Sabaody Archipelago, back room of 'New Shakky's Rip-off Bar'.
"Eh!? 'Dark King' Rayleigh?"
Under the guidance of the roasted meat shop owner, the Straw Hat crew — having smoothly arrived at this bar — looked at the white-haired and white-bearded old man before them, their exclamations almost blowing the roof off the bar.
"Hahaha, that's just a title from the past — you guys should all know, I officially retired not long ago."
"Here now, everyone calls me Old Ray."
Rayleigh swirled his wine glass, smiling as he looked at the pirates in front of him.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the straw hat Luffy wore on his back, and a hint of complexity and understanding flashed in his eyes.
"Is it him? That kid Shanks talked about..."
Rayleigh thought to himself.
The Straw Hat crew naturally understood what Rayleigh was talking about.
The whole world knew that not long ago, Dark King Rayleigh had fought the Zodiac Snake — who went by the alias 'Sword God' at the time — on Amazon Lily, and was ultimately defeated by Snake's hand.
Many people on the sea said this Dark King had died on Amazon Lily, but they never expected to actually meet this legend on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"So speaking of which, are you the one guiding pirates who arrive at Sabaody?"
Nami suddenly realized.
The right-hand man of the Pirate King guiding pirates — this was very reasonable.
"You could say that."
Rayleigh took a sip of wine and smiled.
"Because of the trouble those Zodiac guys caused before, the situation in Sabaody has been a bit complicated lately... So Shakky and I discussed it, and felt we still shouldn't let newly sprouted seedlings die so silently."
He continued. "However, it must be interesting pirates — those guys who only know how to plunder and are still confused about their own ambitions aren't worth helping."
Having originally decided to retire, he actually had no intention of jumping out to cause trouble again.
But this place, the Sabaody Archipelago, was truly a bit special — it was inherently the key area for heading to the New World.
And the Star Hunter Unit active here recently was too powerful.
Rayleigh had observed the Star Hunter Unit, so he knew very well — if he didn't lend a hand, the vast majority of pirates arriving at Sabaody recently would probably fall into the hands of the Star Hunter Unit.
Knowing clearly that the turning of the era was about to begin, although Rayleigh no longer planned to participate in too many things, at the very least, he hoped to let the Great Pirate Era started by Roger welcome a perfect curtain call.
Rayleigh pondered in his heart, but right now the Straw Hat crew was quite excited.
Rayleigh's words clearly acknowledged them as 'interesting pirates'.
This was a considerable degree of honor.
"But from what you mean, it seems you don't recommend us coating our ship to head to Fish-Man Island recently?"
Nami looked at Rayleigh, frowning.
"But wouldn't staying on this island only be more dangerous?"
Before her words fell, a female voice sounded from the side. "This question of yours — the crews of the 'Surgeon of Death' and 'Captain' asked before."
"The answer is yes and no."
Shakky, who had just gone to the front room to serve drinks, returned to the back room.
"Recently, the Sabaody Archipelago is indeed very dangerous for pirates, but it is limited to the patrol activities of several Star Hunter Unit officers like 'White Hunter' Smoker and 'Big Mouth' Hans."
"The truly dangerous guy is Black Xiezhi, who is currently responsible for overseeing the situation in Sabaody. But most of the troops actually don't have the intention of truly making a move to capture pirates on a large scale."
She raised a slender finger. "The ones they focus on capturing are only pirates attempting to coat their ships."
She exhaled a puff of smoke. "And besides that, they have also recently sealed off many idle ports and hired a large number of coating craftsmen to coat their warships within them."
"So as long as you don't try to find someone to coat your ship, and at the same time are a little cautious not to cause trouble, then you won't attract too much trouble."
As soon as these words came out, the few people with brains in the Straw Hat crew already frowned.
"Yohohoho — only capturing pirates attempting to coat their ships, and even coating warships... are they planning to start a war with Fish-Man Island?"
Brook directly stated this answer.
"It might not necessarily be starting a war with Fish-Man Island — it could also be for other purposes that require a coated voyage. For example, they want to launch a surprise attack on a certain great pirate in the New World?"
Reiju, however, shook her head.
"However... if it really is like this, it is indeed as Miss Shakky said — recently, coating the ship to head to Fish-Man Island is a very dangerous choice."
She spoke in a deep voice.
But as soon as these words came out, the other brainless members had already become dissatisfied.
