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Join the book's Discord Channel at: https://discord.gg/TDbRMGQJz (New)
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"One Piece" Events:
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"Die, you damn fish!!!"
Sharlia, the daughter of the Celestial Dragon Rosward, pointed her gun at Caimie, who was trying to defend herself with her hands.
Seeing this, Usopp, Robin, and Zoro prepared to intervene at any moment to rescue Caimie.
But before they could take a step, Sharlia's body trembled, her eyes turned white, and she collapsed to the ground. "Princess Sharlia!!!"
"You see, my dear giant? This place is completely messed up," said a calmly old man stepping out from inside the theater, followed by the giant he was conversing with.
"The auction's over, and I've stolen their money... Looks like it's time to do some gambling."
"You're a pretty sneaky old man... Where did you get some money?" asked the giant.
"Well, I was hoping to steal some more from whoever bought me." As he said that, the old man drank sake from his metal flask.
"Just think about it... Who would possibly want an old man for a slave!!? Wahahahahaha!!"
•———•———•———•———•———•
At The New World:
"Wahahahaha!!!"
"Having an old man like you as a slave, Rayleigh, can one consider it a blessing or a curse?"
On the Oro Jackson, Roger laughed heartily after witnessing Rayleigh's entrance scene and his recent words.
"Well, well... I didn't know that retiring would lead me to this situation. I had decided to remain a pirate until I die."
"Is that so..."
"Wahahahaha! This is amusing! Look, even the giant was shocked. It appears to be the first time in his life witnessing someone selling themselves for money, considering Giants live for such a long time."
"Gurararara!! The esteemed Dark King being sold as a slave. This can't even be deemed a black joke. If my manga counterpart were to hear about this, he might die of laughter before his illness does."
"Oh, even you, Newgate? Wahahaha!!"
At that moment, only Roger and Whitebeard dared to tease Rayleigh, while the rest of the two crews suppressed their laughter with great effort.
"Oh~ it seems Rayleigh is finally getting serious..."
Roger's smile widened as he observed the unfolding events, and the rest of the people on the ship shared the same sentiment.
Rayleigh, too, wore a smile this time, his eyes reflecting the familiar grin of his manga counterpart as he made a recognizable gesture.
"OHH! He used a bit of his Conqueror Haki..." said Roger, smiling.
"Gurararara! It seems Rayleigh has decided to flex his muscles~ evidently, the upcoming events will be even more exciting..." laughed Whitebeard.
"Will you take on the responsibility of safeguarding the seeds of the new generation, Rayleigh?" This time, Roger asks a serious question.
•———•———•———•———•———•
"Hm? Looks like we're getting attention," said the old man as he noticed many people staring at them in astonishment.
"...!? What's with that old man and giant!!?"
"Aren't they auction items!!? How did they get out of the cage...?"
"How did they open the locks!!?"
"What do we do...!!?"
"What...? We're not trained to capture people!!"
"And we don't stand a chance against an unchained giant."
The auction men felt even more headache, just the thought of how to put the giant back in the cage gave them shivers... little did they know that the old man was much scarier than the giant.
"Ra... Rayleigh!" exclaimed Hatchan.
"Eh? That's the coating guy!? Which one!?" Chopper was surprised.
"OHH!!? Is that Hatchi!? Hey, it's been a while!! What're you doing here!!? Where did you get that wound!!?"
Seeing Hatchan, Rayleigh was pleasantly surprised, but he quickly noticed his injury. "Ah- No, no need to say it."
Rayleigh stroked his beard while looking at Caimie as if contemplating something, "Hmph..." He glanced at the Celestial Dragon Charlos, whose face was disfigured from Luffy's punch, and then back and forth before speaking again.
"I see... In other words... You've gotten yourself in a real mess, Hatchi..."
He looked at Luffy and his crew before asking with a confirming tone, "You guys helped him out?"
"Well then..." As soon as he said that, an immense pressure descended upon the auction, emanating from Rayleigh as the epicenter and washing over everything on the horizon. With the exception of Luffy and his companions and a few individuals like Law and Kidd, all the auction men fainted.
"Eh...? Eh!? What!? What did he do!?" Usopp was shocked to see people dropping like flies despite nobody touching them.
"Who is that old man...!!?" Sanji was equally taken aback.
"...!!" Zoro was left speechless as well.
"That Straw Hat..." For the first time, Rayleigh looked at Luffy, his eyes hiding a mixture of surprise and peculiar anticipation that went unnoticed by others. After all, he recognized that straw hat.
"Suits a fearless man...!!"
"I've been wanting to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy." he said, smiling.
•———•———•———•———•———•
Ohara:
"What is this power!? It's the same power that Red-Haired Shanks has!"
"Oh my god! He just looked at them... and they dropped with one glance!"
"This is incredible! It's just like Shanks... Or is it more correct to say that Shanks is the one who is just like him?"
"I feel goosebumps! From now on, I'm a Rayleigh fan!"
"Hey man! Don't underestimate old men! They can knock you out with one glance, just like Rayleigh-san did!"
"Hehehe~ this is fun!"
"He looks majestic and powerful... is this the strength of the second man in the Pirate King's crew!?"
"If Rayleigh is so strong... how strong is Roger?"
"He said that he had always wanted to meet Luffy... That's interesting!"
Readers enthusiastically discussed the events of the last scene of the chapter, which caused enthusiastic chills for almost everyone who witnessed it...
Doflamingo stared at Rayleigh's face with a big smile before placing his hand on his forehead and laughing as he recalled the day he awakened this power.
"Fufufu~ this is Haoshoku Haki, the Kings Haki... the qualifications of the King... just like me, he owns it..."
"But, how can a king serve under another King wholeheartedly?"
Here, Mingo felt confused for the first time.
...
Sabaody Archipelago:
Inside the art store, Shakky was looking at the manga with a smile on her face.
"This old man looks more sexy than the current Rayleigh, Fufufu~"
"White hair gave him a wonderful splendor~"
"So this is what your first meeting with the Straw Hats is like, Dear Rayleigh? That's fun."
Shakky continued reading the manga until the chapter ended in a way that made her more excited than ever.
"One look to eliminate all the mobs... my dear is very strong~ as expected."
At this moment, Shakky wished to see Rayleigh's reaction to the current flow of certain events.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 543: Admiral Kizaru is on his way! (Part 1)
Chapter 544: Admiral Kizaru is on his way! (Part 2)
Chapter 545: Doflamingo's Involvement in Slaves Trading!
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Teaser from Pat:
"So, my Lord, what course of action shall we take?"
"Let's observe the unfolding events. I have a feeling he will be the catalyst for the Straw Hat crew's first significant defeat," Imu proclaimed with a wicked grin.
She had purposefully suppressed her formidable observation haki ability, choosing not to preemptively glean the volume's contents at a glance. This allowed her to savor every new scene as it unfolded.