Chapter 89: Sabaody Archipelago – Rayleigh (1)
"Little Kurumi, little Esdeath, and little Scáthach—you three are incredible," Shakky said, holding a cigarette between her fingers. "You wiped out nearly all the slavers and pirate crews on the island in a single day. I wonder how the Marines will react to this… or how they'll view themselves."
'This might be the first time in her life someone's added a "little" prefix to Scáthach's name.'
"Hahaha, you're too kind, Shakky," Eric chuckled awkwardly. "Who knew they'd go all out? I hope this doesn't affect your business?"
"Oh, it does. There weren't many customers to begin with… now there are even fewer."
"I'm terribly sorry!" Eric bowed deeply.
"It's alright. Seeing such energetic rookies is more than enough." Shakky replied calmly. "So? No luck finding Rayleigh?"
"Haven't looked yet. First day was all about purging those scumbags, second day I was roped into a date with Kurumi, and today's only the third."
"Ara, sounds like you weren't satisfied with yesterday's date?" Kurumi smiled sweetly, though her smile was laced with menace.
Reading the subtext of that smile, Eric scrambled to recover, "No, no! Yesterday's date with Kurumi was amazing. Ahhh, I can't wait for the next one!"
Shakky laughed joyfully. "Ahh, young love… so sweet. Youth really is wonderful."
Eric , unlike Luffy, wasn't going to shout, "Oba-, how old are you?!"
At that moment, Scáthach suddenly said, "While I was hunting the Supernova 'Redbeard,' I passed by a casino and sensed a powerful aura inside with Observation Haki. But it vanished in an instant."
Shakky was surprised. "Oh? So little Scáthach, you've already learned Observation Haki? What about Armament Haki?" Haki might be common in the New World, but in the first half of the Grand Line, users were still rare.
"A little." Scáthach answered modestly—even though she had the strongest Armament Haki stats on the team.
"I'm really looking forward to your future. If you enter the New World… you'll stir up a massive storm."
"Of course. Once we're ready, we'll enter the New World as kings—our goal is to become emperors of the sea."
"I look forward to that day."
...
Leaving Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Eric took out Jack's compass, focusing on Rayleigh in his mind.
Kurumi tapped her finger against her lips and murmured, "I know this compass is meant to find people or items, but hearing Eric mutter a man's name with that look on his face feels… weird."
It's not BL, please don't say strange things. And stop looking at me with such a beautiful expression—I'm struggling to hold back here... Thank goodness there are no fujoshi in this crew...
"Scáthach, do you remember which direction you saw him yesterday?"
"Area 21GR."
"Close enough. Looks like Rayleigh hasn't sold himself off yet."
"Sold himself?" Everyone looked confused. Who would sell themselves into slavery?
"He usually loses all his money, then pretends to be captured by slavers, sells himself at the human auction, and after being bought, he robs the buyer's home."
"But didn't you say slaves wear collars that explode if they resist or escape?"
"Right. But I also said that highly skilled Armament Haki users can destroy the collars from the inside."
Esdeath muttered, "Internal destruction…"
"Armament Haki can be used in four forms: hardening, coating, emission, and internal destruction."
"Most of us only know hardening: covering the body in Haki to make it tougher than steel. It enhances both defense and offense, and can also be applied to objects."
"Chiron and Scáthach also know coating, right?"
Scáthach nodded. "Yes."
"Coating wraps the gaseous Haki around the body or weapons, enhancing power. It can even be wrapped around projectiles like arrows or bullets, and used with hardening."
"Next is emission, which releases Haki as a force blast for attack or defense. It can knock enemies back or form a barrier—even block intangible attacks."
"The highest level is internal destruction, a form of emission that lets Haki bypass the surface and destroy something from within."
"So, we're not just here to spar with Rayleigh—we need to learn Haki from him too," Kurumi realized.
"Talking's one thing—strength is another. I can't wait any longer," Esdeath said with excitement, thrilled by the thought of mastering more powerful techniques and battling a strong foe.
"Well, watch for an old guy with white hair, round glasses, a scar over his right eye, and wearing sandals."
That pretty much described Rayleigh completely—except Eric didn't know how to describe the beard under his chin.
Akame pointed forward. "Is it that man?"
"Hm?" Everyone followed her gaze. A white-haired old man sat on a crate near the road, sipping from a steel flask. Though in the shadows, a gleam of light reflected off his glasses.
Sensing their gaze, the old man looked up and raised his flask in greeting.
"That's him."
...
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" His aide burst into the office.
"What is it? Don't barge in like that. Is it Shanks again?" Sengoku had been highly cautious of the Red-Haired Pirate ever since his return to the New World. Despite losing an arm in the East Blue, Shanks couldn't be underestimated.
"No, not Shanks! It's 'Ice Queen' Esdeath!" the aide saluted and shouted.
"She rejected the Warlord invitation?"
"No, she hasn't responded yet, but…" the aide paused, "Our Sabaody branch reported a large-scale massacre of slave dealers—er, I mean 'professional managers'—and pirate crews."
"Witnesses say the culprits were 'Ice Queen' Esdeath, a purple-haired woman wielding red spears, and a girl with twin-tails and dual pistols who can create clones—suspected to be a Devil Fruit user."
"According to Smoker and Lieutenant Tashigi, who previously clashed with Eric 's crew, the twin-tail girl is also a member of Eric 's team. It's highly likely the purple-haired woman is as well."
"On April 1st, the three of them wiped out over twenty slave rings and pirate crews—eliminating 90% of all pirates on Sabaody."
Vice Admiral Tsuru set her newspaper down and folded her arms. "So she didn't respond to our letter… but she's performing the duties of a Warlord? Or perhaps… she and her allies are simply clearing out pirate competition. What do you think, Sengoku?"
"Hmph, another unstable element," Sengoku muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"Fleet Admiral! This is insulting to the Marines! That a pirate wiped out more pirate crews than our stationed troops on Sabaody—how does that make us look?"
Sengoku wasn't sure if the aide was criticizing Esdeath's unpredictability or the Navy's lackluster efforts.
He sighed. "Keep monitoring her. As long as she doesn't show hostility or commit atrocities, we'll turn a blind eye to her actions."
"Understood!" The aide actually smiled as he replied.
Sengoku noticed. "Why do you look so pleased?"
"Well... Esdeath is beautiful and strong! If she weren't a pirate—"
"Enough. Not another word." Sengoku didn't want to hear how that sentence ended.
(END CHAPTER)
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