Supreme Conqueror's Haki of a Yonko

The battle outside between the Marines and the three Supernovas was exceptionally dull. The three strongest pirates among the Supernovas effortlessly knocked down wave after wave of overconfident Marines.

Meanwhile, the slaves had already left through the back door, and no one had time to pay attention to them. The remaining Marines had formed a special assault unit, attempting to rescue the sole remaining Celestial Dragon, Shalria.

Sal walked to the entrance and quietly watched the battle.

Monkey D. Luffy with the Gum-Gum Fruit, Trafalgar D. Luo with the Op-Op Fruit, and Eustass Kid with the Magnet-Magnet Fruit. Though they were not particularly strong yet, their abilities were truly varied.

Thinking of the other Supernovas, only two had chosen the path of the swordsman. Everyone else was a Devil Fruit user. Sal could not help but sigh.

"The Supernovas really do have monster-like abilities, one after another."

"I think you look more like a monster. You resemble a certain old friend of mine."

Sal looked at Rayleigh, who was drinking as he spoke. He understood whom Rayleigh was hinting at and answered calmly.

"I'm not like Roger. I'm Augustus D. Sal."

Hearing that familiar voice reply, Rayleigh froze for a moment. Now that he was even more certain the other man was an old acquaintance, he could understand if Roger's descendants hated and rejected what Roger had done.

Rayleigh could only say earnestly,

"You're too reckless. You killed two Celestial Dragons the moment you made your debut. You should restrain yourself a little."

"Weren't you reckless too? Back on Black Sail Island, if no one had stopped you, you would have slaughtered Saint Charlos as well."

The mention of the past plunged Rayleigh into memory, while his eyes filled with confusion. Only he and Roger knew about that incident. Roger had stopped him back then, which was why he had not killed a Celestial Dragon in the heat of his youth.

"Y-you... how do you know that?"

Sal did not answer. He merely pointed at the battlefield below.

"Aren't you going to intervene? If this drags on, an Admiral will arrive. When that happens, it'll be your old bones standing in the way. Are you confident?"

Seeing that Sal had dodged the question, Rayleigh knew he did not want to explain. He merely smiled.

"This is an adventure of the new era. These old bones of mine won't interfere."

Sal smiled and shook his head. The Marines below had clearly already been defeated, yet under the command of a Marine Headquarters Commodore, they were still desperately holding on. He understood their plan. They wanted to hold out until an Admiral arrived.

But Sal had no intention of waiting for the Admiral and the Pacifistas to arrive. Even for him, an Admiral was an extremely troublesome opponent.

"If you won't interfere, then I will."

Sal leaped straight into the middle of the battlefield. His sudden intrusion drew the attention of the three Supernovas and their crews. They all wanted to know just how strong this madman who dared kill Celestial Dragons was—whether he was truly powerful or simply insane.

Looking around at the hundreds of Marines, Sal had no time to clear them out one by one. He directly unleashed his powerful Conqueror's Haki. Dense dark-red lightning accompanied the burst as the Conqueror's Haki domain swept across the battlefield, covering nearly a thousand meters and making the air seem to distort.

Every Marine within its range foamed at the mouth and collapsed unconscious. Even the Marine Headquarters Commodore fell instantly. The pirates caught within it but not directly targeted all felt chills run down their spines, powerless as though they had been targeted by an apex predator.

The five Supernovas all looked toward Sal at once, sweat sliding down their foreheads. The pressure he exerted on them was immense. It was the same power used by the Dark King Rayleigh, only far more domineering and terrifying.

Robin covered her mouth. This was the first time she had truly understood the man named Sal. In her mind, Sal had once been synonymous with strange arrogance. Only now did she realize that he truly possessed the qualifications and strength to stand against the World Government.

Rayleigh's bottle fell to the ground. He stared at the man in the field in utter disbelief.

The intensity of this Conqueror's Haki, comparable to that of a quasi-Yonko, was not enough to make him lose composure. What shook him was how incomparably familiar this Haki felt. He had spent decades beside his old friend; there was no way he could mistake Roger's Conqueror's Haki.

