Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 57 Pluto Rayleigh
The Sabaody Archipelago, located at the front of the Red Line in the middle of the Grand Line, is composed of the exposed root system of the world's largest mangrove tree, the Yarchman. The ground is constantly generating floating bubbles formed from natural resin, making it a fairytale-like island.

This is the only way for pirates to reach the New World. The entire island is divided into functional areas by numbering trees. Areas 1 to 29 are human trafficking and illegal areas, which are frequently visited by pirates.

On this day, a handsome young man arrived in Area 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago.

Standing at about two meters tall with a very strong physique, he wore a plain blue short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, with a straw hat that covered most of his face, yet his aura was enough to make any pirate who encountered him keep their distance.

Most notably, he carried two stick-like objects on each shoulder, each about 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter and over two meters long, tightly wrapped in cloth, resembling either weapons or treasures.

"Hmm, I've finally found Xia Qi's extortionate BAR." Guan Yi glanced at the sign of the bar ahead and strode over.

He didn't know how it happened, but he remembered that this bar was located in area 19. He drove around for a long time before finally ending up here.

Upon entering the bar, he discovered that it seemed to have just been in chaos, with broken table and chair legs scattered all over the floor and unfinished drinks spilled everywhere.

Did they overcharge you?
The bar owner, a cigarette dangling from her lips, was tidying up bit by bit. She was tall and slender, with short hair that curled upwards at the ends. She wore a spider-patterned top that revealed her delicate, fair waist, and as she bent over, her underwear was also exposed.

Guan Yi didn't dare to admire her too much. He knew that this beautiful woman, who looked to be in her thirties or forties and still had a charming appearance, was actually the former Amazonian empress, Shaki. In her youth, she possessed a beauty that shocked the world, but at this moment she was over sixty years old!

"Boss lady, do you need any help?"

Xia Qi looked up, paused slightly when she saw Guan Yi's face under the straw hat, took off her cigarette, and smiled, "How could I let my esteemed guest help me clean up? The pirates from before also gave me a cleaning fee. Please sit in that corner over there. If you want anything to drink, go behind the counter and get it yourself. I'll be right there."

"Okay," Guan Yi replied, propping up the two sticks he was carrying on his shoulder against the corner of the wall. He found a place to sit down and asked, "Is Master Rayleigh not here?"

"He's gone out to find work. The coating business hasn't been doing well lately, and he's almost run out of money for drinks. Oh, or maybe he's gambling somewhere again? He'll probably be back soon."

Shakky answered while mopping the floor, then looked up and asked with great interest, "Is it true that you fought Kaido and injured him, Flame Tiger Ian?"

"Kaido had old wounds from the previous attack on Impel Down. I only managed to aggravate his injuries and barely escaped. The information in the newspapers is exaggerated."

"Is that so? That's quite remarkable."

A deep, powerful voice rang out at the entrance of the tavern, and a man with silver hair and beard, wearing glasses, and a vertical scar on his right eye stepped into the tavern.

On the surface, he is just an ordinary, slovenly old man, the old man with a coating, but his name is terrifying—the vice-captain of the Pirate King, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh!
“When I was your age, I was just a thug making a living by stealing ships.” He sat down opposite Guan Yi. “And now… I’m just an ordinary old man with a coating in the Sabaody Archipelago. The famous Flame Tiger Ian, you’ve come all this way to see me, what’s the matter?”

“Senior Rayleigh.” Guan Yi stood up and greeted him, then said directly, “I want to gain greater power and need a stronger opponent to spar with. I would like to hire you for three months.”

Sparring? Rayleigh frowned slightly, then saw Guan Yi reach out and tear off the cloth wrapped around two stick-like objects in the corner, revealing their true form.

Those were two solid "golden cudgels," cast and condensed from the entire tongue of the golden bell by Guan Yi. For aesthetic purposes, he also specially imitated the peculiar characters on the surface of the golden bell and engraved some patterns on the surface of the golden cudgels.

