The Dark King Rayleigh

Chapter 92: The Dark King Rayleigh

Rayleigh, whose full name is Silvers Rayleigh, was the right-hand man of Pirate King Gol D. Roger and the first person to be tricked into joining Roger's crew, becoming his vice-captain.

Speaking of the first crew member of the Straw Hat, didn't they all depend on "freeloading"?

Roger left, but Rayleigh and his ship remained. 

After the disbandment of Roger's crew, Rayleigh came to the Sabaody Archipelago and became a ship coater, specializing in coating ships. 

Ship coating fees were generally quite high, considering the risk involved. After all, if an inexperienced coater messed up halfway through the process, the coating could suddenly explode, resulting in nothing but death.

Generally, ship coatings received no negative reviews. Those who survived would leave positive feedback, and those who wanted to give negative feedback were already dead.

Rayleigh used the money earned from ship coatings for drinking and gambling. When he was out of money and business, he would sell himself and then rob his employer after they bought him, then head off to drink and gamble. Indeed, very much like a pirate's way of life.

Upon Shakky's introduction, Rayleigh suddenly realized, "So, you're the interesting young man that Crocus talked about. You're quite impressive."

Laughing heartily, he patted Rodney's shoulder and sat down beside him. Rodney asked, "How is Laboon?"

"Laboon was very happy after meeting Brook. Thanks to your information, I didn't expect that someone from decades ago would still be alive in the form of a skeleton. Your eyes are truly amazing." 

Rayleigh remembered what Crocus had told him about Rodney, describing him as a mysterious man but a good person.

"Thank you, I think so too." Rodney's Sharingan appeared as he said, "I know quite a bit, but there are still some things I don't know. By the way, did Brook go with Laboon to the Twin Cape?"

"No." Rayleigh shook his head. "He's here."

"Huh?" 

Rodney wondered why Brook didn't go to the Reverse Mountain with Laboon. According to logic, if Brook hadn't met Monkey D. Luffy and gained his freedom, the most likely scenario was that he stayed with Laboon.

"Because Brook wanted to personally thank you, he came here after saying goodbye to Laboon, wanting to wait for you. Oh, right, here's what you wanted." Rayleigh patted his head and pulled out a long knife from a corner behind the refrigerator, tossing it to Rodney.

Rodney caught the sword and drew it out.

Clang!

The black blade was unsheathed, revealing its sharp edge.

The black and purple blade had red serrated patterns, and the back of the blade was thicker than usual. The knife was heavier than a regular one. This was Wano Country's national treasure, Shusui, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade swords, alongside "Kitetsu" and "Enma".

"Good sword!" 

He flicked it with his finger, and the blade emitted a clear buzz. The blade was exceptionally tough.

He swung it a few times casually, quite satisfied. Although it was heavier than a regular knife, it didn't affect his swing; it was a little inferior compared to Hana Hana in terms of dexterity.

"Your taste is good. This is indeed an excellent sword. You should also know who its previous owner was, right?"

"Ryuma, the Sword God of Wano Country, was said to have slain a flying dragon in the sky. Shusui used to be his sword, and it's what I wanted. Thank you, Mr. Rayleigh."

Rayleigh shook his head. "No problem. I just took it casually. I heard you took down Moria?"

News of Moria's defeat had become widespread. However, it was amusing for pirates to deal with other Shichibukai. The dogs of the World Government biting each other—was there anything more interesting?

But it also made them wary of this new guy. It hadn't been long, and he had already eliminated a Shichibukai. How strong was this person?

"Yeah, that fat slob has been taken care of. But I won't be dealing with the Shichibukai so casually next time."

"Oh? Why?" Rayleigh asked.

"Because the World Government doesn't pay for taking down Shichibukai." Rodney slammed the table, feeling frustrated, "I forgot that Crocodile was restored to being a Shichibukai because he was kicked out. And Moria hasn't done anything; he's still part of the Shichibukai. From now on, I'll capture pirates from the New World."

"Haha, Crocus was right; you're an interesting young man." Rayleigh didn't care about Rodney's habit of capturing pirates. After all, pirates without the ability to avoid capture didn't deserve to be concerned about.

"I must say, Mr. Rayleigh, your retirement life seems quite colorful. Playing right under the Marine's nose, you really are bold."

The Marines knew Rayleigh was here, but they didn't intervene mainly because they feared his strength. Although he looked like an ordinary old man, he could still fight on par with those Admirals. Trying to capture him wouldn't be an easy task.

If they captured him, and other members of the old generation who had retired caught wind of it, things could get chaotic. When those old monsters from the past came out in full force, it wouldn't be a good situation.

There was also the Red Hair Pirates. As a former apprentice of the Pirate King, Red-Haired Shanks wouldn't sit idly by if his senior was captured. The Marines had to consider how much impact the capture of two major pirate crews would have and if they were ready to handle the consequences.

With Rayleigh moving around right under their noses, the Navy decided to turn a blind eye, as if they hadn't seen anything.

"That's right, it's your young people's world now. It has nothing to do with us old folks," Rayleigh said with a smile.

"By the way, I have a question. Have you seen a guy named Portgas D. Ace?"

"Ace?" Rayleigh fell silent for a moment and asked, "You know him?"

"Oh, I captured him and wanted to know his current situation."

"You captured him?" Rayleigh suddenly became interested. "Tell me about it."

Rodney briefly explained how he captured Ace, which made Rayleigh burst into laughter. "So, that's how it happened. But I didn't have much contact with him."

Knowing that his friend's child was doing well, Rayleigh felt relieved. He had disguised himself as an ordinary old man and had some interaction with Ace. The boy was kind and good-hearted; that was enough. His goal was the sea, and that was sufficient.

At this moment, Shakky added, "Ace has gone to challenge the Whitebeard Pirates and seems to have suffered a devastating defeat. He was captured by the Whitebeard Pirates."

Rodney raised an eyebrow, not expecting the plot to progress so quickly.

He wondered if Ace, who had made an agreement with him, could withstand Whitebeard's paternal love attack.

Rubbing his temples, he sighed, "It seems more bad than good."

"I know Whitebeard well; he won't easily lay a hand on a young person he values," Rayleigh reassured Rodney about Ace's safety.

Rodney sighed and said, "The problem is that he loves adopting children."

Rayleigh: "..."

His hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly. It seemed...that was indeed the case.

"Ace grew up without a father, raised by Vice Admiral Garp...no, raised by a group of mountain bandits, or rather, he was more like an abandoned child. So, he's more susceptible to the idea of fatherly love and has little resistance to it."

It was precisely because he lacked parental care from a young age that Ace yearned for it so much. Whitebeard's immense fatherly love was something he couldn't resist. His dream of becoming the Pirate King might transform into a dream of helping Whitebeard become the Pirate King.

He had already deviated from his original aspiration.

"That's his fate," Rayleigh sighed and said, "Whitebeard is indeed good to his own children. Ace's situation... well, let him handle it."

Rodney's expression became inexplicable as he asked, "If one day Ace's identity is exposed, Mr. Rayleigh, would you take action?"

"I won't let that person's bloodline be extinguished."

He said so, but he didn't appear during the Summit War. Maybe it was because he trusted Whitebeard's strength, or maybe there was another reason. He didn't intervene to save Ace. Perhaps it was due to some other circumstances that he didn't act.