Chapter 88: He Fled, He Chased
The white-haired old man was none other than the 76-year-old former vice-captain of the Pirate King's ship, Silvers Rayleigh.
Master of all three types of Haki, he held off Kizaru on the Sabaody Archipelago, buying time for Luffy and his crew to escape, and later taught Luffy the importance of Haki.
Although his teaching methods weren't as immediate as those of Kaa-sensei and Kai-sensei, his strength was undeniable.
As Vivian passed by him, he left a message: "Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, is Roger's son. The Navy plans to publicly execute him at Marineford."
Upon hearing this, Rayleigh's eyes widened in shock.
As Vivian had guessed, Rayleigh was unaware of Ace's identity before the Navy exposed it to the media.
Back then, Roger and Ace's mother, Portgas D. Rouge, did everything to protect their child. As a result, not even the crew of Roger's ship knew about Ace, except for Garp, who was entrusted with the child.
Even to this day, Rayleigh believed Roger had no children. As for Portgas D. Rouge, he had never remembered her name.
Perhaps Roger kept it too well hidden.
In the end, it turned out that he was the only one left alone.
…
Inside the auction hall, the Straw Hat crew was fighting fiercely with the Celestial Dragon's guards.
Rayleigh was lost in the betrayal of his long-dead friend, unable to recover.
Tashigi and Kuto revealed their identities and rushed backstage to rescue the slaves being traded.
The remaining medical staff took the dying Saint Rosward to a nearby operating room for emergency treatment.
The Navy stationed nearby was heading to Area 1 for support.
Kizaru, who had arrived on the Sabaody Archipelago with a large group of subordinates, began indiscriminately capturing pirates on the island.
Chaos erupted everywhere.
Meanwhile, Vivian, dressed as a magician with his face painted beyond recognition, was swiftly moving through the streets and alleys, pursued by numerous Navy soldiers.
"Catch him!"
"Damn Loget Larvin, you think you can escape after shooting a Celestial Dragon?"
"Don't think you can leave!"
The soldiers, filled with fervor, chased Vivian with a vengeance, eager to capture him.
It wasn't out of loyalty to the Celestial Dragons, but because they would be in trouble if they didn't catch the culprit under their protection.
To avoid imprisonment, they were willing to risk their lives to capture Loget Larvin.
At the same time…
"Huff…" Vivian ran ahead, occasionally looking back to gauge the distance, then slowing down to ensure the Navy wouldn't lose him easily.
He wasn't toying with them but wanted to use them as "witnesses."
As he got further from the auction hall, feeling it was the right time, Vivian used his Clow Card again, silently increasing his speed and disappearing from the Navy's sight within moments.
After all, with the agility attributes he had gained over the past two years, even a Vice Admiral without the Soru technique would struggle to keep up with him.
A few minutes later, just when he thought he had completely escaped, another figure followed closely behind, sticking to Vivian.
"How can he keep up?" Instinctively turning his head, he saw that it was Smoker, transformed into smoke and floating in the air.
This made Vivian a bit troubled.
Wasn't this guy investigating Luffy and his crew on the island? Why is he chasing me now?
Moreover, I've been working at the Loguetown base for so long, just from my physique, he might recognize me, right?
After running for a while longer, Vivian realized he was probably overthinking it.
"Logue Town's Larvin, don't think I won't recognize you just because you're dressed like that!"
"Do you want to be a coward who only knows how to run away?" Smoker shouted loudly.
In his view, someone like Larvin, who dared to shoot a Celestial Dragon, wouldn't be a coward afraid of death.
So, if he provoked him a bit, maybe Larvin would stop running and turn to fight him?
But as it turned out, he was also overthinking it.
After hearing Smoker's words, Vivian not only didn't stop but sped up, shouting ahead, "I, Logue Town's Larvin, am a coward, so what?"
"I'm heading to the New World now. If you have the guts, chase me on the sea!"
First, he deactivated the silence magic, shouted this sentence, then reactivated the silence barrier and continued running at full speed.
This made Smoker furious.
That guy seemed far more cunning than he had imagined.
Thus, the two of them ran a long distance on the Sabaody Archipelago, from Area 1 to Area 46, then back to Area 15. By the time Smoker's face was sweating, three options appeared in Vivian's mind:
[Option 1: Keep running forward. (Reward: Flying Thunder God Technique from the Naruto universe)]
[Option 2: Turn around and fight Smoker, defeating him. (Reward: Lake Toya sword from the Gintama universe)]
[Option 3: Jump into the sea to escape. (Reward: +1 random basic attribute)]
"Keep running forward… It seems like Area 12. In the original story, Kizaru, Sentomaru, and PX-1 surrounded Luffy in this area."
If I rush in, I'll probably get kicked twice by that old man at the speed of light.
As for turning to fight Smoker…
Currently, Smoker doesn't even know Haki, so I'm confident I can fight him, but the key is… I'm not using my own identity now.
I can't use Thunder Breathing; using it would definitely expose me.
And relying solely on my martial arts to defeat a Logia Devil Fruit user is somewhat unrealistic.
So, after thinking for a few seconds, Vivian stopped, and under Smoker's wary, puzzled, and shocked gaze, he jumped into the sea near the archipelago, splashing water everywhere.
The ripples slowly disappeared, and as the water surface returned to calm, Smoker stared at the endless sea, lost in thought.