Rosen felt very confident now, mainly because Robin's strength had increased significantly. Even without them, Robin's power, while not top-tier on these seas, was no longer weak.
And Hathaway had directly reached Admiral-level. With one Yonko-level and two Admiral-level fighters, it would be difficult for ordinary Marines to capture them, even if they weren't as strong as Akainu who was close to Yonko-level.
As for Andia Kingdom, Shia had managed it tightly. Many didn't know that after she took the throne, instead of reducing troops, she had secretly increased recruitment.
In the casino, Rayleigh looked at Issho with slight apology. "Sorry to trouble you, old friend. I didn't expect cleaning up a few CP agents would cause so much trouble."
"It's fine." Issho replied calmly. Normally, the Marines wouldn't cause trouble for Rayleigh over such a small matter, but who would have thought Garp and Aokiji's fleet happened to be nearby?
And Rayleigh couldn't act recklessly afterward, or things would only get more complicated.
That's why Issho stepped in to stop Garp and the others. Of course, if the Marines forcibly landed and Issho couldn't stop them, Rayleigh would have no choice but to intervene.
After all, Rayleigh just didn't want things to spiral out of control, not because he feared the Marines.
Fortunately, things didn't take a bad turn.
"This country is becoming more and more likable."
"The person behind Queen Xia will meet us today. I don't know who it is, but from the sound of it, seems like a pirate." Issho pushed all his chips onto "Big."
The result was "Small." He lost everything, then naturally took some of Rayleigh's chips and placed them in front of himself.
"Don't forget, I'm a pirate too. Pirate or Marine, what defines a person isn't their identity but their actions... Huh? You lost again? Didn't you say you usually win more than lose?" Rayleigh said helplessly.
Rayleigh himself almost always lost when gambling; his winning days in a year could be counted on one hand. But Issho was different—he had good gambling luck and often won.
But ever since they started playing together, both their luck seemed to have turned bad.
"My luck's off today. Don't worry, I'll win it back this round." Issho said confidently.
"By the way, didn't you take on an apprentice named Straw Hat Luffy? How is he?" Issho suddenly remembered this matter.
"Luffy? He's very good, very much like my former captain. I'm curious to see how far he can go." Rayleigh pulled out his flask, uncorked it, and took a drink, thinking to himself: Could this be the one the captain has been waiting for?
"The Pirate King, huh." Issho was momentarily stunned, he didn't expect Rayleigh to have such high praise for a rookie.
Rayleigh just smiled and didn't explain further.
"You really know how to enjoy life, old friend. Now you've become the captain of the royal guard too. That young lady Alice has potential as well." Issho talked about recent events, finding it somewhat dreamlike. At first, they were just gambling buddies who met by chance.
Unexpectedly, one became the nation's Protector Saint, and the other, to earn gambling and drinking money, became the head instructor teaching the royal army—of course, keeping it secret from others.
After all, Silvers Rayleigh's reputation was too famous in this world, which wasn't always a good thing, so they kept a low profile.
"Yes, both are good prospects. They're training in different places now. After staying here a while, I'll need to go back and check on Luffy's progress." Rayleigh nodded. Getting old, having things to do was quite nice.
"Leave things here to me. The Marines are, after all, the Marines. They probably won't target Andia Kingdom again."
As Issho finished speaking, a group of people quietly poured into the casino—Alice's royal army. They cleared the place and set up posts nearby.
Then Xia entered with Rosen, Hathaway, and the others.
"This is my captain." Xia introduced them to Rayleigh and Issho.
"A captain, huh." Rayleigh and Issho had considered this possibility, but they were still surprised. A ruler of a large nation being a member of a pirate crew was quite rare.
"Mr. Rayleigh, we meet again." Rosen smiled and sat down across from them.
Hathaway looked at Rayleigh, fighting spirit rising in her eyes. Rayleigh's swordsmanship was among the best in the world.
Though swordsmanship wasn't all of Rayleigh's strength, it was certainly formidable. If he hadn't disappeared from the scene, he might have been able to clash with Hawkeye in swordsmanship. Of course, whether he could surpass Hawkeye, who had dedicated himself entirely to the sword, was hard to say.
"I didn't expect you to be the one behind this country." Rayleigh smiled, not particularly concerned.
"You flatter me. It's just that some things are inconvenient to do under a pirate's identity. You've been a pirate too; you should understand." Rosen had them bring out some refreshments and wine.
"Mr. Issho, hello." Rosen then looked calmly at Issho. It really was Issho—the future Admiral Fujitora.
If he wasn't an undercover agent, then Xia had done something remarkable.
"Nice to meet you." Issho greeted calmly. Though he couldn't see, he was sensing this person—some darkness, yet also some light, a slightly contradictory mix.
"Thank you, Mr. Issho, for stopping the enemy's attack earlier."
"Just fulfilling my duty. Nothing to mention. May I ask your name?" Issho was very calm, neither constrained nor pressured by Rosen being Shia's captain.
For strong men like them, differences in status didn't affect their mindset.
"Crocodile." As soon as Rosen spoke, Issho was visibly startled.
"Are you the one who killed Admiral Akainu?" Issho's expression turned somewhat displeased.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Revenge."
"I've seen many of your governance policies. They're indeed excellent, far surpassing ordinary people. But regardless, the Marines have always played an indispensable role in maintaining relative stability on the seas." Issho sighed.
Xia hadn't told him who her captain was beforehand. Being blind and meeting Rosen for the first time, it was normal not to recognize him.
But he felt somewhat disappointed and regretful.
"Mr. Issho seems to acknowledge the Marines quite a lot," Rosen said, glancing at Issho meaningfully.
"Currently, what truly maintains stability on the seas isn't the World Government or the Four Emperors, but Marine Headquarters. I believe you know this very well." Issho spoke with a touch of yearning; he saw this point very clearly.
"From a macro perspective, that's true. But it's only relative. Some Marines maintain stability, but some are too extreme. The harm they cause is probably worse than ordinary pirates," Rosen said, taking a drink.
"Are you saying Admiral Akainu was one of the extreme Marines you mentioned?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" This answer surprised almost everyone.
"Yes. I killed him, first, because of revenge, and second, because the opportunity was right in front of me, and I didn't want to miss it. But whether he was right or wrong, from my standpoint, isn't important."
"Perhaps we should all be more self-disciplined. As an old blind man, I'm quite optimistic about Andia Kingdom's prospects."
"Before that, may I ask Mr. Issho a question?"
"Please."
"Are you a Marine?" Rosen's words instantly heightened the already tense atmosphere.
(End of Chapter)