"What's the big deal — it's just the Marines!"
"Exactly because of this, shouldn't we immediately head to Fish-Man Island?"
"I've heard of 'Black Xiezhi', but in the end, that guy is just an Admiral Candidate, right?"
"Idiot, what do you mean 'just'? Are you that good at fighting?"
They began chattering noisily.
Rayleigh, however, didn't say a word.
His expression was somewhat gloomy.
He also knew the intelligence Shakky spoke of.
Even according to his and Shakky's judgment, this deployment of the Star Hunter Unit looked very much like they had designs on Fish-Man Island.
But due to the friendship between the Roger Pirates and Garp, his understanding of Garp was quite deep, so he also discovered even more anomalies.
For example, he knew very well that although Garp seemed like a carefree guy, in reality, when executing Marine missions and acting, he was an extremely reliable person — he might act recklessly, but at least he would have a meticulous plan and would not underestimate any enemy.
Exactly because of this, the Roger Pirates were forced into desperate situations by him several times over the past years.
But this time...
"Too crude."
Rayleigh knew this very well.
"According to the intelligence, that guy Garp hasn't come to Sabaody at all, and that new generation Marine Black Xiezhi clearly has no intention of covering it up either. Recently, quite a few Fish-Men have already noticed the problem and are beginning to feel uneasy..."
Very bizarre.
This was Rayleigh's evaluation of the Star Hunter Unit's recent actions.
This was also the reason he chose to help these pirates recently — there was no shortage of his friends on Fish-Man Island as well. He always had to make some preparations.
"...Mm, anyway, looking at it now, as long as we keep a low profile on the island, there won't be any danger, right?"
Sanji had already begun summarizing the situation.
"As for whether to immediately coat the ship and head to Fish-Man Island, it's not too late to discuss it tomorrow — anyway, no matter what, we have to go resupply. The meat on the ship is almost finished!"
Franky nodded. "And spare parts."
Chopper hopped up. "And medicinal herbs! Medicinal herbs!"
The Straw Hat crew quickly reached a consensus — whether to immediately head to the New World was indeed still open to discussion, but replenishing supplies was the very first priority.
"Mm, since that's the case... then let's split up into a few groups first."
Subsequently, they made the assignments — Zoro, who wanted to check out the sword shops on the island, Luffy, who was clamoring to eat more meat, and Chopper and Reiju forming a group to purchase medicinal herbs. Sanji, Brook, and Nami forming a group to purchase ingredients and sea charts. Franky and Usopp forming a group to purchase parts and ammunition.
"Listen well — no matter what, you absolutely must not cause trouble!"
Nami said seriously. "You guys should have all heard too — this island is very dangerous recently..."
Zoro, Luffy: "Exactly, exactly — Usopp, Franky, you guys have to be careful!"
"I'm talking about you two!"
Nami angrily rolled her eyes, glaring fiercely at the two guys most likely to cause trouble.
Then, amidst the noise, the Straw Hat crew split into three groups and dispersed.
Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Palace.
A massive tall tower stood within the palace.
The strange thing was, the outside of this tall tower was actually stuck with a massive number of weapons for some unknown reason.
They looked as if they had been hurled from afar, embedded deeply into the tall tower.
"Princess Shirahoshi, the situation recently is not very stable — please be careful even inside the Hard-Shell Tower. Once you notice any anomaly, immediately notify this old minister through this button. This old minister will immediately rush over and protect you with my life!"
A seahorse wearing armor, bearing a katana, and holding a trident said this.
He was the Minister of the Right of Ryugu Palace, responsible for security and garrison duties.
"Okay, Lord Minister of the Right, please rest assured. I... I will be careful."
And before him, a massive, beautiful mermaid with flowing pink hair nodded timidly, picking up that tiny button the Minister of the Right handed over.
That was the most noble Princess of this Ryugu Palace — Princess Shirahoshi.
"Mm, then this old minister can rest assured."
The Minister of the Right finally left with peace of mind.
Shirahoshi watched his departing back, her watery blue eyes full of worry.
"Gyaa, gyaa!"
Beside her, a shark wearing clothes leaned close, seemingly comforting her not to worry too much.
"Megalo, you say... are the humans really going to attack Fish-Man Island?"
"If that happens, Mother's wish from back then..."
Shirahoshi murmured.
Although she had stayed in the Hard-Shell Tower all these years unable to leave, due to the existence of her pet Megalo, Shirahoshi actually knew the news that had spread throughout Fish-Man Island recently.
