limbs twitched a few times, and then he was still, his fate unknown.
"..."
A dead silence fell over the entire port.
The soft popping of the soap bubbles was now exceptionally loud.
Countless uncertain gazes shifted back and forth between Jack and Kuina.
After a long time, whispers finally broke out.
"Such ferocious strength! Who is that big guy?"
"I don't know either. Hey, you, don't you have the wanted posters for the Curtain Call crew? Take them out and compare!"
"I already did! None of the photos match! He must be a new member…"
A new member?
The surrounding pirates all gasped.
That was Sasaki! The fleet admiral with the second-highest bounty among the five Supernovas, a renowned swordsman, and he had been defeated with a single punch by a rookie with no bounty?
If even a rookie was this strong, then how powerful were the other, more experienced officers of the Curtain Call Pirates?!!
"..."
Galette, who was standing at the front, had a cold sweat on her forehead. She exchanged a look with Haruta. "What do you say?" she said, her voice hoarse. "We can't count on Sasaki now. Should we retreat?"
"No way. That would be a complete loss of face," Haruta said, taking a deep breath. He looked at the retreating figures of Kuina and the others, then at Jack, who was blocking their path. He tightened his grip on his sword and said in a low voice, "Regardless, we have to defeat this guy."
I can't be as disgraced as Sasaki!
Fight, I have to fight. But the objective has to be adjusted a little.
From the three of them teaming up to try and wipe out the entire Curtain Call Pirates, it had now become the two of them teaming up to see if they could defeat this rookie.
Still want to fight?
Jack grinned and took a step forward.
He was also curious to see if these two, together, were strong enough to force him into his mammoth form!
But just then, two more figures came down from The Curtain Call.
One was a mature woman with a refined air, and the other was a beautiful young woman with fiery orange hair.
"Hey, Jack!"
Nami called out to the eager Jack with a grin. "Don't hog all the fun! Let me and Robin-san take these two!"
"No problem, Boss Nami!" Jack said without a second thought, immediately stepping aside.
"...You want to show off, but don't just drag me into it," Robin said, exasperated.
"What's wrong with that, Robin-san?! Our bounties are lagging way behind! Don't you want to catch up to them?!"
Nami said, blinking. "You've gotten so much stronger in the past two months of seclusion! Don't you want to take this opportunity to test out your new moves?"
"And besides…" she said, leaning in and whispering, "we didn't leave any of the CP9 agents alive in Water 7, so the World Government still hasn't noticed that you're on our ship! We can't have that! If you show off a little with me, we can announce to the whole world that you've been one of us for a long time!"
"..."
Robin looked at her and, in the end, she couldn't help but chuckle. "That's… a reason I can't refuse."
————
Four figures clashed.
The sudden eruption of roaring flames and the sprouting of countless arms from the ground drew gasps of admiration from the onlookers.
No one noticed that on the top of the tallest building, a young figure was watching the scene with a smile.
He rested his chin on his hand and sat lazily on the edge, his black hair rustling in the sea breeze.
"As expected, they're no longer on the same level as the Supernovas…"
These five Supernovas were not weak. Not to mention the two conspicuous Minks, he also had an impression of the other three.
Sasaki, one of the Tobi Roppo of the Beast Pirates.
Haruta, the 12th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Galette, the Minister of Butter of the Big Mom Pirates.
All three of them would become high-ranking officers under the Four Emperors in the future. Especially Sasaki and Haruta, who would have bounties of 500 million.
But now, they had just finished the first half of the Grand Line, and their strength had not yet fully developed. They were not worthy of him personally taking them on.
Therefore, he had not shown himself, leaving the opportunity to show off to Kuina and the others.
And Kuina and the others had followed his lead and had also, in a tacit understanding, let the three with the lowest bounties on the crew have a go.
Good.
This way, Jack's and Robin's fame and bounties would catch up to the crew's average.
And Nami's Flame-Flame Fruit ability, displayed in front of so many people, should also let those idiots in the Marine intelligence department know just how wrong they had been before.
Shane then looked over at Kuina.
The young swordswoman was leading the rest of the crew toward the shipyard.
This was as per his instructions on the ship, to go and meet with the coating artisans.
After they had settled on a price, they would split up and, while the ship was being coated, they would explore this fantastic archipelago.
And as for him, the hands-off captain… of course he had things to do…
—Shearing wool was a serious business, and he couldn't forget it.
