Peak Powerhouse, Participant in the God Valley War

"How many waves of bounty hunters are there now?"

Usopp glanced at the group of people who had been beaten to the ground and felt a headache coming on.

These bounty hunters are like sharks that have smelled blood, relentlessly attacking them.

Even if they wiped out wave after wave, they couldn't stop those guys' advance.

"This is the seventh wave, isn't it?"

"Seven waves of bounty hunters... aren't these guys afraid of dying?"

"Hehehe, looks like our brains are still quite attractive~" Brook laughed.

"That's true, but I don't think those people know you."

"Click!"

A thunderbolt struck Brook's mind, and he gradually slumped down, as if struck by a blow.

"Hmm... it seems so..."

If you think about it carefully, no one else could possibly tell who he is.

After all... the portrait on his Wanted Order was taken while he was still alive.

He's now a skeleton; you can't tell he's actually Brook.

Thinking of this, Brook looked at Chopper and said, "Chopper... I think I understand how you feel..."

"Right!"

The two looked at each other, and finally sighed together.

"But it's okay, our Wanted Order will change sooner or later!" Brook cheered up and said, "Let's cheer each other on, Chopper!"

"Yohohoho!"

"Profound!"

Encouraged by Brook, Chopper also perked up.

It's just a 50- Beli bounty. He'll definitely raise it after participating in the next battle!

Seeing the two people full of energy, Merry leaned over and said, "Count me in!"

"Okay, let's all cheer each other on!"

"Profound!"

Just as they were talking, another group of bounty hunters appeared.

"Straw Hat, you guys..."

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Boom!!"

A huge Water Dragon soared into the air and crashed fiercely towards the crowd in the distance.

"Boom!!"

"Ah!!"

Screams rang out as these people were blasted off the bridge by the Water Dragon and plunged into the sea below.

"How annoying," Xi Yan said.

These guys are really like flies, one wave after another comes, it's really frustrating.

It seems... money really can drive people crazy.

"This is the eighth wave..."

"It's alright, we'll be there soon," Hatchan said. "It's on that tree root up ahead."

"I just don't know if the shop is still open; it's been ten years since I've been here."

"Huh?!"

Usopp stared at Hatchan in disbelief and said, "You haven't been here for ten years?"

"Yes."

"Will the coating worker still be here...?"

If the coating technician isn't here, wouldn't their trip have been for nothing?

"He should be here," Hatchan said after thinking for a moment. "He said to come find him here if I need anything."

Since they said that, they probably won't leave.

Usopp's lips twitched; why did he feel something was off?

"Are the coating workers also Fish-Man?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I don't know."

Camie said, "This is my first time here too Pappagu and I."

"He's not Fish-Man," Hatchan laughed. "He's a very powerful human; you'll see when you meet him."

"All right."

Luffy nodded and said nothing more.

Soon, led by Hatchan, the group arrived at Shakky's's shop.

Shakky's Rip-off Bar!

"This... this name?"

Pappagu stared at the shop's name in shock. Wasn't this a bit too arrogant?

Is this blatant extortion?

"Is this name really okay...?" Usopp asked, pointing a trembling finger at the signboard. "Is this a blatant attempt to fleece people?"

"Shall we go in?"

Chopper and Merry exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat frightened.

"To open a shop like this in a place like this, the people here must be very powerful," Xi Yan said, stroking his chin.

After all... this is Lawless Zone located in the Sabaody Archipelago.

"Don't worry, they're all good people," Hatchan said with a smile. "We've known each other since we were little, there won't be any problems."

Although Shakky's tavern has a rather unusual name,... she's actually a very nice person.

"Hmm, looks like it's still open."

After casually pushing open the tavern Great Gate, Hatchan said, "Hey, Shakky, Rayleigh, are you there?"

However, he was stunned when he saw the situation inside the room.

Is Shakky... teaching pirates a lesson?

"What... what is this?"

"Excuse me, sir, I still have some things to take care of..." Shakky hadn't finished speaking when she realized it was Hatchan who had come in, and immediately smiled and said, "Oh my~"

"It's Hatchan! It's been so long!"

"Ah, it's been a long time..." Hatchan scratched his head and asked, "What's this?"

"Ah, just disciplining a few disobedient brats."

Shakky gave Luffy and the others standing behind Hatchan a friendly smile and said, "Please come in and have a seat. I'll deal with these kids first, and then I'll entertain you."

