"Alright then, I'll leave Meiser in your care." Hancock nodded. "I hope you'll be a qualified teacher."
"Don't worry, I'm quite confident in my teaching abilities." Rayleigh smiled with upturned lips.
Hadn't he taught that kid Shanks? So... he was very confident indeed!
"Good."
Hancock nodded, then turned to Meiser. "Meiser, if you need anything, just call me."
"I'll come find you here by ship immediately."
Feeling the warmth in Hancock's eyes, Meiser smiled gently. "Alright, if I need anything, I won't stand on ceremony with you."
"Then... I'll be going now..."
"Have a safe journey."
"Mhm."
Having received his response, Hancock began walking toward the Kuja Ship, looking back every few steps until she and the Sandersonia sisters finally boarded the vessel.
"Goodbye, brother-in-law!"
"Safe travels!"
"Right!"
Soon, under the Navigator's direction, the pirate ship gradually moved away from Rusukaina Island, then turned to sail toward Kuja Island.
Hancock stood by the ship's rail, staring at the distant island until it disappeared from view.
"Full speed back to Kuja Island!" Hancock ordered.
"Yes, Snake Princess!"
The Navigator immediately began operating the pirate ship upon receiving the command.
"Sister, should we go hunting during this period?" Sandersonia inquired.
Uncle Rayleigh said the way to awaken Haki Infusion was through combat, so should they still go out looking for prey during this time?
Hearing this, Hancock hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Forget it, let's not go out for now."
"Meiser might contact me at any time, so I need to stay on Kuja Island."
"Moreover... I can use this time to train Little Merry."
Since she had promised to help Meiser train Merry, she couldn't go back on her word.
This time, Sandersonia simply nodded without saying anything more.
"Stop looking, they're already far away." Rayleigh said.
Hearing Rayleigh's words, Meiser smiled, then turned his gaze back to Rayleigh. "Uncle Rayleigh, shall we start training now?"
"No need to be in such a hurry."
Rayleigh took a swig of alcohol before saying, "Tell me, how did you manage to attack Mary Geoise and retreat unscathed?"
Meiser nodded and began recounting his recent experiences to Rayleigh.
Listening to Meiser's story, Rayleigh widened his eyes. "So, in the eyes of the World Government, you're currently in a 'dead' state?"
"Yes."
"No wonder you were so confident before..."
Using this feigned death, you completely deceived the World Government!
This way... the World Government won't deliberately cause trouble for the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates. That's excellent!
"If I weren't confident, I wouldn't have attacked Mary Geoise," Meiser said with a laugh.
Rayleigh fell silent for a moment before remarking with some emotion, "Ninjas... truly are a remarkable race."
Their abilities were both powerful and practical!
"Hehe, my crewmate's amazing, right?" Luffy chuckled proudly.
He looked as delighted as if Rayleigh had been praising him.
"Yes, indeed remarkable."
At that moment, Meiser said, "Uncle Rayleigh, I encountered someone at Mary Geoise who looks exactly like Shanks."
"Someone who looks exactly like Shanks?"
Rayleigh was taken aback. Was there such a thing?
"Meiser, you saw Shanks again?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.
Meiser: —
So what was this idiot even listening to?
Selectively hearing only what he wanted to hear?
With an exasperated expression, Meiser could only explain again, "Not Shanks, someone who looks like Shanks. I suspect he might be Shanks' twin brother."
Luffy was stunned. Shanks had a twin brother?
How come he didn't know?
Ignoring Luffy's dazed expression, Meiser turned to Rayleigh and said, "Sister Shakky said the same thing."
"Well, that's possible."
Rayleigh thought for a moment before saying, "After all, we found Shanks at God Valley."
"By the way, you know about God Valley, right?"
"Of course I do." Meiser nodded. "Granny Nyon and Sister Shakky have both mentioned it."
He'd heard the name more than once, so he was quite familiar with the place.
"That's good."
Rayleigh nodded and continued, "Back then, after we participated in that war at God Valley, we left with a batch of treasure."
"And Shanks was the one we found inside one of those treasure chests."
Recalling the first time he saw Shanks, a faint smile appeared on Rayleigh's face.
"So that means Shanks is a Celestial Dragon too?" Meiser said.
"A Celestial Dragon?"
Luffy was shocked. Could Shanks be one of those detestable people?
No, Shanks is a good person!
Even if he were a Celestial Dragon, he must be one of the good ones.
With that thought, Luffy calmed down and continued eating with his head lowered.
After glancing at Luffy, Rayleigh said, "Based on what you're saying, Shanks is most likely a Celestial Dragon."
"But he's different from those arrogant ones - he's quite easy to get along with."
At least he'd never seen any of the Celestial Dragons' arrogance in Shanks!
"He grew up with you all, so of course he wouldn't pick up the bad habits of Celestial Dragons," Meiser said.
"Well... that's true."
Some people's personalities might indeed be innate, but most are influenced by their environment.
Not having lived in Mary Geoise, he naturally wouldn't develop that superior attitude.
Then Rayleigh said, "So are you very interested in that person who looks like Shanks?"
"Not really."
Meiser shook his head. "I only mentioned him because he resembles Shanks."
"According to what they said... that person is the vice-captain of the God's Knights."
"The God's Knights, huh..."
Upon hearing this name that felt both familiar and unfamiliar, Rayleigh's expression visibly turned grave, clearly indicating he knew something about it.
"It seems Shakky was right—you really have fought against the God's Knights," Meiser remarked.
At Meiser's words, Rayleigh glanced at him and asked, "Did Shakky tell you everything?"
"Yes, she did," Meiser nodded. "Including the part about her being a treasure."
Hearing this, Rayleigh understood his meaning.
It was clear that Shakky had recounted everything that happened back then to him.
