"After conquering the Grand Line, Roger beca the Pirate King, right?"
"Yes."
Rayleigh nodded and said, "After that, Roger was known to the world as... the Pirate King!!"
At this mont, a look of reminiscence appeared in Rayleigh's eyes, as if he was seeing his forr crewmates once again. This also caused the corners of his mouth to gradually curl upward.
"The title of Pirate King~" Pappag said. "That's so glorious!!"
"This title may seem glorious to the world, but for a dying man, such a title held little aning."
"Because of that incurable disease?"
"Yes," Rayleigh replied. "But Roger was still very happy."
"Even with an incurable illness, he wasn't greatly affected by it. He continued to enjoy every day as a pirate!"
"What an open-minded person..." iser remarked with emotion.
"Indeed."
Most people, upon learning they had an incurable disease, would likely spend the rest of their lives in shadow. Yet he... Well, what else could you expect from the Pirate King?
"Yes, he was an extrely open-minded person," Rayleigh nodded.
It was precisely because of this that their captain could beco the Pirate King.
After placing his glass on the table, Rayleigh continued, "Not long after that, the captain announced the disbandnt of the pirate crew."
"Just like that, the crew mbers began leaving one after another to pursue their own paths."
"Even I don't know where they are now or what they're doing."
"It was to prevent the Marines from causing trouble, right?" iser said.
"Correct."
Rayleigh nodded. "After all... we were all mbers of the Roger Pirates."
If the Marines were to discover any of the Pirate King's forr crewmates, they would undoubtedly pounce like madn. At least, that's how it was back then.
To avoid such a situation, they agreed not to inquire about each other's whereabouts or activities. This... was for everyone's good.
"I see. That makes sense."
"But then?" Usopp asked. "Even if Roger had an incurable disease, that doesn't explain why he would turn himself in."
The others also looked puzzled, unable to connect an incurable illness with surrendering to authorities.
"The final reason... he never told ," Rayleigh said. "He only left with these words as he departed."
"He said: 'Brother, I will not die.'"
"And with that, he left and turned himself in to the Marines."
"To showcase their power, the Marines publicly executed Roger in Loguetown, hoping to crush the pirates' morale."
"But instead... Roger's final words ignited the Great Pirate Era!"
As Rayleigh spoke, Luffy and the others all recalled those famous words in their minds.
(You want my treasure? You can have it!)
(Go find it! I left everything in that place!)
It was precisely because of the Pirate King Roger's words that countless young people set sail to pursue their dreams!
"Feels like we just heard sothing incredible..."
"Hearing it from the person involved makes it feel like a completely different matter."
"So you're saying this so-called Great Pirate Era was entirely started by Roger..." iser remarked.
He was beginning to understand—Roger's surrender must have been for that very mont.
But... why would he do such a thing?
Roger's actions clearly aid to encourage more people to set sail, almost as if... he wanted others to discover sothing.
Could it be that One Piece?
"I can't answer that for you," Rayleigh said. "After all... Roger is already dead."
"As for this Great Pirate Era you ntioned..."
Rayleigh paused, then smiled. "Only those who live in this era can shape it."
"Still, Roger's words were like a key," iser replied.
Listening to him, Rayleigh glanced at him with amusent. "Is that what you think?"
"Yes," iser nodded.
"Why?"
"Because he was the Pirate King. Because he had the greatest treasure."
Whatever Roger's motives might have been, the fact remained—he possessed a legendary treasure.
And now that he was gone, that treasure belonged to no one. Whoever found it could claim it... Who wouldn't be tempted?
One could say Roger perfectly exploited humanity's weakness.
That must have been how he ignited the Great Pirate Era.
After a mont of thought, iser added, "I feel like he had a special purpose behind it."
Either he wanted people to uncover sothing... or it was all just a prank.
The more iser considered it, the more plausible the latter seed.
After all... a dying man was capable of anything.
"Perhaps..."
Rayleigh nodded, choosing not to dwell on the matter.
"Whatever it is, I'm going to be the Pirate King," Luffy declared.
Rayleigh chuckled at his determination.
"That straw hat... suits you well," Rayleigh said. "It's a hat only a true man deserves to wear!"
"Shanks has good taste."
"Huh?!"
"Old man, you know Shanks?!"
Luffy's eyes lit up with excitent—he hadn't expected to et soone who knew Shanks here.
"Of course I do," Rayleigh laughed. "He was an apprentice on our ship."
"Shanks was on the Pirate King's crew?!" Luffy gasped in disbelief.
The man who set him on the path of piracy... had sailed with the Pirate King?!
This was beyond shocking.
"Yes," Rayleigh confird.
"Shanks..."
"Ten years ago, we t here once," Rayleigh recalled. "That kid was overjoyed telling all about you."
At that mont, Shanks' words resurfaced in Rayleigh's mory.
