Old Monsters Have High Stats

"Roger was nothing like the kind of person you described."

"Only he deserved to be called the One Piece!"

Rayleigh looked at Brando and spoke with deliberate seriousness.

As his companion, no one knew how much pain he had felt when he watched Roger being executed on the broadcast all those years ago!

But that had been Roger's final wish, so he could not interfere. Still, he would never allow anyone to insult Roger over this. Roger was unquestionably the One Piece!

At the same time, his Observation Haki sensed no formidable people nearby. There was only this guy who looked exactly like Shanks.

"Is that so?"

"Then the One Piece, Roger, was executed like a dog before the entire world by the World Government and became a dead dog."

Brando acted as though he had been persuaded, then said coldly.

The five-word secret to winning an argument: rush, tighten, canonize, filial piety, hemp.

Keep kicking a crippled man's bad leg, and he would lose his temper.

When acting domineering, one had to go all out. Even the other person's family and friends could not be spared.

You wouldn't want xx to find out about this, would you?

Some people loved pretending to be lofty, acting as if they alone saw through everything and loved playing the impartial rationalist. But once their sore spot was hit, they got more anxious than anyone.

"You!"

Rayleigh knew the other party was trying to provoke him.

Arguments like this were meaningless. Roger was the One Piece acknowledged by this entire sea, not someone this man could deny with a few words.

But... he was still furious.

He directly controlled his Conqueror's Haki and precisely pressed it down on Brando.

Brando easily withstood it, though he had secretly activated his Sharingan. Because of the Transformation Technique, Rayleigh did not notice.

After all, Conqueror's Haki was essentially one way of using spiritual power. Brando's current spiritual power was no weaker than Rayleigh's; he simply did not know Conqueror's Haki.

So Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki could not have much effect on Brando through sheer presence alone.

"Is this all you've got?"

"Roger's strength back then was probably no better than this. I heard your pirate crew only found Laugh Tale by sneaking around, abducting people, and tricking them into stealing other people's Poneglyphs."

"The Rocks Pirates were clearly stronger than the Roger Pirates. After all, the core members of their crew are still dominating these seas."

Brando felt that Rayleigh was not worked up enough yet, so he continued applying pressure. At the same time, Brando believed he was simply telling the truth.

That travel blogger was a complete joke. Who knew what he saw in the end that made him accept his fate? Someone like that did not deserve to be called a king. If it had been Rocks, he probably would have fought to the very end no matter what.

"It seems I've truly been underestimated."

"Roger is not someone a person like you can judge. Are you trying to provoke me with such a simple tactic?"

After his anger subsided, Rayleigh gradually calmed down as well.

Brando's intentions were far too obvious. Yet he could not understand why this guy wanted to provoke him.

Did he want to defeat him?

Still, Rayleigh felt that he had not fought in a long time. It was time to let the world know that he had not grown completely old.

With that, Rayleigh casually picked up a longsword from the ground. He had only gone out to coat ships today, so he had not brought a weapon. Ordinarily, opponents were not worth drawing his sword for, but today, he was in a very bad mood.

"Sorry, I like telling the truth."

"And provoke you? No. I simply don't like the look of you. There is no other reason."

Brando also drew Ninja Blade: Lightning from his waist and gripped it with both hands. This was his first time using Ninja Blade: Lightning in battle.

Other than partly doing this for the rewards, he really did seem to possess a bit of that village spirit.

"I hope your mouth is still this tough later!"

Rayleigh normally would not take the initiative to attack a young man.

But this guy was indeed lacking in manners. Rayleigh would not kill him; making him kneel and apologize would be enough.

"Buzz!"

Rayleigh coated the ordinary longsword in his hand with Armament Haki. Then black arcs of lightning wrapped around the blade. Rayleigh had no intention of holding back; he immediately used Conqueror's Haki Coating.

"Black lightning from Conqueror's Haki Coating?"

"Perfect. The one in my hand can discharge electricity too. It's a new-energy sword."

Brando also hardened Ninja Blade: Lightning with Armament Haki to keep it from being cut apart, then infused it with Lightning Release chakra. Explosive arcs of electricity immediately erupted from Ninja Blade: Lightning.

Arcs of electricity also appeared around Brando's body as he entered the Cell Activation state.

Although Brando did not currently know a single Lightning Release ninjutsu, the only one he had was the buffing Cell Activation.

But Ninja Blade: Lightning could perfectly conduct Lightning Release chakra. It could also attract and attach naturally occurring electric arcs, reducing chakra consumption, and it could directly unleash Lightning Release as well.

Rayleigh said nothing more. Wearing slippers, he charged at Brando with quick steps, moving at incredible speed.

Brando focused as well. These old monsters all had absurdly inflated stats. Many rising-generation powerhouses had strong enough mechanics, but these old monsters—especially those without Devil Fruit abilities—had outrageously monstrous stats.

Stat monsters were Brando's most troublesome enemies right now.

"Bang!"

Rayleigh began by testing the waters, directly slashing at Brando with his sword at sixty percent strength.

Brando did not avoid the edge of the attack either. Holding Ninja Blade: Lightning in both hands, he slashed forward in an X-shape.

"So heavy!"

The instant they collided, Brando felt as if every bone in his body was groaning, and both his hands trembled.

The ground beneath their feet shattered layer by layer from the aftershock of their power.

Not only were Rayleigh's stats higher than his, but Conqueror's Haki Coating was also a factor. That ability amplified destructive power, and its strange shockwaves and vibrations affected him.

Because of Conqueror's Haki Coating, Brando's Ninja Blade: Lightning had not even touched Rayleigh's sword. Black arcs of lightning separated their weapons.

"Is this all you've got?"

Rayleigh was somewhat surprised.

If this was all the strength Brando had, then he was only around the level of a Marine vice admiral. That did not match what Shanks had described to him.

But then the force coming from his sword suddenly became much heavier, and Rayleigh increased his own strength as well.

At the same time, Rayleigh saw strange markings suddenly appear around the eyes of the Shanks before him, while a pair of horns grew from his forehead.

Rayleigh had encountered this situation often before. Zoan Devil Fruit users looked like this in their human-beast forms.

Rayleigh suddenly leaped backward, opening up the distance and ending the contest of strength.

At that moment, intense electric arcs erupted from Brando's body, swallowing everything within a radius of more than ten meters. Even the stones shattered by their clash were pulverized by the electricity.

"A Mythical Zoan?"

Rayleigh analyzed.

After all, ordinary Zoans did not discharge electricity.

"A brief glimpse of the future through Observation Haki."

"Without Conqueror's Haki, I can't break through that. But could Sharingan mind control interfere with it?"

Brando looked at Rayleigh, who had dodged a step ahead of the electric burst he had unleashed through Ninja Blade: Lightning, and found himself at a loss.

If he did not solve Rayleigh's brief future sight, his later attacks would be difficult to make effective. Without Conqueror's Haki, the only method he could use was the Sharingan.