"Logia-type... Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes at the man before him—Enel.
"I'm not some lackey you can just order around."
Enel lounged lazily in his chair, picking at his ear with an air of disdain.
Crocodile watched him with narrowed eyes. Sand began to drift from his body, swirling around him in a slow, threatening orbit.
Seeing this, Enel straightened slightly, eyes widening.
"I'm a Logia-type too—the Sand-Sand Fruit."
Crocodile's face remained calm, but in his eyes flickered a faint trace of envy.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit…
A truly terrifying power.
Too bad the guy wielding it didn't seem quite right in the head.
"Well, at least you've got the qualifications to be my companion."
Enel leaned back again, regaining his smug composure.
"You don't seem very easy to work with," Crocodile said coolly. "Maybe I should tell Don to send you back."
Enel froze mid-ear-pick. His eyes darted toward Crocodile.
"Just kidding!"
Enel grinned, all teeth.
"We're on the same side, aren't we? So, tell me—what do you need me to do?"
Now sitting upright, he seemed suddenly cooperative.
"If you can work together, then we'll continue. For now, you can rest. Later, there'll be matters concerning Sky Island for you to handle."
Crocodile considered his words carefully.
A Rumble-Rumble Fruit user—if handled well—could be immensely useful.
Even if the guy's brain wasn't firing on all cylinders, as long as he followed orders, it'd be fine.
He couldn't help but wonder, though—just how had Don managed to subdue this lunatic on Sky Island in the first place?
For Enel to be this obedient after meeting him... it was almost scary.
The next day.
The Rose Hunter slowly departed from the docks of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Standing on the pier, Daz reported the ship's departure to Crocodile.
Aboard the vessel
Rayleigh looked up toward the mast.
A whole row of news birds, each with a camera around its neck, sat perched neatly in line.
He turned to Don with a raised brow.
"This?"
"Reporters from Morgans… you know, the president of the World Economy News Paper."
Don glanced up, casually explaining.
"You called them here?"
Rayleigh's eyes narrowed.
If word of this got out, he could forget about ever resting peacefully on Sabaody again.
He could already sense the Marines' wary attitude toward him—but if his location were exposed, it wouldn't just be Marines coming for him.
It'd be fame-hungry pirates. Bounty hunters.
Hell, even one was standing right before him.
"Relax," Don said. "I'll tell Morgans to hide your location later."
Understanding exactly what Rayleigh was thinking, Don reassured him with an easy smile.
Rayleigh sighed, one hand on his sword and the other on his forehead.
"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this."
"It's fine. It's been so many years that most people have probably forgotten the name 'Dark King Rayleigh' anyway."
"I don't care about that anymore," Rayleigh said, walking toward the bow.
From both sides of the ship extended massive oars—each one operated by countless hands sprouting from the inner hull.
Rayleigh blinked in disbelief, staring at Robin.
"You're making a young lady do all the labor?"
"This is training," Robin said evenly. "Don said it'll build stamina—and improve control over my Devil Fruit ability."
Rayleigh could only gape.
He wanted to say something, but—
"Direction!"
Robin's calm voice cut him off.
He swallowed his comment, lifted an arm, and pointed the way. Then he leapt up onto the railing, watching ahead.
"This really doesn't seem right," Fujitora murmured beside Don.
He had overheard their earlier exchange.
Using Robin to row a warship-sized vessel was… absurd.
"You're not wrong," Don admitted with a chuckle. "But we're short on hands right now."
Just then, the engines at the ship's stern roared to life, flames bursting out in a thunderous blaze. The Rose Hunter surged forward with explosive speed.
The others were already used to it.
Robin withdrew her summoned arms, focusing entirely on steering as the ship shot across the sea.
Behind them, firelight blazed in the distance.
A troublesome presence was tailing them again.
Under the fiery propulsion, it took just over an hour before they reached a small island at the base of the Red Line.
They anchored near its rocky shore.
Rayleigh looked up at the towering red cliffs reaching into the clouds.
"Rocks fall from there all the time. Nobody dares live here."
"So, up there… is Mary Geoise?" Don asked, glancing skyward.
"Not quite—it's on the other side, quite a distance away."
Rayleigh gestured toward the opposite direction of the Red Line.
"Mary Geoise may be vast, but so is the Grand Line."
Finishing his explanation, Rayleigh leapt off the ship with practiced ease.
"You three stay here," Don instructed Mihawk, Fujitora, and Robin. "Don't let the aftermath damage my ship—it cost a fortune."
The three exchanged glances but didn't argue.
As Don disappeared into the distance, the line of news birds on the mast suddenly took flight, circling high above the island.
None of the three followed.
They didn't need to.
At this level of combat, even standing by the shore was close enough.
And soon enough
A crackling wave of black lightning split the air.
The sheer pressure of Conqueror's Haki swept across the island, blasting debris away in every direction.
Where Don and Rayleigh stood, the two auras collided—black lightning dancing violently between them.
Don gripped his sword, dark energy coiling along his arm.
Rayleigh's hand found his own hilt, and in the same instant, the ground beneath them exploded.
The clash intensified—their Conqueror's Haki crackling like thunder.
Neither blade made contact, yet the force alone sent shockwaves rippling outward.
Boom!
Don skidded back, his boots gouging into the earth.
Rayleigh's eyes narrowed, watching him closely.
That sensation just now…
It reminded him of Big Mom.
The same monstrous physical potential.
So the papers had undersold this man's power.
"Come again!"
Don twirled his blade, surging forward in a blur.
Boom! Boom!
Each strike erupted with black lightning—their Conqueror's Haki colliding, shaking the island.
Rayleigh's sword gleamed with top-tier Armament Haki.
Even now, decades past his prime—his strength hadn't faded much at all.
And Don could feel it.
When it came to sheer Haki mastery… he was still a step behind this old monster.
"Decades of Haki training… and none of it wasted, huh?" he muttered through clenched teeth.
END OF CHAPTER
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