(Mr. Rayleigh, there's a kid in the East Blue who said the exact sa thing as the Captain... those words about becoming the Pirate King.)
Back then, Rayleigh had asked Shanks why he lost his arm. The answer?
"I bet it on the new era."
"The new era, huh..."
Looking at Luffy, who was overjoyed upon hearing news about Shanks, Rayleigh also smiled.
"Old man, where is Shanks?"
"Of course, in the New World," Rayleigh chuckled. "I think he's also very much looking forward to eting you."
"Ahaha, I'll definitely go to the New World to find him!" Luffy laughed heartily.
As he spoke, Luffy took off his hat and smiled at it—this hat carried special aning.
Once he found Shanks, he would return the hat to him. That was their promise!
"By the way, have any of you t Buggy in the East Blue?" Rayleigh asked. "He was also a trainee on our ship."
"Buggy?"
"Who's that?"
Chopper and rry exchanged puzzled glances—they had never heard of this person.
"Buggy the Clown, you don't know him?" Rayleigh said in surprise. "I thought he was quite famous in the East Blue."
"Oh, that clown."
Luffy, who had just put his hat back on, nodded. "Yeah, we've t. We fought a few tis."
"Is that so? What a coincidence, hahaha."
Rayleigh burst into laughter, never expecting Buggy would run into Luffy. He wondered if Buggy had recognized the significance of that straw hat.
"By the way, young ninja..."
"Just call iser, old man Rayleigh," iser said.
"Alright, iser." Rayleigh studied him. "Are you from the Land of Wano?"
Hearing this, iser gave a helpless expression. "Why is it always this question..."
"Oh?"
"Has a lot of people asked you that?"
"Quite a few, actually."
Kokoro had asked, Marine Admiral Aokiji had asked, Luffy's grandfather had asked, even Moria had asked... All of them were curious whether he was from the Land of Wano.
But he had no idea where the Land of Wano even was!
"Seems like a lot of people are curious about your identity, hahaha," Rayleigh laughed.
He figured their thoughts were probably similar to his.
"But unfortunately, I'm not from the Land of Wano," iser shrugged. "I'm just an ordinary ninja—no connection to Wano whatsoever."
"I see..." Rayleigh nodded.
Since he had gotten a clear answer, there was no need to dwell on it further.
"So, are you a Devil Fruit ability user?" Shakky asked curiously.
"Nope." iser shook his head.
"Really...?"
"You're not a Devil Fruit user?" Rayleigh looked at iser in surprise. "Then how did you use the Water Release Technique?"
"Water Release Technique?"
"Yeah. On my way back, I ran into so bounty hunters who got beaten up pretty badly," Rayleigh explained. "From what they said, they were attacked by the Straw Hat crew's ninja using Water Release Ninjutsu. I assu that was you."
He directed the last sentence at iser.
"Ah, if nothing unexpected happened, then yeah, that was ," iser nodded. "We did run into quite a few bounty hunters along the way."
"You can really use Water Release?"
Shakky stared at iser in astonishnt. "You can manipulate seawater?"
"Yes."
Shakky: "..."
After receiving confirmation, Shakky fell into deep thought.
This ability to manipulate the sea is truly terrifying—no wonder iser received such a high bounty on his first Wanted Poster.
"Aren't you an information broker?" iser looked at Shakky in confusion. "Don't you know about this?"
He hadn't hidden his mastery of the Water Release Technique during their journey. Could it be that she hadn't obtained any intel?
"How many days has it even been since you made a na for yourself?" Shakky sighed helplessly. "I am an information broker, sure, but I'm not omniscient."
His rise to fa had been too recent. Even if she wanted to buy information, it would take ti before she could get her hands on it.
Of course, there was another possibility.
The World Governnt and the Marines might have deliberately suppressed so details about him, which could also explain why she couldn't uncover the inside story.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
iser nodded in understanding. Thinking back, only a few days had passed since they received their Wanted Posters.
"Anyway, my ability isn't activated through a Devil Fruit," iser said, turning to Rayleigh. "It relies on my own power."
"A bloodline inheritance, then..."
Rayleigh, with his vast experience, imdiately grasped the key point.
"Sothing like that."
"Bloodline, huh..." Shakky pondered for a mont before speaking. "Little iser, I think you should be extra cautious with the World Governnt. Those guys will definitely take a keen interest in you."
As soone who had survived from the previous era, Shakky knew exactly how ruthless the World Governnt could be.
Once they learned of his unique ability to manipulate the sea without relying on a Devil Fruit, they would undoubtedly send agents to capture him. After all, such power was incredibly formidable—and the temptation for the World Governnt would be imnse!
"Ah, about that... they've already co for ."
"They have?"
Shakky was taken aback. The World Governnt had acted faster than she'd expected.
