Although they hadn't known each other before, Shakky was a very talkative person. She was also someone who had lived since the Rocks era, so the two of them sitting there certainly had things to discuss.
Moreover, Shakky's information network was quite good. Running a bar on such a special island, she could gather intelligence from both the New World and Paradise.
The two hadn't been chatting long when a middle-aged blond man walked over, drinking with his head tilted back.
Rayleigh recognized Ren's identity immediately. Although the two had only interacted once before, he was someone from that era. To put it bluntly, even an old enemy might feel some emotion upon meeting again.
"I never expected to see you here. How did you find me? Oh, as expected of the Raiden Shogun — the sake you brought is way better than what this dump sells!" Rayleigh took the drink Ren handed him and sat down boldly at the counter, a manner that even Shakky found hard to watch.
Rayleigh had either reached some agreement with the Marines, or perhaps it was Roger who had made that deal with them. The bounties on the former Roger Pirates members seemed to have been lifted.
Even Shanks's bounty was only reissued after his second voyage.
Because of this, the former Pirate King's crew members didn't face purges from the World Government after retiring. Instead, some other people were dragged into it.
For example, the shipwright Tom from Water Seven, who was convicted for building a ship for the Pirate King.
Ren could somewhat understand the reasoning. In the World Government's eyes, the Pirate King's crew members had all reached Laugh Tale and knew the world's secrets — if those people would just stay quiet and not disturb their rule, that would be more than good enough. Now that most of them had vanished, why go looking for trouble?
It was precisely because of this that, after the Roger Pirates disbanded, the public gradually forgot what the Pirate King's crew members looked like. Now if Rayleigh walked down the street, people would only see a fit, handsome middle-aged man.
So Rayleigh found it strange that Ren could still find him under these circumstances.
"I have my own channels." Ren didn't explain further. Rayleigh wasn't a bad person — his teaching skills might be lacking, but he was decent as a drinking buddy.
The two drank and chatted, and eventually the topic turned to Kozuki Oden.
"How is Oden doing now? After I left him on that island back then, I never heard news of him again," Rayleigh asked. He still didn't know about Oden's fate, and his face even wore a nostalgic smile.
"I still remember he wanted to open his homeland Wano Country's borders. But it seems he never succeeded. That guy also complained more than once that you refused to become Wano Country's shogun. Hahahaha…"
"There is no more Wano Country," Ren said flatly.
But that simple, light statement made Rayleigh freeze.
"No more Wano Country? What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like — Wano Country has been destroyed, and Kozuki Oden is dead. And not just Oden — his retainers all died in battle too," Ren slowly explained, but Rayleigh seemed unable to process it.
So Ren continued, "Kaido once occupied Wano Country. This is somewhat secretive, but I think you must know about it?"
"…I did hear something about that. But wasn't there a rumor that Kaido was killed by you? Was that false information?" Shakky leaned in, confused.
"No, that's true. Kaido really did die at my hands." Ren didn't deny it.
At this point, Shakky still hadn't understood, but Rayleigh had already figured out the general situation.
Ren had always presented himself as the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, never claiming to be the Raiden Shogun of Wano Country. That meant although he came from Wano Country just like Oden, he wouldn't interfere in Wano Country's affairs.
Yet a Ren like this had personally killed Kaido, who occupied Wano Country — that meant Oden must have already been killed. And since Ren, a pirate, had taken action, he wouldn't have just driven off the enemy and left like some hero. He had truly taken over "Wano Country."
Wano Country must have become part of Inazuma by now, which was why Ren said Wano Country had been destroyed.
That was exactly right. The name of the country that still existed now was — Inazuma!
For a moment, Rayleigh felt a profound sense of change.
He wasn't interested in Wano Country's current situation. Whether it was called Wano Country or Inazuma, it was just a name. And it was quite possible that under Inazuma's rule, the people's lives were actually better than before.
Because no matter how he thought about it, Kozuki Oden would never have been a qualified ruler.
What pained him now was simply that his old friend was dead.
The two sat in silence for a while. Rayleigh drank cup after cup, as if trying to digest the unpleasant news. After a moment, he said, "Has the current… no, has Inazuma opened its borders?"
"It's still in a semi-open state — entry and exit inspections are strict, but it's no longer completely sealed like before. However, many people's mindsets haven't changed that quickly, and in practice, not many people are willing to go to sea," Ren explained.
Hearing this, Rayleigh nodded and continued, "Oden always said you were the only person in all of Wano Country who could understand his ideas. That guy's wish was to open the country's borders. If he could see Inazuma as it is now, he'd surely be happy."
It seemed Kozuki Oden hadn't just been fooled by Ren himself — he'd dragged even the former Pirate King's crew members along with him.
In any case, right now in Rayleigh's eyes, Ren was a thoroughly noble person.
After talking for a while, Ren got up to leave. Before going, he invited Rayleigh to visit Inazuma proper when he had time, and to pay respects to Kozuki Oden while he was at it.
Ren could even treat him to Kozuki Oden's version of oden at that time.
After leaving Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Ren saw that Saya and the others hadn't returned yet. So he used his specially made Den Den Mushi phone to head to the auction house first.
The Den Den Mushi phone was developed by Keiko based on the Den Den Mushi's communication method. It not only had ordinary phone functions, but also expanded to include video calls and text messaging.
It didn't seem like many features, but the successful development was largely thanks to Saori's Mochi-Mochi Fruit abilities.
[
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