After arriving in the Sabaody Archipelago, Vic went straight to the Shakky's Rip-off Bar. He used illusions along the way, so no one knew he was there.
He saw many familiar faces along the way, all of them Supernovas from the same generation as Luffy. Kid, Killer, Law, Hawkins, Urouge, and Capone had all appeared, and Vic knew that Luffy was not far behind.
Vic was debating whether to Luffy defeat the Celestial Dragons like in the original story, thus attracting Kizaru's attention, or to simply eliminate the Celestial Dragons and allow the Straw Hat Pirates to escape this predicament.
"Miss Shakky! Give me a drink. Why is the bar so quiet today? I thought the island was quite lively, with a lot of newcomers. Aren't there any suckers coming here for a drink? Oh, and where's Mr. Rayleigh? I need to talk to him."
After much deliberation, Vic decided not to help Luffy avoid trouble. With their current strength, it wasn't the right time for them to participate in the New World. They needed to stop, rest, and improve themselves.
Moreover, it's not just Luffy who needs improvement; everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates needs to improve. That's why Vic wants to ask Rayleigh to guide Luffy's future training.
He certainly doesn't have time to waste on Luffy. Rebecca and the others need to improve in all aspects, and the Revolutionary Army also needs to continue to grow stronger. All of this depends on Vic.
On the contrary, Rayleigh, a worldly-wise and knowledgeable semi-retired old man, is suitable for this task. In the original work, he is the one who taught Luffy, Oda's chosen mentor for the protagonist. There will definitely be no problem with him.
For Luffy to fully accept Rayleigh's teachings, he needs to Luffy Rayleigh's power and receive a great favor from Rayleigh. Therefore, when Luffy is in a state of extreme despair after Luffy Kizaru, Rayleigh needs to step in and stop Kizaru. By receiving both the favor and the power, Luffy will naturally accept Rayleigh's teachings.
Rayleigh would have intervened even if Vic hadn't spoken up, but the plot has changed now. Rayleigh knows about Ace's past, so it's uncertain whether Rayleigh 'll still care about Luffy as much.
So Vic still needs to give a heads-up as a precaution. If Rayleigh really doesn't want to take action, then he'll have to step in!
Whether it's to fend off Kizaru or to teach Luffy, let Luffy and Rebecca train together in the illusion. That's why Vic asked Shakky when he didn't see Rayleigh at the bar.
"Didn't you know? Ace was captured by Blackbeard and is now imprisoned in Impel Down. After Old Ray found out, he's been trying to contact the old members of Roger Pirates; he wants to get Ace out!"
Shakky had also heard about Ace's background and knew that Rayleigh had taken a liking to Ace. When the news came that Ace had been defeated by Blackbeard and handed over to the World Government, she didn't want to tell Rayleigh, knowing that Rayleigh would definitely take the risk of doing something.
However, she also knew that this news couldn't be kept secret. It was just a matter of finding out sooner or later. If it was delayed, she would still be blamed by Rayleigh. So, after thinking it through, Shakky told Rayleigh directly and advised Rayleigh not to act rashly and to think twice before acting!
Impel Down is not an easy place to enter. Over the years, only Shiki the Golden Lion has managed to escape. It's a den of dragons and tigers. Rayleigh is getting on in years, and he might die there if he goes. So Rayleigh wants to gather his old comrades and make a good plan. If all else fails, he'll call Shanks in!
"Um... is Mr. Rayleigh still on the island? I'd like to help with saving Ace too!"
Vic initially wanted to say that Ace would be rescued, but after thinking about it, he realized that since Ace's background had not been exposed, there probably wouldn't be a public execution.
Without a public execution, the Shichibukai wouldn't be summoned, and Luffy wouldn't be able to infiltrate Impel Down with the help of the Pirate Empress. If he were to force his Impel Down, the chances of rescuing Ace would be even slimmer!
Vic wasn't worried about whether the Pirate Empress would help Luffy; it was fate, nothing to worry about. As long as Luffy was sent to Amazon Lily, the Empress would definitely fall for him.
Without the summons, Hancock couldn't use any conditions to exchange for a trip to Impel Down. So, Vic realized that the plot had gone very wrong. The Paramount War was over, and although Ace was spared the death penalty, he would be imprisoned for life.
However, Vic wasn't too worried about Ace. With his current strength, he could easily rescue Ace, but that was a last resort. If there were other methods, Vic wouldn't act rashly!
