Slightly curled silver hair, a white beard, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, and a straight scar over his right eye.
The man standing in front of Kojin was none other than the former first mate of the Pirate King, the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
"Well, sorry about that."
Rayleigh stared at the tall, powerfully built man before him, his expression serious.
More than twenty years had passed. Rayleigh himself had fallen far from his prime; his hair and beard had turned white, age had caught up with him, and his physical condition was nowhere near what it had once been.
Kojin, however, showed almost no signs of aging at all. He looked practically the same as he had twenty years ago, as though his body had simply stopped aging in his twenties.
'What a monster.' Rayleigh couldn't help thinking it.
Only people who had known Kojin back then, or had fought him personally, could truly appreciate just how abnormal the change was.
"Twenty years. You've gotten old, Rayleigh." Kojin sighed.
He could still clearly remember their first battle. Back then, the Dark King had been in his prime, overflowing with Haki, with short blond hair and terrifying strength.
"Everyone gets old," Rayleigh replied calmly. "Apparently, you're the exception."
"So, did you come all the way here to save Straw Hat and his crew?" Kojin raised an eyebrow. Rayleigh's appearance didn't surprise him.
"We have to leave a few seeds behind for the New Age, don't we?" Rayleigh took a deep breath and slowly drew the saber at his waist. "You Marines shouldn't push things too far, either."
Kojin narrowed his eyes slightly. He glanced over at Luffy, who was still sitting there with his head lowered, strange noises coming from his mouth.
The sound of drums was still beating, though Kojin was clearly the only one who could hear them. As for when the will sleeping inside Luffy would truly awaken, no one could say.
"You're already this old. Wouldn't it be better to stay retired somewhere and enjoy your remaining years?" Kojin shook his head with a sigh. "Or do you actually think you can stop me?"
As he finished speaking, his right hand reached for the sword at his waist. Ace slid free from its sheath.
"This isn't twenty years ago, when we first met."
Rayleigh's eyes tightened as they settled on Ace. "You're right. So much has changed. Even that sword ended up in your hands." He slowly drew in a breath, his gaze sharpening. "Maybe you've already reached a level I can no longer stand against. But even so… this old man still has to stop you from going any further."
Kojin grinned, a cold glint flashing through his eyes. "Then you'd better be prepared to die here, old man."
Rayleigh laughed.
Then, in the next instant,
'CRACK!'
Lightning flashed through the air as Kojin appeared in front of him almost instantly.
A brilliant streak of sword light filled Rayleigh's vision, so sharp it seemed to cut through space itself, leaving ripples in its wake.
'So fast!' Rayleigh's pupils contracted, and he raised his sword to block.
'CLANG!'
The two blades collided. Blue lightning exploded between them, illuminating everything around them.
The instant their weapons met, Rayleigh's expression changed.
'What incredible strength! He's gotten even stronger!'
It felt completely different from twenty years ago. From the very first clash, the pressure pouring through Kojin's blade was already enough to make sweat bead across Rayleigh's forehead.
"Why force yourself, Rayleigh?" Kojin smiled faintly.
Unlike Rayleigh, what Kojin felt from that clash was weakness. Compared to their first battle, the pressure Rayleigh once gave him had vanished completely.
Their positions had reversed; now Kojin was the stronger one.
"I may be old…" Rayleigh smiled as well, "…but I'm not dead yet. I can still push myself a little."
Kojin shook his head. His blade shifted angles and slashed toward Rayleigh again.
Rayleigh raised his sword to meet it.
'CLANG!'
A visible shockwave spread outward, bending the grass flat as the force swept in every direction.
Not far away, two other figures were still exchanging rapid sword strikes. Both of them felt the shockwave and stiffened.
Zoro managed to glance over, and the moment he saw what was happening, his expression changed completely.
"Curly Brows! Luffy! Robin! Chopper!"
His heart lurched, the sight completely shattering his concentration.
At that exact moment, Kuina rushed in, leaping into the air to bring her sword down from above.
Zoro looked up and crossed all three swords in front of himself.
'BOOM!'
The air trembled as the force of the clash spread outward.
"Don't lose focus during our fight!" Kuina said sharply. "If you do, you're guaranteed to lose!"
Zoro gritted his teeth, the worry in his eyes obvious.
"As for them, you don't need to worry," Kuina lowered her voice so only he could hear. "I don't know why… but Sensei isn't really going to do anything to them."
'What?' Zoro looked up in surprise, staring hard at Kuina as if he needed to hear it again.
Kuina nodded.
