Shakky's Rip-off Bar!
Luffy pushed the door open, looking around.
He saw a still-charming woman with a cigarette in her mouth, wiping the bar counter with a cloth.
Who would have thought that this not-so-stunning woman was once considered a succubus of the high seas in her youth!
Golden Lion was her simp, and Roger, unable to win her over, eventually sought out Roux.
"Ah! It's little Monkey!"
Shakky looked at Luffy with surprise, "I've wanted to meet you for a long time, my idol!"
Shakky didn't stop working, quickly mixing three drinks and placing them on the bar.
"Oh! Thank you!"
Luffy and his two companions sat on chairs and picked up their drinks.
"I've heard all about the Celestial Dragons! From Alabasta to Enies Lobby, from Thriller Bark to Sabaody Archipelago. You've done some truly incredible things!" Shakky said, cigarette in her mouth, her eyes showing great interest.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door from outside.
"Shakky, I'm back!"
Rayleigh pushed the door open, and then Sanji and the others also entered the bar. With that, the entire straw hat crew was reunited!
"Luffy! You're back so early?"
Usopp looked at Luffy, who was rummaging through the fridge for a snack, and quickly strode over.
"We were fighting for our lives out there, and you not only didn't help, but you're eating here!"
Usopp's mouth was wide open, spittle flying.
Luffy, however, tightly covered his mouth, swallowing quickly, his eyes darting about.
The next second, Luffy held a Devil Fruit and shoved it into Usopp's mouth.
Usopp froze, his teeth unconsciously biting down, juice splattering, but his expression... was as miserable as if he'd eaten shit.
Usopp's body twitched, wanting to vomit. But... Luffy held his mouth shut firmly.
Finally, Usopp's face turned blue and purple, and he collapsed to the ground.
Luffy then looked towards the fridge.
"What happened to Usopp?" Nami's soft voice asked, looking at the fallen Usopp with some confusion.
"Oh, him? He ate a Devil Fruit, it's nothing serious."
Nami: "...?"
...Meanwhile, Sanji and Zoro were passionately bickering.
"Yo, isn't this our Great Swordsman? Why didn't I see you at the auction? Did you get lost? No way!"
Sanji looked at Zoro with a mocking expression.
Zoro, however, frowned, his kikoku drawn an inch, gleaming coldly.
"Curly Eyebrow, believe it or not, I'll cut you!"
"Tch!"
Sanji scoffed, but a bar was clearly not a place for a fight, so he merely shrugged, saving the battle for another day!
..."How lively! It's been a long time since I've seen a scene like this. Youth is truly wonderful!"
Rayleigh held a glass, his aged face reflected in the clear yellow wine.
"Monkey D. Luffy, I was once the Vice-Captain of the Roger Pirates, Silvers Rayleigh. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Vice-Captain??"
Sanji suddenly spat out his drink, his face filled with disbelief.
"The Pirate King's first mate, how could he fall to the point of being auctioned? ...Also, Gol D. Roger was executed 22 years ago, so why weren't you, his Vice-Captain, beheaded?"
Rayleigh looked at the wine in his hand, took a small sip, his eyes sparkling with longing.
"Because Roger surrendered! ..."
Brook, sitting at the bar, pondered.
"Gol D. Roger, there used to be such a person, and then again, maybe not..."
Rayleigh gently swirled his wine glass.
"Roger, no matter what he did, always liked to do it with flair."
"Whether it was a feast or a battle!"
"At the Captain's command, the Roger Pirates disbanded!"
"One by one, the crew members disappeared without a trace. Where are the companions who fought so bravely back then? What did they do? I... have no idea!"
"Finally, Roger surrendered. Under the world's gaze, he uttered those words. Thus began the great pirate era!"
"However,"
Rayleigh slowly closed his eyes, tears gradually wetting his eyelids.
"I didn't go, because Roger once told me..."
[I won't die, brother!!!]
"I've never laughed so hard as I did that night!"
"And I've never suffered so much as I did that night!"
"And I've never drunk so much as I did that night!"
Rayleigh looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the ceiling, seeing the blue sky and white clouds.
"Our Captain's life was truly magnificent!"
The entire room was silent, only the ticking of the clock could be heard... Rayleigh's gaze turned to Luffy.
"I once met Shanks on this island. At that time, he had lost his straw hat and his left arm."
"When I asked him why, he happily told me about you!"
[Mr. Rayleigh, I was truly surprised!]
[In the East Blue, there's a kid who said the exact same words as Captain Roger.]
[It was the Captain's words!!]
"Since then, I've really wanted to meet you! Monkey D. Luffy!"
Rayleigh looked at Luffy with a kind smile.
"Is that so?"
Luffy reached up and touched the straw hat on his head.
"Shanks! ...I will definitely go to the New World to see him!"
"Hahaha, Shanks must have been waiting for you in the New World for a long time! However,"
Rayleigh's expression turned serious, and he stared directly at Luffy, "Can you do it? The Grand Line is far beyond your imagination. Can you rule this sea?"
"Rule??"
Luffy's gaze was firm, and he smiled. "I've never thought about ruling... The freest person on this sea is the Pirate King!"
"Hmm?" Rayleigh's eyes changed. In Luffy, he seemed to see Roger's figure.
A slight smile appeared on his lips, "So that's it!"
"Little Monkey is truly my idol!"
...Robin, standing nearby, was very conflicted. Suddenly, she stood up abruptly.
"Mr. Rayleigh, what exactly does 'D' mean? On the Poneglyph in Sky Island, I saw Roger's name carved in ancient script. Why did he have that letter?"
"Do you know what really happened during the Void Century?"
Rayleigh's lips curled into a smile, his glasses reflecting a white light.
"Yes, we know!"
"We know all of history!"
"But, young lady. Don't rush, approach the truth step by step with your own ship!"
"Perhaps we were a bit too hasty after the incident at Ohara."
"The answer you come up with after sailing the world... might not be the same as ours!"
"Even so, if you still want to know, I can tell you everything in this world right now!"
Robin slowly closed her eyes, a smile on her face.
"No, it's alright!"
As an archaeologist, how could she learn history from others' mouths??
Rayleigh turned and picked up a large bag of coating tools, "Your ship is docked at 41GR, right? I'll go coat it. It'll take about three days. Here's my Vivre Card!"
Luffy took Rayleigh's Vivre Card, "Then thank you, Uncle Rayleigh!"
"Hmm?? What? Isn't our ship docked at 1GR?" Zoro asked, puzzled.
"This idiot!"
At this moment, the fallen Usopp got up.
"Damn Luffy, what did you feed me???"
Usopp yelled loudly, and then... information about the Devil Fruit's abilities flooded his mind.
Usopp's eyes glowed golden.
Luffy watched his performance with his arms crossed.
"Luffy, you're truly amazing! From today onwards, you're my adoptive parent!"
Everyone watched his performance speechless.
Suddenly, a red light appeared in Luffy's eyes, and Rayleigh also trembled sharply.
Their six eyes met.
"The Admiral... has arrived!"
..."Bang!!"
On the coast, naval cannon fire flew towards the lawless zone.
A yellow figure, hands in pockets, stepped on a cannonball and flew towards Sabaody.
"Bang!!"
The cannonball exploded, and a tall figure appeared before the pirates.
"Moshi moshi, I'm Kizaru, I've arrived. Respond!"
The pirates' bodies seemed to freeze, their pupils dilated, and they trembled all over.
"A-Admiral...!"
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