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Unlike Perona, Kalifa was already 25 years old. Without activating the Innate Demon Slayer Mark, she needed to maintain close contact with Ikki as soon as she left the hot spring.
Only this way could she avoid losing life force too quickly.
Fortunately, Kalifa was now close to awakening the Innate Demon Slayer Mark, so there was no need for Ikki to keep his own mark activated to help her adapt.
"Let's go," Ikki announced.
"Now that you've successfully mastered more advanced swordsmanship, it's time for us to make landfall. Depending on the situation at Sabaody Archipelago, we may need to buy a house and stay here for a while."
"Kalifa, Robin, you two be careful not to remove your masks. Sabaody Archipelago probably has many World Government agents."
After saying this, Ikki took Kalifa's hand and walked toward the door. Nami, Nojiko, and the others naturally followed close behind.
Perona touched the flame-like marks on her neck—her Demon Slayer Mark—then looked at Ikki's free right hand. Finally, unable to bear her anxiety about the mark's effects, she ran up to Ikki and took his other hand.
In response, Ikki just glanced at Perona but didn't say much.
A few minutes later, after leaving Nojiko and Vivi to guard the Explorer, Ikki and his group set foot on the land of Sabaody Archipelago.
Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 13.
"Shakky's Rip-off Bar?" Nami looked at the establishment in front of her with confusion.
"This name is really strange. Ikki, why are we here?"
She even wondered if Ikki had come to the wrong place.
"This is where I intended to come," Ikki replied with a laugh.
"There's someone I want to see at this place."
"The person Ikki wants to see is probably a swordsman with a famous sword," Nico Robin said with a chuckle.
"I don't know if he has a famous sword or not, but he's definitely a very powerful swordsman," Ikki said, leading everyone toward the bar's entrance.
Opening the door, they found the bar empty—not a single customer in sight. There was only a slender woman standing behind the bar, wiping a glass in her hands.
"Welcome! Oh my, I didn't expect the famous sword hunter who's become so notorious recently to visit," Shakky said, her eyes immediately lighting up when she saw Ikki and his group.
Obviously, their arrival was quite unexpected.
"Hello there," Ikki said, approaching the bar.
"I'm here looking for someone. I hope you can help me."
"Looking for someone? It seems you know about this place's... connections. Tell me, who are you trying to find?"
"Gol D. Roger's right-hand man, Silvers Rayleigh. I'd like you to introduce me to him."
Silvers Rayleigh!
When those words fell, both Shakky and Ikki's companions were stunned. They never imagined that the person Ikki was looking for was the Dark King himself.
"Wait a minute, Ikki, are you planning to challenge Silvers Rayleigh and take his sword?" Nami asked, looking at Ikki in horror.
After experiencing the battle with the Golden Lion, Nami was no longer the naive girl she used to be. She had gained a deeper understanding of the combat power in the pirate world.
Silvers Rayleigh was definitely equivalent to the Golden Lion, or perhaps even stronger. After all, the Golden Lion had lost both his legs, hadn't he?
Thinking about Ikki having to fight such a person made Nami incredibly nervous.
"I see, you want to find Rayleigh and take his sword," Shakky said, resting her chin on one hand as she leaned against the bar, looking at Ikki with interest.
"It should be expected from the famous sword hunter who's recently frightened so many swordsmen. But it's quite impressive that you know I have connections to Silvers Rayleigh."
"So, would you be willing to tell me where Rayleigh is?" Ikki asked, maintaining his smile.
In the original One Piece story, it was never explained whether Silvers Rayleigh wielded a famous sword. But no matter how you looked at it, a figure of his stature shouldn't be carrying an ordinary blade.
Ikki felt he needed to find Rayleigh and ask him directly.
As for whether he could defeat Rayleigh, Ikki wasn't too worried. With Zangetsu and other Zanpakutō abilities, he felt confident that at least he didn't have to worry about being killed by Rayleigh.
Besides, Rayleigh was no longer an active combatant.
"Interesting. I should probably charge a fee for this information," Shakky mused.
"But I'm curious to see if you can actually beat Rayleigh, so I'll give you this one for free. Based on his usual patterns, he should be at one of Sabaody Archipelago's auction houses."
"An auction house?" Ikki frowned slightly.
After Shakky's hint, Ikki roughly guessed what Rayleigh was doing at the auction house—selling himself and then robbing the people who bid on him.
"Thank you, Shakky," Ikki said.
"I'll visit again when I get the chance. This is for the drinks."
Ikki pulled out a stack of berries from his coat and placed them on the bar, then led Kalifa, Perona, and the others out of Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
They walked straight toward the Human Auctioning House on Sabaody Archipelago's Grove 1.
"A powerful bounty hunter and famous sword hunter," Shakky murmured after collecting the berries.
"It's a shame he's not a pirate. Otherwise, he'd definitely be the strongest of the Supernovas. I wonder what will happen if the Supernova pirates currently at Sabaody Archipelago encounter him."
"Hmm... If those pirates are captured by Ikki, Rayleigh probably won't ignore it."
"Ikki, do you really want to fight Rayleigh?" Kalifa asked on their way to Grove 1.
"That man is quite extraordinary. And won't bringing a man who's been hiding for years into the open cause us trouble?"
"It's no trouble. I'm just going to talk with a former legend and see if I can obtain a famous sword from him," Ikki replied.
"Neither the Marines nor the World Government can really criticize our position. And it's precisely because of current events that the Marines are even less likely to pay attention to Rayleigh's situation."
"As for whether I can defeat him..." Ikki glanced at the two swords at Kalifa's waist. "Kalifa, what do you think would happen if I used Katen Kyōkotsu to fight Silvers Rayleigh?"