"During our encounter with Gekko Moria, the World Governnt sent Kuma after ," iser explained.
At these words, Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged glances, their thoughts aligned.
So they really ran into that guy...
Did that an the Straw Hat Pirates had already defeated one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea?
Not surprising, coming from them...
But how had they escaped from Kuma, another Warlord?
"That damn Kuma, how dare he take my crewmate!" Luffy fud. "Next ti I see him, I'm gonna punch him into the sky!"
"Next ti?"
"Yeah, Luffy didn't get to fight Kuma," iser clarified.
"Don't tell he just asked you a few questions and then left?" Shakky said skeptically.
Kuma was the most obedient of the Warlords when it ca to the World Governnt's orders. How could he have just let them go without trying to capture them?
Was this the World Governnt's directive?
Since when had they beco so... accommodating?
"It wasn't that simple." iser shook his head. "After Luffy defeated Moria, that guy suddenly appeared on the battlefield and asked if I wanted to beco one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"When I refused, he attacked us. That battle... was truly perilous."
Recalling that fight, iser couldn't help but sigh.
If Moria hadn't intervened, it was hard to say whether they would have escaped at all.
After all... he didn't have much Chakra left at that ti.
"Rejected the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh..." Shakky chuckled. "Seems you understand the World Governnt's intentions."
"Of course, I'm not stupid," iser waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, I'm not interested in things like the Warlords."
How could he possibly beco a dog for the World Governnt when he was going to adventure with Luffy? Especially when they were clearly after his abilities!
If he went with them, he'd undoubtedly end up as a lab rat.
"So how did you escape?"
"Ah, Moria suddenly regained consciousness and beca more spirited," iser explained. "It was because of him that we managed to leave the Devil's Triangle Ship Graveyard."
"A man you defeated actually helped you?"
"Yeah."
Shakky frowned upon hearing this. Why would that be?
Could it be that after Little ngqi beat him up, it sohow knocked so sense into him? Leading him to help the Straw Hat Pirates...
Or perhaps because of Moria's failure, the World Governnt issued a kill order against him, causing him to fight Kuma and allowing the Straw Hat Pirates to escape in the chaos?
"That guy seed to have resolved so inner conflict, which is why he chose to help us," iser said. "Speaking of which, do you know Kaido?"
"Of course I do. Who doesn't know Kaido?" Shakky sighed. "He's one of the Four Emperors of the New World."
"Four Emperors?"
"You didn't know?" Shakky was surprised. This kid didn't know about the Four Emperors?
"Nope."
Shakky:—
For a mont, she was at a loss for words.
"Moria ntioned he was once defeated by Kaido," iser mused, stroking his chin. "So he was beaten by one of these so-called Four Emperors?"
"Yes, I've heard about that," Shakky nodded. "That's probably why he was able to beco one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"And the 'resolved inner conflict' you ntioned... it must be related to this."
For soone like her, Moria's activities with Zombies in the Devil's Triangle Ship Graveyard were no secret. In short: he was a man who had lost his fighting spirit. Soone like that probably couldn't even use Haki anymore.
And now... this man had resolved his inner conflict... How unexpected.
"Maybe," iser said. "Anyway, after he woke up, he started fighting Kuma, and we seized the chance to leave."
"I wonder what happened to that guy."
"Who won between those two?"
Usopp and Chopper were curious about the outco of the battle between the two Warlords.
"I haven't received any intel about Moria," Shakky thought for a mont. "Perhaps... he died in that fight."
At the very least, she hadn't heard any news about Moria so far.
Hearing Shakky's words, iser's expression turned complicated. That guy... died?
"Of course, this is just speculation," Shakky added. "We'll need to wait a while to know for sure."
iser nodded silently.
"If he's alive... you'll have another competitor to deal with."
"If Luffy could defeat him once, he can defeat him again," iser said with a wave of his hand.
"Trying to compete with us for the One Piece? He's not up to it yet."
"Exactly! Worst case, we'll just beat him up again!" Luffy laughed loudly.
Though that guy wasn't bad, if he dared to challenge Luffy for the title of Pirate King, Luffy wouldn't hold back.
Shakky nodded in response but said nothing more.
"One Piece..."
Usopp suddenly spoke up, as if rembering sothing. "Hey, old man Rayleigh, you know about the One Piece, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"That One Piece... What exactly is—"
"Usopp!"
Before Usopp could finish, an enraged Luffy cut him off.
"Luffy?"
"I don't want to know where the One Piece is, and I don't care what's inside it!" Luffy snapped. "Even though no one knows, everyone's risking their lives to sail the seas!"
"If I hear anything about it from this old man, I'll quit being a pirate!"
"I don't want a boring adventure!!"
Usopp was stunned by Luffy's outburst. He hadn't expected his question to provoke such a strong reaction.
But he quickly realized he'd asked sothing he shouldn't have.