In that case, there was no need for him to hold back.
With that thought, Rayleigh said, "Your sister Shakky is right. I did fight against the God's Knights back then."
"However, the person I fought wasn't particularly strong. I defeated her after just a brief skirmish."
"Defeated?"
Meiser keenly picked up on the word in Rayleigh's statement and immediately asked, "Even you couldn't kill the enemy?"
"I didn't finish her off," Rayleigh explained. "At the time, I was in a hurry, so after defeating her, I left without looking back."
The situation back then was extremely urgent, and lingering would have been disadvantageous for them. So, after defeating the enemy, he decisively went to find Shakky.
As for whether the enemy recovered afterward, he had no idea.
Meiser nodded in understanding and then asked, "So how did you suppress their Super Regeneration?"
"With Conqueror's Haki!"
"Conqueror's Haki?"
"Yes!" Rayleigh nodded with a serious expression. "As long as you can use a sufficiently powerful Conqueror's Haki Infusion, you can suppress their regenerative abilities and defeat them!"
And this was the main reason he was able to defeat the enemy.
"So it's because of Conqueror's Haki Infusion..." Meiser muttered. "No wonder those guys were so excited when they saw me awaken Conqueror's Haki."
So they were afraid that once I mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion later on, I'd turn around and slaughter them all?
Then, Meiser continued, "Can Conqueror's Haki Infusion kill them completely?"
"Well..."
Rayleigh hesitated for a moment before saying, "Gaban did mention a key point back then."
"What key point?"
"Use a strike infused with Conqueror's Haki to sever the arm of the God's Knights that bears the tattoo!" Rayleigh said. "That can suppress their regenerative abilities and defeat them!"
"Tattoo?"
Meiser was taken aback. Severing the tattooed arm could suppress their regenerative abilities?
What kind of strange logic was that?
"Exactly, the tattoo," Rayleigh confirmed with a nod.
"So, as long as you cut off that arm, it should work, right?"
"Well... to be honest, I can't be sure."
Meiser: ???
Wait, how could he not be sure again?
Perhaps sensing Meiser's confusion, Rayleigh explained, "Back then, I didn't sever the enemy's arm—I cut her in half!"
"But the effect was similar to what Gaban described."
"So..."
Rayleigh didn't finish his sentence, but Meiser understood his meaning.
Since the enemy was already defeated, there was no way to determine which method had actually worked.
After a moment of contemplation, Meiser said, "Regardless, it's correct that using Conqueror's Haki Infusion can suppress their regenerative abilities."
As for whether to cut off the tattooed arms... he could test that when he encountered the God's Knights again!
"That's true."
Rayleigh nodded and said, "Whether the tattoo is effective or not, you must attack with Conqueror's Haki Infusion; otherwise, you won't be able to suppress them."
No matter what, Conqueror's Haki Infusion is unavoidable, so... to deal with those guys, you must first master this power!
"It seems we still have a long way to go," Meiser said, rubbing his temples.
"Take it slowly."
Rayleigh said, "Both of you possess Conqueror's Haki, so I believe you will definitely master this power in the future!"
After all... that is the stepping stone to becoming a top-tier powerhouse!
Without such power, Luffy couldn't possibly become the Pirate King, so he believed they would surely master this ability.
"Yeah, I believe we can do it too," Meiser said with a slight smile.
"Exactly!"
Luffy, having swallowed the food in his mouth, stood up and declared, "I'm the man who will become the Pirate King! I'll definitely master this power!"
Seeing the confident expressions on their faces, Rayleigh also broke into a smile.
"That's right, you should have that confidence!
Only those with such confidence can master Conqueror's Haki Infusion!"
Thinking this, Rayleigh smiled even more broadly and took a swig from his bottle of alcohol.
Then, he stood up and said, "Let's go, back to the center."
"After eating and drinking our fill, we continue training!"
Meiser nodded upon hearing this. "Let's go then."
After calling out to Luffy, Meiser followed Rayleigh deeper into the forest.
Luffy, meanwhile, rolled up the unfinished food and hurried after them.
"This really is a primeval forest," Meiser muttered, observing his surroundings. "Plenty of wild beasts and insects."
His eyes could keenly spot the massive figures moving in the distance within the forest.
Their size was truly impressive.
"Precisely why I chose this place for training," Rayleigh said.
Combat is the best way to enhance Haki, and those enormous wild beasts are the perfect sparring partners!
With these creatures around, these two will definitely grow stronger quickly!!
Hearing this, Meiser paused and looked at Rayleigh in surprise. "Uncle Rayleigh, you're not thinking of having me fight those things, are you?"
Those big guys are indeed large, but they're no match for me!
"I have that in mind," Rayleigh nodded.
"You can't be serious, I—"
"I know what you're going to say," Rayleigh interrupted. "But until you master Haki proficiently, you're not allowed to use those peculiar abilities of yours."
After a pause, he continued, "Especially Hypnosis and that pale golden Giant armor!"
Relying on those powers, Meiser could easily take down these beasts, but that wouldn't help strengthen his Haki!
So... he hoped Meiser would set aside those abilities until he fully mastered Haki.
"Not using Ninja methods?" Meiser frowned.
"Correct."
Meiser fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Seeing that Meiser didn't resist his training plan, a smile appeared on Rayleigh's face.
He then said, "Don't worry, after you fully master Haki... combining your Ninja abilities with Haki will make you even stronger!"
Rayleigh spoke these words with great confidence!
"Understood." Meiser nodded.
He understood this logic well—it was precisely why he had agreed.
Then, Meiser turned to look at the sea behind him, his gaze gradually deepening.
"Just wait... two years from now, I will definitely become much stronger!"
At this moment, Meiser was filled with confidence!
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