23 Secrets I
"If Dark Mantle is dealing with Kizaru then I should make Momonga some company" Rayleigh still had camaraderie with his crewmate to assist in this situation even if just a bit. For him stalling Momonga wasn't a hassle.
"There is no need for you to involve yourself, Rayleigh, You and Shakky have been living a peaceful life here away from everything, don't ruin it. I can deal with the three vice admirals on my own" The ghost stated confidently with Mihawk merely shaking her head, at this stage there was nothing she could say to stop him.
Both the Dark King and the ex-empress of Amazon Lily gasped, it was the first time anyone had actually been considerate of their current lifestyle. They had been pirates and they had pirate friends who still visited every so often, sometimes they even had to put their hands in the dirt for them. Now this one was actually being considerate. It was something new.
The beauty exhaled a deep breath and a flash of light shone in her eyes for a moment, She made a 'look' towards Rayleigh and he received it.
Shanks and Ben didn't know where this man was taking such confidence from, but since Mihawk believed in him. They did too.
"Could I have a word with you, dark mantle?" Rayleigh invited him outside for a private conversation; the boy took a slight glimpse towards Mihawk whose eyebrows had but raised slightly.
**
**
Outside of the bar, Rayleigh and Veyron took a seat at the mangrove's shore, a freefall to the sea with nothing but the broad clouds and setting sun to look into.
"How did you awaken it?"
"…?" Veyron's eyebrows flinched under the cloak.
"Your 4th Haki… how did you awaken it?" The man repeated the question with uncharacteristic seriousness. He went right off the bat with a complex one. It was obvious to Veyron that Rayleigh's Haki was so advanced that there was no way to even hide it from him.
"I was born with it, how were you able to sense it?".
!!!
"Born…?" It took him aback, "That's rather shocking. As for how I felt it... You have been using it this whole time, haven't you?"
"…"
Veyron sighed, he had been levitating the whole time while covered with the mantle to fake his height, nothing too flamboyant and yet he had been sensed in the act.
"That doesn't explain anything, just because I was using it slightly, you were able to sense it?"
"To put it this way, It is a type of energy I'm familiar with. The will of a Conqueror Haki is different to it, how could I say it… the 4th Haki is way more pure and natural. Like the difference between breathing smoke and breathing air. But if you have never sampled clean air, how could you know?"
The old man's explanation was precise.
"If the Conqueror Haki was labelled such because of those with a will strong enough to step on their foes, then this Haki should be labelled after the Dreamers" It was like a clarification, as if he had realised the answer he had been looking for all this time.
Rayleigh looked at the sky and recalled who had been his best friend, "Those with a will strong enough to see beyond the threshold and realise there exists a world we common folks can't even fathom. That is the 4th Haki, the Haki of Dreamers who thrive in fantasy".
"You couldn't have described it any better…" The boy smiled beneath the cloak, uncomfortable hiding his identity in front of such a distinguished and wise individual.
Veyron then took the cloak away and another shower of surprise fell on the Dark King.
'Lunarian... a devil fruit allows him to float, his 4th Haki changes his age? No, the opposite… but then, he can make that object float as well?'.
Rayleigh was having a hard time analysing him.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm Dracule Veyron".
"The pleasure is mine, boy. Could you adopt your true form?"
'W-Why does he assume I'm concealing my real self?' Veyron then realised that in reality, his body didn't correspond to his mental age anyway, so he shut up.
"*cough* this is my true form".
Rayleigh didn't believe it, but since the dark mantle wasn't willing to reveal himself, he continued.
"Are you a lunarian? No, you don't have wings… a hybrid?" The man rubbed his beard, debating himself, 'They could be just ancestry features, but for all of them to match a lunarian...'
Veyron shrugged his shoulders, completely clueless, "I don't know… aren't you asking too many questions?"
Rayleigh realised that he was being intrusive and laughed broadly, concealing his shame, "Excuse my lack of manners, someone who has managed to awaken that Haki deserves to be thoroughly researched. If a decrepit old man like me is already this curious... then I wonder what those psychos from the world government would do to you. Even I have only seen two in my life. One dreamed with unbelievable strength. The other dreamed of conquering the world".
"Gol D. Roger and Rocks D. Xebec".
'Does one need to be a D to awaken this power?' Veyron started to wonder if it was a coincidence that both known users of the power had a 'D' in their names.
"That fellow had quite the troublesome power. Tell me Veyron, what is your dream?".