And now, this young man named Sal had Roger's appearance and voice, knew of their past, and even possessed identical Conqueror's Haki. He could not help but think of a possibility he had never considered before. Trembling, he whispered,

"Roger... is that you?"

[SS-class character, Silvers Rayleigh has developed positive feelings toward the host. Moderate friendliness. Experience increased by 20000.]

[A-class characters have developed positive feelings toward the host. Moderate surprise. Experience increased by 200X5.]

[B-class and C-class characters have developed positive feelings toward the host. Moderate surprise (fear). Experience increased by 30X37.]

[Level increased: Level 40 (6800/10000)]

[Level 40 achievement completed. Reward: one blue draw.]

He had risen two and a half levels in a row. That was truly an unexpected delight. As for the blue draw, he used it without hesitation.

[Level 5 spell, Flame Storm Spell Scroll X1]

A spell scroll could unleash the spell sealed within it once. Its power probably was not that great, considering it had come from a blue draw.

Sal withdrew his Conqueror's Haki and slowly soothed the tightness in his chest. With his current physical strength, unleashing Supreme Conqueror's Haki only caused a slight feeling of chest congestion. That side effect was still acceptable.

One had to know that, across the seas, only quasi-Yonko and Yonko could reach the level of Supreme Conqueror's Haki. Of course, a Yonko's Supreme Conqueror's Haki was not something a newcomer to that level could compare to.

Sal looked at the still-stunned crowd and spoke slowly.

"Aren't you leaving? If you wait for the Admiral, you'll probably be doomed."

"..."

Though Kid deeply disliked those words, he had no intention of arguing. That powerful Conqueror's Haki still lingered in his mind. But his true thoughts were that no matter how powerful an Admiral was, they would not be left completely helpless.

As the Kid Pirates departed, Luo's Heart Pirates followed close behind. Luo also bid Sal farewell.

"Mr. Sal, I look forward to our next meeting."

Sal responded amicably. If nothing unexpected happened, they would meet again at the Marineford War. Whether or not it was to save Ace, he had to go to the Marineford War. It was too good a stage to miss.

The Straw Hat Pirates planned to leave aboard the Flying Fish Riders. Just as Sal was preparing to leave alone, Rayleigh invited him.

"Sal, want to have a drink with me?"

Have a drink with Rayleigh? Whether in his previous life or this one, he would never refuse.

"Sure. I only drink strong liquor. You should know that, right?"

Facing that familiar smile, Rayleigh lost himself for a moment again before immediately laughing.

"I guarantee I'll drink you under the table. I have a few bottles of God's Gift."

"Haha, as expected of you. You actually have the means to keep such fine liquor."

At that moment, the Straw Hat Pirates' sniper, Usopp, whose bounty was 30 million Beli, quietly said to Nami,

"I've been watching for a while. It feels like Senior Rayleigh and Mr. Sal suddenly became very close."

"Don't worry about other people's business. We still need to ask him for help."

Though Nami was curious, she would not deliberately pry into someone else's affairs. Naturally, that was only because they could not afford to provoke that person.

The group rode Flying Fish Motorcycles and sea cow motorcycles back, passing the den of the human traffickers who had abducted Camie along the way. Of course, after they left, only a battered house and several half-dead traffickers remained.

The convoy arrived at Shakky's Rip-off Bar. The Flying Fish Riders left after dropping them off. Hachi and the merfolk would remain here to recover from their injuries. After all, Shakky, the owner of the bar, was no easy opponent either.

When they pushed open the door, they saw an attractive middle-aged woman waiting for them. Smiling, she invited everyone to sit. But when Shakky saw Sal's face, she froze for a moment before looking at Rayleigh meaningfully.

Facing the questioning look of his old lover, Rayleigh merely shook his head. He could not figure out Sal's origins either. Yet speaking with him felt truly relaxed and familiar, as pleasant as talking to that old friend.

Deep down, he also hoped his guess was true, but the thought was simply too absurd.