"I'm heading out. It seems I've overstayed my welcome," Cyrus shrugged, standing up from his stool.
He walked toward the door, then paused and glanced back. "By the way, has Boa Hancock left the island yet?"
Rayleigh nodded.
"What a pity. I wanted to get her autograph," Cyrus sighed, shaking his head with mock regret before stepping out into the night.
Rayleigh stared at the empty doorway for a long time.
"He is exactly like Roger," Rayleigh finally muttered.
"How so?" Shakky asked, lighting a cigarette.
"He is willful and reckless. He does whatever he wants, and the world bends to accommodate him. No one can stop a man like that."
"I agree," Shakky nodded. "But this time, he might not walk away unscathed, even with his new Haki."
Rayleigh thought back to their grueling sparring sessions.
He deeply respected Cyrus's monstrous strength and talent.
But causing an incident of this magnitude, when the Marines were already mobilizing their highest-tier assets, was a massive gamble.
"You aren't going to intervene, are you?" Shakky asked, watching her husband's face.
"No. I'm retired. This is no longer my era," Rayleigh answered firmly.
A man of the sea makes his own choices and bears the weight of the consequences.
Still, as he thought about Cyrus facing down Admirals, Rayleigh's mind drifted back a decade ago, remembering the day Roger set sail for the final time.
...
"It has been almost two years," Cyrus muttered to himself, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword as he walked through the glowing mangrove roots.
When he first arrived in this world, his only goal was to live peacefully.
But as his power grew, that quiet ambition had mutated into something else.
'I promised myself I would be cautious, but I haven't managed to stick to that rule.'
Still, pushing his limits didn't feel wrong, as long as he kept a viable escape route open. He didn't want a death wish, but he needed a true challenge.
He stopped walking and turned his gaze toward the distant Red Line, looking up at the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
'If the King of the World makes a move this time, I can test their power.'
'If not, I will bide my time until I'm ready.'
Thirty minutes of his Unyielding skill was a massive safety net, but it wasn't an eternity.
"Come out," Cyrus ordered to the empty street.
Crocodile stepped out from the shadows of a large root, a lit cigar clamped between his teeth.
Enel followed closely behind him, his hands resting in his pockets.
"Are you finished with your errands?" Crocodile asked, eyeing Cyrus's solitary state.
"Issho and Robin are leaving ahead of schedule. They will submerge and wait for me at Fish-Man Island," Cyrus explained.
"They're leaving? What exactly are you planning to do?" Crocodile's eyes narrowed.
"I'm planning to trigger something massive. But you already deduced that, didn't you?"
"I thought you were joking," Crocodile grunted.
"I don't joke about starting wars."
Bullshit, Crocodile thought, keeping his expression neutral.
"If the situation escalates, the Marines might direct their anger at the Guild. Ensure your assets are prepared for a raid," Cyrus warned.
"I am starting to doubt if joining you was the right career move," Crocodile sighed, massaging his temples.
"It's not like you had a better option," Cyrus smirked.
He turned his attention to Enel. "How do you like it down here? The Blue Sea is much more exciting than the sky, isn't it?"
"It is exciting," Enel nodded, a vicious grin forming on his face.
"Do you want to go back up?"
"Never."
"No hesitation?" Cyrus asked.
"None." Enel answered decisively.
"Jinbei is currently stationed at the auction house in Area 1," Crocodile reported, ignoring the banter.
"He is there for the Fish-men. How do you want to handle him?"
Crocodile wasn't overly concerned about Marine suppression.
As a former Warlord and seasoned pirate, operating under the threat of a raid was standard procedure.
"You don't need to handle Jinbei. In fact, you don't need to interfere in this operation at all. My business at the auction is mine alone. Your only job is to manage the fallout."
Cyrus began walking again, Crocodile and Enel falling into step behind him.
"Have you secured control over Area 16?" Cyrus asked.
"I have. It was simple. That is a lawless zone, violence is an easy currency here."
"I helped," Enel chimed in, seeking validation.
"Keep your Devil Fruit abilities hidden for now," Cyrus instructed, glancing back at the Skypiean.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is too conspicuous. If you flaunt it, you will draw high-level attention."
Enel's fruit was devastating against weak opponents, but against a Vice Admiral or higher with strong Armament Haki, his physical frailty would be exposed.
"Make sure he learns Armament Haki as quickly as possible," Cyrus told Crocodile.
"Understood," Crocodile nodded.
Enel was an incredibly lethal tool, but he needed discipline.
"I will say it one last time: do not intervene at the auction," Cyrus warned them.
"Understood."
"By the way, have the transport ships arrived yet?"
"They docked an hour ago," Crocodile confirmed. "The organizers are heavily pushing the marketing. And there is a new development: the manifest includes three Devil Fruits."
Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"The fruits belong to the same syndicate supplying the slaves," Crocodile elaborated. "Intel says there is a standard Zoan, a Paramecia, and a Mythical Zoan. The exact models are classified until the bidding starts."
"What a grand gesture," Cyrus chuckled softly.
'It seems I put enough pressure on Doflamingo to force him to open his vault.'
"If those three fruits are legitimate, I want them. They will make perfect prizes for the first Hunter Exam." Cyrus waved his hand dismissively. "Don't follow me any further. Send word the second the auction officially begins."
Without waiting for a response, Cyrus continued down the street, melting into the shadows of the mangrove trees.
Crocodile and Enel stopped walking.
"Is he planning to rob the auction house?" Enel asked, a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"He explicitly ordered us not to interfere," Crocodile warned, glaring at the lightning user.
Although Cyrus was terrifyingly strong, his thought process was a dangerous unpredictable maze.
And Crocodile had no intention of getting lost in it.