"The next question, are you a swordsman?"
This confused Rayleigh. He didn't see a sword on him, which surprised him.
For a swordsman, a sword is not just a weapon but a part of life. A swordsman would always carry a sword everywhere.
"You could say that. But my sword skills are just average." Eiji admitted.
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, his swordsmanship might be the best, even Kasukabe Atsuya couldn't match him in that aspect. However, the One Piece world is different; many swordsmen have better skills than him.
"Hmmm... You can't use Haki, you're not a Devil Fruit user, and you claim your swordsmanship is only average, huh... No matter how I look at it, you're not strong enough to cause trouble in Mary Geoise. But... you're not weak, I can confirm that."
The more Rayleigh thought about it, the more his confusion grew rather than lessened.
His intuition sensed that the young man beside him was indeed strong. But from the man's own words, his strength did not come from the popular power systems of this world.
"For the last question, you may choose not to answer if it involves your privacy or secrets."
Rayleigh paused to take a sip of beer from his glass.
"Go ahead." Eiji replied calmly.
"What power do you use?"
Rayleigh's question was short and to the point. Even Shakky couldn't help but pay attention.
The newspaper only reported the trouble caused by Eiji and didn't describe it at all. This led to much speculation and guessing.
In the newspaper photo, he seemed to be floating in the air, leading many to think he had the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi power.
The previous owner of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi power was Shiki aka Golden Lion. He was one of the legendary pirates from the era of Gol D Roger and Shirohige and a member of the Rocks Pirates alongside Kaido, Big Mom, and other famous individuals.
Since Shiki had not appeared for a long time, people assumed he was dead, and the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi had reentered circulation in the sea.
"Limitless Technique."
"This is the first time I've heard of that."
"Limitless is a technique passed down in my family and works best when combined with Six Eyes."
"I see. So your eyes are called Six Eyes. So people in your family have special techniques and eyes, similar to the Lunarian Tribe who have unique innate abilities."
In his voyages with the Roger Pirates, Rayleigh had seen tribes with racial abilities unique to them. Moreover, he had suspected Eiji's eyes were not ordinary since he first saw them.
"The Limitless Technique allows the user to manipulate space at will. Currently, there are eight forms available."
"Red is a repulsion force, Blue is an attraction force, Cyan creates ice, Scarlet produces fire, teleportation, Purple is a combination of Red and Blue creating a powerful energy explosion, Olive is a combination of Cyan and Scarlet creating a hydrogen explosion, and lastly, Infinity..."
Eiji demonstrated the Limitless Technique except for Purple and Olive, which had destructive power.
Shakky and Rayleigh couldn't stay calm after seeing him show various different powers.
"Rayleigh, try to touch me."
"Huh? Why can't I touch you? It's like there's an invisible barrier separating us."
Following the instruction, Rayleigh raised his hand to touch Eiji, who extended his hand.
"This is the neutral form of Limitless, Infinity. It's a defensive technique that allows me to create infinite space around my body. This makes it very difficult for opponents' attacks to reach me. Simply put, every attack slows down infinitely, so it never reaches me."
Facing someone who might become his teacher, Eiji did not hide his abilities. To him, it was crucial for a teacher to understand the abilities of the student being trained. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to develop the student's potential due to a lack of information.
"I really can't touch you... It's a strange sensation; I can feel my hand continuously moving forward." Rayleigh said in amazement, pulling back his hand.
"This Limitless Technique is outrageous; it's equivalent to consuming eight different Devil Fruits. If the World Government knew about this, they would pay anything to hunt you down."
After calming herself, Shakky exhaled cigarette smoke.
"What Shakky said is true, you're too careless, Eiji. Revealing such an important secret to someone you just met, it's very dangerous." Rayleigh advised earnestly.
"You two don't need to worry about this. I'm not as foolish as you think. The reason I divulged the secret of my technique is because I trust your character, Rayleigh."
Without changing his expression, Eiji spoke lightly.
"Ha Ha Ha... I like you, Kamiki Eiji."
Soon after, Rayleigh laughed heartily.
"Alright, I agree. I will teach you Haki."
"Thank you very much."
Hearing the answer he wanted, Eiji nodded in satisfaction.
Rayleigh was a powerful Haki user like Garp.
Although Devil Fruits are mainstream, most who reach the top of the world are Haki users.
Was the Pirate King a Devil Fruit user?
Was Kozuki Oden, who nearly killed Kaido, a Devil Fruit user?
Was Garp, who faced many legendary pirates, a Devil Fruit user?
Did Shanks reach Yonko status because of a Devil Fruit?
Was the strongest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, a Devil Fruit user?
Was the legendary swordsman Shimotsuki Ryuma, who could cut a dragon, a Devil Fruit user?
The answer to these questions is no!
Powerhouses who stand at the top of the world relying on Devil Fruit power cannot be considered to have reached the pinnacle by their own strength but because they possess strong Devil Fruit powers.
At least, that's according to Eiji. He had more respect for those who were strong due to their own efforts rather than relying on a Devil Fruit.
"When can we start?"
"Don't rush, I just got back a few days ago after training Luffy for two years. Let me spend a week or two relaxing and cuddling with Shakky."
Waving his hand at Eiji, Rayleigh smiled while drinking his beer.
"Look at your age, you're just an inch away from the grave, and you think you're still young? Who would want to cuddle with you!"
Unlike ordinary women who would be shy if teased by their husbands in front of others, Shakky responded differently.
"Come on, Shakky, didn't you miss me after being apart for two years?"
"Tsk, even without you, my business still runs smoothly."
"As usual, you're not good at expressing your love for me."
"You old man, aren't you embarrassed to say such embarrassing words in front of a young man?"
"Ha Ha Ha... Eiji is not a stranger, from now on he is my student, why should I care about my image in front of him? Ha Ha Ha..."
Watching the two tease each other in front of him, Eiji looked away and drank while thinking about the future.