My Hand Slipped Just a Little (Voiceover Imagined) / Silvers Rayleigh

Everyone in the city, whether fleeing slaves or guards chasing them everywhere, felt a suffocating pressure lodge in their chests!

"You lowly slaves actually dared to escape! Ugh..."

The Boa Hancock sisters watched as the guard who had been snarling at them moments ago slowly collapsed. For a moment, their minds could barely process what had happened.

"Haki...?"

Hancock, the most talented of the three, was the first to notice something strange. She looked uncertainly toward the harbor, then grabbed her sisters and ran toward the escape ship Fisher Tiger had prepared.

"That scared me to death..."

Tesoro, his gray-green hair swaying, patted his shriveled chest with lingering fear. At the same time, he carefully picked up the weapon that had just fallen to the ground and viciously struck the guard lying there!

The same scene was unfolding in every corner of the city. Many people who should have died in this upheaval might have their fates rewritten from this moment onward!

"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell are you doing?"

The CP0 member beside Atlas naturally noticed something was wrong as well. He immediately shouted at Atlas in accusation.

"I'm terribly sorry. My Conqueror's Haki only awakened a short while ago, so I still can't control it properly. My mistake, my mistake."

Atlas apologized with his mouth, but there was not the slightest hint of remorse on his face.

As if anyone would believe that!

The CP0 member was furious. This guy was obviously helping these slaves, but he had no way to deal with the bastard Marine. His face beneath the mask was almost twisted with anger.

"Hmph! I'll definitely report this to the Five Elders. You'd better think carefully about how you're going to explain yourself to Sengoku!"

Chapter 101: My Hand Slipped Just a Little (Voiceover Imagined)

After a long while, the red sun rose, and the morning light grew hazy.

The riot and fires gradually subsided. Most of the slaves boarded the escape ships that had been prepared long ago, while Atlas's warship followed unhurriedly behind the largest vessel.

"Rear Admiral Atlas! Speed up! If these slaves escape, you'll bear the consequences!"

"You soldiers over there, can't you aim your cannons properly?"

Ever since they boarded the ship, the CP0 member wearing a black-and-white mask had been nagging incessantly in Atlas's ear. He had even begun overstepping his authority and ordering the warship's movements on Atlas's behalf.

"This..."

The Marines nearby were in a difficult position. Being ordered to fire on these unarmed slaves would undoubtedly deal a devastating blow to the beliefs they had always upheld!

"Shut up, you bastard!"

Atlas had finally had enough of the man's nonsense. Powerful Conqueror's Haki burst from his body and pressed directly down on the CP0 member!

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you trying to do?"

Cold sweat poured down the forehead of the CP0 member in the black-and-white mask, and his back was drenched in sweat almost instantly.

"Nothing much. But if you don't shut that dog mouth of yours, I assure you that you'll never have the chance to speak again!"

A threat!

A blatant threat!

The CP0 member in the black-and-white mask knew very well that Atlas could not possibly attack him unless he no longer wanted to remain in the Marines.

But he didn't dare gamble. If he lost that gamble, he could... lose his life!

"Heh..."

Seeing the CP0 member in the black-and-white mask fall silent, Atlas let out a cold laugh. His expression held a trace of disdain. People like this, who had been raised and brainwashed by the Celestial Dragons from childhood, were nothing more than mindless walking corpses without any sense of self.

"Forget about him. Attack however you think is best!"

"Yes, sir!"

This guy!

This guy was simply... a bastard!

The CP0 member in the black-and-white mask roared furiously inside, but his body was very honest. He did not dare move an inch, afraid that Atlas might misunderstand and accidentally kill him on the spot. That would be far too unjust!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A large number of cannonballs were fired at the escape ships, but most of them missed. Instead, the enormous waves caused by the cannon fire pushed the escape ships farther and farther away from the pursuing fleet.

On the largest escape ship.

"Benefactor, the Marines chasing us seem a little strange?"

A newly freed slave looked puzzledly at the red Fish-Man beside him.

This was a sea bream Fish-Man. He wore a headscarf and had thick, curly hair, a broad mouth, and a full beard. A few stray whiskers remained on his upper lip, and his tall, powerful body radiated strength.

"Don't call me benefactor. My name is Fisher Tiger, Fisher Tiger!"

"These Marines don't seem very interested in pursuing us?"

Tiger replied with some uncertainty. He had not had much contact with the Marines, but toward the World Government—and humanity—he held an attitude of suspicion, even wariness.

In the past, he had been happy to listen to Queen Otohime's words and had dreamed of living beneath the sunlight alongside humans. But that miserable period as a slave had thoroughly disappointed him. Perhaps he knew that there were good and bad people in every race, but deep in his heart, he still hated humanity intensely.

"Who cares about them? Let's sail at full speed and shake off the Marines behind us first!"

Tiger issued the order. No one aboard dared disobey. After all, it had been Tiger who had just rescued them from that hell, and they trusted him deeply.

Moreover, Tiger could have abandoned the slaves and escaped by diving into the sea. He was a Fish-Man of the Fish-Man Race, the darlings of the ocean!

In an inconspicuous corner of the escape ship, the three Hancock sisters had been curled up together. The Marines' attack drew their attention, and with the powerful physical abilities granted by their Zoan Devil Fruits, they easily spotted Atlas standing at the bow.

"Sister, was that Marine... the one who saved us just now?"

Sandersonia asked uncertainly. She did not possess Hancock's extraordinary talent, but her instincts told her that the Conqueror's Haki in the harbor city had definitely belonged to that Marine!

"Mm... I think so!"

Hancock nodded heavily. Her eyes flickered, and she seemed distracted, as if she were thinking about something.

On the warship.

