The next day.
"Where is Rayleigh?"
Eiji arrived at the predetermined meeting place, but Rayleigh was nowhere to be seen.
Despite the damage caused by his fight against Kurohige and Shiryu the night before, no one came to hold him accountable or demand compensation.
This wasn't surprising, even if he offered compensation, Tesoro probably wouldn't accept it. Moreover, Tesoro was the richest man in the world; he didn't lack money.
"Oh, Eiji, you're here early."
Before Eiji could start asking around, Rayleigh approached from the front and waved at him.
"You look satisfied."
"Of course, it's been a long time since I had so much fun. I must admit, Gild Tesoro is the best entertainment city I've ever visited."
"Then let's head back."
"Sure."
Eiji then teleported with Rayleigh to Amazon Lily.
"Zzzz…"
Afterward, Rayleigh immediately fell asleep on the ground.
Knowing his time was limited, he hadn't slept at all the previous night. Accompanied by Baccarat, Rayleigh visited dozens of facilities in Gild Tesoro.
On the other hand, Eiji, unsure of what to do, decided to explore the island.
"There's a lot of flora and fauna I've never seen before."
Entering the forest, Eiji occasionally stopped to observe the strange plants he encountered.
There were wild animals like snakes, gorillas, lions, etc. Plus, they were larger than their earthly counterparts. Even so, none of the wild animals disturbed Eiji as he wandered.
Animal instincts are better than humans'; they could sense the danger of the small human walking alone through the forest.
"The resources in this world aren't being used to their full potential."
Eiji found gold sand settled at the bottom of the river. He suspected the Kuja Tribe didn't know how to extract the gold from the river.
In fact, resource utilization in the One Piece world was very underdeveloped. Perhaps because scientific knowledge tends to advance for warfare, technology that would make everyday life easier didn't develop much.
"Unlike other scientists like Queen, Caesar, Vinsmoke Judge, and others who focus on developing weapons, Vegapunk is a scientist who wants to change the world for the better with his inventions."
"According to Lin Fan's memory, Vegapunk managed to develop a perfect artificial Devil Fruit, though only of the Paramecia type. If I give him Kurohige's hand to study, he might be able to create a discovery allowing someone to have two Devil Fruit powers in one body."
This idea was the reason Eiji didn't kill Kurohige at that time and only cut off his right hand.
Honestly, he still hadn't given up on obtaining the Toki Toki no Mi. However, the difficulty of finding it was very high, and even if he asked a broker to search for it, he worried the other party might not resist the temptation and choose to keep it for themselves. After all, time powers are extremely OP. Kozuki Toki wasted its potential, much like Kurozumi Orochi, who never showcased the true power of the Hebi Hebi no Mi Model: Yamata no Orochi.
"Let's meet Vegapunk after finishing my Haki training."
While following the river with its clear water, Eiji planned his schedule.
The island wasn't as large as the nearby Amazon Lily. Eiji spent about six hours exploring the island.
When he returned to camp, he saw Rayleigh had just finished lunch, which was delivered by Marguerite and the others.
"So, you didn't leave. Seeing you gone, I thought you went somewhere."
"Just a casual walk."
Sitting on a wooden log, Eiji also had lunch.
Seeing a seagull in the sky, Rayleigh raised his hand. Then, the seagull wearing a hat flew toward him.
Grabbing the newspaper and putting money in the bird's pouch, Rayleigh no longer paid attention to the seagull as it flew back into the sky.
"Oh, so the commotion at Gild Tesoro last night was caused by you, Eiji."
On the front page of the newspaper, Rayleigh saw a picture of Eiji cutting off Kurohige's hand and beating Shiryu.
Even though only a few hours had passed since the incident, the World Economic News Paper had already published the news and spread it worldwide. This showed how vast Morgans' intelligence network was, able to infiltrate any faction.
Because of this, the World Government hunted Morgans in an effort to manipulate public opinion to their will. Unfortunately, Morgans was difficult to capture, even for the World Government.
"You didn't know?" Eiji asked, surprised.
"Nah, I was too engrossed in playing at the casino to care about anything else. Besides, I was in an area far from the battle, so I ignored it." Rayleigh shrugged and continued, "With this event, you're becoming even more famous. Even though Kurohige is the new Yonko replacing Shirohige, it doesn't mean he's weak. Anyone who can hold a Yonko position is undoubtedly strong."
"That's not necessarily true."
Eiji denied Rayleigh's statement. He knew that among the three new generation Yonkos in the future—Luffy, Teach, and Buggy—one didn't deserve the Yonko title and only relied on luck and the fanatical worship of his followers.
That Yonko was Buggy!
Buggy's combat power wasn't strong. Despite being an apprentice on the Pirate King's ship, he settled in East Blue, the weakest sea. If he hadn't been captured by the Marines and thrown into Impel Down, he would have continued sailing in East Blue.
"What do you mean—"
*BIRIPBIRIPBIRIP*
*BIRIPBIRIPBIRIP*
*BIRIPBIRIPBIRIP*
The sound of a Den Den Mushi interrupted Rayleigh.
Seeing this, Eiji stopped eating and quickly answered the Den Den Mushi's call.
There was only one person who could contact him.
*KATCHA*
"This is Kamiki Eiji."
"Lord Eiji, we've found the Kanjo Kanjo no Mi. The Devil Fruit is in my possession; you can come collect it anytime."
Doflamingo didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Understood, I'll be in Dressrosa soon."
"I await your arrival, Lord Eiji."
The phone call ended.
There was no need for small talk in this communication. The two didn't know each other well, and this was purely a business transaction.
"Bring me some bottles of wine from Dressrosa."
"Mm."
No longer in the mood to eat, Eiji used the Limitless Technique to teleport directly to Dressrosa.
The next second, he appeared in an alley on a commercial street in Dressrosa.
Stepping out of the alley, Eiji headed straight for the royal palace.
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