A new year had dawned on the Grand Line.
In the "Paradise" half of the sea, on the Sabaody Archipelago—
Silver-haired Silvers Rayleigh pushed open the batwing doors of Shakky's Rip-off Bar. With his hands in his pockets and his back slightly hunched, he strolled inside.
The bar was as quiet as ever, with only a few scattered patrons. Seeing the familiar sight, a faint smile tugged at Rayleigh's lips.
"What are you smiling at?"
Behind the counter, Shakky rested her chin on her palm, wearing that sultry smile that didn't match her true age. A cigarette smoldered lazily between her fingers.
Rayleigh chuckled softly, shaking his head as he sat down at the counter and adjusted the thin-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
"The usual — rum."
"Go get it yourself. You know where it is."
Rayleigh let out a wry laugh. He didn't mind; after all, this bar was practically home to the two of them. Their bond was long and familiar, closer than family.
He got up, and moments later returned with a bottle of rum and two glasses, pouring one for each of them.
Rum wasn't as refined as whiskey or brandy, but both of them had grown used to its taste — and deep down, they preferred it.
Shakky took a slow sip, then drew on her cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring right into Rayleigh's face.
"So, where've you been messing around the past two weeks? Don't tell me you went to the auction house again. You can't seriously expect those Tenryuubito, nobles, and merchants to keep falling for that same trick over and over, right?"
She was referring to Rayleigh's old habit — selling himself as a slave, infiltrating the auction, and then turning on the buyers to rob them blind before vanishing again. He pulled that stunt a few times every year.
"Hahaha… believe it or not, they still fall for it. As long as they can't abandon their prejudice and contempt toward commoners and slaves, there'll always be someone who takes the bait."
"Hmph~ sometimes I think you're even better at scamming than I am."
Running the bar was only Shakky's cover; her real business was gathering information, extortion, and black-market deals. She was one of the Archipelago's low-key underworld brokers — not the biggest player, but influential enough.
"Oh, by the way," she added casually, "Aladine came by a few days ago with a delivery. Asked where you were. I told him you were dead — but he didn't believe me."
The "delivery" from Aladine, the vice-captain of the Sun Pirates, referred to goods from Fish-Man Island — specialty products, including sweets so delicious even Big Mom coveted them.
Shakky helped distribute them across the Sabaody markets, and business was good. Sometimes she'd even help Aladine acquire items unavailable on Fish-Man Island — weapons included.
At this point, she and Fish-Man Island were two ends of the same profit chain.
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. "And what did he want with me?"
"Come on, it's obvious. Jinbe knows 'the Dark King' is here — of course he wants to stay on your good side." She pointed her cigarette at him.
Rayleigh smiled and shook his head. "No need. The man Jinbe follows will one day surpass my name and reputation. I'm just an old relic nearing the end of his life…"
"Oh, that reminds me."
As if suddenly recalling something, Shakky turned around with a teasing sway of her hips. She bent down slightly — perhaps on purpose — and pulled a thick stack of wanted posters from a drawer.
She tossed them onto the counter.
"He's already surpassed you."
Rayleigh blinked, setting his glass down. He picked up the posters and began to flip through them.
When his eyes landed on Davy Jones' bounty, even he couldn't hide his shock.
Shakky winked mischievously, like a cat that had just played a prank. "A few days ago, Davy Jones killed Admiral Akainu — Sakazuki."
"Akainu?!" Rayleigh's eyes widened.
Without a word, Shakky produced a newspaper and laid it before him. The headline on the front page said it all.
Rayleigh silently read the Marine Headquarters' official obituary printed there.
With Morgans missing, the news was reported plainly — no embellishments, no sensational rumors. Details were scarce.
But one thing was certain and undeniable: Sakazuki had fallen at the hands of Davy Jones.
The article was filled with condemnation of Davy Jones and statements about imposing trade blockades on his territory.
