Sabaody Archipelago — inside "Shakky's Rip-Off BAR."
In stark contrast to the island-wide upheaval outside—where Enel's purge had thrown Sabaody into chaos and drawn massive Marine mobilization—the atmosphere inside the bar was eerily calm.
Led by the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, the Straw Hat crew had temporarily taken shelter in this safe haven.
Behind the counter, the still-alluring bar owner, Shakky, gracefully polished a glass. Watching Luffy—his face still full of curiosity—she pinched a slender cigarette between her fingers, smiled faintly, and exhaled a thin ring of smoke, her tone laced with teasing amusement.
"Well now~ didn't expect you, kid, to have nerves bigger than the sky itself. You really went and hit a Celestial Dragon…Though, I suppose you're not the first."
"Huh? Not the first?" Luffy blinked, his rubbery neck stretching half a meter as he leaned closer to Shakky."Someone else beat up those annoying guys before too?"
"Beat up?" Shakky shook her head lightly. "It wasn't something as simple as 'beating them up.'"
She paused—then calmly dropped a bombshell.
"That person openly, right in front of everyone, chopped off the heads of two Celestial Dragons… and walked away carrying them."
"—?!"
"What?!!"
Aside from Luffy, who blinked as if trying to picture the scene, every other member of the Straw Hat crew—
Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook—
froze solid in an instant, their faces filled with absolute shock and disbelief.
C-cut off Celestial Dragons' heads?! Two of them?! In public?!
It was madness that completely overturned their understanding of the world—the most naked, most absolute trampling of the highest "divine authority" that existed!
"W-who did it?!" Usopp stammered, his voice trembling. "Which lunatic—no, which heroic madman was it?!"
At that moment, Rayleigh—who had been quietly drinking nearby—set down his glass and let out a hearty laugh, taking over the conversation.
"Hahaha… who else could it be?"
His gaze swept over the stunned crew as he clearly spoke the name that now shook the seas.
"Marine Headquarters Admiral — 'White Qilin,' the 'Heaven-Shaker,'Gern Reginald Sigmar.The same man who commands the one you saw electrocuting a Celestial Dragon into charcoal at the auction house."
"Hm? That weird old guy Gern…?"
Luffy's voice dropped instantly. The curiosity from before vanished, replaced by unmistakable, suppressed emotion.
He already knew what had happened while he was unconscious on Thriller Bark.He knew how badly Zoro had been injured.
"Oh?" Seeing Luffy's reaction, Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled knowingly."So… you've already crossed paths with him."
"Yeah!" Luffy clenched his fist, speaking with rare firmness—borderline anger."He hurt my crewmate!"
The undisguised hostility in Luffy's eyes caused Rayleigh's smile to fade slightly.
He picked up the bottle again, poured himself another drink, and took a slow sip.Then he looked at Luffy, his tone unusually calm.
"Kid… take a piece of advice from me."
"For now, it'd be better if you didn't provoke him."
Rayleigh gently swirled the liquor in his glass, wearing a casual smile as he spoke words that made every Straw Hat—except Luffy—feel their souls freeze.
"After all… he's a man who could kill even me… without much effort."
"—!!!"
In an instant, the bar was swallowed by deathly silence.
Nami clamped a hand over her mouth.Zoro's pupils shrank as his grip tightened on his swords.Sanji froze mid-light, cigarette hovering in the air.Usopp and Chopper clung to each other, trembling.
Robin's face went pale.Franky's jaw nearly hit the floor.Brook's teacup tipped over with a faint clack…
Who was the man sitting with them?
The Dark King Rayleigh.The Pirate King's right hand.A living legend.
And this very man had personally admitted that someone existed with the power to kill him?!
This was praise—and warning—of the highest order, far more impactful than any bounty poster or rumor.
It drove home, bone-chillingly clear, just how terrifying the "Heaven-Shaker" Gern truly was.
Usopp was the first to shakily raise his hand, like a student asking a question, his voice quivering.
"Th-then… Pirate King Gol D. Roger, he…"
"Roger…" Rayleigh interrupted, his gaze turning distant."He intended to turn himself in from the start.
