The clash of two blades erupted with a thunderous shockwave that made the massive mangrove trees all around them tremble as though caught in a storm. The ground beneath Rayleigh's feet split into a spiderweb of cracks, but his stance was firm, his hand gripping his sword with unshakable steadiness.
"You've grown stronger," Rayleigh remarked, the gleam on his glasses flashing white. "But…"
In an instant, his body shifted. With a sudden release of force, he stepped aside. Ritter's heavy sword cut through empty air, the balance of his swing broken. Rayleigh seized the opening with surgical precision, driving the butt of his sword hilt into Ritter's midsection.
"Guh !" Ritter coughed blood as his body was hurled backward, tumbling across the fractured earth.
Groaning, Ritter propped himself up and glared across the ruined clearing at Rayleigh, who stood as if he had barely moved. Damn it, he thought. This was Rayleigh in his prime, not the old man the world would someday remember. Was it always this difficult to fight a legend? Were all relics of the old era such monsters? He grimaced and laughed bitterly to himself. Well, wasn't he also considered a remnant of a world the Navy wanted erased? Whatever the case, he had made up his mind Rayleigh was going down today, no matter what.
From the sidelines, Tezoro and the others looked on in stunned silence.
"So this… this is the strength of the Pirate King's first mate?" Lina whispered, covering her mouth with trembling hands.
Ritter wiped the blood from his lips and grinned wickedly. "Old man, you love to pretend you're untouchable. But that last strike must've stung, didn't it?"
He raised Blacktide, his greatsword, high above his head. Scarlet mist swirled around him like a living storm. Then, with one fluid motion, he unleashed a sweeping slash. Nine arcs of sword energy split the air, each one alive with killing intent.
"Fog God Style Secret Art: Blood Prison Dragon's Nest!"
The blood mist surged wildly, coalescing into nine colossal dragons of crimson vapor. Their bodies crackled with streaks of black and red lightning, the tangible mark of Conqueror's Haki woven into their very forms. The ground quaked as the sky itself seemed to darken beneath their presence.
Even Rayleigh's expression shifted from calm amusement to solemn focus. "Tch… this quality of Haki… outrageous. What a monster you've become."
The nine dragons roared in unison and dove downward, their combined force shaking heaven and earth. For a brief moment, Rayleigh's vision blurred, and he saw Shakky his Shakky running into the battlefield. It wasn't mere hallucination; Ritter's mist had twisted his perception, tugging at instinct and memory, forcing his heart to believe what his mind knew was false. That single heartbeat of hesitation was all Ritter needed.
"Dark King's Art Amaterasu!" Rayleigh's voice thundered. A golden pillar of sword energy erupted skyward, ripping through the bloody storm. The blast obliterated everything in its path, shattering mangroves and collapsing the land into a basin-like crater.
The world shuddered. Mangrove trees snapped like twigs, waves surged as the seabed shifted, and the battlefield became a scar carved into the archipelago itself.
"What in the world just happened?!" A drunk pirate stumbled out of a tavern, slack-jawed at the sight of the golden beam.
"It's the Dark King, Rayleigh!" another screamed, pointing at the sky still glowing with residual light. "He's fighting someone! Someone strong enough to face him head-on!"
Elsewhere on the island, a Marine patrol officer froze in terror. Snatching up his Den Den Mushi, he shouted into it with a trembling voice, "Hurry! Contact headquarters! Someone's fighting Rayleigh on Sabaody, and they're holding their ground!"
At the center of the devastation, Ritter and Rayleigh stood in the collapsed crater, swords locked together. Their bodies dripped with blood and sweat, yet neither yielded.
"Not bad, kid," Rayleigh admitted between breaths, a faint smile tugging his lips. "Even knowing it was an illusion, I couldn't stop myself from believing it for a second. I don't even know when you slipped that trick into me."
Ritter, just as battered, collapsed onto the ground and laughed in exhaustion. "Don't care if I poisoned your mind or not, old man. Fact is, in front of Shakky, you couldn't let yourself fall, could you? Hahaha! But I still won!"
In truth, he knew better. Rayleigh was a monster through and through. If Ritter had used his full power, he might have absorbed Rayleigh's strength and left him broken or worse. But Ritter had held back, out of respect. Even so, he couldn't resist teasing.
Rayleigh slid his blade back into its sheath, but the moment he did, a spasm wracked his chest and he spat a mouthful of blood. Ritter's mist had lingered in his body, and only now did Rayleigh manage to expel it. Had Ritter not gone easy, this battle could have ended very differently.
"You've still got a long way to go," Rayleigh muttered gruffly. "Come back when you can take ten of my strikes."
"Ten?!" Ritter roared. "We just fought three hundred rounds, old man!"
