Rayleigh and Shakky's Blackmail Bar
This was Shakky's bar.
At this time, inside the bar, Shakky was cleaning the counter while smoking a cigarette.
As the former vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, the bespectacled "Dark King" Rayleigh was sitting at the bar, holding a newspaper in one hand and a glass of ice and wine in the other.
"You've read that newspaper four times already. Found something interesting?" Shakky asked casually, taking a deep puff of smoke.
"Hehe, just an unexpected little guy," Rayleigh chuckled, took a sip of wine, set down the newspaper, and said, "The one called Black Crow."
"The only supernova from last year," Shakky said with a knowing smile. "He became the main culprit behind the escape after being imprisoned in Impel Down for a year and has since become famous around the world. Yet even now, he hasn't set foot into the New World. As a rookie, he has an experience that most pirates never live through."
As an intelligence expert herself, Shakky was naturally very familiar with the Black Crow Pirates.
She put down the cleaning cloth and said, "All the members of the Black Crow Pirates are strong, and they have connections with many different factions. If they enter the New World, they'll probably stir up a storm."
Rayleigh smiled. "Originally, I thought he would be stuck in Impel Down forever after being captured, so I didn't pay much attention. But I didn't expect him to escape… and as the ringleader no less. It made me look at him in a new light."
"He wasn't actually captured," Shakky said, glancing at Rayleigh with a calm expression.
"Oh?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow, curiosity sparking in his eyes. "You have inside information?"
"I got it from the Red Earl. He asked me to help him gather intelligence about a certain Devil Fruit," Shakky said lightly.
"That guy…" Rayleigh frowned slightly but wasn't too surprised. After all, they were old acquaintances. Although Shakky had retired, she still ran an intelligence business, and it wasn't unusual for people like the Red Earl to reach out to her.
But this new captain, Mio, intrigued Rayleigh.
"If he wasn't captured and sent to Impel Down, did he voluntarily go in?" Rayleigh asked, puzzled.
He had fully retired from active life and only kept up with major events through newspapers or occasionally through Shakky. There weren't many pirates worth his attention anymore.
"Yeah," Shakky nodded, flicking ashes from her cigarette. "Do you know the real reason why this rookie entered Impel Down?"
"Judging from your tone, I'm very curious now," Rayleigh said with interest, swirling his wine and waiting for her explanation.
"Before entering Impel Down, Black Crow hadn't awakened Conqueror's Haki and had only just begun learning Armament and Observation Haki. But by the time he escaped, both his Armament and Observation Haki had reached a very high level, close to Ryuo. And he awakened his Conqueror's Haki during the breakout," Shakky said slowly.
Hearing this, Rayleigh's pupils shrank slightly in shock. "You mean…"
"Yes," Shakky nodded solemnly. "He went into Impel Down deliberately to train his Haki."
According to the Red Earl's information, Mio had made a deal with the prisoners on the sixth floor: they would train him in Haki, and in return, he would lead them to escape within a year.
"And on the day of the escape, through the fierce battle with the Red Earl and others, he finally awakened his Conqueror's Haki," Shakky finished.
"What do you think?" she asked, watching Rayleigh closely.
Rayleigh was silent for a moment, then downed his drink in one gulp and laughed heartily. "What astonishing courage."
A rookie who had only been at sea for less than a year dared to enter Impel Down voluntarily just to hone his Haki. It was unheard of. Even among veterans, few would have the guts to pull off such a stunt.
Rayleigh couldn't help but think back to the Battle of Edd War. Roger, at the time, had that same kind of reckless courage.
And now, this newcomer Mio, at least in terms of courage, was not inferior to Roger.
He dared to dive into Impel Down's sixth floor—a place packed with monsters—for the sake of growing stronger. No one else in the world had such audacity.
At present, only Mio had done so.
"From this perspective, even though they're newcomers, the strength of the Black Crow Pirates is probably on par with some veteran pirate crews," Rayleigh commented.
"Look at the bounties—almost all of them are Devil Fruit users. Three of them are even suspected of having Mythical Zoan Fruits," Shakky added with a faint smile. "There aren't many crews like that on the sea."
It was rare, but also terrifying.
If they grew into their full potential, they could become a force capable of going toe-to-toe with Marine Headquarters—assuming, of course, the World Government didn't intervene first.
At that moment—
"Oh? They're here?" Rayleigh's eyes gleamed as he smiled and set his glass down.
Shakky leaned against the bar, resting her chin on her palm. "Looks like the New World will be lively very soon."
As her voice fell—
Creaaak.
The wooden door to the bar slowly swung open.
Outside, the sky was dark with thunderclouds, and a heavy rain poured down, drenching the world in gloom.
At the doorway stood three figures, all cloaked.
The leading figure pulled down his hood, revealing messy black hair and a handsome, somewhat gentle face.
"Nice to meet you, Dark King Rayleigh," Mio said with a calm smile.
"What an incredible rookie," Rayleigh chuckled, turning to face Mio, swirling the wine in his glass. "Care for a drink?"
"With pleasure," Mio nodded and stepped into the bar.
"Are these your crew members?" Rayleigh asked, glancing at the two cloaked figures standing behind Mio.
"Ah, that's right," Mio replied as he sat down at the bar. "This is Robin and Mashi."
As he introduced them, the two figures also removed their cloaks.
"The survivor of Ohara…" Rayleigh murmured, recognizing Robin. His gaze softened with interest. "Can you read the Poneglyphs?"
"Yes," Robin answered simply.
Rayleigh's eyes gleamed with surprise. It wasn't easy to master the ancient language, and for someone as young as Robin to do so was extraordinary.
Then Rayleigh's eyes shifted to Mashi.
"And this one… a Mythical Zoan user, perhaps?"
Mashi immediately glared at him. "What are you staring at, old man? Never seen a beautiful girl before?"
Crackle.
As she spoke, blue lightning and red flames danced across Mashi's cheeks, intertwining and radiating intense power.
Rayleigh's eyes flashed with deep astonishment at the sight.