As she spoke, Shakky's eyes swept over Luffy and his crew, clearly recognizing their identities.

'It seems my guess was right; they did indeed manage to get here safely.'

I wonder if they encountered Moria.

If he were to encounter Moria... his title as Shichibukai would probably be revoked.

Losers... do not deserve to continue bearing this title!

"Ah, okay, please make yourself at home, don't worry about us." Hatchan nodded, then gestured to Xi Yan and the others, saying, "Come in, let's sit down first."

"Is... is everything really okay...?"

Watching Shakky begin to brutally beat up the pirates, Usopp subconsciously swallowed hard; this was terrifying.

The three little ones looked at Shakky with fear in their eyes. Who beats someone up while smiling?

"Um?"

Come in~

Seeing Shakky's smiling face, the group suddenly became alert and ran towards Xi Yan and the others.

"Oh my god, there's even a cute girl here!"

Upon seeing Merry, Shakky smiled even more broadly and stopped hitting her.

Then, she grabbed the men by the legs, dragged them out the door, and threw them off a height like trash.

After clapping her hands, Shakky returned to the house with an unchanged expression and turned on the Water Dragon to wash the bloodstains off her hands.

"Gurgle..."

"Is... is everything really okay?"

"Don't worry, Shakky is a good person."

"How could a good person still..."

"In this dangerous lawless zone, if you don't act aggressively, you'll become easy prey for others." Xi Yan glanced down and said, "Am I right, Ms. Shakky?"

"Ara~"

"Is the Ninja Bro very perceptive?" Shakky said with a chuckle. "That's right. Here, if you're not fierce, you'll become someone else's food."

"This is also the way the Sabaody Archipelago survives."

For pirates like them who have retired from their life of crime, this is the place where they can live a peaceful life.

"It seems Ms. Shakky is quite familiar with us," Xi Yan said.

"As an information broker, I naturally need to pay attention to the newspapers."

"An information broker, huh...?"

Xi Yan nodded as if Satori, and said, "No wonder you opened a tavern like this."

This so-called tavern doesn't sell alcohol at all; it sells intelligence.

The drinks were just something that came along incidentally.

As for those who don't know what's going on... well, getting a beating is the least of their worries, like those guys from earlier.

"Just trying to make a living," Shakky said with a smile.

Xi Yan knew this was just a polite remark, so he nodded and said nothing.

According to Hatchan, this shop has been open for more than ten years.

An intelligence broker who has existed for over a decade likely possesses a terrifying amount of information.

"Hey, Luffy, why are you going through someone's fridge?!" Usopp stared at Luffy in disbelief.

Before you know it, this guy has run into someone's refrigerator and started rummaging through it to eat.

"I'll... I'll be hung up and beaten..." Pappagu said in terror.

"It's alright, eat up," Shakky said with a smile. "You're Hatchan's friends, no need to be so polite."

Oh, right.

"I have something good for you two."

As they were talking, Shakky walked to the side, opened a special storage cabinet, and took out two cotton candies.

"Marshmallow?!"

Chopper and Merry looked at Shakky with excitement. Could she really have something so delicious?

After taking it from them, the two happily began to eat.

"Shakky-jie!"

"You have such a sweet tongue."

Shakky smiled and ruffled the heads of the two little ones, liking them more and more as she looked at them.

"Eat without worry, there's more here if you're not full."

"Okay!"

After smiling, Shakky walked to the sofa and sat down, saying, "This little girl's ears look unusual. Is she from Special Race?"

"I'm Ship Spirit ~" Merry said with a grin.

"Ship Spirit?"

Shakky looked at Merry with some surprise, never expecting that the other party was the legendary Ship Spirit.

She initially thought the other party was just a special race, but it turns out... it's an elf?

That's right, those pointed ears are indeed unique to elves.

"Yes, Ship Spirit!"

Shakky nodded. It seemed that the other party was the type who cherished ships very much; otherwise, Ship Spirit would not have been born.

"By the way, Shakky, where's Rayleigh?" Hatchan asked. "I need to talk to him."

"It needs a coating, right?"

"Huh?!"

How did Shakky know?

Hatchan looked at Shakky in surprise, not expecting that the other party would see through his purpose for coming here so quickly... That's amazing!

"What else could it be that you and Camie, two Fish-Man Race, suddenly came here to find him?" As she spoke, Luffy glanced at Shakky and said, "It must be to help them with the coating, right?"

As an information broker, Shakky easily saw through Hatchan's purpose.

