Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki erupted, crashing over the Darons crowd like an invisible, suffocating tidal wave.
Ordinary citizens, unable to withstand the spiritual pressure of a top-tier legend's, fell unconscious one after another.
Yet... the people of Darons did not yield or retreat.
Those who collapsed were quickly caught and carried away to the back by their comrades, while others, still standing with shaking legs, stepped forward to take their place at the edge of the chasm.
Rayleigh felt a deep, uncomfortable tremor in his heart.
Resistance to Conqueror's Haki came in only two forms: either possessing the Haki oneself, or wielding an absolute unwavering conviction.
These shabbily dressed, starving citizens clearly lacked Haki, but the unyielding fire of vengeance in their broken hearts granted them a different, terrifying means of defiance.
Still, their willpower could only keep them from fainting—physically crossing the chasm guarded by the Dark King remained impossible.
But if looks could kill, Rayleigh and Rouge would have been pierced through a thousand times by the pure hatred radiating from across the divide.
...
High above the clouds, aboard the hovering Ark Maxim, Vice-Admirals Raleigh and Sakazuki looked down at the standoff in the jungle.
To conceal their presence from the Dark King's Observation Haki, they had ascended to a massive altitude, now perfectly observing the scene through Dr. Vegapunk's newly invented, high-powered telescope.
"Hah. As expected... Rayleigh the Dark King has appeared to protect the bloodline," Sakazuki's voice dripped with absolute killing intent.
His right arm was already beginning to bubble with magma.
"Hmph. I thought the mob could resolve this before he noticed. But since he has shown up, I will just take care of him too," Raleigh snorted coldly, completely unconcerned about whether the legend actually appeared.
To him, even if the Dark King did show up, it wouldn't affect his justice in the slightest—one or two more pirate deaths made no difference.
"Shall I deal with him?" Sakazuki asked, cracking his molten knuckles.
Raleigh shook his head and smirked.
"Leave the Dark King to me, Sakazuki-senpai. I have some personal history with him—he left me with these scars on my chest during our last encounter."
Raleigh was someone who held deep grudges.
Roger had left scars on his body during a battle in the North Blue, so after Roger's execution, Raleigh had personally decapitated him and placed his head atop the mound of corpses.
He had also leaked the classified information about Roger's child to his victims.
Now that Silvers Rayleigh had appeared to play the hero, naturally he couldn't be allowed to live any longer either.
Moreover, the Dark King was deeply connected to the future Joy Boy.
Eliminating him here might bring massive, unexpected benefits for Raleigh's control of the timeline.
"I'm heading down now, Sakazuki-senpai. Cover me from the sky, and be ready to deal with that other person who shouldn't be here."
After Sakazuki nodded grimly, Raleigh stepped off the edge of the golden ship, diving like a missile from ten thousand meters in the sky.
...
Below in the jungle, after a brief period of Haki-induced chaos, a middle-aged man wearing a tarnished gold crown emerged from the front of the Darons crowd.
His hair was prematurely graying, his face incredibly haggard, but he stood resolutely at the very forefront of the chasm.
"You must be the legendary great pirate... the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh."
Rayleigh looked at this crowned man, unsure of his exact identity, and asked softly, "Are you a King?"
The man nodded, his eyes burning. "Thats right. I am the King of the Darons Kingdom. If you have no recollection of our small, insignificant kingdom... perhaps you remember the five thousand fathers and sons slaughtered by Pirate King Roger on Kogesi Island?"
At these heavy words, the Dark King's memory was instantly pulled back to that day.
Of course he remembered.
No one could ever truly forget five thousand soldiers they had personally helped kill over a petty insult.
Rayleigh had nothing to say in his defense.
After a long moment of heavy silence, he spoke softly, "My deepest apologies."
"That incident was indeed Roger's wrongdoing. I apologize on my Captain's behalf. But this unborn child is completely innocent—he wasn't involved in any of our crimes. Moreover, Roger has already been executed by the Navy. His head was even taken by them as a public trophy. Has enough blood not been spilled?"
The King of the Darons Kingdom nodded slowly. "So... you are determined to stop us from finding justice today?"
The King let out a dry, humorless laugh.
"How laughable that I would seek sympathy or justice from an executioner. If I recall correctly, Dark King, you also actively participated in that massacre."
"Though you just apologized, you have taken no concrete action to make amends for the widows we left behind. In truth, you never truly recognized what you did as wrong, did you?" the King asked, his voice echoing through the jungle.
"You pirates always believe that in this world, the strong make the rules. That no matter how many 'ants' are crushed beneath your boots, they remain just ants. So you felt no psychological burden after slaughtering five thousand of my soldiers—you might have even forgotten their faces."
"But today, my people and I have come to tell you a new truth, Pirate." The King drew a rusted sword.
"When there are enough ants... they can slay even the arrogant gods of the sea!"
The King of the Darons Kingdom removed his tarnished crown and handed it to a weeping attendant behind him.
"I came here today with absolutely no intention of returning to my kingdom alive. After my death, the Crown Prince shall temporarily assume the throne." The King raised his voice so the entire mob could hear him.
"My final royal decree is this: whoever can bring me the severed head of Roger's child shall inherit the throne of the Darons Kingdom!"
The King, having removed his ornate outer robe, revealed a physique that was far from robust or powerful.
Yet, with unwavering determination in his eyes and fearless courage, he leaped across the fissure.
He landed heavily before the Dark King.
He no longer cared about his own life.
The exact moment Rayleigh appeared, the King knew his goal of killing the woman today was physically unattainable.
But to answer to the grief of his people, he chose without hesitation to offer his own neck to Rayleigh's legendary blade.
His televised death at the hands of the Dark King would ensure that from this day forward, every single soul in the Darons Kingdom—and every greedy bounty hunter coveting a royal throne—would relentlessly hunt down Roger's son until the end of time.
"Do it, Pirate!" The King of the Darons Kingdom stood calmly before Rayleigh, spreading his arms.
"Show the world your true romantic freedom!"
Rayleigh tightened his grip on his sword, deeply pained by the situation.
He closed his eyes, and...
BOOM!
Rayleigh unleashed his Conqueror's Haki once more, intending to merely knock the King out to prevent him from throwing his life away.
"Long time no see, Dark King... Rayleigh!!!"
An arrogant voice cast a sudden shadow over Rayleigh's heart.
This was immediately followed by a blinding flash of light that erupted directly before him, instantly sending the Dark King flying violently backward through the trees.