"Beckman," Yasopp whispered, "did I just hear him say 'Uranus'? As in… that Ancient Weapon?"
"Yeah," Benn Beckman muttered. "You heard right.
"And if we want to keep breathing, we probably shouldn't stick around for what comes next."
He trusted his men.
But some things were simply too explosive to be carrying in your head.
Beckman stood.
"Let's go," he said to the others.
The Red Hair Pirates filed out quietly. No one wanted to accidentally overhear something that might get them hunted by the World Government and half the underworld.
Once they were gone, Shakky refilled White Ghost's glass.
"Looks like you know at least as much as I do, White-kun," she said. "Maybe more. Even that incident."
"I don't know a lot," White Ghost said, clinking his glass against hers. "But every piece I do know… isn't small."
He turned to Rayleigh.
"So?" he asked. "Back then… did you get a clear look at that thing?"
"No," Rayleigh said, shaking his head. "It was a pillar of light that came down from the sky.
"We'd already pulled far, far away—but even from that distance I could feel it. If we got any closer, we'd die.
"Later, we dug around until we finally learned the name. One of the three Ancient Weapons: Uranus."
White Ghost let out a slow breath.
"Great," he muttered. "Guess I really do need to behave myself from now on. If the World Government wakes up one day and decides they don't like me, and drops a beam like that on my head, I'm done."
"I don't see you as the type to 'behave,'" Shakky said, amused.
"One last question," White Ghost said, looking at Rayleigh again. "Back then at God Valley… Rocks's Conqueror's Haki. Was it strong enough to injure a Five Elder—to actually hurt that so-called immortal body?"
Rayleigh studied him for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"You know even that much," he said. "And about Rocks… I really am curious where you're getting your information.
"If Garp told you, he'd have told you everything. Clearly he didn't.
"So where did you hear all this?"
White Ghost didn't answer.
He just kept his eyes on Rayleigh and pressed:
"How strong was Rocks's Conqueror's?"
Rayleigh fell silent, digging through old memories.
"Very strong," he said at last. "So strong words don't really cover it.
"If you want a comparison… add Roger and Garp's power together. Then you'll have an idea.
"Even then, they had to team up to defeat him."
White Ghost gave a low whistle.
"Looks like I've still got a long road ahead.
"I haven't figured out how to push my Conqueror's any further yet. Got any ideas?"
He clenched his hand.
Pitch-black lightning cracked around his fist as his Conqueror's Haki surged, dense and suffocating.
Rayleigh and Shanks both felt danger prickle through their Observation Haki.
He's already at this level… at his age?
Rayleigh couldn't help feeling old.
"I don't know how you polish it past the top," he admitted. "All I know is that Roger strengthened his as we got closer and closer to the final island."
White Ghost let the Haki fade, muttering:
"A king, huh… or a king's will?
"No. Conqueror's is Conqueror's. Will is will. Breaking through with Conqueror's is hard enough. 'Will' is vague as hell."
"Maybe," Rayleigh mused, pushing up his glasses, "what you call 'will' is just Conqueror's after a breakthrough. Or Conqueror's fused with something deeper."
"That doesn't sit right either," White Ghost said. "Will should just be will. Conqueror's should just be Conqueror's.
"Breaking through with Conqueror's is already difficult. 'Will'… you can't measure it."
He drained his glass and stood.
"Anyway, I got what I came for. Time to go.
"As thanks, I'll leave you with a little… information."
Rayleigh nodded.
Shanks stayed silent, watching him closely.
Shakky's smile thinned, eyes sharpening just a little.
"Let's hear it," Rayleigh said.
White Ghost took a breath.
"Garp's grandson, Monkey D. Luffy," he said. "He is the one from that prophecy you saw.
"Or to put it another way—Joy Boy and Luffy share the same dream. To free all races, and let everyone live together in one world without endless conflict."
Rayleigh's face went cold.
A dangerous pressure leaked off him.
Shanks's aura surged too. His right hand settled on his sword hilt.
Shakky's expression didn't change.
She smiled, eyes curved, like she'd heard nothing more serious than a juicy rumor.
"If you're thinking about drawing that sword," White Ghost said quietly, "make sure you can kill me in a single, absolutely certain strike.
"Because if you fail, I'll come after you with everything I've got.
"I don't care if you're pirates, or some 'chosen' bearers of destiny. I'm telling you straight—I'm not easy to kill.
"And I know a lot.
"Things you don't know.
"If you push me too far, I'll flip the whole table.
"I'm pretty sure the thing sitting in Mary Geoise still doesn't know Luffy exists.
"But if you make me angry enough… I'll go to Im-sama myself."
His gaze slid to Shanks.
"And if the World Government ever hears what I just said?
"I'll sell your little 'Celestial Dragon' secret to Morgans on the spot.
"Then we'll see if you can still survive in the New World—or if the whole sea hunts you down."
He finished and turned away.
Rayleigh and Shanks stayed coiled, ready—but they didn't move.
They didn't dare.
They weren't confident they could kill him in one blow.
If a fight broke out, Marine reinforcements would come crashing down too. And with that guy's strength, he could easily hold his own against both of them for half an hour.
The door shut behind him.
"Seems he knows more than we thought," Shakky said, exhaling smoke.
"Yeah," Rayleigh muttered. "And now he's warned us."
"Want me to… find someone?" Shanks asked quietly.
Rayleigh shook his head.
"Those people in the dark can't be trusted," he said. "And White Ghost can fly. If they miss even once, the blowback will be huge.
"Right now, we can't touch him. And he clearly doesn't want to tear things open with us yet. He just wanted to send a message.
"After all, someone did try to use his people to threaten him."
Rayleigh frowned.
"Until Luffy grows up, picking a fight with someone like that isn't smart.
"And he's not stupid enough to talk recklessly. He's sharp.
"I'm guessing he only bothered warning us because of that stunt they pulled with his crew.
"I really don't know what those idiots were thinking. If we hadn't confirmed Luffy was that person… I wouldn't have agreed to work with them at all."
Shanks nodded slightly.
"So for now… we leave things as they are?"
"Yeah," Rayleigh said. "You focus on securing your foothold in the New World. I'll stay here and keep an eye out for surprises.
"As for White Ghost—let him do as he likes. As long as we don't provoke him, he won't move against us."
Shakky tilted her head.
"Then why not try to bring him onto our side?" she asked. "He's clearly not simple."
Rayleigh sighed.
"They tried," he said. "Back when he was still in the East Blue, they reached out to him.
"He refused.
"Later he went to Wano and took something important from there. So they tried to threaten him using the people around him.
"They failed. Got caught instead. And now… we've just been warned."
He looked at the door White Ghost had gone through.
"These young ones," he said softly, "are terrifying."
"Shanks," he added, "get moving to the New World. You shouldn't linger here. I need to lay low too now. I can't fully trust that kid's words… but I can't ignore them either."
Shanks nodded.
"I understand, Rayleigh-sensei," he said. "We'll depart right away."
On his way back, White Ghost hummed a little tune.
Back then, when I hadn't grown enough, I didn't have the right to talk to them like this, he thought.
This time, I just want them to behave. Stop aiming at me and mine.
I just want to live well in this world. Is that really so hard?
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