"Haha, why grieve, Shanks?"
Rayleigh laughed, his laughter full of easy acceptance.
"You still let your emotions get the better of you. I already died once. Whether you can really kill me this time or not, even if I do die, you don't need to be so upset. The person who truly killed me wasn't you, you little brat."
Shrrk!
With the blade still piercing his chest, Rayleigh staggered around and grinned at the man before him, who stood about as tall as he did.
"You've become more of a man than you were a dozen years ago."
He reached out with a trembling hand and gently patted Shanks on the shoulder.
"If you get the chance, try to stay alive. You shouldn't have to bear so much, Shanks..."
The instant his hand came down, the last of Rayleigh's life left him.
His body slowly fell toward Shanks.
Even an S-class powerhouse could not escape death once his heart had been pierced.
His powerful vitality merely allowed him to speak a few more final words.
And once his heart had been pierced, Conis stopped controlling him.
After all, dying by Shanks's own hand was the final fate awaiting this body after its revival.
"Vice-captain..."
Shanks's eyes were bloodshot and stretched wide with anguish. He gently caught the lifeless body and held him in his arms.
Again.
Once again, he had watched a companion die before his eyes.
And this time, he had personally killed the vice-captain he had once respected more than anyone.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
Shanks threw his head back and howled, sinking to his knees with a cry of grief that sounded almost animal.
The Conqueror's Haki within him spun completely out of control, pouring out in all directions like a raging storm and lifting the surrounding cloud sand several