Shane closed his eyes slightly, and his Observation Haki, like a tide, spread out in all directions.
The Sabaody Archipelago was too large. Even his Observation Haki couldn't cover it all.
But to cover the dozen or so islands around Grove 52, which included all the shipyards and coating workshops, was no problem.
"Tsk, slacking off again?"
He didn't find any special auras, and Shane opened his eyes with a little disappointment.
It wasn't particularly surprising.
Silvers Rayleigh, the old geezer who was living in seclusion here, had never been very diligent about his coating work.
In his spare time, he would either go drinking or gambling, and when he was broke, he would sell himself to the slave traders for fun.
"I'll just go straight to Grove 13,"
Shane shook his head.
He was too lazy to waste time searching. It was almost dinnertime. He would just go to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar and wait.
He refused to believe that an old man who was craving a drink wouldn't show up.
He tapped his toes, and his figure instantly vanished from the edge of the tall building, becoming an afterimage as he silently flew over the town, heading for the lower-numbered islands.
…
About a dozen kilometers off the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago, a large Marine warship was cutting through the waves at full speed.
Chaton stood at the bow, a cigar between his teeth, his face a little grim.
For the past week, he had, as per Sengoku's instructions, searched all the islands in the direction Doflamingo had come from, but he had found no trace of Shane.
In the end, he had had to give up and was now returning to Headquarters to report.
What a disappointment.
Chaton smacked his lips with regret.
He had been promoted to Admiral candidate for a few months now, and he still hadn't had a single noteworthy achievement. There were bound to be some unpleasant rumors circulating among the ranks.
He had been hoping to take down the billion-Berry wanted criminal this time and make a name for himself…
"Go ahead… what? Alright, I understand!"
The voice of his adjutant suddenly came from the side.
When the Transponder Snail was hung up, Chaton lazily looked over. "What is it? A communication from Headquarters?"
"No, Mr. Gion. It's the Sabaody Archipelago branch," the adjutant said with a smile, shaking his head. "It seems a group of pirates are fighting at one of the shipyards on the island, and it's causing a lot of commotion. The branch base is mobilizing its forces to go and check it out."
"Our ship is heading for Marineford, but because we're so close, we also received the emergency communication signal. Do you want to go and take a look, Mr. Gion?"
"Is that so…" Chaton raised an eyebrow.
Pirates causing trouble in Sabaody was a common occurrence. Normally, the branch base could handle it, and there was no need for an Admiral candidate to get involved.
But… he had just been on a wild goose chase for a week, and his hands were itching for a fight.
"I'm bored anyway. Let's go and take a look,"
Chaton said, blowing a smoke ring with a grin. "I'll just take out my frustration on them. It's their own bad luck for crossing my path."
"Yes, Mr. Gion!"
…
Meanwhile, at Grove 1.
SWISH!
A figure suddenly fell from the sky.
It was Shane.
He hadn't appeared at Grove 13. Instead, he had come to the Human Auctioning House on Grove 1, and was now squatting on a grassy hill, his chin resting on his hand, looking at the auction house with interest.
The reason he had stopped here was simple.
The Devil Fruit Radar was on.
Before he had even arrived, the radar had turned on, and as he got closer to the auction house, it had turned yellow.
That meant that a Devil Fruit was within a ten-kilometer radius.
And the area around the auction house was all open grassland, so he was almost certain that it was inside the auction house, one of the items being auctioned.
They sell slaves and Devil Fruits?
That saves me some trouble.
Since it's a villain's thing, I can just go in and take it. And while I'm at it, I can free some slaves and clean up some of the despicable slave traders in the auction house.
Unfortunately, I didn't run into any Celestial Dragons.
Shane's gaze swept over the various vehicles parked outside the entrance, but he didn't see anything special, and he was a little disappointed.
The Sabaody auction house, and the chance to meet the hardworking Saint Charlos, should have been an unmissable part of the experience, right?
"Hmm?"
A scarlet light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He seemed to have sensed something, but he remained seated, unmoving.
In the next moment, a long sword was placed on his shoulder.
"The Tachi Swordsman, Shane, with a bounty of a billion Berries. If I were you, I wouldn't move,"
a low, slightly hoarse voice came from behind. The blade pressed down slightly, the sharp, cold edge almost touching Shane's neck.