After completing the journey around the Grand Line and learning everything, he'd already made his decision.So he disbanded the crew and sent us all our separate ways."
His voice remained calm.
"But that man… Gern… still intervened."
"In the South Blue—those waters now called the 'Ruins of the Fallen God'…He personally 'brought' Roger, who was ready to accept his fate, back from the sea…and handed him over to the Marines and the World Government."
The revelation struck them like another thunderbolt.
So the Pirate King's capture hadn't been a simple surrender or defeat—there had been an unseen clash behind the curtain!
It was Gern who had forcibly stepped into Roger's chosen end…and personally drawn the final line beneath that era.
"T-then… then…" Usopp opened his mouth, desperate to ask more—about the battle, about Roger at the time—
But Rayleigh suddenly stood up, his usual carefree grin returning as he brushed dust from his pants.
"Sorry, kids. Story time's over. Work calls.I'm still a wanted man, you know—I can't stay in one place too long."
He looked at the Straw Hats and shifted into business mode.
"Your ship, the Thousand Sunny, needs to be coated somewhere more discreet.Coating's delicate work—it'll take three days.
During those three days, you're free. Go enjoy yourselves around Sabaody, relax a bit—just… try not to provoke any more Celestial Dragons."
He pulled out a small Vivre Card, tore off the appropriate pieces, and handed them to Nami.
"Take this and distribute it.Three days from now, follow its direction. You'll find your ship and be ready to head for Fish-Man Island."
As he reached the bar's entrance, Rayleigh seemed to remember something. He turned back, grinning mischievously—especially at Nami.
"Oh, right—don't forget to prepare the 'toll' in advance!That checkpoint Gern set up at the Fish-Man Island entrance isn't cheap at all! Hahahaha!"
With a booming laugh, Rayleigh pushed open the door and disappeared into the mottled light and shadow of Sabaody—
Leaving behind a Straw Hat crew drowning in complicated emotions and an overwhelming flood of information.
Meanwhile—
As Rayleigh left the bar and the Straw Hats began processing everything, preparing for three days of "free time,"
In the waters near the Sabaody Archipelago, a standard Marine warship slowly approached the harbor.
At the bow stood Marine Admiral Kizaru, wearing his white coat emblazoned with the word Justice, leaning lazily against the railing, his face sporting that trademark… shady—no, leisurely expression.
He lifted his pinky finger and absentmindedly picked at his ear, dragging out his words as he complained to the serious-looking aide beside him.
"Gee~ whenever something happens to a Celestial Dragon, us Admirals have to move.Can't even get a proper nap in—such a~ terrifying workload~"
But before the complaint fully left his mouth, his half-lidded eyes caught two powerful Haki signatures coming from somewhere within Sabaody.
"Hmm~?"
Kizaru let out a meaningless hum, adjusted his sunglasses, and looked toward the source.
With top-tier Observation Haki, he quickly spotted the two figures utterly out of place amid the surrounding panic—
Kuma, dressed like a clergyman and holding a Bible, and beside him, Enel, wearing an openly irritated expression.
"Eh~~~"
Kizaru's lips puckered, his face lighting up with a "well, would you look at that" expression.
Smacking his lips, he muttered to himself in his slow, drawn-out tone:
"Well~ this is getting troublesome…Didn't expect that even guarding Celestial Dragons—such a pain of a job—has people lining up to do it now, huh~?"
"This is bad~ if even jobs like this get snatched away and my completion rate keeps dropping…I won't actually lose my job, will I~?"
He briefly imagined Fleet Admiral Sengoku grabbing him by the collar, forcing him into that hair-raising "ultimate mission."
For a moment, his whole aura seemed to dim.
"Could it be… that my old age will really end up with me soloing that 'steel balloon,' Big Mom?Just thinking about it feels sooo~ scary~"
Still—
Though the Slacker King kept muttering about how "scary" and "bad" things were,
The faintly upturned corner of his mouth and that unmistakable I-love-a-good-show expression betrayed his true feelings.
With Kuma and Enel—two of Gern's resident "troublemakers"—on the scene…
He might be able to slack off just a little.
After all—
Voluntary overtime had never been Admiral Kizaru's style.