"Ha! Then I admit defeat on the money," Rayleigh said heartily, waving a hand. "As for coating your ship—no problem!"
But Arthur merely shrugged.
"The money really is borrowed. And the coating fee—I'll pay that too. I don't take advantage of anyone."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Seeing his puzzled face, Arthur sighed, growing impatient.
"Miss Shakky here deals in intelligence. She should know we just came out of Impel Down. We're broke.
So, yeah—we're just borrowing from you temporarily. Once the coating's done, I'll settle everything at once."
Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged a look—
and suddenly it all made sense.
"Ah, a misunderstanding then!" Rayleigh chuckled, scratching his head. "You should've said that earlier!"
Said it? I said it ten times already… who told you to jump to conclusions first?
Seeing Arthur's annoyed expression, Shakky quickly stepped in.
"My fault, my fault. I misjudged you, Mr. Flying Thunder God. Come, let's go back and talk it over properly. The money's nothing—borrow as much as you need."
Well of course you can afford it, Arthur thought dryly. A single drink in your bar costs tens of thousands of berries.
He rolled his eyes, but seeing Shakky's embarrassed smile, he didn't press it further.
"We don't need much," he said calmly. "Just some basic supplies and a few cloaks. My crew stands out too much—it'll be easier to move around if they cover up."
He pointed behind him.
Rayleigh followed the gesture—and froze.
His eyes went wide.
"Redfield!?"
Even he couldn't hide his shock.
No wonder he hadn't noticed earlier—Redfield had been standing quietly at the back, barely moving, his aura completely suppressed.
And besides, all the reports from the Marines said only Waldo and Crocodile had escaped with Arthur.
No one had mentioned Redfield at all.
"Long time no see, Rayleigh," Redfield said lightly.
That was all. No explanation, no theatrics.
Rayleigh knew Redfield well enough—he wasn't one for small talk.
They exchanged brief words of courtesy, but the look in Rayleigh's eyes betrayed his thoughts.
He was stunned.
As they headed back, both he and Shakky felt a chill run down their spines.
Thank goodness we didn't fight them seriously.
One Arthur was terrifying enough.
Add Redfield to the mix?
If those two had decided to go all out, they wouldn't have lived to regret it.
Meanwhile, aboard the Golden Scaled, the atmosphere was entirely different.
That fight had lifted everyone's spirits to the heavens.
Rayleigh wasn't like their past opponents.
Even compared to a Marine Admiral, he was on another level—a legend, the Dark King, the right hand of the Pirate King himself.
To have defeated a man like that…
Even the usually stoic Crocodile raised his glass a little higher that night.
He didn't say much—he rarely did—but the faint tremor in his breath gave him away.
They were proud.
Every one of them.
Of course, it wasn't a perfect victory—Rayleigh was long past his prime.
Still, even if he'd been in his golden years, they all believed the result would've been the same.
Only… there was no way to prove it now.
Carmen, meanwhile, was completely starstruck.
It was her first time witnessing a true powerhouse in battle—and it had shaken her to the core.
Now, when she looked at Arthur, her eyes gleamed with awe.
She busied herself carrying dish after dish to him, those big bright eyes shimmering with admiration.
Arthur smiled wryly.
He could tell he'd left a mark on her heart.
As for romance… he wasn't quite sure how to handle that.
Better to let it take its own course.
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sea in gold.
The crew sat on deck, watching the sunset, drinking fine wine, and enjoying Carmen's cooking.
Laughter and conversation filled the air.
There were no titles here, no ranks—
even Rayleigh treated Arthur as an equal.
And in truth, the younger man's composure, insight, and strength hardly matched his age.
Beside him sat Redfield, another living legend.
For Rayleigh and Shakky, it felt nostalgic—like sitting among the greats of a bygone era once again.
They couldn't help but sigh, memories flooding back.
By nightfall, the Golden Scaled was back at the dock.
Arthur borrowed 100,000 berries from Shakky and entrusted the ship to Rayleigh for coating.
He promised to return in three days to settle the debt—then led his crew to find a place to stay.
Rayleigh even gave them a few spare cloaks from his workers' stash—
perfectly ordinary gray robes, but useful for hiding their faces.
Arthur and the others put them on immediately.
Now, with their hoods drawn, they looked like nothing more than a group of traveling monks.
Carmen walked in front, playing the part of a merchant girl, while the four cloaked figures followed as her guards.
It was the perfect disguise—and it'd save them from unnecessary trouble.
He wasn't afraid of trouble, of course.
He just didn't have the time for distractions.
Everything would wait until he got his hands on the Vampire Fruit.
They found an inn, spent a quiet night, and at dawn, the plan began.
After breakfast, Arthur gave a single look—his crew understood immediately.
Time to move.
They made their way toward the Human Auction House, the one secretly controlled by Donquixote Doflamingo.
Finding a quiet corner nearby, Waldo took off his cloak and sighed dramatically.
"Boss, you better come save me later."
"Stop whining. You still don't trust me?" Arthur said dryly.
"Ready?"
Waldo nodded, resigned to his fate.
In the next instant, Arthur placed a finger against his chest—
and zapped him with a precise jolt of lightning.
Waldo convulsed once and collapsed, smoke curling from his hair.
Even Carmen couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth.
"Alright, cut it out," Arthur said, smirking. "Your turn, Carmen. Don't be nervous—we've got you covered."
"I know."
She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Marching right up to the front gate, she jabbed a finger at the guards.
"Get your boss out here!"
The guards frowned.
"What's your problem? You trying to start something?"
"I've got a big deal for him," Carmen said coolly. "Up to him if he wants it."
The guards exchanged uncertain glances.
She didn't sound like she was bluffing.
One of them finally nodded and went inside to report.
A few minutes later, a slick-looking man strutted out, every inch of him oozing arrogance.
He gave Carmen an obvious once-over, his lips curling into a lewd grin.
"Well, well… what's a pretty lady like you doing here?
Don't tell me your 'big deal' is selling yourself?"
"Hahaha!"
His men roared with laughter.
The smile on Carmen's face vanished.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, her Elephant Blade was drawn and extended, the sharp tip stopping just short of the man's nose.
He froze.
A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek as he stared cross-eyed at the blade's edge—so close he could feel the cold steel on his skin.
His knees buckled.
"W-wait—!"
He collapsed onto his rear, trembling.
"S-she's a tough one!"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786