Dark King Rayleigh

"Camie, we're here to save you."

Without waiting for Zoro to complain about his reckless steering, Straw Hat Luffy rushed straight toward the auction stage. The hesitant octopus Fish-Man Hachi hurriedly tried to stop him.

After all, Camie had an explosive collar around her neck, and the Celestial Dragons were present.

Yet even after exposing himself as a Fish-Man, Hachi failed to stop Luffy. The spirited young man charged forward without hesitation. Instead, Hachi's revealed identity caused an uproar among the humans present, and they all hurled abuse at him.

In their eyes, Fish-Men were nothing but inferior creatures, monsters carrying disease.

Seeing someone cause trouble, every guard in the auction house swarmed forward, yet they still could not stop Luffy. Then a gunshot brought Straw Hat Luffy to a halt. He turned around and saw Hachi, who had just been insulted, lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

The Celestial Dragon Charlos held up his smoking gun, still cursing nonstop. Luffy, his anger reaching its limit, slowly walked toward him.

That short distance stirred endless changes in the hearts of the onlookers.

Living up to Sal's expectations, Luffy threw an enraged punch that shattered Charlos's helmet and sent him flying.

The sight stunned everyone. What left them even more dumbfounded came next: Sal caught the Celestial Dragon with an Armament Haki-coated hand, then decisively slammed his head into the ground.

"Boom..."

The floor cracked apart, and Charlos's head was mangled as he lay in the massive crater. Panic erupted through the auction house once more. Countless people scrambled toward the exit as though taking one step too slowly would mean death.

Even if the pirates did not kill them, someone had attacked the Celestial Dragons—and even killed one. An Admiral would surely be dispatched. Anyone too slow might get caught in the crossfire.

[S-rank character Charlos has developed negative emotions toward the host: high-level fear. Experience +5000]

[Greatly altered the fate of S-rank character Charlos. Reward: 5000 points]

[S-rank characters have developed negative emotions toward the host: high-level hostility. Experience +5000X2]

[A-rank characters have developed ordinary emotions toward the host: high-level astonishment. Experience +500X8]

[B- and C-rank characters have developed negative emotions toward the host: high-level fear. Experience +6780]

[Level up: Level 28 (1732/4000)]

Sal shook the blood from his hand—red blood, at that. Descendants of the Creator, were they? Still, gaining five levels in a row was quite nice. He looked around and saw Luo and Kid staring at him wide-eyed, along with their crews.

The Straw Hat Pirates were the same. The small Chopper stammered.

"Luffy... Luffy only punched a Celestial Dragon away. Th-then the one who killed a Celestial Dragon should be considered the mastermind, right?"

Nami unusually smacked Chopper on the head with her fist, speaking with a muddled mind.

"No matter who the mastermind is, anyone who attacks a Celestial Dragon will be pursued by an Admiral."

"..."

With his son murdered before his eyes, Roswald, head of the Rosward family, roared furiously.

"My son! Damn it! Kill them! Call the Marines and have an Admiral sent here immediately..."

A large group of Celestial Dragon guards charged in, targeting both the Straw Hat Pirates and Sal. The Straw Hat Pirates immediately entered battle formation.

Roswald kept firing his rifle at Sal until Sal's flying knife struck him directly in the head. The female Celestial Dragon Shalria was terrified out of her wits. Her father and brother had both died at this demon's hands.

[Greatly altered the fate of S-rank character Roswald. Reward: 5000 points]

The cigarette fell from Sanji's mouth. That man had killed another Celestial Dragon as casually as crushing an ant, utterly overturning his worldview. Still, surprise was surprise—his kicks did not stop as he knocked down guard after guard.

After sending several guards flying, Luffy unusually asked Sal with concern.

"You killed two Celestial Dragons. Is that really okay? It'll bring an Admiral."

Sal casually dealt with the guards as he answered indifferently.

"What's the problem? You, Monkey D. Luffy, hit a Celestial Dragon too. You're also a wanted target. If an Admiral comes, it'll be easy enough for me to escape alone. But with a whole shipful of crewmates, it'll be much harder for you to get away."

Luffy pounded his fist into his palm and said in sudden realization.

"Yeah..."

Nami appeared beside Luffy without anyone noticing and punched him straight to the ground. With a ferocious expression, she roared.

"You still have time to talk about that? Hurry up and beat these nobodies! We need to escape before the Admiral arrives!"

"Oh, right."

With a lump on his head, Luffy rejoined the fight. At the level of a 300 million Beli pirate, crushing these trash guards was absurdly easy.

At that moment, Nico Robin appeared beside Sal and asked with a complicated expression.

"Why did you kill the Celestial Dragons?"

