"You must be Dark King Rayleigh, the vice-captain of the Pirate King. Shanks and I have mentioned you. Would you be interested in joining my pirate crew?"
Vic sat down next to Rayleigh, knowing full well that Rayleigh would not agree. Since Roger had set up a scheme, he naturally needed someone to guide its direction, and his crew were the most suitable for doing so.
So on the surface, Rayleigh seems to be just loafing around in the Sabaody Archipelago, but in reality, he's been doing quite a lot behind the scenes. Shakky's Rip-off Bar isn't just for business; it's all for a purpose.
"You must be Orence Vick, the Shichibukai who forced the World Government to bow down! You are indeed young and promising. If I were a few decades younger, I wouldn't mind joining your crew!"
"I've been to most of this sea; I'm past the age of chasing dreams. This sea now belongs to you young people!"
Rayleigh turned his head and glanced at Vic, immediately recognizing him. The Shichibukai had been generating a lot of buzz lately, and he had been paying close attention to it. He had been following Vic ever since Shanks mentioned him to him two years ago.
Since Vic was a Marine before, Shanks didn't actively contact him. Now that Vic has become a pirate and is recognized by Shanks, he naturally sees him as a member to overthrow the World Government.
So if Vic needs any help, he will definitely do his best. His purpose in Sabaody Archipelago is to help those pirates who are recognized and have potential to grow in the New World, so he treats Vic very well.
Vic asked Shakky for a bottle of wine and started drinking with Rayleigh while chatting. Vic wasn't usually a very outgoing person, but with a legendary figure like Rayleigh by his side, he naturally had a lot to ask.
One was interested, and the other wanted to sell, so they naturally started chatting. It started with Rayleigh's chance encounter with Roger at sea, and then their love-hate relationship with the young Marine Garp. Along the way, they had more and more companions and grew stronger and stronger.
Later, during the God Valley battle, a young Shanks was discovered in a treasure chest. Then came the joining and leaving of Bullet, the clashes between the Whitebeard and Golden Lion pirate crews, and finally, the invitation to Kozuki Oden to begin a new journey all the way to Laugh Tale.
Rayleigh didn't say anything more after that, probably because he didn't want to bring up Roger's death. Decades of experiences can't be recounted in just a few hours, so there were many details he didn't mention, and some he simply didn't want to talk about.
The two chatted fairly pleasantly. Vic only now learned that the Holy Knights were involved in the God Valley Incident, and that God Valley was just an ordinary country in the West Blue, not another holy land of the Celestial Dragons.
Rayleigh also warned Vic to be careful of the Holy Knights, as there was a formidable character among them. Vic's initial suspicion was confirmed: in the battle between Bullet and Rayleigh, Rayleigh did not use Advanced Observation Haki, Advanced Armament Haki, or the Conqueror's Coating, which is why the two were evenly matched.
At such a young age, Buggy couldn't understand this level of combat at all. He had also stayed in the East Blue and didn't have much experience, so he thought it was a draw. Rayleigh never intended to hurt Bullet.
Vic thought about it and agreed. Bullet in the midst of Stampede wouldn't be able to Future Sight, and he hadn't used Ryuo either, so it was highly unlikely he didn't have it either. His Haki reserves were a bit abnormal, and he certainly didn't have Conqueror's Coating. If he did have it, he would probably use it, since it was a matter of life and death, and he wouldn't leave it unused until the very last moment.
This also explains why Bullet and Crocodile fought to a draw. Bullet's performance was very imposing, but that was against the younger generation. The imposing feeling is relative; an adult would definitely crush a child.
"Mr. Rayleigh! When I was in the Navy, Kuzan mentioned that Captain Roger surrendered because he had a terminal illness. Do you know what that terminal illness was?"
Vic had previously learned about Roger's terminal illness from Aokiji, and later obtained a large number of medical books from the underground library of the Drum Kingdom. During the time he was developing the effects of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on the human body, he read through the many medical books he had obtained there.
I saw a condition similar to Roger's, with numerous red rashes appearing on the chest and back. It was an acute symptom caused by a virus that was deadly but not contagious or hereditary.
Medical books describe this virus as a disease that causes people to live no more than three months. However, Roger, despite being diagnosed with a terminal illness, persevered for four years, circumnavigating the Grand Line again to become the Pirate King before being executed in Loguetown. If he hadn't been executed, how much longer would he have lived?
This alone contradicts the descriptions in medical books. Even if Crocus's medical skills were superb, it's impossible for him to extend Roger's life for so long. How superb would his medical skills be?
"You're talking about that kid who used to hang out with Garp, right? We don't know what Roger's terminal illness was. We later found a highly skilled doctor to treat him, but even the doctor couldn't figure it out."
He had never seen that disease before; he said it was caused by a virus never recorded in medical books, one he had never encountered before. He also said that the virus was extremely aggressive, constantly damaging Roger's body.
In other words, Roger's immense strength allowed him to suppress the illness. Anyone else wouldn't have survived long. However, this illness also hampered Roger's abilities, limiting him to only 80% of his full combat potential; any more and he would suffer a backlash!
Rayleigh took a sip of his drink as he spoke of Roger's illness, his expression one of deep melancholy. Vic could only see the light reflected from his glasses, but not the blurred eyes beneath them.
If Roger hadn't been diagnosed with a terminal illness, he wouldn't have killed the Roger Pirates, and he certainly wouldn't have surrendered to the Marines. Those old comrades could still be traveling and adventuring together—what a wonderful thing that would be! Unfortunately, that's just a hypothetical!
"I've also studied some medical techniques. There are quite a few terminal illnesses caused by the body's own disease processes, which require regular checkups to prevent them from developing. However, terminal illnesses caused by viruses are due to external pathogens invading the body, and are basically caused by external factors such as food, water, and environment."
You've always lived together, eating the same things, using the same things, and going to the same places. Such a virulent virus couldn't possibly have only infected him and spared you both, right? You must have separated at some point, right?
If the virus Vic saw in the medical book is the same as the Roger had, then it's an ancient virus, possibly like the one Nami contracted in Little Garden, which can only survive in certain specific environments.
Roger had once gone to such a place alone, and he only returned to his companions after being infected by the virus, which is why the others were spared. Ace, who was born to Roger and Rouge, also did not have this disease. In this respect, the virus Roger was infected with matches the description in that medical book.