Just as Rayleigh was about to deliver the killing blow to Enel, who had been constantly blocking him, a cold voice sounded from behind the pirate.
At the same time, Rayleigh's heart raced wildly, and a chilling feeling crept up his spine.
He had forgotten.
There was a third person in this battle.
Because he was so focused on his fight with Enel, Rayleigh had lost his battle instincts and completely forgot about Raleigh.
Now, it was time for him to pay the price for that mistake.
Behind Rayleigh, the wounds on Raleigh's body had not healed at all.
Even though he had pushed his body past its limits, the young Marine had only regained the ability to move.
His successful sneak attack on Rayleigh was entirely because the pirate was also severely weakened.
Plus, Rayleigh had focused all of his attention on Enel.
The blade of Mikazuki Munechika pressed against Rayleigh's back.
Its sharp tip was ready to pierce right through his body at any second.
"Rayleigh, do not do anything rash. Let Enel go, and I will let you go."
Raleigh gasped for breath before he spoke.
Enel was important to him—much more important than killing Rayleigh.
Rayleigh was already an established powerhouse!
Even if he continued to fight, his future strength would eventually drop to the level of a Yonko Commander as he aged.
While he could hold his own against a weaker Yonko, he ultimately posed no deadly threat to Raleigh's future.
Although the Roger Pirates were known as a crew with two Yonko-level fighters, everyone knew the truth.
It would not be long before Roger died from his sickness, and the Roger Pirates would eventually fall apart.
When that time came, dealing with Rayleigh would be much easier than it was right now.
On the other hand, both Enel and Raleigh still had plenty of room to grow.
Reaching the level of an Admiral would not be too hard for them.
Because of this, Raleigh was willing to accept letting Rayleigh escape this time to save Enel.
Meanwhile, with the sword pressed against his back, Rayleigh's expression changed uncertainly.
Just as Raleigh had said, the pirate had already lost this battle.
At best, he would kill a young genius with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
But trading his own life for an unfulfilled genius was a bad trade for someone like Rayleigh.
Furthermore, after Gaban's death, Roger's condition had become extremely unstable.
Rayleigh also knew Roger's most important goal
If Rayleigh died before helping his captain finish his final mission, it would betray the very reason he had followed Roger out to sea in the first place.
"How can you guarantee you will not turn against me? After all, there is zero trust between the Marines and Pirates."
Even though Rayleigh wanted to let Enel go, he had calmed down now.
If Raleigh broke his promise, the pirate's weakened state would not be enough to ensure his own safety.
A faint sneer appeared on the corner of Raleigh's lips.
Regardless, he could tell from Rayleigh's words that the pirate was giving in.
Now, it was just a matter of figuring out how to safely make the trade.
This outcome could not really be called Raleigh's victory, but at least it was not a huge loss.
If Enel died, Raleigh would have to spend a lot of time training new people, and that wasted time would be a massive setback.
"Rayleigh, you should know my character. I have always hated lying when making a deal," Raleigh stated directly.
He would not lower himself to use his honor as a trick to deceive Rayleigh here.
This was mostly because Rayleigh simply was not important enough.
If ruining his own honor could eliminate Roger, Raleigh would have lied without hesitation.
"Heh, if you cannot give me a better answer, then we will stay stuck like this."
Rayleigh did not believe the Marine officer behind him.
What if he let Enel go, only for Raleigh to stab him through the back anyway?
As an old sea dog who had survived this long on the dangerous oceans, Rayleigh naturally did not trust anyone's promises.
"Then what do you suggest?" Raleigh was getting a headache, too.
The main problem was that Rayleigh's worries were very fair.
Without anyone else around to watch them, it was indeed hard to reach a safe agreement.
"What should we do? Call our captain and Garp over here." Rayleigh kept his tight grip on Enel's throat with his right hand.
As longtime rivals who had fought many times over the years, Rayleigh had a lot of respect for Garp.
Because of their history of fighting and sometimes working together, he believed that Garp would never break an agreement.
"Fine."
Raleigh was eager to finish the deal quickly, as his own body was growing weaker by the second.
He was currently keeping himself standing purely through willpower just to keep his sword pressed against Rayleigh.
If Rayleigh noticed how weak he truly was, both Enel and Raleigh would likely be killed by the pirate.
"Rayleigh!"
"Raleigh!"
Two panting figures stopped in mid-air as they finally noticed the standoff above the clouds.
Both Roger and Garp's expressions instantly changed.
To Roger, Rayleigh was his most trusted partner and his best helper—someone he absolutely could not afford to lose.
To Garp, Raleigh represented the future hope of the Marines, and the young man had good relationships with several members of Garp's faction.
It was even said that Raleigh had made contact with Garp's son, Monkey D. Dragon, back in the East Blue.
Putting their own fight on hold, both men rushed up into the clouds.
Soon, they arrived right next to Raleigh, Rayleigh, and Enel.
"Marine, let Rayleigh go, and we will retreat."
"Rayleigh, release the youngster you are holding, and I will let you leave here."
Roger and Garp spoke at the exact same time.
Inwardly, Raleigh sighed.
This was clearly the time for a negotiation.
It was obvious that Rayleigh was incredibly important to Roger, and the soon to be Pirate King was willing to pay a heavy price to make sure his first mate was safe.
As for Enel, he was not very important to the Marines as a whole—only to Raleigh himself.
Yet Garp, with his opening words, had firmly set the bottom line for the deal.
On the surface, it seemed like Garp was just trying to keep Enel safe.
But in reality, his offer allowed the Roger Pirates to leave this entire battle without taking any more damage.
Except, of course, for Gaban, whom Raleigh had fought so desperately to kill.
Raleigh raised his head.
He glanced at Garp in front of him, then looked back at Roger, pressing his blade slightly forward.
The sharp tip pierced Rayleigh's skin but did not go any deeper.
A drop of blood trickled down the blade.
Roger's face was unusually dark.
He was trying very hard to hold back his inner fury, but the black-and-red lightning flashing around his body showed just how angry he was.
"Marine brat, do you want to die?" Roger's eyebrows twitched, showing he was right on the edge of losing control.
Garp's expression also darkened as he quickly stepped in.
"Raleigh, drop the blade. Let them leave."
Raleigh sighed in his mind, logically, he should not hesitate.
Even if Enel died, he should mercilessly kill Rayleigh right now.
But humans are emotional creatures, not cold-blooded animals.
Enel had been with Raleigh for so long that the Marine could not stand the thought of him dying.
That tiny bit of hesitation with his sword had left him in this tough spot.
"Fine, but you must guarantee Enel's safety," Raleigh said seriously.
Both Roger and Garp nodded at the same time.
"Do not worry, Marine kid," Roger said. "Even though we are pirates, we still have honor. Besides, Garp and I are keeping each other in check. We will not break the deal."
"Raleigh, you can trust them."
With Garp's nod, both Raleigh and Rayleigh felt a lot of relief.
"I will count to three, and we will let go at the same time," Raleigh said. "Three... two... one—"
Raleigh and Rayleigh let go at the exact same time.
Enel's body instantly turned into lightning and darted backward to safety.
Rayleigh quickly turn around, changing from having his back turned to directly facing Raleigh as the pirate rapidly backed away.
At that exact moment, both Roger and Garp rushed forward again.
BOOM!
The two legends clashed once more high up in the sky.
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