Everyone knows that when a hero saves a beauty, the beauty will inevitably fall in love with her savior.
That's exactly what happened to Rayleigh.
After a few encounters — well — the old saying came true: "Turtle meets green bean, eyes lock instantly."
Peony, former queen of Amazon Lily and captain of the Kuja Pirates, now known as Shakky, was that very beauty.
Of course, in the beginning, Shakky's feelings were one-sided. Rayleigh had no intention of getting involved with her romantically.
But Shakky knew Rayleigh's personality well enough not to force it. She simply waited.
Then, after the Roger Pirates disbanded, Shakky launched a full-on "attack."
For Rayleigh, she gave up everything — her crown, her crew, her home — and left Amazon Lily behind.
For years, she had no idea where Rayleigh was. Until fate reunited them here, at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Now, the two of them were finally living together — proof that sometimes fate really did have a sense of humor.
When Mislanda dragged Rayleigh into Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, the woman sitting lazily at the counter, cigarette in hand, broke into a delighted smile.
Though she and Rayleigh lived together, the man was rarely home — always wandering off for days or weeks at a time.
"Auntie Shakky!" Mislanda greeted brightly, then plopped Rayleigh down onto the sofa.
"Hehehe, I'd rather you call me Mom, you know."
"Ah, can't do that," Mislanda said innocently. "The old man just told me you weren't my mom."
He spread his hands helplessly. "It's not that I don't want to call you that — he just won't admit it!"
At those words, Shakky's eyes gleamed mischievously as she turned to Rayleigh.
That look alone made the old man's scalp tingle.
"Oh? So I'm still not doing enough, huh?"
"Exactly!" Mislanda said, nodding seriously. "Personally, I'd love for you to be my mom. Keep at it — I'm rooting for you!"
"Hahaha, good! For the sake of becoming your mother, I'll just have to try harder!"
She pushed a glass of wine toward Mislanda. Her tone softened.
"Alright, kid — let's hear it. You didn't just come to check on us, did you? What do you need from me?"
Mislanda didn't beat around the bush.
"It's simple. I'll be staying here on Sabaody for the next few days. I'm waiting for someone — but I don't know when he'll arrive."
"Got it," Shakky said, instantly catching on. "I'll keep an eye out. When he shows up, I'll let you know."
"Thanks," Mislanda said, smiling faintly. "The man's name is Fisher Tiger, a fish-man adventurer. I'm counting on you."
Then he stood up to leave.
"Ah, Mislanda — hang the 'Closed for Business' sign on your way out."
"On it!"
He hung the sign, waved without looking back, and disappeared into the crowd.
Inside the bar, Shakky took one last drag of her cigarette and turned toward Rayleigh with a sly grin.
"Well now… seems like I've got some extra motivation tonight."
"W–wait, that kid was just talking nonsense! I never said that!"
"Oh? Really?"
Rayleigh's protests fell on deaf ears.
He hadn't been home for days — and tonight, Shakky had plans.
"No, really, Shakky—! Don't—!"
"Come here, dear~"
"Don't come any closer!"
…
Outside the bar, Mislanda couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sounds coming from within.
Serves you right, old man!
He had planned to stay at the bar for a few days while waiting for Tiger's arrival.
But now? Yeah… time to find another place to stay.
Five days later.
On the fifth night, Rayleigh finally tracked him down.
The first thing Mislanda noticed was the red marks all over Rayleigh's neck. He nearly burst out laughing.
As expected of Auntie Shakky — once a queen, always a queen. She'd handled the old man effortlessly.
"What're you laughing at?! This is all your fault!" Rayleigh snapped.
"Hey, that's not fair. I didn't lie — I just repeated what you said."
Technically, it was true. Mislanda had only quoted him word for word.
"Alright, enough nonsense," Rayleigh sighed, rubbing his temples. His tone turned serious.
"The person you're waiting for — he's arrived. But he's already left. Don't know where he's headed."
"What? He's gone already?!"
Mislanda didn't waste another second. He immediately turned into a swirl of black smoke and shot into the sky.
Thanks to the Dark-Dark Fruit, he could now fly by manipulating his darkness — and even store items, or people, in a pocket dimension he called the Black Hole Space.
Seeing him vanish like that, Rayleigh could only scratch his head.
"Where the hell is he rushing off to this time?"
"Fisher Tiger really doesn't follow any script…" Mislanda muttered as he soared above the waves.
He'd assumed Tiger would come to Sabaody first, but the man had apparently headed straight for the Red Line instead.
Thinking about the fish-man's goal, Mislanda slowed his flight slightly.
"Climbing the Red Line by hand, huh? That's insane, even for him."
The Red Line stretched endlessly into the clouds — a colossal wall separating the seas. Scaling it bare-handed was something most wouldn't even dream of attempting.
"Whatever," Mislanda decided. "I'll find him first."
Soon, the red, towering cliff of the Red Line appeared before him — a scar across the world.
Looking up, the top was invisible beyond the clouds.
"If I remember right," he murmured, "this should be the spot right beneath the slave prison."
That meant this was the perfect place to begin the climb.
And if Tiger was going to rescue slaves… he'd definitely start here.
But when Mislanda inspected the area, there were no marks — no signs of climbing.
"Damn, looks like I'm early."
He sighed, floating down to sit on a nearby rock.
"Guess I'll just wait, then."
Hours passed. The sea grew calm, and the night deepened.
Then —
A huge, muscular figure broke the surface of the water. His bright, fierce eyes locked on the towering Red Line.
After a moment of silence, Fisher Tiger grabbed a handhold and began to climb.
And right then—
A voice came from behind him, startlingly casual.
"Brave of you — really planning to climb that thing with your bare hands, huh?"
Boom!
The sudden voice exploded in Tiger's mind like a cannon blast.
He lost his grip and splashed back into the sea.
"Who's there?!"
He surfaced, glaring upward — only to see a young man in a black coat hovering in the air, looking down at him with amusement.
The smile on Mislanda's face made Tiger's instincts scream danger.
He couldn't explain it, but it felt like this man could see straight through him.
"Relax," Mislanda said softly as he descended, his boots touching the water's surface. "I'm not your enemy."
Tiger didn't move his hand from the dagger at his waist.
He didn't know who this stranger was — but something told him, a fight would be suicide.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And what do you want with me?"
After all — his plan tonight was a secret. No one in the world should have known.
So how… did this man find him?
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