"That was me holding back."
"Bullshit! Your arm's still shaking!"
The two continued to argue like schoolboys as the sun dipped low, painting the battlefield in orange hues. One old, one young, bickering as if the earth-shattering clash had been nothing but a sparring match.
Spectators exchanged confused glances. Who had really won? They had seen Rayleigh cough blood, but Ritter had collapsed first. No one could say for sure.
At Shakky's bar, the woman herself sighed when the two limped back, still trading barbs. "You two scared off all my customers," she said flatly.
"We'll pay, we'll pay!" Ritter declared with reckless cheer. He spun around and called to Tezoro. "Old Tez, you're covering the tab!"
Tezoro, as always, gave a silent nod. He never contradicted his captain in public.
Rayleigh poured himself a glass of liquor, but his eyes were thoughtful. "About that favor you promised Fisher Tiger…"
"Relax!" Ritter slapped his chest confidently. "It's just a trip to Mary Geoise, right?"
Then he leaned closer, whispering mischievously. "But tell me, old man… when are you and Shakky finally having a kid? I've been waiting to call myself Uncle Ritter."
A double strike immediately landed Shakky's fist and Rayleigh's palm smacked him into the floorboards in perfect unison.
Enel picked his ear idly and glanced at the groaning Ritter. "Do we… save the captain?"
"Let him get it out of his system," Tezoro said calmly, lighting a cigar.
Later, under the canopy of Sabaody's night sky, the Blood Dawn crew sat with Rayleigh and Shakky around a crackling bonfire. Fisher Tiger grilled fish over the flames, his cloak hiding most of his features. Ritter wrestled with Rayleigh for the last piece of meat, snarling like a child.
"Hey! I cooked that!"
"Respect your elders, brat!"
"Elders my ass! You were swinging your sword like a demon just minutes ago!"
Shakky chuckled quietly, watching the scene. To Fisher Tiger, she said softly, "Don't worry. With them on our side, the plan for Mary Geoise will succeed."
Ritter swigged from a bottle and turned suddenly to Tiger. "Hey, old brother, let me ask you something. Why risk your life to save those human slaves? From what I've seen, fishfolk don't exactly hold humans in high regard."
The fire crackled, shadows flickering across Tiger's face. His eyes hardened as he set the grilled fish aside. "Ritter, when the old king led us to victory, I too held bitterness toward humans. But when I was taken as a slave, I understood something. Suffering knows no race."
He clenched his fist tightly, knuckles whitening. "In Mary Geoise, I saw human children treated as pets. I saw mermaids skinned alive. I saw countless races crying in the same cages. In the cruelty of the Celestial Dragons, all are equal equal in tragedy."
Rayleigh silently poured him a drink. Tiger accepted, but his eyes shimmered with memories of three young girls Boa Hancock and her sisters. "Those kids… they called me 'Brother Tiger.' They gave me their last piece of bread. Even as slaves, they shared what little they had with me."
He drank deep. "This world is wrong. I know I can't change everything, but I'll do what I can."
Ritter watched him for a moment, then smiled. "Interesting answer. But remember this the world isn't black and white. It's gray. Not every human deserves hatred, and not every fishman deserves pity. Trust is built by action, not blood."
Tiger blinked, then laughed and raised his glass. "Well said, Ritter. I'll remember that."
Ritter threw an arm around his shoulders, grinning. "Good. And don't you dare get yourself killed over ideals. Staying alive is the most important thing."
Tiger nodded with conviction. "I've already prepared myself to carry the burden."
Tezoro's brow furrowed. He sensed where this was going. "Captain… you're not planning to storm Mary Geoise alone, are you?"
"Sharp as ever," Ritter grinned. "That's exactly what I'm planning. You lot will draw the Navy's attention elsewhere."
Enel crackled with lightning. "What nonsense is this? This god "
"That's an order." Ritter's tone hardened, his eyes sharp as blades.
Shakky exhaled a ring of smoke. "He's right. Your crew's flag draws too much attention. Even this feast could only happen because Ritter and Rayleigh cleared the spies off the island."
Rayleigh spread a map on the table. "In three days, the Navy will be running drills at G-14. Perfect chance for you to make some noise."
Ritter glanced at Rayleigh and Shakky together and chuckled to himself. What a terrifying pair they made, strong and clever in equal measure. The perfect couple.
Tezoro nodded quickly. "An alibi, then. Understood."
Lina's eyes brimmed with tears. "But Captain Ritter, alone…"
"Who said alone?" Ritter suddenly hooked an arm around Rayleigh's shoulders, flashing a devilish grin. "I'll have a retired Dark King watching my back."
Rayleigh sighed deeply. "…Why me?"
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