The humans on the sea surface were gathering an army, seemingly wanting to attack Fish-Man Island.
This still made Shirahoshi worried.
She was worried about her father and brothers — as the King of Ryugu Palace and rulers of Fish-Man Island, they were bound to protect their people.
At the same time, she was even more worried that if a war started, wouldn't that mean the sacrifice of her mother, Queen Otohime, in the past was completely meaningless?
"Gyaa, gyaa."
Megalo naturally couldn't give any valuable answer, only rubbing against Shirahoshi with a worried face.
But exactly at this moment—
"Your mother's wish was inherently a naive and ridiculous 'fantasy' that could never be realized."
In this Hard-Shell Tower, where there logically should be no one else besides Shirahoshi and Megalo, a voice abruptly rang out.
And accompanied by the sounding of the voice—
VMMM!
Streams of circulating starlight slowly filled the Hard-Shell Tower.
From within the starlight, illusory images manifested one by one.
Then, a figure walked out from the starlight.
"!!!"
Shirahoshi was stunned, and then subconsciously revealed a timid expression. "In... Intruder!?"
She almost instinctively pressed the button in her hand.
But—
Tap!
The next moment, she found the button she pressed didn't make a sound. Or to be more precise... the feeling in her hand didn't feel like pressing a button at all.
She lowered her head, and then discovered the button in her hand had been replaced by a bouquet of beautiful things she had never seen before.
"This is..."
Shirahoshi's eyes wavered.
Immediately following, she heard a response.
"This is a sunflower."
Accompanied by this answer, Shirahoshi saw that figure walking out from the starlight, holding a book.
"I heard Loki say — Princess Shirahoshi, you really want to go to the surface to see a real forest, the sun, and the flowers unique to the land."
"So I specially brought one to give you as a gift — this flower is a creation of my ability. It will never wither."
"Lo... Lord Uma!?"
Through that horse head mask atop the other party's head, and the 'Loki' mentioned in his words, Shirahoshi could already confirm the other party's identity.
She was both surprised and joyful.
"You have already arrived at Fish-Man Island?"
Her words were somewhat constrained, clearly rarely communicating with strangers like this.
But then, she looked behind Uma curiously. "Where are Lord Loki and the Lords of the Giant race? Didn't they come with you?"
"..."
Uma looked at Shirahoshi helplessly. "Loki and Dorry's sizes are too conspicuous — if they appeared on Fish-Man Island, it would be equivalent to directly showing the World Government the trump card for this battle."
"So they and the Aster are still hidden within my Phantasm World, and I will be the one to make contact with you."
"Oh, oh."
Shirahoshi then suddenly realized, feeling her question was truly a bit silly.
But then she noticed a key point in Uma's words.
"Lord Uma, you just said the World Government like that — is the matter true? Are humans really going to attack Fish-Man Island?"
"To be exact, it is 'that group of people from the World Government' who are going to attack Fish-Man Island."
Uma corrected. "I am also human, but I have no interest in attacking Fish-Man Island."
Hearing this, Shirahoshi was stunned.
But her heart still couldn't help but clench involuntarily.
"I... I will go notify Royal Father and Royal Brother and the others right away..."
She gritted her teeth and said this.
But before she could move, Uma had already waved his hand, and the surrounding starlight slowly halted Shirahoshi's movements.
"There is no need to go notify King Neptune and the Princes."
He said calmly.
"They are also influenced by Queen Otohime and hold hope towards the World Government, and will highly likely find it difficult to make a decision — at a time like this, indecision is fatal."
"I will tell you the truth, and you can find a time to tell them later."
He looked at Shirahoshi seriously.
"In fact, in the face of the power about to descend upon Fish-Man Island this time, the power your Royal Father and your brothers possess is insignificant."
"Only you, Princess Shirahoshi."
"Only your power is the power that can provide help for this war."
As he spoke, deep within his eyes, the Fruit Encyclopedia could already be clearly seen.
[Discovered Source Energy of Lineage Factor creation 'Soul Bloodline Modified Creature · Giant Sillago Mermaid · Shirahoshi', containing within it 'Power of Wish · God · God of the Sea (Poseidon)']
[Those possessing this Source Energy of Lineage Factor and Power of Wish can communicate with all creatures in the sea and make them obey commands]
(End of Chapter)
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