"Boss lady, come on out — it's handled." Shirakawa called toward the kitchen, where Shakky was having a smoke. He didn't really know what to call her, so he settled on "boss lady."
After all, if he called her "Auntie Shakky," the moment she heard the word auntie, she'd probably turn on him in an instant.
"Oho, little Shirakawa — not bad at all." Shakky offered her praise.
By the time she stepped out, every last trace of the pirate crew's vicious, snarling faces had vanished. Every man looked at Shirakawa with nothing but pure fear in his eyes.
They worked with timid, cringing movements, terrified of causing any further damage to the place. None of them wanted to experience that feeling ever again.
They had no idea it was Conqueror's Haki. As far as they knew, the sheer force of his presence had simply scared them unconscious.
"Hey, Shakky — could you drop the 'little'? Otherwise I'm going to start calling you Auntie Shakky."
"You dare?" The moment she heard the word auntie — a word that made her sound especially old — Shakky's expression shifted instantly. It was as though black lines had materialized above her head, and an ominous dark aura radiated from her entire body.
The pirates busy repairing the bar immediately felt an overwhelmingly oppressive pressure bearing down on them, so terrifying that their hair stood on end and cold sweat streamed down their backs.
But when they realized the woman's attention wasn't aimed at them, they finally breathed easier.
"You got the guts to say that again, little Shirakawa?" Shakky's lips were curved in a smile, but Shirakawa could see it for what it was — a cold smile, a deeply sinister and cunning smile.
"Uh... Sis Shakky. Sis Shakky." Shirakawa hastily corrected himself. This wasn't him backing down — this was him respecting the elderly and cherishing the young, upholding the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.
"Well, well — what's with the crowd today?" Right then, Rayleigh returned. One glance at all these men doing menial labor, and he understood exactly what had happened. This wasn't the first time he'd seen a scene like this.
"You're..." The pirate captain who caught sight of Rayleigh's face was instantly dumbstruck. The firestorm surrounding the Roger Pirates still hadn't died down yet — he had practically every member of the crew memorized and burned into his brain.
And the man standing before him was the one etched deepest into his memory: the Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates, the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
What is someone of his stature doing here? Though his heart churned with shock, he didn't dare voice it aloud. He was afraid of being silenced — permanently.
After all, ever since Roger's death, his crew had scattered to every corner of the world and gone into seclusion. Only a handful of members still roamed the seas openly — and the Dark King Rayleigh was certainly not among that handful.
To think he'd be swaggering around the Sabaody Archipelago in broad daylight, right under the Navy's nose... The captain felt a deep, profound admiration for Rayleigh swell within him.
"Why are you still here?"
Just then, Rayleigh's gaze landed on Shirakawa. His grinning, easygoing expression shifted in an instant, hardening into something grim and severe.
"I'm leaving, alright? I'm leaving." Seeing the transformation on Rayleigh's face, Shirakawa immediately felt deeply wronged. He'd helped them out with such a huge mess, and instead of thanking him, they were chasing him out the door.
"Go. Go on, get out. Stop cluttering up the place."
"Hmph." Shirakawa stormed out of the bar in a huff, figuring he'd just find some random inn to crash at for the night.
"Is this really okay?" Watching Shirakawa's retreating figure, Shakky asked with a trace of reluctance.
"Hmph. No need to feel sorry for that brat. He's been putting on an innocent act for us this whole time. If I didn't know him as well as I do, he'd have fooled me too."
Back in the days aboard the Oro Jackson, Rayleigh had long since learned that Shirakawa was an expert at putting on a mask — a brilliant actor. There were times when he was clearly the one who'd caused trouble, yet he could put on such a perfectly innocent face that the blame ended up squarely on Buggy and Shanks instead.
Hearing Rayleigh put it that way, Shakky suddenly recalled the scene from the night before. Every single time Rayleigh had made a move, a pointed cough had sounded from the neighboring room.
"Looks like that boy played me for a fool all day today." Shakky let out a rueful chuckle. She'd always thought she was the best actor around — never expected there was a master hiding right next to her.
This, too, was why Rayleigh had been so irritated today. Fine, so you knew what was going on last night — but did you have to make noise about it? Constantly interrupting his and Shakky's... good time.
"As expected of the Vice Captain. You really do know me well."
And it was exactly as Rayleigh had said — every single thing Shirakawa had done had been deliberate. If his strength were a little weaker, his hearing a little duller, that would be one thing — maybe then he wouldn't have been able to catch the sounds from next door.
But not now. Now, his strength was immense, and his hearing was top-tier. Every noise from the neighboring room reached his ears with perfect clarity. He had no desire to spend the night trapped in that kind of torment.
The next day, word got around: one of the Supernova crews that had arrived the day before had gotten their teeth kicked in at some bar. The other two crews who'd come in alongside them found this... intriguing.
They wanted to see for themselves just what kind of bar could be so cursed.
Unfortunately for them, luck wasn't on their side. The one manning the bar the next day wasn't Shirakawa — it was Rayleigh. The moment they laid eyes on Rayleigh, they were so terrified they didn't dare make a single sound.
When they got fleeced, they could only swallow their rage in silence. But who could they blame? They could only blame themselves. No one forced them to get curious about this place.
And with so many customers walking right through the door, why wouldn't Shakky fleece them for all they were worth?
Besides, with Rayleigh there, none of them dared cause trouble. It actually saved her quite a bit of hassle.
Two more days passed in the blink of an eye. Shirakawa didn't return to Shakky's bar during that time. Instead, he made another trip back to Water 7 to deal with some matters concerning Tom.
He had to admit — Tom had been running into a lot of trouble lately. At times, Shirakawa even found himself wondering if he needed to grab one of his crew members and station them here specifically to protect Tom's safety.
The idea took root in his mind and wouldn't let go. He decided that once he'd finished dealing with the Adam matter, he'd ask his crew who happened to be free at the moment.
"So, Rayleigh — how've the last couple of days treated you?"
The moment he stepped into the bar, Shirakawa directed the question at Rayleigh, who was seated at the counter.
"Heh heh — what do you think?" Rayleigh looked at Shirakawa and flashed an utterly lecherous grin. It seemed the past two days had treated him very well indeed.
"Never a serious bone in your body."
Right then, Shakky gave Rayleigh's ear a twist — though Shirakawa could tell she hadn't used any real force. It looked more like flirtatious banter than anything, and it instantly dealt a critical ten-thousand-point blow to Shirakawa the bachelor.
"Anyway — is there some other reason you're here?"
"Don't tell me, Rayleigh... you actually forgot about my business?" Just how thoroughly had Rayleigh been indulging himself these past few days?
"Your business? Ah — your thing with Morgans. If you hadn't reminded me, I'd have clean forgotten."
"Heh. Even if you remember now, it doesn't do me much good. You're not the one helping me track down the Adam wood."
It suddenly dawned on Shirakawa that Rayleigh might very well be doing this on purpose just to piss him off.
/-\
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