"Sir! Those slaves are about to shake us off, and the distance between their ship and ours is growing!"

"It's fine. I'll send them on their way myself."

A strange look appeared on Atlas's face. His hands did not stop moving as he activated the Dragon Talisman!

"Explosive Flame!"

A thick pillar of Explosive Flame shot out from the warship and landed precisely beside the escape ship ahead.

The terrifying explosive force instantly sent towering waves surging into the sky. Tremendous thrust erupted against the ship's hull.

"Everyone, hold on! Grab whatever fixed objects you can find on the ship and don't get thrown overboard!"

Tiger shouted with all his might, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the roar of the waves.

"Sorry, my hand slipped just a little!"

Atlas tilted his head toward the CP0 member wearing the black-and-white mask and offered what was probably his umpteenth completely insincere apology.

Soon, under the intense heat, dense water vapor rose across the sea. Just as Atlas had predicted, the warship lost sight of Tiger and the others.

"Reporting, sir! We've lost sight of those slaves ahead!"

"That's truly unfortunate. But there's nothing we can do. Their luck was simply too good. I'm sure Admiral Sengoku won't blame me."

Atlas put on an exaggeratedly regretful expression, acting the part of a frightened and contrite man with remarkable precision.

"Rear Admiral Atlas, you will be held responsible for everything you did today!"

The CP0 member beside him finally could not endure Atlas's clumsy acting. Today's mission had completely failed. Even if he somehow escaped a death sentence upon returning, his life was probably over anyway, so he decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Hm? Interesting..."

Suddenly, a powerful life force entered his Observation Haki, which had remained locked onto Tiger. Clearly, the other party had noticed his Observation Haki as well.

"Hey! You bastard, don't say anything reckless. My Observation Haki hasn't lost track of them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Atlas leaped off the warship and began sprinting across the surface of the sea. Large sprays of white foam erupted continuously behind him!

"Running across the sea? Is this guy really only a Rear Admiral?"

The CP0 member in the black-and-white mask was utterly stunned. Atlas possessing Conqueror's Haki had already been shocking enough, yet this man could actually run freely across the sea.

Chapter 102: Silvers Rayleigh

"That's frightening. I never expected someone like you to be involved in this incident as well!"

Atlas stepped across the surface of the sea with Geppo and looked down at Tiger and the others, as well as... the man standing at the bow.

The man had long, curly blond hair. His chin was covered in a thick beard, and he wore round glasses. A scar ran vertically across his right eye, and his sharp gaze was fixed on Atlas in midair.

"Silvers Rayleigh!"

Atlas looked at the man before him and slowly spoke his name. "You're known as Pirate King Roger's right hand. Shouldn't you be living out your retirement somewhere in the world?"

"Sorry, Marine kid, but I can't let you pass."

Rayleigh did not answer Atlas's question. Instead, he slowly drew the long sword in his hand and pointed it at Atlas.

"Tiger, you should go ahead. I'll hold this Marine kid back for a while."

Rayleigh spoke to Tiger behind him with an easygoing smile.

"All right. Be careful."

Tiger nodded slightly. He naturally knew the strength of Dark King Rayleigh and was not worried about his safety in the slightest. Rayleigh was absolutely one of the few strongest people in the world at present.

Atlas watched the ship gradually disappear into the distance but made no move to stop it. He had not really come here to intercept Tiger and the others in the first place.

He was mainly interested in fighting Rayleigh. He also needed to give the World Government's higher-ups an explanation. After all, he had fought Pirate King Roger's right hand, Rayleigh, while pursuing those escaped slaves. If he failed to stop them, no one could blame him—he was still too young, after all.

Atlas had already prepared what he would say to the Five Elders. It was truly a plan that accomplished two goals at once!

"Marine kid, you didn't really intend to capture them, did you?"

"Our positions are different, so there's no need for all this small talk, Mr. Rayleigh."

Seeing that Atlas had no intention of chatting with an old man like him, Rayleigh's expression did not change in the slightest. Power surged beneath his feet, creating a deep crater on the surface of the sea.

Whoosh!

With a sharp sound as he tore through the air, Rayleigh's figure appeared before Atlas in an instant. A powerful pressure bore down on him head-on.

Rayleigh was already sixty-three years old that year, the same age as Garp. If he were an ordinary person, he would probably have been feeble and aged by now. But for these top-level powerhouses, this age was precisely the peak of their strength. Their stamina might have declined slightly, but the difference was basically negligible.

"What a... long-lost pressure!"

Atlas showed no fear. Instead, excitement surfaced on his face. The chance to fight the world's great powerhouses at the peaks of their lives made the battle-hungry factor within him boil over.

Bang!

Fist collided with blade, and Armament Haki flowed through the impact, sending sparks spraying in every direction.

"What fierce Haki, Marine kid!"

Rayleigh was somewhat surprised. He had not expected this young man's Haki to be in no way inferior to that of an old man like himself in terms of quality.

"You're not bad yourself, Mr. Rayleigh!"

Atlas gave a mocking laugh. His body rapidly transformed, compressing to a height of roughly two meters. Black-and-red Haki covered his entire body, while two patterns spread from the corners of his eyes to his neck. Every muscle was sharply defined, as if carved by a blade, and scorching heat constantly surged from him.

Life Return: Armament Kami-e Martial Body!

"Oh!"

Rayleigh clearly sensed the drastic change in the Marine before him. The threat he posed continued to grow, and surprise surfaced in Rayleigh's eyes.

"Let me test the spirit of the one known as 'Pirate King Roger's right hand'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two figures became entangled once more. The violent collision of their Haki caused the sea around them to cave in repeatedly, while terrifying shockwaves sent waves several yards high into the air.