"Phew…" Only then did Zoro finally relax. He let out a long breath, and a grin spread across his face. "You people really are weird. You, Kojin… none of you make any sense. I can never tell what you're actually trying to do. But if that's the case… then let's have a proper fight!"
Kuina smiled as well. "If you can't fight me without holding anything back, then even if I win, there'd be no satisfaction in it."
"Yeah." Zoro grinned, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
He trusted Kuina completely. And thinking back on Kojin's strange behavior during their previous encounters, there had always been something suspicious about it. That made Zoro more certain that Kojin wasn't truly trying to kill them.
The next second, the two swordsmen locked eyes, both overflowing with battle intent.
Elsewhere, Kojin continued swinging his blade.
Each powerful slash forced Rayleigh farther back, making the old man's expression grow increasingly grave.
Time and age could change everything. No matter how powerful someone had once been, the body inevitably weakened with age. Haki, stamina, endurance, everything gradually declined. Their explosive power might not fall too much, but maintaining that level of strength over a long fight was another matter entirely.
"You seem to have overestimated what you're capable of now, Rayleigh." Kojin sighed.
"Maybe I have." Rayleigh smiled.
He could feel it clearly. With every strike, Kojin was increasing the amount of power behind his sword. The last clash had already placed an enormous amount of pressure on him.
Even more alarming was the feeling that Kojin's strength had no limit, as though he could simply keep increasing it forever.
"I'll give you one chance," Kojin suddenly spoke. "Leave."
He clearly didn't want to waste too much time on Rayleigh.
The drumbeat inside Straw Hat Luffy had become steady. It felt as though it was trying to break through into another stage, yet something was still holding it back. Without a doubt, it needed one final push.
"Thanks for the offer," Rayleigh sighed. "But for the sake of these young seeds of the next era… I'm afraid I can't do that."
His expression became completely serious, and his body sprang forward. In an instant, he appeared in front of Kojin and slashed.
Kojin raised Ace and met the attack head-on.
'CLANG!'
"Then I'll just have to put you down completely." Kojin's voice remained calm, but a sharp glint flashed through his eyes. "I don't want to waste any more time. So…"
He drew in a slight breath. Brilliant arcs of electricity suddenly erupted all around his body, growing more violent with every passing second.
Rayleigh's expression changed, and he immediately retreated.
The instant he moved away, a streak of lightning shot through the exact spot where he had been standing.
"I almost forgot." Rayleigh tightened his grip on his sword. "You're also the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. The strongest Logia, was it?"
He knew perfectly well that this battle was going to be extremely difficult. The man before him might even have surpassed Roger and stepped into a realm no one had ever reached before.
Then Rayleigh's pupils contracted, shock spreading across his face.
The man standing amid the lightning had begun to change.
A long ribbon of energy formed behind his neck, floating around him. More ribbons appeared around his arms and legs, infused with Conqueror's Haki. His eyes became colder, emotionless, almost like those of a god looking down on the world.
At the same time, his hair and beard rapidly lengthened until they reached his waist.
"People say Logia Devil Fruits don't have awakenings," Kojin smiled faintly. "But I believe true gods are hidden inside Logia Fruits. And I managed to reach that stage."
His body trembled slightly as a low rumble of thunder echoed from within him.
"A Logia awakening…" Rayleigh took a deep breath, genuinely stunned.
This was the first time he had ever heard such a theory, and the first time he had ever seen someone actually achieve it.
A Paramecia awakening allowed its user to affect the environment around them. A Zoan awakening awakened the will inside the fruit and greatly enhanced the user's physical abilities.
Then what about a Logia? What kind of power would its awakening grant?
"This fight will end quickly," Kojin said. "Compared to fighting you, what I'm really looking forward to is…"
He stopped, his gaze shifting toward Luffy.
Perhaps drawn by the power radiating from Kojin's awakened form, the boy sitting there with his head lowered suddenly began releasing huge amounts of steam.
Luffy's skin turned bright red, as though he had been scalded by boiling water.
And the heartbeat that only Kojin could hear was now almost indistinguishable from the pounding of drums.
Perhaps this meant Joy Boy was beginning to awaken.
"Looks like your arrival was perfectly timed after all, Rayleigh," Kojin grinned. "You'll make the perfect catalyst to draw him out."
"Draw him out?" Confusion appeared on Rayleigh's face. He had no idea what Kojin was talking about.
"Don't worry. You'll see soon enough. The will from eight hundred years ago… is about to awaken."
"But before that, "
Brilliant lightning erupted from Kojin's body, and then he vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Rayleigh.
(End of Chapter)
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