"I just want to be free of shackles".
"Shakles?"
"I want my imagination to be my only barrier, if I can imagine it, I can do it." Veyron's eyes contained a shine so bright that the old man was momentarily stunned. In front of his eyes converged myriad futures.
!!!
They weren't empty words. A reality in which imagination was his only limitation.
"H-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Rayleigh broke up into mad laughter.
"..." Veyron wondered if this old man needed some mental health.
"In a way, worthy of the surname Dracule... that is the most preposterous dream I have ever heard. With such a dream and that Haki... I don't want to be your enemy, boy. Both Roger and Xebec reached an altitude others could only dream of. I'm looking forward to seeing where you will lead this world".
"Aren't you one of them? You have also reached such a great altitude, don't look down on yourself".
"Me? Haha… I'm not that talented. Stop flattering me. Now, let me ask you another question. You said your surname is Dracule... you and she-".
"Adoptive son".
"Child, huh? I thought it would be something more since you two are so close~" He remarked on the familiarity between the two -which although wasn't much, it was Dracule Mihawk they were talking about.
"J-Jokes on you. I'm too young for anything else" Veyron laughed awkwardly, unaware of what exactly was this old man thinking, considering his body was still that of a young boy.
"Young? It seems you don't know. How about this, if you tell me your 4th Haki ability, I'll tell you something important about her. Doesn't sound like a bad deal, does it?"
"…" Veyron frowned, to disclose the ability of his Haki was a risky move, although it had several usages and displaying one of them didn't necessarily mean he'd lose a trump card if anything was to be leaked.
"Something about the lady you appreciate that could change your perspective of your relationship" Rayleigh gave him a sidelong glance and tempted him into accepting the deal.
Veyron gulped, it wasn't much he knew about Mihawk. The beauty was either reluctant to share her past or trying to erase it altogether. Anything he could learn about her was a plus, especially after their 'relationship' had recently taken a major step forward and didn't quite know how to face her yet.
"My ability is called Psychokinesis. It allows me to control the energy around all things with my mind".
"E-Energy around all things?" Rayleigh felt his head was going to explode.
"Reality has several invisible layers that conform it. Before matter comes into play there are: Time, Space, Dark Matter and perhaps a lot more yet to be discovered-".
"Could you explain it to me like I'm a baby...?" The old man felt an incoming headache and Veyron sighed, 'the problem is that there are things that babies just can't understand regardless of how they're explained'.
"To summarise... my mind allows me to control the matter around me. The stronger I am, the more I can control" He really couldn't downgrade it anymore.
'His power is very broad'.
"You making these objects float… does it mean you're manipulating space or air?"
"I can manipulate air but no, I'm influencing the objects themselves… and making them levitate" He raised Youbi up and down with a mere gaze, making it fly like a jet around them.
"Now you tell me, what do you know about my mom?".
"I call tell you a great secret that was discovered by us during our most important journey. Ancient members of the Dracule family were known for two things. They're now pretty much extinct precisely due to this characteristic".
"…"
"They were a race that existed thousands of years ago even before the void century. They created the first kingdom to exist on top of the red line. We learned about them in a poneglyph located at the last island, in the grand line alongside many other secrets".
Veyron's ears perked up, it was this aura again... the one that indicated something important was going to be stated.
"The Dracule Family are known for two things: They are extremely adept with the sword and they have humongous lifespans".
"What do you mean long lifespans?" Being adept with the sword was something that didn't need questioning, but long lifespans?
"I mean that the missy there might as well be more than a century old" He smiled and pointed at the bar where Mihawk was still supposedly at.
Veyron didn't know how to take this, but he didn't have too much time to think as a voice resonated right next to them, rather offended yet still unconcerned.
"It is a disrespect to be revealing other people's secrets, old man".
Mihawk appeared behind them. Neither of them realised when she had left the bar and was standing behind them with Yoru sheathed behind her. Her glare pressed Rayleigh down as if threatening him to say another word.
"I'm afraid a mutual exchange took place here. Moreover your secrets and your family's secrets are different".
"Didn't your father ever teach you to always agree with the lady for your own good?".
"No, that's why I'm fatherless~ Now if you excuse me I'll leave the two of you for now, but I still have something important to talk to you about, Veyron... in fact, Shakky may tell you herself"
Rayleigh shrugged his shoulders and smiled loudly, he stood up and went back to the shop, leaving the pair to have a deep chat.
