Despite being fifty-four years old, Rayleigh still sported his blonde hair, although if you looked closely, you might notice some scattered silver strands.
At this moment, his fingers were firmly planted in the crimson rock of the cliff, his body pressed against the "wall" as he looked up, where the night sky was covered in clouds and twinkling stars.
The climb to the Red Earth Continent was thousands of meters high, with faces so vertical it was hard to believe they were natural formations.
"Roger always loved adventure and exploration. We've been to Fish-Man Island, 10 000 meters under the sea, and to a sky island, 10 000 meters above the ground.
"We even went to the legendary Laugh Tale, but we never saw the place called the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
"Let me take a look this time for you. We'll talk better when we meet in the realm of the dead."
For Rayleigh at this point, this action could be his last adventure.
In fact, to be honest, if Roger's carefully planned era of great pirates had not been so easily ended, he wouldn't have wanted to take such a big risk.
He would rather have waited and watched in the Sabaody Archipelago, waiting for the legendary pirate who could inherit Roger's last wish—and preferably give him a push or something. But now, he only wanted to know one thing: why there had been so many recent changes in the World Government, and who was behind them.
His fingers curled, applying force; with brutal strength, he ascended several meters in the blink of an eye.
When he felt that his momentum was fading, he dug his fingers into the rock face and repeated the process, climbing at astonishing speed toward the top of the continent.
After an indeterminate amount of time, one of his hands finally touched a flat surface. He flipped hard and, with a complete mid-air spin, landed firmly on the edge of the cliff.
"Finally, I arrived."
Rayleigh scanned the surroundings and, using his Kenbunshoku Haki, identified the presence of numerous soldiers in the distance. But there were many more presences coming from a gathered crowd.
"Sure enough, freeing slaves or something is just a show to deceive the world. The Celestial Dragons are still the same Celestial Dragons."
Under the moonlight, Rayleigh's eyes looked much gloomier, but he also knew the purpose of his trip, and he had no intention of rescuing the slaves immediately.
However, when he returned, perhaps he would give these slaves a chance to regain their freedom.
With that in mind, he untied the long sword strapped to his back and began to move. Nimbly, he slipped through the shadows of the trees and buildings, stealthily approaching the city, which shone with golden lights and glows.
This place had been peaceful for too long, with almost zero surveillance—one reason Fisher Tiger succeeded in his attack in the One Piece series.
Even though the alert level was later raised because of that, the revolutionary army could still sneak in easily.
Rayleigh's target was Pangaea Castle.
He had heard that the Five Elders, the highest in the hierarchy of the Celestial Dragons, were there. Besides, his sixth sense told him he would find the answers there.
…
Imu was holding an ordinary sword while teaching swordsmanship to Mihawk. As they sparred, Imu easily overpowered Mihawk, who was constantly backing away. Mihawk's chest rose and fell, taking heavy, rapid breaths.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Imu raised an eyebrow and suddenly stopped his movement, allowing Mihawk to catch his breath. Mihawk took advantage of the brief respite to adjust.
With approximately thirty minutes left in training, Mihawk thought Imu was giving him a break. However, he was surprised to see Imu putting away the sword.
"Imu-sama?"
"An interesting mouse has snuck in."
…
Meanwhile, Rayleigh had managed to infiltrate safely inside Pangaea Castle, reaching the Socializing Plaza. Then he melted into the shadows and headed toward the inner doors of the castle.
He had noticed lights on a specific level, where five presences were clearly gathered. It was very likely the Five Elders.
[Boom!]
However, just as Rayleigh's right foot was about to step onto the staircase, an extremely domineering wave of energy exploded from the hallway behind the door.
"Have I been discovered? But this force…"
Rayleigh turned around without hesitation. His goal was to gather information, not create a ruckus in Mary Geoise; he had no need to fight.
His speed was very fast; his figure had barely vanished when a flash of light descended from the sky, blocking his path.
[Clang!]
With a clear sound of metal colliding, Rayleigh felt an overwhelming force spread through his blade into his hand. His body was blasted backward.
He managed to halt his slide. Looking up, he saw a white figure with his back to the bright moon, floating in the air as if suspended in nothingness.
The moment their eyes met, a shiver ran down Rayleigh's spine. An emotion he hadn't felt in a long time filled his heart—fear.
"What happened!"
"What's the situation?"
Gion and Stussy hurried from the castle.
At the same time, figures dressed in black, exuding a ferocious aura, appeared in every corner with the whistling of air, surrounding the Socializing Plaza in an instant.
"Stop." At this time, Mihawk, already standing outside the venue, raised his arm to halt the two women and said in a deep voice, "Tono-sama has ordered that no one interrupt him."
