Revealing Ace's Identity

Because he himself was a Logia Devil Fruit user, he was very sensitive to the abilities Haku was using. However, when Haku had used Ryujin Jakka earlier, he had seemed like a Devil Fruit user!

This left Aokiji momentarily unable to confirm Haku's lightning ability.

At that point, Haku played coy and said, "You'll understand tomorrow when I get back to Marineford. Anyway, you'll find out sooner or later!"

Hearing this, Aokiji didn't press further.

Brrr brrr brrr! Brrr brrr brrr!

Just then, the Den Den Mushi Haku had tossed to Aokiji rang again. There was no need to guess who was calling.

Haku decisively left the mess for Aokiji to handle and slipped away himself.

As for the Den Den Mushi, Aokiji dealt with that too. Before long, Haku returned to the Ark.

He saw Rayleigh on the deck, having found a lounge chair from somewhere and lying on it asleep.

Haku descended from the air, using Lightning Metallurgy to turn all the gold on the deck into gold bricks. As he worked, he said to Rayleigh, "So this is how you watch my ship?"

Rayleigh lifted the newspaper off his face and replied, "Can't help it! I'm guarding your ship, sure, but you went and electrocuted all the pirates who climbed aboard. With nothing to do, I had to sleep."

"Hmph! Always got an excuse!" Haku snorted in displeasure.

Then, sensing something with his Observation Haki, he said to Rayleigh, "Head back to the bar first. Several CP Agents are coming this way. We don't want your identity exposed!"

Rayleigh perked up at that. He could tell from Haku's words that the man knew about Shakky's Rip-off Bar!

But considering the hassle of CP Agents, he ultimately left Haku's ship ahead of time.

After watching Rayleigh leave, Haku amplified his electric output, turning all the gold on the deck into gold bricks in one go! Then he stored every brick in his System Space, to be taken out when needed.

After that, Haku walked to the bow of the ship.

When the CP Agents approached Haku's Ark, they wisely hid themselves, secretly monitoring him.

Haku had no goodwill toward these agents, so he decided to test an idea. They would serve as his guinea pigs for now.

His eyes scanned for a suitable target, then locked onto one. A gold coin in his hand, enhanced by his power, shot toward that CP Agent like a Railgun!

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out. The CP Agent Haku had aimed at managed to survive!

"Oops! Looks like I missed!" Haku said with an exaggerated expression.

The CP Agents looked at him as if he were a demon.

In truth, Haku had indeed missed. After all, this was his first time using the move. To perfectly replicate it, he would need plenty of practice.

That's right! What Haku had just used was a certain manga heroine's Railgun.

As for why Haku wanted to learn this move? The reason was simple: it was straightforward, brutal, and packed a punch.

Plus, since Haku himself was a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, he could mimic the electromagnetic force generated by his lightning to correct the coin's trajectory and accelerate it, giving it extreme accuracy and destructive power upon firing.

As for its actual destructive power, Haku was already drawing many conclusions from the experiment just now.

For example: because the coin kept accelerating before hitting its target, it could even leave afterimages in the air, the orange beam of light like a laser.

This Railgun's power was immense—it could even gouge out the concrete ground along its firing path, and the sheer wind pressure from its aftermath could easily blow people away.

However, the move's flaw was that it couldn't precisely hit the intended target.

Haku had even used his enhanced Observation Haki to constantly correct his aim, yet he still failed to strike the agent.

Not wanting to dwell on it, he jumped off the ship and headed toward Shakky's Rip-off Bar. After all, it was getting late. Thanks to the Celestial Dragon's interruption, night had already fallen.

As for the CP Agents, after Haku's display of force, they at least dared not continue monitoring him.

Before long, Haku quickly reached his destination.

He looked at the tall, slender woman standing behind the bar counter, one hand on her chin and the other on the countertop, and asked, "Where's Rayleigh?"

Shakky smiled at Haku and said, "Handsome young man, you must be a Marine Admiral, right? There's no one named Rayleigh here!"

As an information broker, Shakky had recognized Haku the moment she saw him.

Haku rolled his eyes, walked over to the bar, and sat down, muttering, "That bastard! So slow!"

Shakky could tell Haku wouldn't leave until Rayleigh returned.

She smiled at him and said, "Handsome Marine, care for a drink?"

Haku glanced at the liquor cabinet behind the bar and said, "Give me your best drink. You have that, right?"

Shakky's smile widened. "Of course! I've got the finest liquor in the entire Grand Line."

Soon, Shakky mixed a drink for Haku.

He picked up the glass, took a sip, and said, "So, how long are you going to keep hiding? Don't you want to chat with me?"

Rayleigh entered through the front door and said to Haku at the bar, "Yo! You made it!"

Haku shot him a glance and said, "Hiding by the door that long, afraid I'd cuff you and take you to Marine Headquarters?"

"Haha, you're joking, kid! I'm no criminal, so there's no need to arrest me, right?" Rayleigh laughed.

Haku didn't want to keep bantering. He got straight to the point with Rayleigh. "Enough with the nonsense. Let's talk business."

Haku set his wine glass down on the bar, then said to Rayleigh, "Do you know who Portgas D. Rouge is?"

Though puzzled, Rayleigh nodded to indicate he did.

"Then that makes it simple. In about two years, I want you to help me save someone. That person is Portgas D. Ace." Haku stared intently at Rayleigh.

Rayleigh laughed heartily. "Little brother, what makes you so sure I'll agree to help you save someone? Besides, I've already retired."

Haku replied noncommittally, "I'm certain you will."

Rayleigh's gaze sharpened as he looked into Haku's eyes. "Give me a reason."