"Shenchuan?!"
Hearing those two words, Silvers Rayleigh was instantly taken aback, the imposing aura around him vanishing abruptly as he subconsciously asked:
"How do you know I have Shenchuan in my possession?"
Kyle revealed a mysterious smile.
"That's a secret!!"
Shenchuan was one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, and also the very long blade that Rayleigh used when clashing with Kizaru in the original story.
The reason for calling it a sword was that despite being named a 'katana', its shape differed from the typical blades of this world, instead resembling the longswords from his memory.
Rayleigh's brow furrowed slightly; Shenchuan was something he had coincidentally snatched... acquired from a group of pirates!
He had never used it in public after obtaining it, so how did Kyle know?
After a long silence, Rayleigh still couldn't figure out an answer and simply gave up thinking about it, looking at Kyle with a deep, thoughtful gaze as he spoke:
"Why should I lend Shenchuan to you? You're a Marine, I'm a pirate. Lending it to you would be equivalent to aiding the enemy, wouldn't it?"
"And what if you don't return it to me?"
"I will definitely return it to you, though whether you'll want it back by then, I can't say for sure!"
Kyle smiled, his words leaving Rayleigh somewhat perplexed.
But before Rayleigh could figure it out, Kyle spoke again:
"As for why you should lend it to me?"
As he spoke, Kyle turned his gaze towards Shakky, saying with a smile:
"Ms. Shakky, you know I'm a Marine, but do you know that Sengoku is my grandfather, Zephyr is my teacher, and Garp is my little brother's grandfather!"
"If Mr. Rayleigh refuses to lend me Shenchuan, then there's nothing I can do about it, since I can't defeat Mr. Rayleigh!"
"In that case, I'd have no choice but to invite my grandfather, Teacher Zephyr, and that old man Garp to come catch up with you both!"
"Given how well-acquainted you all were in the past, I'm sure they'd be very happy to see you two old friends!"
The smile never left Kyle's lips, but his words made the corners of Rayleigh and Shakky's mouths twitch.
You're threatening us, aren't you? You're absolutely threatening us, right?
Shakky and Rayleigh didn't believe Kyle would lie to them about such a matter, as there was simply no need for it!
After a moment of silence, the two instinctively glanced at each other, both seeing a trace of helplessness in the other's eyes, and then Rayleigh made a decision.
"Alright then, kid! I can lend Shenchuan to you!"
Having said that, he walked into a room inside the bar and emerged a short while later carrying a longsword.
If Kyle hadn't said what he did, Rayleigh would never have lent Shenchuan to a Marine under any circumstances.
What a joke?!
Did he, the Dark King Rayleigh, have no pride? Lending something just because a Marine showed up asking for it?
But if this Marine had those three old fellows as backing, then Shenchuan could indeed be lent out.
There was no other way!
Having finally settled into a stable life, they had no desire to see it disrupted again.
Sengoku and Zephyr were manageable to some extent, but that guy Garp was a genuine headache for the two of them, constantly being chased by him in their younger days.
They truly did not want to encounter that madman again.
Yet Rayleigh still felt a stifling anger in his heart; he had actually been threatened by a brat of a Marine, and the thought simply didn't sit right with him.
So, stopping a few steps before Kyle, he did not immediately hand over Shenchuan.
Instead, narrowing his eyes, he said:
"Before lending Shenchuan, I have a question I'd like to ask you too!"
"Go ahead!"
"I want to ask... why you have the audacity to come alone to borrow Shenchuan from me!!"
Before his words fully faded, an immensely powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted violently from Rayleigh's body, surging towards Kyle like a raging tidal wave.
And it was targeted solely at Kyle, with no effect on the surroundings, showcasing Rayleigh's precise control over his Conqueror's Haki.
Only Kyle bore the brunt of the impact, feeling as if a mountain were weighing down on his body.
Yet in this situation, far from showing any fear, Kyle's face was alight with excitement.
So this is the Conqueror's Haki of a top-tier powerhouse?
It really is formidable!!
Kyle raised his hand, and with a thought, the bottle of liquor on the bar counter instantly vanished, stored away into his system space.
Before Rayleigh and Shakky could even register their surprise, a similarly formidable Conqueror's Haki surged forth from Kyle's body, colliding head-on with Rayleigh's.
If it were only Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki alone, he could have kept it focused solely on Kyle, but once another wave of Conqueror's Haki appeared, clashing with his, then the result would be...
*BOOM—*
An overwhelmingly powerful pressure exploded outward from the two of them as the center, instantly shattering the bar's glass windows along with all the liquor bottles on the shelves, spilling alcohol everywhere.
The violent pressure roiled continuously, making the entire bar seem to tremble faintly.
Standing to the side, Shakky felt the residual shockwaves from the collision of their Conqueror's Haki, a flicker of astonishment appearing in her eyes.
Of course, this astonishment was directed solely at Kyle.
She hadn't expected this young fellow before her to also possess Conqueror's Haki, and at a level that was far from weak.
Although not as powerful as her man's, it was still remarkably strong!
Rayleigh, one of the parties involved, was equally surprised, sharing Shakky's thoughts about unexpectedly encountering Conqueror's Haki of this caliber from Kyle.
Feeling the impact of the other's Conqueror's Haki, Rayleigh also felt a long-lost surge of excitement, a smile curling at his lips as he released an even more ferocious wave of Conqueror's Haki, raising the intensity another notch.
Kyle felt his body grow significantly heavier; he hadn't realized Rayleigh had been holding back earlier, which meant the Conqueror's Haki being released now might still not be his full strength.
Although Rayleigh's power at this age was already on a decline, the drop wasn't too severe yet, given that the original storyline was still over a decade away!
Feeling this pressure, Kyle grew even more excited.
Just as Rayleigh said when teaching Luffy about Haki in the original story, Conqueror's Haki was the most unique of the three Haki types; it couldn't be strengthened through the user's training but instead grew stronger in tandem with the host's strength and willpower.
The same held true for Kyle; from awakening his Conqueror's Haki to the present, two years had passed.
Every time his strength surged dramatically, his Conqueror's Haki would grow significantly stronger as well.
Powerful willpower stemmed from formidable strength; without strength, how could there be willpower?
Of course, this didn't mean that those with great strength necessarily possessed strong willpower, but those with strong willpower would never be weak.
As for that weakling Doflamingo, lacking in both strength and utterly pathetic in willpower—trembling in fear even at the mere mention of Kaido's name—what use was it even if he lucked into awakening Conqueror's Haki?
It was only good for clearing out cannon fodder, utterly useless for anything else.
Kyle was excited now, incredibly excited!
This sensation of clashing Conqueror's Haki set his blood boiling, and he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki with full force, holding nothing back.
*BOOM—*
Centered on the bar, terrifying rings of black-red ripples spread outward across all of Sabaody Archipelago, a fearsome aura sweeping unceasingly across the island...
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