"Akainu's little lackey, Spandam, died too," Shakky added, tapping her finger against the counter. "His father, Spandine — the mastermind behind the Ohara Buster Call — had a stroke when he heard the news. He's in the hospital."
"Spandine… the one who ordered Ohara's destruction?"
"That's the one."
"Heh. Guess that's karma catching up with him."
Shakky stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.
"In any case, when the Marines tried to retrieve the bodies of Sakazuki, Spandam, and the fallen soldiers, a battle broke out between their fleet and the Davy Jones Pirates."
"Who won?"
"Who else? Davy Jones, of course." Shakky's smile was sly. "Without an admiral leading them, there was no way the Marines could breach Punk Hazard."
Rayleigh nodded knowingly. "Marine Headquarters doesn't dare send another admiral there. They can't take any more losses."
"Exactly. They've been gutted," Shakky said with a laugh. "It'll take them a long time to lick their wounds — and they'll have to swallow their pride for now."
"We never managed to do that ourselves," Rayleigh mused. "But then again, we were adventurers — not soldiers at war with the Marines."
He nodded as he flipped through more of the wanted posters.
Shakky leaned over and began explaining, pointing at each one.
"This time, they didn't raise the bounties of every crew member — just the core figures, the ones confirmed to have taken part in the Punk Hazard conflict."
"For example — the sea monsters rampaging through the Undersea Route: the Kraken, 70 million Berries! Momoo, 55 million!"
She pointed to several more posters.
"Buggy, Perona, Kidd, Drake, Bonney — each of their bounties increased by 100 million."
"Eustass 'Captain' Kidd — 415 million Berries!"
"Buggy — 395 million Berries!"
"X Drake — 322 million Berries!"
"Perona — 240 million Berries!"
"Jewelry Bonney — 240 million Berries!"
Wrinkles deepened around Rayleigh's smiling eyes. "Buggy's bounty's almost at four hundred million, huh?"
"At this rate, it'll rise even faster," Shakky chuckled. "They're not stopping here. They'll keep charging into the New World, stirring things up."
"Look at Davy Jones' officers — Law, Kuro, and Alvida. They're in the second tier of his hierarchy, all holding key positions in his crew."
"Law was a major figure in the Punk Hazard conflict, while Kuro and Alvida didn't take part directly — but as his reserve force, their roles are still critical."
"So, Law's bounty went up by 250 million, while Kuro's and Alvida's each rose by 200 million."
"Trafalgar Law — 470 million Berries!"
"Alvida — 440 million Berries!"
"Kuro — 426 million Berries!"
Rayleigh nodded in approval. "Four combatants with bounties over four hundred million — Law, Alvida, Kuro, and Kidd. That's already on par with, if not stronger than, the Warlords."
"I'd say they're already a Yonko crew," Shakky said coolly.
"Just look at these two," she continued, pulling out the final pair of posters. "Jinbe and Crocodile — Davy Jones' two chief lieutenants."
"Jinbe's kept the Undersea Route under control, while Crocodile's been expanding Davy Jones' territory in the New World. Both have caused massive upheaval."
"Their bounties each jumped by 400 million."
"Sir Crocodile — 1.081 billion Berries!"
"Jinbe — 838 million Berries!"
"In terms of Yonko executives and top commanders, those figures are nothing to scoff at."
Rayleigh nodded, impressed. "Indeed. Their bounties are catching up to Kaido's All-Stars and Big Mom's Sweet Commanders."
"Correction — Sweet Three Commanders now," Shakky teased. "The Four Emperors are truly four again. The sea's got its monsters back."
"As for the captain of that crew — the man who killed Akainu — his bounty alone went up by 1.8 billion."
"Davy Jones — 3.25 billion Berries!"
Resting her chin on her palm, Shakky leaned closer to Rayleigh, her bright eyes gleaming.
"He's still a ways from the late Whitebeard's 5 billion, or the 4-plus billion of Kaido, Big Mom, and Red-Hair — but plenty of people are already saying…"
"…that he's the new Yonko," Rayleigh finished her thought.
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