"He should still be there. If you, the Quasi-Emperor, intervene, saving Ace will be a sure thing! I'll call Old Ray and tell him to come back!"
When Shakky heard Vic's words, her eyes lit up. Her intelligence capabilities were not bad; she knew a lot about how Vic had forced the World Government after killing the Celestial Dragons.
That kind of tough attitude, that power that even the World Government couldn't do anything about, would make any pirate yearn for it.
Later, Vic defeated Big Mom and fought Kaido. She didn't know the outcome of the battle with Kaido, but from then on, Kaido had three hideous scars on his chest and a small, slightly indented scar between his eyebrows.
Experienced surgeons know that this is a phenomenon that occurs when the skull is fractured and has not fully healed, making it unable to support the flesh. In other words, during Kaido's battle with Vic, the bone between his eyebrows was shattered by Vic, and the Four Emperors Kaido had a brush with death!
The outcome of that battle is unclear, but Kaido definitely didn't gain any advantage. Didn't you see that Vic is completely unscathed? And Kaido? He has several scars on his body that healed completely.
In Shakky's eyes, the victor of that great battle was most likely Vic. Although Vic did not have the title of the Emperor of the Sea, he was already on par with the Four Emperors, and it would not be an exaggeration to call him Quasi-Emperor.
So when Shakky heard that Vic offered to help, she was even happier than when she knew Shanks was coming to help. Vic is Logia user, and his room for maneuver in Impel Down is much greater than Shanks', who doesn't have a Devil Fruit ability. So Shakky quickly took out her Den Den Mushi.
"Bru, bru, bru..."
Just as Shakky was calling Rayleigh, the Den Den Mushi in Vic's arms rang. Shakky looked at Vic with great confusion, and even a ridiculous thought arose in her mind.
"Miss Shakky! You continue calling Mr. Rayleigh, I'm going outside to take this call."
" Vic! It's me. I just received a message from Sengoku saying that there will be a public execution of Fire Fist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. You are Shichibukai, so you'll probably be called in as well. Also, Fire Fist Ace's execution might attract Whitebeard, so be careful."
"Oh! I understand, I'll be careful. And you, as a Hero of the Marines, surely won't be absent, right? You're getting on in years, so please don't interfere if you don't need to. I'll handle everything!"
"You brat! You don't need to tell me, Sengoku should be notifying you for long. That's it, I'm hanging up!"
When Garp called Vic, he had a bad feeling after receiving Sengoku's message. If Ace was just imprisoned in Impel Down, then there was no danger to his life.
However, a public execution is a different story. For the sake of the Navy and the World Government's reputation, even with Whitebeard's rescue, Ace's chances of survival were slim. The Navy's combined forces were far too powerful for the Whitebeard Pirates to contend with!
So after hanging up with Sengoku, Garp immediately called Vic. The two couldn't say it outright on the phone, but Garp had no doubt that many people in the Navy had their Den Den Mushi tapped, and he was on the tapping list.
Therefore, when Garp and Vic were on the phone, they never talked about important matters or secrets of the Navy. In any case, given the relationship between Garp and Vic, even though Vic had defected from the Navy, it did not affect their private relationship.
It's not a violation of naval discipline for the two of them to occasionally make a phone call, right? Even if it's overheard, it's not a big deal. Just like the conversation we just had, Vic is Shichibukai, and he'll be summoned by Sengoku sooner or later. Even if Garp said it in advance, it's not a big deal. He was going to advertise in the newspaper to lure Whitebeard anyway.
In fact, since Vic defected from the Navy, the number of times Vic and Garp have spoken has been very limited. Due to their different identities, they have both been very restrained and only contact each other when there is something important.
The first time they made contact, it was because Vic had found a way to refine Pure Gold. He contacted them to ensure the old man was in good health and condition. Moreover, they didn't say much when they made the Den Den Mushi. They directly invited Garp to Foosha Village before discussing the important matter.
The second time was when the old man was on the verge of a breakthrough, and all he said on the Den Den Mushi was, "I want to eat your cooking!"
And now it's the third time, and the two of them are speaking in riddles. If you didn't know the relationship between Garp and Ace, who would guess that Garp and Vic were discussing how to save Ace? You would only think that Vic, the junior, and Garp, the elder, were showing concern for each other!