"Sorry, sorry! I spoke out of turn," Usopp hurriedly said. "Old man, don't you dare tell ! I've got a disease—if I hear what the One Piece is, I'll die!"
Rayleigh glanced at Luffy, a smile spreading across his face. This kid really was sothing.
"Can you do it?" Rayleigh asked. "The Grand Line is far beyond your imagination, and the enemies are unimaginably strong. Can you conquer these seas?"
Luffy grinned back at Rayleigh, who was watching him with amusent.
"I never thought about conquering anything..."
"The freest man on the sea—that's the Pirate King!"
Rayleigh froze. For a mont, he saw the shadow of his own captain in Luffy.
"I see..."
"Heh, I get it now."
Maybe this brat really could accomplish what even they couldn't.
Rayleigh looked around at the reactions of the Straw Hat Pirates and laughed heartily.
Shakky, too, watched the scene with a smile, clearly happy for Rayleigh.
"Here, drink up."
As Shakky handed him a bottle of fine liquor, Rayleigh nodded gratefully and took a deep swig.
Today... he'd received so truly wonderful news.
Setting the empty bottle down, Rayleigh stood up.
"Alright, I'm off to do the coating."
"The sooner I finish your ship, the sooner you can head to Fish-Man Island."
"How much will it cost?"
"You're Hachi's friends—I won't charge you a thing," Rayleigh said with a dismissive wave.
"How long will it take?"
"Coating takes at least three days."
"Three days?!" Luffy exclaid. "Why so long? That's way too much ti..."
"That's the fastest it can be done," Rayleigh explained. "It's for your safety—can't cut corners."
"Alright."
"Where's your boat?"
"Tree number 41."
"Alright, I understand," Rayleigh nodded. "But since I'm still a wanted man, to avoid unnecessary trouble, I'll need to move the ship to another location."
"For now, you all can enjoy yourselves on the island. Co find in three days."
After speaking, Rayleigh glanced at Shakky and said, "Shakky, do you still have that thing? Give them so."
"Yes, I do," Shakky replied.
"What thing?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Vivrecard."
Shakky took out Rayleigh's Vivrecard and tore off half, handing it to iser. "With this Vivrecard, you'll be able to locate Rayleigh."
As she spoke, Shakky demonstrated how the Vivrecard worked, explaining its purpose to the group.
"Vivrecard, huh..."
iser picked it up curiously and remarked, "What an interesting thing."
While saying this, iser tore off a small piece for each of them—Luffy and the others—and told them to keep it safe.
"Alright, I've got work to do," Rayleigh said as he walked toward the back. "See you all in three days."
"Got it!"
"Let's go to the amusent park!"
"Sounds fun!"
"C-Can I co too?" Camie asked eagerly.
"Of course you can!"
Camie imdiately broke into a happy smile upon hearing the confirmation. Pappag sighed, realizing there was no way he could stop her now.
Watching the excited group rush out, iser couldn't help but scold, "Idiots, are you just going to leave Nami and the others behind?!"
"Huh?!"
Their bodies froze—they had almost forgotten about that.
"Fine, go ahead. I'll go back with Rayleigh to find them," iser said, waving them off.
"iser, aren't you coming to the amusent park?" rry asked.
"I'm not interested in that."
Amusent parks were only fun for guys like Luffy—iser had no interest in them.
"Great, we'll leave it to you!" Luffy shouted.
"Got it," iser replied. "But you guys better stay safe, alright? Rember what this place is like."
"If anything happens, call for ."
"Don't worry!"
Watching his carefree crewmates leave without a second thought, iser sighed in exasperation. These guys really just wanted to have fun.
"You're quite reliable, little iser~" Shakky chuckled.
"Soone's gotta do it."
After pocketing the Vivrecard, iser suddenly rembered sothing. "Oh, right. When I ran into Kuma before, he used a really strange kind of energy."
"Do you know what that was?"
As he spoke, iser gestured with his hands. "It was sothing you could use for defense—it could coat the body. Both Kuma and Moria used it."
"So Moria has it too..." Shakky murmured.
If that was the case, then his spirit must have truly recovered.
"You an this?" Rayleigh raised his hand, glancing at iser.
As he spoke, he wrapped his palm in Haki.
iser, activating his Sharingan, imdiately detected the unique energy in Rayleigh's hand.
"Yeah, that's it!" iser said. "What is it?"
"This is called Haki."
"Haki?"
"Exactly, Haki!" Rayleigh said. "This is a type of energy that all strong fighters in the New World must master—specifically used to deal with Devil Fruit users."
The seas are vast, and you'll encounter all kinds of Devil Fruit users. Without powerful Haki, there's simply no way to handle them.
"It can actually counter Devil Fruit users?!" iser imdiately showed an interested expression and asked, "Can I learn it?"
"You can!"
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