"That man is…" The moment Gion saw Rayleigh's face on the field, her pupils suddenly constricted, and a name emerged in her mind.
Mihawk's sharp gaze locked onto Rayleigh as he said in a low voice, "Silvers Rayleigh, former first mate of the Roger Pirates, known as the 'Right Hand of the Pirate King,' nicknamed the 'Dark King,' and probably the strongest swordsman out of prison since Gold Lion Shiki was captured."
Mihawk had originally planned to find Rayleigh to challenge him after fighting his way toward the title of great swordsman.
Now it seemed he would no longer have a chance. This time, the other party had to die here.
"Are you part of the rumored God's Knights?"
Rayleigh felt the oppressive aura emanating from that person and could barely maintain his casual smile.
'This aura is stronger than Roger's—he's definitely an extremely powerful person!' As Rayleigh pondered, he felt the sword in his hand tremble slightly.
Seeing that the other party only looked down at him condescendingly, Rayleigh said with a smile, "I didn't expect there would be someone as strong as you among the Celestial Dragons. Truly unexpected."
As soon as he finished speaking, a strong killing intent erupted from him. The nameless longsword in his hand trembled, and a bright silver sword light suddenly appeared.
The dazzling light made Gion and Stussy instinctively close their eyes, but Mihawk squinted to keep watching.
Suddenly—
With a clear metallic sound, the silver glow vanished inexplicably, and throughout the entire process, Mihawk couldn't see what had happened.
"Again," Imu said.
Rayleigh's expression turned grim.
But he knew the most important thing now was not to fight the powerful Celestial Dragon in front of him, but to find a way to escape as soon as possible. It was a shame the purpose of this trip hadn't been fulfilled.
"Do you want to run away?
"You have no escape."
At that moment, Imu, as if reading Rayleigh's mind, spoke in a cold voice.
"No—you, a fool seduced by the will of the 'D,' never had a future. When a creature like you enters a domain that does not belong to you, you are destined to be crushed.
"However, your courage to witness the glory of the Holy Land, even while committing an unforgivable crime, is worthy of my praise.
"I have decided to give you the opportunity to burn your last light under my gaze, and then extinguish you in the long river of history—a small and feeble light."
"Hehehehe… What an amazing speech, huh?"
Just as Rayleigh was about to say something else, a flash of red light streaked toward him. Guided purely by instinct, he raised his sword to block. A thunderous metallic clang followed by an explosion of force rang out.
And that wasn't all—his ears picked up several whispers of air tearing from all directions. Rayleigh whipped his sword around him until it formed a whirlpool, constantly adjusting his movements with the help of his Kenbunshoku Haki, struggling against the invisible force that surrounded him.
Metallic clashes echoed through the air.
From outside the battlefield, Rayleigh's sword lights looked to Mihawk like spinning silver blades—extremely sharp. The sword light constantly surrounding Rayleigh was the best lesson he could ask for.
Although it was unclear what ability Imu was using, Mihawk could see the dense flurry of attacks around Rayleigh, and the speed and strength of those attacks forced Rayleigh onto the defensive.
"What… what impressive sword skills."
Gion murmured with her hand over her mouth. Although she couldn't fully follow Rayleigh's movements, the subtle sword lights lingering in the air gave her plenty of inspiration.
Stussy, next to her, remained silent, her expression solemn.
"Hmph!" A furious snort rang out across the battlefield. The always-kind Rayleigh was being pushed too far by the continuous attacks from every direction.
[Rumble!]
Suddenly, a dark red aura, shot through with silver lightning, erupted from his body and swept across the entire place.
"So—is this an invisible edge? Or a Devil Fruit ability?" Rayleigh asked in a deep voice.
Imu gave no response. He only looked down at Rayleigh, as if no longer interested in speaking.
"In that case, I'll have to finish you before I leave. It's been a long time since I went all out."
Hearing Rayleigh's declaration, Imu was not surprised but pleased. He had been waiting a long time to find someone with whom he could test his abilities.
Suddenly, the sharp hiss of air being rent sounded again. Though not very loud, with the night otherwise quiet, it was perfectly clear.
Rayleigh roared when he saw this and unleashed his Haoshoku Haki in full.
Then, blade flickering with dense, silver rays, he slashed forward. A dazzling glow erupted, forming a gigantic crescent-shaped slash.
The air along its path billowed under the extreme pressure, forcing all the invisible blades away. The ground split deeply where the cut passed.
"Mm?!"
However, the flying slash—majestic and ferocious—was slowing down. Everyone's expressions turned strange.
No one knew how much time passed, but when it finally reached three meters from Imu, the slash exploded, crumbling into silver motes that scattered like stars falling from the sky.
"This is impossible."
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