Back in Water Seven, Jack had knocked Franky unconscious and taken him away directly.
Because of that, Franky had never seen Luo Xing's true appearance.
However, his senior, Iceburg, had described Luo Xing's looks to him in detail.
After all, Luo Xing taking away the blueprints of Pluton was an event of the utmost importance.
When Franky revealed Luo Xing's true identity, both the Straw Hat crew and the Kid Pirates were shaken to their cores.
"So… he's the legendary Fifth Emperor…"
Kid and Killer exchanged a glance.
In their eyes, aside from shock, there was excitement.
Kid was an extremely ambitious man.
With the New World just ahead, his first objective upon entering it was naturally to drag the Four Emperors down and take their place himself.
And now—
A man who stood on equal footing with the Yonko, the Fifth Emperor, had appeared right in front of him.
If he could defeat such a figure, Kid's name would instantly resound throughout the New World!
Killer saw through Kid's thoughts at once and spoke urgently:
"Now isn't the time to make powerful enemies."
"Three Celestial Dragons are dead. A Marine admiral will arrive any moment."
"That Fifth Emperor's strength is absolutely not something to underestimate."
"His two subordinates may not be the Calamities or the Flying Six, but they're definitely not ordinary either."
"And there's also the Pirate Empress, a Warlord, watching from the side."
"Kid—we should leave immediately!"
Killer's judgment was far calmer and more rational.
Kid trusted Killer deeply—they had grown up together.
Still, he couldn't help saying unwillingly,
"A chance to become famous is right in front of me… it's hard to let go."
On the Straw Hat side—
Luffy didn't think as much. He simply touched the straw hat on his head and said cheerfully,
"So he's the guy who invented all those weird things? That's really awesome!"
Under the gazes of the Kid Pirates and the Straw Hats—
Luo Xing sheathed Enma, not even sparing a glance for the three Celestial Dragon corpses on the floor.
As if what he had just killed were nothing more than insignificant ants.
He walked straight to the fish tank holding the young mermaid, Camie, and said gently,
"You're free now. Go back to Fish-Man Island."
Since Luo Xing already planned to bring Fish-Man Island under the Beasts Pirates' control, he naturally had no intention of harming her.
Camie had been completely frightened by what had just happened.
Still, she understood that the man before her had saved her and hurriedly said,
"Th-thank you…"
Luo Xing smiled faintly, then looked toward the wall behind the auction stage.
A beastlike aura surged from that direction.
Boom!
In the next instant, the wall shattered.
An elderly man with white hair and beard emerged from the rubble.
He wore simple clothing and glasses, yet carried an unmistakable kingly presence.
The Kid Pirates—who had been preparing to leave—were startled by the sudden commotion.
"Who's that now?!"
"That's… impossible. Why would someone like him be here?!"
Kid's pupils shrank sharply.
The white-haired old man was none other than the right-hand man of the Pirate King—
Dark King Rayleigh.
"While inside, I sensed several abnormally powerful presences… and an intense stench of blood."
Rayleigh's gaze fell upon Luo Xing and the Celestial Dragon corpses on the ground.
His expression turned unusually grave.
"You killed Celestial Dragons."
"Has your Beasts Pirates already prepared to go to war with the Marines and the World Government?"
Clearly—
Rayleigh had also heard Franky's words and learned Luo Xing's identity.
Luo Xing replied calmly,
"The era is always moving forward."
"These ugly, ignorant Celestial Dragons have sat at the top of the world for far too long."
"Don't you find that disgusting, Dark King Rayleigh?"
Rayleigh's expression grew even heavier.
Long ago, he had already seen countless reports about this young man in the newspapers.
The inventor of Monster Cells, Senzu Beans, and other heaven-defying creations—
Praised as a scientist even greater than Vegapunk.
Using the fairy-bean auction as bait to kill Doflamingo and seize Dressrosa.
Then taking Punk Hazard.
Then killing another Warlord, Crocodile.