Even now, she did not know whether she should thank him or not. By killing the Celestial Dragons, Sal seemed to have helped draw some of the fire away from the Straw Hat Pirates. But judging by how decisively he had killed them—

Nico Robin believed Sal had done it deliberately. He had long intended to make a move against the Celestial Dragons. Luffy's actions had merely given him cover.

Faced with her question, Sal simply looked at Robin seriously and said.

"I just didn't like the look of him. Robin, don't you hate the World Government and the Celestial Dragons too?"

"..."

Robin had no answer. It would be a lie to say she did not, but acting recklessly could harm the precious people around her. Besides, killing two Celestial Dragons might bring more than one Admiral. In her eyes, it was extremely unwise. Thinking that, she vented her anger on the trash before her.

"Six Flower Bloom."

Dozens of hands harvested the guards' lives.

Kid's crew and Luo's crew watched the Straw Hat Pirates fight. Kid cursed under his breath.

"They're a bunch of lunatics, attacking the Celestial Dragons. And that big lunatic even killed two of them."

There was no point complaining now. Even if they were implicated, Luo said calmly.

"There's no point panicking now. Before the auction began, the Marines had already formed an encirclement outside. It looks like they were trying to capture someone. Perhaps their target was Mr. Sal."

Only after knocking away most of the enemies did the Straw Hat Pirates have time to notice the other two pirate crews. Luffy did not care much about them, but Luo's crewmate—the white bear from the Mink Tribe—caught his attention.

Luffy's eyes gleamed as he stared fixedly at the white bear, making the male Mink named Bepo blush in embarrassment.

The only remaining female Celestial Dragon, Shalria, suddenly crawled over to the fish tank. With a vicious expression, she intended to execute the culprit who had caused the chaos and gotten her family killed.

After all, she could not beat any of the pirates present, so she could only take her anger out on someone weaker.

Even when the auction host tried to stop her, afraid that the mermaid's death would make her worthless, Shalria shot him through the shoulder with her pistol.

Just as she was about to shoot the mermaid Camie, two waves of Conqueror's Haki swept through the room simultaneously, knocking Shalria unconscious.

One came from Sal, who had noticed the mermaid and used his Conqueror's Haki. The other came from...

The curtain was drawn aside, and an elderly man with white hair appeared. He wore a ragged white cloak and slippers, looking like an ordinary old man. Though simply dressed, his body faintly radiated a sharp, imposing aura.

The old man spoke with a sigh.

"The auction's over, and I got the money. I was originally thinking of robbing the buyer too, but no one wanted me. Well, who'd buy a worn-out old man like me? I should go back to the casino and stretch my legs first. Haha."

The fiercely chaotic battlefield instantly grew much quieter. After all, the old man was far too eye-catching.

Sal silently complained, Who would buy an old man as shameless as you? They'd have to be unbelievably unlucky. Seeing the energetic Rayleigh from afar, he could not help recalling the moment Roger had parted ways with the old man. He murmured.

"Rayleigh, huh? So this is our first meeting."

Sal did not notice that he was wearing a brilliant smile, like he had been reunited with someone after a long separation.

The fallen Hachi also saw Rayleigh and immediately shouted.

"Rayleigh!"

The Pirate King's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh—the man known as the Dark King—scanned the scene. Seeing his friend's miserable state, he roughly understood what had happened. He immediately released a wave of Conqueror's Haki, knocking down every guard at once.

The terrifying Conqueror's Haki swept through the entire hall. Even those who were not targeted looked shocked. Luo, struck by the Haki, could no longer remain calm and said in surprise.

"Who is this old man? This power feels very similar to Mr. Sal's."

Rayleigh looked around once more. When he saw Straw Hat Luffy's straw hat, the corners of his mouth rose into a smile.

"That straw hat suits a young man like you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time, Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy."

Then a figure within his sight suddenly made his body stiffen. His pupils widened in disbelief.

Sal looked at him as well, their eyes meeting. Instinctively pressing down on his hat, Sal greeted Rayleigh.

"My name is Augustus D. Sal. Nice to meet you, Silvers Rayleigh."

The same smile, the same face, the same voice. Even though his clothes were different, Rayleigh still remembered the first time he met Roger, when that shameless fellow had pulled him aboard his ship with the same cheeky grin.

Rayleigh could not help murmuring.

"Augustus D. Sal... What is this supposed to mean, Roger?"

[SS-rank character Silvers Rayleigh has developed positive emotions toward the host: low-level friendliness. Experience +10000]

[Level up: Level 30 (2097/5000)]

[Level 30 achievement completed. Reward: one green draw.]

Use the green draw.

[Assault Rifle X1]