"Kill... kill me..."
Bellamy was still alive at this point, but a casual punch from Cifer completely rendered him unable to move, leaving him lying on the ground, panting weakly.
Tears soaked the soil. In the instant his faith collapsed, his life fell into darkness, and from that moment on, he no longer held any hope of living.
His companions also paid a heavy price for their recklessness, and now Bellamy only wants to die.
"He's in your hands now."
Instead of delivering the final blow, Cifer gave the choice to Wappa and KureKke.
Holding up the meat skewers and waving, Cifer headed towards Mock Town.
"What should we do with this guy?"
"Let's send him to the navy. He can earn some extra money and travel around with you guys!"
With a piece of roasted meat in hand, Cifer strolled through the air above Mock Town, searching for Blackbeard's presence.
"No..."
Even with the Neural Scan extended to their furthest extent, that sinister aura could not be found.
"So, he left before he even encountered the Straw Hat Pirates?"
Cifer had originally planned to kill Blackbeard in Mock Town beforehand.
Unexpectedly, due to a small butterfly effect, I didn't run into him.
Let's spare his life for now. Anyway, I have Ace's Vivre Card here, so I can go and deal with him anytime.
"How boring~ I'll just go back and tease Chopper."
At this moment, a small wooden boat is drifting with the waves on the vast ocean.
Although it's called a wooden boat, it's actually just a simple boat made up of a few thick logs. Then, sails and flags are attached to the logs, turning it into a rudimentary vessel.
The four men and one horse on the boat were talking incessantly.
"Captain, why are we setting sail in the middle of the night?"
A strong, muscular man wearing a vest asked a question.
"Ahem~ That's right~"
The old man wearing a hat looked sickly, as if he might pass away at any moment.
"Hehehehe~ Who knows! I have a feeling that something bad will happen if we stay there any longer!"
Teach, with a full Blackbeard, laughed, revealing a mouthful of teeth missing several times.
"It's fate's arrangement! The world is like a gear, and the meshing of the gears, big and small, always causes changes in the trend."
The man, wearing a monocle and carrying a gun on his shoulder, spoke calmly.
News of Ulquiorra's stay in the Sabaody Archipelago spread, ushering in an unprecedented period of peace for these dozens of small islands.
The original chaos is gone, replaced by people getting along well with each other, and you can't even see a ostentatious person walking down the street.
Everything became orderly.
"As expected of you, Cifer, you managed to scare this smoky place like this."
As a retired old man, Rayleigh was usually dissatisfied with the noise on the island, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
Unexpectedly, this kid who had only just started out a few months ago was enough to make those usually arrogant and domineering guys tuck their tails between their legs just by his reputation.
"Stability is a good thing. If it weren't for your captain starting the Great Pirate Era, I think many places would be very stable."
Cifer sipped his wine and openly mocked Roger to his face.
"He has his own ideas. What we can't do, someone has to do!"
Rayleigh, however, did not mind what Cifer said. The beginning of the Great Pirate Era was something even he had not expected.
He never imagined that Roger's last words to him would mean this.
"Your reasons sound plausible... but seriously, can you please stop messing around..."
Looking at the blond man in front of him with only a few neatly shaved black stubbles on his chin, Cifer looked helpless.
The other party has maintained this status quo for several days.
"Haha, please be considerate of this elderly person, young man!"
Rayleigh, who was shaking the wine glass gently, changed his original attitude of a decadent uncle and became a handsome young man in his heyday.
"Brother Cifer is still young, of course he doesn't know how hard Lao Lei has worked. Besides, Lao Lei has been helping your teammates train every day these past few days, consider this a reward~"
Shakky exhaled thick smoke, looking quite content.
"I did pay."
"Money isn't everything, little brother Cifer ~"
Shakky gently placed the card on the table and pushed it in front of Cifer, who casually took it and put it in his pocket. He didn't care how much he had spent.
"I have a question."
"What exactly did you see? Or rather, what did Raftel record that would make that 'Pirate King' willing to surrender and usher in the Great Pirate Era?"
This is something Cifer has always been curious about. At the end of this ocean, there must be some unknown secrets, perhaps even energy powerful enough to overthrow and rebuild the world!
"Want to know? Then go find it! My captain left everything there, hahaha~"
Having returned to his youth, Rayleigh seems to have become more lively, even making jokes about the deceased captain.
"I'm serious."
These five short words made Rayleigh, who had been grinning, frown.
"Do you also want to become the Pirate King, or do you want to find the legendary One Piece?"
Rayleigh was puzzled. Based on his years of experience judging people, the boy in front of him didn't seem like that kind of person at all.
"No, I was just curious, that's all."
"Then go and search. Miss Robin can read the Poneglyph, right? With your strength, I believe reaching Raftel will only be a matter of time for you."
Rayleigh did not respond to his curiosity.
They endured countless hardships to reach the Laugh Tale, only to find no treasure there, but rather horrifying sights.
If such information could be easily shared with others, so many people wouldn't be so eager to receive it.
More importantly, in Rayleigh's eyes, Cifer was not the person Raftel was waiting for.
The world is waiting for someone to arrive at the Laugh Tale before everyone else, to complete the mission that they failed to accomplish.
If a man like Cifer were to go there beforehand and learn about those things, he would surely turn the whole world upside down.
"Really, I'm a man who gets angry very easily."
Cifer snapped his fingers, and Rayleigh and Shakky's expressions became quite serious, as if they were afraid that this madman would suddenly make a move.
Enel gripped Thunder God's Staff tightly, while Chopper and Nolan watched the tense atmosphere with bated breath. Only Bonney continued eating, head down.
"Bonney, you don't need to keep using your abilities on this old geezer."
Cifer's eyes twitched slightly as he reached out to pinch her bouncy little face.
"Eh~"
Everyone scratched their heads; things seemed to be developing differently than they had imagined.
"Really... what's wrong with letting the elderly enjoy their youth a little longer!"
Rayleigh's hair and beard began to turn white, but in the blink of an eye, he looked like a disheveled old man again.
"It's fine to experience it occasionally, but my companions have to put in a lot of effort to maintain you in the long run."
If Cifer remembers correctly, Bonney's ability can only last for a short period of time.
"Humans cannot defy the flow of time; if they try to forcibly reverse it, they will be punished."