Chapter 197 Simple and Honest Customs
The moon rose high in the sky, and the night deepened, yet the bar grew even more lively.
Aoki sat alone in a corner, pondering his next plan while gathering intelligence.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and took the glass from his table.
Aoki turned to look.
It was an old man with gray hair, few wrinkles on his face, wearing glasses, a vertical scar over his right eye, and dressed in worn brown trousers and a yellow shirt, looking somewhat unkempt. The
old man downed the glass of wine in one gulp: "Hahaha, such good wine is a waste not to drink."
Aoki's expression shifted slightly, and he laughed, "Who said I wouldn't drink?"
Although it was a decade or so earlier, and he wasn't as old as he would be in the future, he recognized the old man at a glance.
The Pirate King's right hand, Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh!
When he arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, he had planned to meet this legendary figure, but before he could even pay him a visit, Rayleigh had come to him first.
"Haha, really? I noticed you hadn't drunk any, and I thought you didn't like it. Looks like I misunderstood."
Rayleigh chuckled and was about to leave.
Aoki said, "That drink last time cost 50,000!"
He wasn't kidding.
He ordered the bar's best drink, worth 200,000.
The glass was full, enough for about four glasses.
Rayleigh stopped, saying helplessly, "Young man, do I look like someone who can come up with 50,000? If you need a coating, I can help you."
"No need for the coating, you just need to answer one question."
Aoki picked up the bottle. "And I can give you the rest."
"Question?" Rayleigh sized him up, his expression shifting slightly.
Aoki said, "Laugh Tale, what is it?"
Rayleigh remained calm, chuckling, "If you want to know, why don't you go see for yourself? Young man, your strength is so formidable, perhaps you'll be the next Pirate King."
Aoki said, "Do you think I'm like Roger or someone like him?"
"Who knows?" Rayleigh replied casually.
"Since you won't tell me, then forget it. Consider the drink money yours."
Aoki tossed the drink over and turned to leave.
Clearly, he didn't have Luffy's influence.
As for forcibly asking, forget about it.
Rayleigh was only in his early sixties, and his strength should still be at its peak.
Without his "Ultimate Form," he was definitely no match for Rayleigh.
Rayleigh took the drink, watching Aoki's departing figure, and shook his head slightly. He
'd only been craving a drink, but unexpectedly encountered such a troublesome person.
He opened the bottle, poured himself a full glass, took a sip, and a look of enjoyment appeared on his face.
"Indeed, good wine!"
...
After leaving the bar, Aoki found a secluded spot and entered another dimension.
Lights illuminated this empty world.
The central building was surrounded by piles of gold, jewels, and other "miscellaneous items."
He didn't need to sleep, so there was no need to go to a hotel; besides, there were very important things waiting for him.
Aoki's body swelled, his skin turned black, and his head became ferocious and imposing.
Come to think of it, this was his true appearance.
If he ate a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, who knows what he would ultimately become.
Aoki assumed a fighting stance and slowly began to practice.
His recent leveling up had been too rapid, his strength increasing at breakneck speed; he needed to adapt to the surge in power as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult.
Now, his use of his body and his mastery of combat techniques were vastly different from before.
Moreover, compared to humans, Infinite Dragon Beasts inherently possessed a huge advantage in terms of power control and exertion.
In addition, he also needed to try new techniques.
After obtaining the "Infinite Dragon Beast" class, his strength had changed dramatically.
Not just in terms of power level, but also in terms of fighting style.
Now he has another ranged attack skill, Dragon Breath.
He must find a way to incorporate it into his combat system.
Time passed unnoticed.
Aoki relaxed his muscles and glanced at the clock he had just bought.
8:30.
It was already dawn.
He still had things to do today, so he'd stop practicing here.
Aoki raised his hand, looking at the flower mark on the back of his hand.
His energy had recovered slightly.
At this rate, it would take about three months to fully charge.
This speed was acceptable.
In terms of traversing worlds, a timeframe measured in months was quite fast.
Aoki's thoughts shifted, and he left the alternate dimension.
Whoosh! As
soon as he emerged, he heard a sharp whistling sound.
Boom!
A shell landed not far away, sending flames soaring into the sky.
Aoki turned his head to look.
Two groups were engaged in a fierce battle.
They weren't just using knives and guns; they had even brought out cannons, openly exchanging fire in the street.
The passersby seemed to be used to it, simply avoiding their battlefield and going about their business.
"Excuse me, what happened here? Why are they fighting?" Aoki stopped a tall woman.
The woman was initially impatient, but her eyes lit up when she saw Aoki's face.
"Who knows? They're fighting if they want to!"
"This is really a simple and honest place!" Aoki remarked.
The tall woman licked her lips, took out a large wad of cash, and waved it around: "Never mind them, handsome, want to go to a hotel with me? If you agree, all of this is yours."
Aoki glanced at her.
"Sorry, not interested."
"Don't be so cold, I can pay more, and I'm really good at it, I can definitely make you fly! Look!"
With that, she pulled down her thin bra, exposing her snow-white skin to the air.
Aoki was stunned.
He had never seen such a fierce woman before.
It took some effort for Aoki to shake off the woman's advances.
Walking alone on the street, he decided to try and find out any news about Robin.
Although Robin was far away in the West Blue, she was quite famous in the underworld.
A demon child, a legend whose bounty approached 80 million at the age of eight.
The West Blue was vast.
While most of the world's strongest individuals were concentrated on the Grand Line, it was actually only a small part of the world; the four seas occupied the majority of its area.
Finding someone in such a vast sea was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Sabaody Archipelago was the end of the first half of the Grand Line, where people from all seven sea routes converged. Perhaps someone from the West Blue who knew about Robin was among them.
Aoki suddenly stopped and turned to look at the dark alleyway beside him.
Three ragged girls huddled together, each holding a small piece of bread, wolfing it down.
"It's them!"
Aoki remembered these three girls.
They had actually managed to escape Mary Geoise.
Hancock, while eating her bread, cautiously looked outside.
The next moment, her body stiffened, her expression frozen.
(End of Chapter)