"Yes, it was indeed to help them with the coating." Hatchan scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "They saved my life, and I want to repay them."

"I see..."

Shakky was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected that they had such a relationship.

After thinking for a moment, Shakky pointed to the door and said, "Rayleigh left here just 20 minutes ago."

"Missed it?"

Chopper was dumbfounded. What was this?

"Those despicable bounty hunters," Usopp said through gritted teeth, "If it weren't for them, we definitely wouldn't have missed this opportunity."

They'd been delayed a lot by those damned bounty hunters along the way; otherwise, how could they have only arrived here now?

"What did Rayleigh go to do?" Hatchan asked, dumbfounded.

If Rayleigh can't be found, he won't be able to help the Straw Hat coat the ship.

"I don't know about that," Shakky said, shrugging.

"What should we do then?"

Seeing Hatchan Ba's anxious look, Shakky smiled and said, "Alright, don't worry, I have a way."

"What method?"

"Before he left, he gave me a Den Den Mushi," Shakky said, taking out a Den Den Mushi. "He said to contact him immediately if the Straw Hat Pirates arrive here."

At that moment, Shakky recalled Rayleigh's appearance after drinking and let out a soft snort.

It's really annoying that they ran away after drinking.

It's alright, though. That guy will come back once he finds out the Straw Hat are here.

Thinking of this, a smile returned to Shakky's face.

"Alright, now that we've managed to contact him, let's get in touch with him quickly," Hatchan said with a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to find Rayleigh, otherwise he wouldn't be able to repay his life-saving debt.

"Okay, I'll contact him right away."

After Shakky finished speaking, she took out Den Den Mushi and began contacting Rayleigh.

"Pineapple pineapple pineapple~"

"Pineapple pineapple pineapple~"

"Click~"

"Hello?"

Seeing the familiar face on the Den Den Mushi, Shakky said, "It's me."

After saying that, he ended the call without hesitation.

Looking at the Den Den Mushi with its eyes closed, Rayleigh shook his head and said, "It really is... sparing with its words."

However, he also knew that Shakky did this to avoid being overheard by the Navy, which was why she didn't say anything unnecessary.

After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Rayleigh strolled leisurely into the distance, looking quite pleased with himself.

"I wonder what kind of people they are."

At this moment, Rayleigh really wanted to see the Straw Hat Pirates, especially... that boy wearing Straw Hat!

Just then, a tall man walked over with a woman, and was taken aback when he saw Rayleigh's appearance.

Then, his expression darkened, and he said, "You are... Silbaz Rayleigh?!"

"Charlotte Family's boy, huh?"

Rayleigh Katakuri with some surprise and asked, "Why are you here?"

Normally, members of the Four Emperors Crew wouldn't easily appear in places like the Sabaody Archipelago, as it would cause varying degrees of disturbance and could even attract the Marine Admiral.

The other party couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet they still appeared in the Sabaody Archipelago... Could it be that Charlotte Linling is planning something big?

"We have our own things to do," Katakuri said. "But you... as the Vice-Captain of the Pirate King, why are you here?"

After the Pirate King was executed, didn't all his crew members disappear without a trace? What's this old guy doing here?

Could it be... that you're planning to set sail again?

"I'll say the same to you," Rayleigh said. "This old man has his own things to do too."

"Are you planning to go back to sea?"

As he spoke, Katakuri's muscles began to tense, as if he were about to make a move.

However, when he saw his sister's nervous expression, he gradually relaxed.

Clearly, fighting someone of this caliber would easily result in harming his sister, so Katakuri gave up.

Rayleigh, who noticed this scene, showed no change in expression, as if he hadn't noticed it at all.

Of course, you could also say... you don't care!

"Going to sea is out of the question," Rayleigh waved his hand and said, "I've finally retired, and I don't want to be besieged by the navy again."

"Alright, this old man has to get back to work. Just pretend you didn't see me."

After saying that, Rayleigh left without looking back.

From beginning to end, Rayleigh never cared whether the other party would make a move, after all... he was Dark King Rayleigh!!

Watching the other person's departing figure, Katakuri narrowed his eyes and said, "Coming to the Sabaody Archipelago to have some fun...?"

If you think about it carefully, if this guy didn't have any intention of causing trouble and was just having fun here, the Navy probably wouldn't care.

After all... this was a retired, top-tier expert!

"Katakuri-gege, is he that legendary figure, the Pirate King's right-hand man, Silvers Rayleigh?"

