The third time was this [Erudite] advancement quest. (Continued)

After their fight backstage, Rayleigh had already come to respect White Ghost's strength as a swordsman.

He unquestionably deserved the assessment of [Great Swordmaster].

But what Rayleigh had not expected was this.

When White Ghost held nothing back, he really could be this powerful!

In the dozen or so minutes since they had left the Slave Auction House, the two had fought nonstop, their famous swords and Haki clashing no fewer than a thousand times.

Even Rayleigh could not help feeling somewhat strained by now.

Yet his opponent remained full of energy.

For a moment, Rayleigh almost felt as though he were fighting Red the Aloof, Redfield.

He had a vague suspicion that White Ghost's Observation Haki was certainly not much weaker than Redfield's. It had simply developed in a different direction...

"Rayleigh, I don't know what I did to make you disrespect me this much."

The muscles of Adrian's right arm bulged as he unleashed [Dragon Power] again, sending Rayleigh flying with a vicious slash.

"Zoning out over and over during a fight—is that how a legendary great pirate treats someone from the younger generation?"

Airborne, Rayleigh turned his wrist and drove his famous sword, Oto, point-first into the grass. It carved a deep furrow of overturned earth before he finally steadied his retreating body.

"It's just a little regret at being overtaken by a newcomer from the younger generation..."

A trace of nostalgia appeared on Rayleigh's face.

After the Roger Pirates disbanded, many of their crew members had been hunted jointly by the World Government and Marine Headquarters. The whereabouts of many of his comrades were now unknown.

And foremost among those targets had been Dark King Silvers Rayleigh.

He had been defeated by the Marine forces personally led by Sengoku the Buddha, paying the devastating price of