"These two golden cudgels each weigh about a ton (the weight of the Golden Bell mentioned earlier has been revised), and their combined value is 30 billion Berries. Since you two run a bar in the Sabaody Archipelago, you should know some underground channels. As long as you sell them, no matter how much you sell them for, I only want 10 billion Berries. Anything over that is Mr. Rayleigh's commission."

Xia Qi's eyes lit up instantly. Women always prefer gold, and she couldn't help but step forward and touch the two golden cudgels, exclaiming, "Such treasures are truly rare! Where did you get them?"

"It looks like it obtained a large amount of gold and melted it down on its own. This pattern... Ah, right, the place where you fought Kaido was that sky island on Jaya Island, and you also found the Golden City, right?"

Rayleigh's Observation Haki detected some minor flaws in the staff, and he said, "20 billion Berries to hire me for three months? That's generous. I've worked hard on coating it for ten years and I still haven't earned 20 billion."

It's less than two hundred million. Xia Qi thought to herself, but didn't expose Rayleigh's mistake. She simply said, "That's good, Rayleigh. Go ahead. After three months of hard work, we can finally have a good rest."

Rayleigh pondered for a moment. 20 billion Berries was indeed an enticing number, but it was impossible for him, as the former vice-captain of the Pirate King, to be truly short of money. He was simply enjoying his retirement and didn't want to resort to any special methods to make money.

Just mentioning Golden Township, he could easily put in the effort and time to go there, but he simply didn't.

Three months of sparring?
It sounds like a very troublesome thing.

"Forget it." In the end, Rayleigh shook his head slightly: "Right now, there's only the coated Rayleigh, not Hades Rayleigh. Go find someone else."

Guan Yi advised, "No one else is as suitable as you, Senior Rayleigh. There are quite a few people on the high seas who are stronger than me, but the Navy and the World Government would never take on private jobs. When great pirates meet, it's all real fighting, and there's a risk to your life."

"Only you, the retired vice-captain of the Pirate King, are the most suitable for me. Please reconsider."

"I have already..."

Rayleigh paused mid-sentence, glancing at Guan Yi's expression as he sat opposite him, and narrowed his eyes slightly before asking, "Kid, what do you plan to do if I refuse?"

“I don’t plan to do anything.” Guan Yi chuckled. “It’s just that I seem to have a ‘big news’ constitution. If something like ‘Flame Tiger Ian strikes again! Hades Rayleigh avoids battle!’ comes out after I leave you, it would be bad if it disturbs your secluded life.”

A dangerous look appeared on Rayleigh's face.

Reputation? He doesn't care. Avoiding battle won't affect those who truly understand him.

However, if their secluded location is exposed, they will face challenges from countless young pirates. The Sabaody Archipelago is definitely not a place to stay.

"Are you threatening me?"

A tiny, purplish-black lightning bolt flashed before Rayleigh's right eye, which bore a vertical scar, and in an instant, a terrifying sense of oppression enveloped Guan Yi!
"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Guan Yi said this, but he shrugged and spread his hands, looking like he was saying, "Come on, hit me!" or "That suits me perfectly."

Shakky, who was watching from the sidelines, laughed: "Rayleigh, do you think this kid looks a bit like Roger?"

"Roger? You mean the straw hat... or this courage? I don't think so."

“No, I meant his scoundrel-like appearance. Agree to his request, Rayleigh. I don’t think he’ll give up until he gets what he wants,” Shakky said.

What a rogue's appearance?
Ah, that's true to some extent.

Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki slowly dissipated. He looked at Guan Yi and then at Shakky, and smiled helplessly.

Two weeks later, on a deserted island.

"Kid, don't blame me if you die."

With Conqueror's Haki swirling around his sword, Rayleigh, somewhat displeased, struck in anger, the sky-ripping slash landing squarely on Guan Yi's Fire Cloak!
Guan Yi was shot backward, bleeding profusely, flying more than two kilometers before crashing through several large trees and finally stopping, much like how Oden was cleaved in two by Roger in the past.

A bloody sword wound appeared on his chest. He paused for two seconds before getting up, stretching his body, and then charging towards Rayleigh.

come on!

If you can't kill me, I'll become stronger!

(End of this chapter)