"Yes."

"I never expected to encounter someone like this here..."

Galette frowned; this was the first time she had ever met someone connected to the Pirate King.

The other party is the Vice-Captain of the Pirate King... he must be very strong, I just don't know if my brother can beat him.

Perhaps sensing Galette's thoughts, Katakuri remarked, "This guy is very strong."

"My Big Mom once said that Silvers Rayleigh was just as powerful as a monster."

"Did your Big Mom have a conflict with him?"

"More or less..." Katakuri said, recalling some past events, "But that was 38 years ago."

"3...38 years ago?"

"I wasn't even born yet..."

That was so long ago; she's only 29 this year, there's no way she could know about what happened 38 years ago.

After thinking for a moment, Galette asked, "What exactly happened back then?"

After using his Observation Haki to scan the surroundings and finding that no one was paying attention, Katakuri led his sister to the shade of a nearby tree.

After gesturing for the other person to sit on the tree trunk, Katakuri leaned against a rock and said, "38 years ago, my Big Mom hadn't yet established her own pirate crew."

"Back then, my Big Mom was a member of the Rocks Pirates..."

"Wait a minute, Katakuri-gege ..." Galette looked at Katakuri in disbelief and said, "Such a powerful Big Mom, was once someone's subordinate?"

"Right."

Galette:...

Listening to Katakuri's words, Galette felt like her worldview was about to collapse.

Her Big Mom is so capable, why would she be someone else's subordinate?

"I know you're surprised, and I was just as surprised at the time," Katakuri said. "But back then, my Big Mom was indeed someone's subordinate."

"That person's name is... Rocks D. Xebec!"

Thinking back, he was probably only about ten years old back then.

Although he had never seen the man in person, he could guess how terrifying he was just from his Big Mom's description.

A powerful figure capable of suppressing Whitebeard, Shiki, and Big Mom at the same time must possess absolute top-tier strength.

"But why is there no news about this person?" Galette asked, puzzled.

She had never even heard of this person.

"That's because a major event happened back then."

"What's up?"

"A... event called the God Valley Incident!" Katakuri said gravely, "After that great battle, the World Government erased all traces of the battle and Rocks, and blocked all information."

"Apart from those who participated in the battle, no one knows what exactly happened during this campaign."

After saying that, Katakuri paused for a moment, then continued, "It was on that occasion that Big Mom fought Rayleigh and clearly understood just how terrifying the Roger Pirates were."

This is something my Big Mom herself admitted: Rayleigh, this man, possesses power that rivals hers!!

And this... was just Pirate King Roger's Vice-Captain, which is enough to show how terrifying the Roger Pirates were.

"Even Big Mom can't beat him...?"

"Big Mom never mentioned that," Katakuri shook his head. "Perhaps it was just a brief exchange."

Didn't your Big Mom tell you everything?

"No," Katakuri said. "Big Mom just mentioned a few things."

And this information was revealed by the Big Mom in a fit of anger.

He didn't know who had angered his Big Mom.

In short... at that time, Big Mom was so angry that she destroyed several pirate crews before she could barely calm down.

That was the first time he had ever seen his Big Mom so angry.

"Didn't Big Mom fight the Roger Pirates again after that?" Galette asked curiously.

If Roger wanted to become the Pirate King... he would at least have to defeat all his rivals.

"I know what you mean, but unfortunately, Roger never fought Big Mom head-on," Katakuri said. "Those guys took advantage of Big Mom's absence to go to Totto Land, make a copy of the Historical Text, and then ran away."

"Big Mom was so angry that she chased after them for a long time, but in the end she still couldn't catch them."

He didn't know whether his Big Mom really failed to catch the other person, at least... that's what his Big Mom said.

"That despicable thief!" Galette exclaimed angrily.

What kind of behavior is it to steal things while Big Mom's not around?

If you want to become the Pirate King, you at least have to engage in direct combat!

This time, Katakuri didn't speak, but simply gazed silently into the distance.

Not everyone is willing to engage in a fair and square battle.

After shaking his head, Katakuri said, "Alright, everything I said today, you'd better keep to yourself, understand?"

"I understand, Katakuri-gege."

Galette nodded, not refuting her brother's words.

Ultimately, this matter also concerns her Big Mom's reputation; she can't possibly go around talking about this kind of thing.

It's a pity that Roger died, Big Mom couldn't get revenge.

Otherwise... they'll definitely teach the Roger Pirates a lesson!