This Is Actually the Deep-Sea Gourmet Arc (Certain.jpg)

Silvers Rayleigh, known as the Dark King and the man called the "right-hand man of the Pirate King."

In the 3D2Y storyline, he taught Luffy how to use Haki.

"Of course." The shopkeeper took out a cup and poured Wude some wine.

Wude savored the fine wine and nodded.

Although it was no match for the free wine he had swiped from Shanks, he had to admit that this wine tasted pretty good.

"I'll take some." Wude pulled out some Berry.

Not long afterward.

Rayleigh stood at the entrance of the wine shop, looking at the small jug of wine he had bought, then at the cartload Wude had purchased, with case after case of wine piled on it.

Just a little? You're too polite—that's a whole cart!

"Hahaha, young man, you sure like your alcohol," Rayleigh joked.

"Fine wine is essential for sailing." Wude patted the wine barrels.

He truly was not much of a drinker, but wine was indeed one of the supplies that was relatively easy to preserve at sea.

Once they reached the New World, there was no telling whether they would encounter any new islands, so it was necessary to stock up.

"Young man, are you heading to the New World?" the shopkeeper asked.

"That's right," Wude replied.

"To reach Fish-Man Island, your ship will need to be coated. Why not leave it to him?" The shopkeeper was helping Rayleigh drum up business. Rayleigh often came to buy wine, so he might as well return the favor.

"That would be great."

Not long afterward, at the shore where Wude's ship was docked.

Rayleigh arrived at the ship with him.

Wude had not expected that after making one round, he would end up snatching part of the tool people's job.

Rayleigh looked up at the ship. There were bullet holes and knife marks on the hull, so he gave it a careful inspection.

Rayleigh glanced at the top of the mast and narrowed his eyes, thinking, What an interesting young man.

Kuroh squatted at the top of the mast. "Shanks's wine is pretty good."

"..."

The next day.

On the ship.

Wude covered his eyes with a black cloth and had Kuroh help him develop his Observation Haki with an iron rod.

Rayleigh drank wine and rested to the side, watching the young man in surprise.

He had not even experienced the New World's harsh lessons, yet he had already started developing Haki?

That strange "clone" ability, along with his knowledge of Haki, had truly caught his attention.

"Is it a clone?" Rayleigh asked curiously.

"Something like that..." Wude listened to the iron rod whistling through the air beside his ear and dodged it as he replied.

"Interesting. You're not a Devil Fruit user, yet you can use an ability like this. Are you a ninja?" Rayleigh recalled Oden. It was said that ninjas existed in his homeland, Wano Country.

"No." Wude denied it while quickly tilting his head to the left and dodging Kuroh's iron rod.

After resting, Rayleigh began continuing to coat the ship.

Although he had once been the Pirate King's companion—the famous Dark King Rayleigh—he still did coating work in his spare time to earn money for wine and gambling.

That evening, Old Rayleigh, who had been coating the ship, faced the sunset and stretched.

Wude came over to Rayleigh. "How about a drink after you're done?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful." Rayleigh looked at the empty wine jug and answered cheerfully.

The two went to the kitchen in the ship's cabin. Wude quickly prepared several home-style dishes, brought over two barrels of wine, and the two drank and chatted.

"Sixteen?" Rayleigh looked at him in surprise. "What a memorable age, full of passion and fiery spirit."

"Are you going to the New World to challenge someone?" Rayleigh tasted a slice of boiled fish.

"I'm only going to the passionate Dressrosa to watch the dancers, and see a few arena battles. I'm not planning to challenge anyone." Wude smiled and pushed the sweet-and-sour ribs toward Rayleigh.

"I see." Rayleigh tasted a rib. "I hear the young women there have some pretty spicy dances."

"After all, it's known as the 'Island of Love and Passion.'" Wude smiled and took a sip of wine.

While eating, the two also talked about Wude taking the fine wine from Shanks's hometown.

When Rayleigh heard that the little brat Shanks had been drinking in East Blue and gotten drunk, he laughed uncontrollably.

As for Wude recognizing Rayleigh, did he even need to explain that?

The famous Rayleigh was known throughout the seas. Who had never heard of him? Wude was not face-blind, so it would have been strange if he had failed to recognize him.

Rayleigh had blond hair when he was young and white hair when he was old, like a gun skin in some game being recolored with only the model slightly adjusted. He was simply too easy to recognize.

After treating Rayleigh to the meal, Wude saw him off once Rayleigh had drunk to his satisfaction.

The next day.

"The coating's finished. Set sail, young man." Rayleigh stood on the shore and accepted the payment Wude handed him.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior." Wude spoke gratefully.

That morning, while he had been developing his Observation Haki, Rayleigh had given him some advice on developing Haki.

"It was nothing, hahaha." Rayleigh watched Wude board the ship.

With the tool people operating it, the ship, now covered in a coating, slowly sank beneath the water and sailed toward Fish-Man Island.

In Wude's field of vision, Rayleigh gradually became distorted and blurred by the seawater until he disappeared from sight as they descended.

Roger's crew had never robbed civilians. Of course, there was one exception: that idiotic Oden, who had taken something without paying.

(Though they later learned that the person Oden had robbed was a pirate in hiding.)

Although Wude intended to become a Marine, he could not be bothered to make an enemy of someone who had retired and had never harmed civilians.

The key point was that he could not beat him anyway...

Fish-Man Island lay ten thousand meters beneath the seafloor of the Red Line where Mary Geoise was located. It was an unavoidable stop on the way to the New World.

As the ship continued descending, the light grew increasingly dim. Only the nearby outlines of some corals and the slow passage of enormous Sea Kings could be seen.

"What are you thinking about, sir?" Jia asked curiously.

"I'm wondering whether the water pressure ten thousand meters below the sea could crush a person to death." Wude gazed into the dark depths and thoughtfully patted the bubble.

"Sir, don't scare us!" The tool people all grew frightened.

"These bubbles are very sturdy. They can't break." Jia laughed, and only then did everyone let out a sigh of relief.

A terrifying, soul-shaking rumble and the sound of rushing water came from the distant deep sea.

Scattered fragments of a ship and corpse after corpse of pirates drifted past, floating toward the upper layers.

Because of the pitch-black environment deep beneath the sea, even when everyone stood at the side of the ship and strained to look, they could not see what had happened.

A fragment of a wolf-headed ship's figurehead and a fragment of an eagle-headed ship's figurehead drifted past them.

"Did two pirate ships collide? Or did they get into a fight?" Jia asked in confusion.

"Looks like there was a violent collision," Wude guessed. Under normal circumstances, the bubbles were still quite reliable and would not burst at the slightest touch.

The ship followed the current and continued toward Fish-Man Island.

Before long, Wude sat on the deck with a bowl of rice and began eating, giving up on thinking.

He decided to stop worrying about common knowledge like water pressure and oxygen. There was no point trying to discuss science with an anime.

After all, his Kuroh was already highly unscientific.

"Hey, do you think a gigantic octopus monster might block the ship later?" Jia had barely finished speaking when the others glared at him.

"Are you a prophet?"

Not long afterward, Wude shoveled down his rice while staring outside the ship. When he saw the enormous shadow, he swallowed nervously.

What was it like to eat a deep-sea monster?

Slurp, slurp. Green light shone in Wude's eyes as he stared at the monster, his appetite awakened.