"Hahaha! Rayleigh, I never thought you'd be doing this badly after retirement!"
Garp roared with laughter after hearing Kaoru Tsubasa's teasing remark.
He truly hadn't expected that the former right-hand man of the Pirate King — the legendary Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh — would one day have to sell himself just to get some Berries.
Rayleigh only chuckled bitterly, scratching his head in embarrassment. It was already shameful enough, so there was nothing left to defend.
"By the way, kid," Garp said after his laughter died down. "I heard from that brat Sakazuki that you stopped them from landing on O'Hara."
When Sakazuki had returned to Navy Headquarters, he was in an absolute mess. Out of the thousands of marines aboard five warships, only five vice admirals and ten rear admirals had made it back alive. The rest were either gravely injured, or trapped in comas — their bodies alive, but their minds gone.
According to Sakazuki, they had been attacked by a man wearing a pure white mask — a man who could summon pitch-black monsters from the shadows.
When Garp heard that report, his first thought had been of Kaoru Tsubasa, the mysterious figure he had once met on Baterilla Island. But at that time, he had chosen not to tell Sengoku.
There were two reasons for that.
First, he wasn't completely certain it was Kaoru. Sakazuki spoke of monsters, while the man he remembered commanded men in black.
Second, and more importantly — Garp had once made a promise to Roger. And that promise did not sit well with his title as the Navy's "Hero."
If the World Government ever found out that he had protected Roger's child, they would surely try to eliminate him. Even if they couldn't kill Garp outright, they would make sure he was stripped of his rank and authority.
"Yes," Kaoru said plainly, his voice calm. "It was me who stopped them from entering O'Hara."
He didn't hesitate to admit it. Kaoru wasn't afraid of Garp — not because of power, but because he knew Garp's heart. For all his bluster, Garp's sense of justice would never allow the slaughter of innocents.
Unfortunately, justice had its chains.
Bound by duty and the World Government's orders, even Garp had been powerless to stop the Buster Call that annihilated O'Hara.
"I don't care about the rest," Garp said, folding his arms. "But tell me this — how do we wake the ones who've lost their shadows and fallen into comas?"
He didn't want to dig too deep into O'Hara's affairs, but he couldn't abandon his men. As a Vice Admiral, their lives were his responsibility.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Garp," Kaoru replied softly. "Even I don't know how to wake them."
Of course, that was a lie. Kaoru knew the truth — those men's shadows had been devoured by the Shadow Eater Legion. To restore them, he'd need to slay the legion's commander, General Minta. But he had no intention of doing that.
"…I see."
Garp sighed. He knew that many Devil Fruit users couldn't even undo their own powers. Assuming Kaoru's ability was similar, there was nothing more to say.
He had done his duty simply by asking.
"All right then," he said at last, turning away. "I've done what I can."
After a brief exchange, Garp took his leave.
Kaoru and Rayleigh then made their way back to Xia Qi's Bar.
"Xia Qi, I heard Tsubasa gave you a million Berries," Rayleigh said the moment they stepped inside.
Though he already knew Xia Qi wasn't likely to share the money, it didn't hurt to try. There was always a sliver of hope she might surprise him.
"Oh? Then this is for you."
Xia Qi smirked and tossed him a small pouch.
She rarely gave Rayleigh money, mostly because she didn't want him spending all his time drinking. This time, though, the money had been given to her by Kaoru specifically for Rayleigh's use — so she could hardly keep it all to herself.
Rayleigh blinked. "You're actually giving me something?"
He opened the pouch eagerly — and froze.
"…That's it?"
Inside were only a few miserable coins. Kaoru took one glance and quickly calculated — maybe a thousand Berries, at best.
I gave her a million, he thought, stunned. Even after the coating expenses, there should've been nearly a million left…
Apparently, Xia Qi's definition of "a little something for Rayleigh" was very literal.
Kaoru could only stare wordlessly. Even Olvia, standing quietly in the corner, looked speechless — though she wisely kept her mouth shut. After all, it wasn't her place to interfere in someone else's… domestic finances.
"So," Rayleigh said at last, trying to shift the topic, "how's that matter with Roger's kid going?"
He had wanted to ask earlier, but with Garp there, it hadn't felt right. Now that they were among friends, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Do you want to visit Roger's grave with Tsubasa?" Xia Qi asked knowingly.
She understood what Rayleigh was thinking. Roger had been his captain — of course he wanted closure.
Olvia said nothing, simply watching the exchange in silence.
"Do you want to see Roger's body?" Kaoru asked quietly.
Rayleigh froze. "His… body?"
Kaoru nodded. Roger's remains were preserved within his system's dimensional space — a realm untouched by time. Even his clone could access it.
If Rayleigh truly wished it, Kaoru could show him Roger's body.
"Yeah," Rayleigh said after a moment, voice low and trembling. "I want to see the Captain one last time."
He didn't even notice that he'd used the word Captain again — something he hadn't said in years.
"Very well," Kaoru replied. "I'll show you."
He turned to Xia Qi. "Do you have a larger space in the bar?"
"There's an empty area upstairs," she said. "I use it to store intelligence files, but there's plenty of room."
Rayleigh frowned in confusion. "An open space? Didn't you say you'd take me to Redoria to see the Captain?"
Kaoru only gestured for him to follow. "You'll understand soon."
When they reached the second floor, Rayleigh was surprised by how large it was. Shelves lined the walls, filled with old papers and coded documents.
"I didn't expect you to have this much intel, Sister Xia Qi," Kaoru murmured, scanning the stacks.
The dim light flickered across the walls, and the air was heavy with the scent of dust and age. The past — their past — lingered everywhere in this place.
And soon, Rayleigh would come face to face with it once more.