Even the World Government's secret organization CP9 had been completely wiped out by him.
This young man possessed intellect, ruthlessness, and terrifying strength all at once.
He was absolutely not someone who could be underestimated just because of his age.
Rayleigh understood this deeply.
At this moment, the way he regarded Luo Xing was no different from how he would face Kaido himself.
He said in a deep voice,
"The world does need to change."
"But the one who will change it is not you—nor Kaido of the Beasts."
Before his death, Roger had once told Rayleigh:
The one who would change the world in the future would be someone of the D. clan—
The man who inherited the will of the straw hat.
And that prophesied child of destiny—
Was standing here right now.
Rayleigh glanced at Luffy.
At the straw hat atop his head.
A look of deep emotion surfaced in his eyes.
Roger had passed the straw hat to Shanks.
Shanks had obtained the Nika Devil Fruit—
Which was later accidentally eaten by Monkey D. Luffy.
A name bearing D.
The Sun God Nika's power.
And Roger's straw hat.
There was no doubt—
This boy named Monkey D. Luffy was the man destined to change the world.
Everything had already been arranged by fate itself.
Rayleigh believed this without question.
However—
Luo Xing sneered inwardly.
What fate?
What destiny?
What bloodline theory?
How was that any different from the Celestial Dragons, who were born believing they had the right to trample all over others?
Such thinking was nothing but unbearably dull.
A mocking curve lifted at Luo Xing's lips.
He glanced at Straw Hat Luffy with faint amusement and said,
"Dark King Rayleigh… you seem very certain that this brat is the one destined to change the world."
"But what if I kill him right now?"
The moment those words fell—
The Straw Hat crew turned pale.
Sanji, Franky, Usopp, and the others tensed instantly, staring at Luo Xing in alarm.
Even Luffy—fearless by nature—grew serious.
He might be simple, but he wasn't foolish.
If the legendary Fifth Emperor truly intended to kill him—
He would be facing unimaginable danger.
Rayleigh's expression sank completely.
His eyes sharpened with absolute vigilance as he said solemnly,
"Then this old man will use his life to protect the flame of the future."
He was prepared—
Even if it meant death, he would not allow Luffy to be harmed.
This was exactly as Luo Xing had expected.
After all, Luffy wore the straw hat, inherited the so-called Pirate King's will, and had eaten the Nika Fruit—
The so-called child of destiny, stacked with countless blessings.
Unfortunately—
Luo Xing was someone who did not believe in destiny.
With a playful tone, he said,
"Then please, Dark King Rayleigh…"
"Die together with Straw Hat Luffy."
He slowly drew Enma, truly appearing as though he intended to wipe Luffy out completely.
The moment Enma left its sheath—
Enel, who had long been itching for a fight, immediately shouted,
"Young master! Leave that stubborn old man to me!"
Zoro also drew his three swords, grinning fiercely.
"I came out this time to test my training results."
"Using the legendary Dark King Rayleigh as a test subject… couldn't be better."
Boom!
Violent lightning and overwhelming sword intent surged skyward from the two of them!
The roof of the auction house was instantly torn apart!
Rayleigh's expression changed drastically.
He had sensed that Enel and Zoro were strong—
But he hadn't expected them to be this strong.
So strong that he now felt a terrifying sense of danger.
Just these two alone were enough to hold him back.
And while he was restrained—
That Fifth Emperor would move to kill Luffy.
Could Luffy withstand that?
No.
Absolutely not.
Luo Xing was rumored to have already mastered Conqueror's Haki coating.
How could Luffy—who didn't even understand what Haki was—possibly resist?
For the first time in many years—
Even the ever-calm Dark King Rayleigh felt his heart thrown into chaos.
Would Roger and Shanks's chosen successor…
Die here today?
Would the Sun God Nika be strangled before ever awakening?
Was Luffy truly not Joy Boy after all?
At this moment—
Even Dark King Rayleigh felt uncertainty about the future itself.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442