"I'm not moving, am I?"
Shane still didn't turn around, his tone casual. "This is an unexpected way to meet… Silvers Rayleigh."
"You know me?"
the voice from behind said, a hint of surprise in it.
"The right-hand man of the Pirate King, the vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, it's hard not to, right?"
Shane said, glancing at the sword by his neck. "I originally thought I'd run into you at a bar, and we'd have a drink or something. I didn't expect this… can you tell me why?"
In the reflection of the cold blade was the aged face of Rayleigh, his hair and beard both silver.
"Have you forgotten?"
Rayleigh said, his eyes narrowed as he looked at him. "About four or five years ago, you killed some Fish-Men in the East Blue. One of them, an octopus Fish-Man named Hachi, once saved my life at sea. And from then on, I swore that I would never allow anyone to hurt or bully him. But he died at your hands."
"Hachi…"
Shane thought for a moment.
That name is so distant. He only remembered Arlong from the Arlong Pirates. He did have an impression of Hachi, but the other officers… Kuroobi? Chu?
"Ah, I remember now,"
Shane grinned. "That guy followed Arlong and invaded my hometown. I tore him to shreds. It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Should I have invited him for a drink instead?"
"Of course you should have killed him,"
Rayleigh said, shaking his head, much to his surprise. "That kid was kind and reliable by nature, but unfortunately, he fell in with the wrong crowd. Since he chose to leave the Sun Pirates and join a villain like Arlong, then whether he intended to or not, he was bound to commit many evil deeds."
"Then I don't understand,"
Shane said, tilting his head slightly. "Since you also think he deserved to die, and you know that I was right to kill him, why are you pointing your sword at me now?"
"If you had stayed in your hometown, if you had remained a civilian, I would have never come after you. In fact, I heard about the demise of the Arlong Pirates from the newspaper five years ago, but I never went to the East Blue to find you,"
Rayleigh said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "But the situation is different now. You have become a pirate, and you have come to me. If I still do nothing, then I would truly be breaking my promise, my debt of life."
"If you choose to become a pirate, you must be prepared to die at any time. Just like Hachi paid the price for his evil deeds, isn't that right?"
Rayleigh sighed softly. "But in the end, Hachi was the one in the wrong. And I really don't want to see a promising young man of the new generation, who could have stirred up a storm in the New World, die so young. So, I have no intention of taking your life."
Shane finally turned around and looked at the old man, his eyes narrowed. "Then what do you want?"
"Your little finger for his life,"
Rayleigh said, his expression complex. "I need it to pay tribute to Hachi's soul. Just that, it's not too much to ask, is it? You can either do it yourself, or I can help you."
Shane stared at Rayleigh for a few seconds, and then he suddenly smiled.
"My little finger for his life?"
A mocking smile played on his lips. "And you want me to do it myself? Do you think that's possible, Rayleigh? Are you getting old? Have you been in seclusion for too long? Has your brain gone soft?"
Rayleigh frowned slightly, the tip of his sword still resting on Shane's neck. "Young man, I am not negotiating with you."
"Coincidentally, I'm not negotiating with you either,"
Shane's smile vanished, and his eyes suddenly grew sharp. "So much talk, and in the end, it's all for a scumbag. You want me to pay the price? Then why are you standing here, acting all high and mighty…"
As he spoke, his right fist suddenly clenched, and a black and red Conqueror's Haki, as tangible as a physical object, instantly wrapped around it, the violent energy fluctuation distorting the air!
"—WHAT ARE YOU PRETENDING FOR, RAYLEIGH!"
Rayleigh's pupils constricted, his Observation Haki screaming a warning, but before he could react—
BOOM!!!
Shane's fist had already slammed into his face!
Rayleigh hastily blocked with his sword.
But the force of the punch was far beyond his imagination. The blade bent on impact, and the terrifying force of the blow shot through his body, sending him flying!
SWISH—!!!
Rayleigh's body carved a trench hundreds of meters long in the grassland before finally crashing into the main entrance of the auction house in the distance.
THUMP!
The entire building trembled violently, and the exquisite, classical carved doors were shattered into a thousand pieces. In the swirling dust, the nobles inside screamed in terror, and the crowd scattered like a tide.
In the swirling dust, Rayleigh slowly stood up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked up, a look of utter shock on his face as he watched the black-haired young man walk toward him, step by step.
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