"Rayleigh!"
Deep within the Calm Belt, a devastating wave of Supreme King Haki swept across the completely still ocean.
The massive Sea Kings that had been circling the pirate ship instantly scattered in terror, diving back beneath the dark waves.
The violent thrashing of the retreating monsters churned the water, causing the massive pirate ship on the surface to rock violently.
But the crew of this particular vessel was entirely unbothered by such apocalyptic scenes.
Sitting elegantly on her throne, Boa Hancock looked down at the newspaper in her delicate hands, softly murmuring the name.
Silvers Rayleigh was her savior.
To her and her sisters, the Dark King was a father-like figure who had protected them when they were at their lowest point.
She had always known Rayleigh was living in quiet seclusion on the Sabaody Archipelago.
But now he had actually been dragged into the global spotlight, and by a vicious Pirate Hunter, no less.
"Change course immediately! Set sail for the Sabaody Archipelago!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Pirate Empress issued her command.
"Big Sister, wait! We need to return to Amazon Lily!" her giant snake-like sister, Marigold, protested from beside the throne.
"I have changed my mind," Hancock said coldly, waving a dismissive hand.
Without daring to question their Empress further, the Kuja Pirates rapidly adjusted their sails.
The ship, pulled by massive, venomous sea snakes, cut a violent path through the Calm Belt, accelerating toward Sabaody.
....
"So that's what he's actually doing..."
A rare look of utter speechlessness washed over Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face.
He had been worried that the monstrous individuals gathering on Sabaody were planning to form an alliance.
If Cyrus, Rayleigh, Mihawk, and Crocodile officially joined forces, it would be an immediate global crisis.
But according to the latest intelligence, they were just viciously fighting each other every single day.
Still, Sengoku knew the sea.
It wasn't entirely impossible for men like that to forge a bond through combat.
But at the very least, he finally felt a sliver of relief.
He now had a somewhat clear picture of what the Pirate Hunter was trying to achieve.
Puru puru puru!
The golden Den Den Mushi on his desk began to ring.
Sengoku answered it, and his expression instantly hardened upon hearing the voice on the other end.
"The Celestial Dragons cannot be stopped, Sengoku. But nothing can go wrong. Deploy your forces to the Sabaody Archipelago immediately. There must not be a single incident."
The voice echoing from the receiver belonged to former Fleet Admiral Kong, the current Commander-in-Chief of the entire World Government.
He was Sengoku's direct superior.
Sengoku had previously submitted a formal proposal, practically begging the World Nobles to lie low and avoid Sabaody while Cyrus was on the island.
That proposal had clearly been rejected.
"Is it truly impossible to delay them?" Sengoku asked, his brow furrowing deeply.
"Impossible is impossible, Sengoku."
"I understand."
Sengoku fell silent for a long moment.
With a heavy sigh, he hung up the receiver with a grim expression.
He knew all too well how the Celestial Dragons operated.
They were arrogant, untouchable fools who believed the world existed solely for their amusement.
As long as those idiots set foot on the Sabaody Archipelago, it was a mathematical certainty that they would cross paths with Cyrus.
They were simply too good at stirring up catastrophic trouble.
But why would the World Nobles suddenly insist on visiting Sabaody right now?
Commander-in-Chief Kong had initially agreed that keeping them away was the safest option.
Sengoku's tactical mind raced.
'Something had changed in Mary Geoise.'
'A specific bait must have been placed on Sabaody to draw them out.'
Whatever it was, the Marines were now on the clock.
Sengoku could only deploy his strongest assets and pray he could contain the inevitable explosion.
...
CLANG!
A blade completely blackened by supreme Armament Haki and crackling with the red-black lightning of Conqueror's Coating viciously slashed down on Cyrus's arm.
Feeling the sheer, monstrous density of Cyrus's muscle and Armament Haki beneath his blade, Rayleigh gritted his teeth, decisively retracted his sword, and leaped backward to create distance.
"Is it still not working?" Rayleigh gasped, genuinely frowning at Cyrus.
'What the hell is wrong with this kid?! He was as tough as a mountain!'
Rayleigh genuinely felt that Cyrus's physical body might be even more absurd than Charlotte Linlin's iron balloon body.
Today, Rayleigh hadn't held back in the slightest.
Cyrus's challenge had been relentless, and the old man had planned to teach the arrogant rookie a brutal lesson in pain.
If he had held back yesterday out of caution, today he had swung to kill.
But even after taking a direct, coated strike... the kid didn't even have a scratch.
'What kind of monster is he?'
"No, the Haki flow is still just a little bit off on my end!" Cyrus sighed, shaking his stinging arm out.
"You literally said the exact same thing yesterday," Rayleigh retorted, his eyes practically bugging out of his head.
"Don't worry, old man! I'll try to master it as quickly as possible," Cyrus grinned brightly, effortlessly raising his massive sword again.
"I promise I'll figure it out before you die of exhaustion!"
Rayleigh stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
'Go to hell!'
'What kind of disrespectful nonsense is that? 'Before I die of exhaustion'?! It's not like we're best friends!'
'Am I seriously supposed to risk my life just to act as your personal training dummy?!'
"This old man is completely out of stamina!" Rayleigh barked angrily. "We'll fight again tomorrow!"
Without waiting for a response, Rayleigh aggressively sheathed his sword, turned his back on Cyrus, and began marching toward the coastline where the ship was anchored.
Cyrus, who had his sword fully raised and ready to strike, watched the old man stomp away.
A hint of helpless amusement crossed his face.
He really is a sly old fox!
He's figured out the rules of the game.
Rayleigh had clearly deduced Cyrus's true motive—or rather, he had figured out exactly how far Cyrus was actually willing to go.
Cyrus had absolutely zero intention of killing the Dark King.
Therefore, if Rayleigh simply threw a tantrum and walked away mid-fight, Cyrus couldn't exactly chase him down and stab him in the back. If he killed his teacher, how would he learn the technique?
However...
Cyrus slowly raised his sword again.
Concentrating deeply, a few faint, erratic wisps of black lightning sparked and danced across the steel of his blade.
A satisfied smirk crossed his face.
He was definitely getting the hang of it!
...
Back aboard the galleon, the three spectators were visibly surprised to see Rayleigh returning so early in the afternoon.
"Alright, let's head back to the bar," Cyrus ordered casually as he jumped onto the deck.
"This old man's bones are getting frail. I do not recover as quickly as you monsters," Rayleigh grumbled, taking a seat and glaring at Cyrus, who was still casually holding his sword.
"We are taking a break tomorrow. No fighting."
"Old man... do you think I'm a pushover?" Cyrus asked, his voice suddenly dropping an octave.
He slowly turned to look at Rayleigh, his eyes turning genuinely unfriendly.
"This is truly the first time in my life I have been threatened quite like this," Rayleigh sighed, completely ignoring Cyrus's hostile glare.
"Well, consider it a new life experience," Cyrus replied dryly, finally sheathing his sword and spreading his hands.
"Listen to me, kid. This kind of advanced Haki technique cannot be learned overnight. I simply do not have the time or the energy to fight a life-or-death battle with you every single day," Rayleigh argued, trying a different angle.
"Oh? You don't have time?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "So, let me guess. You plan to go to the casino, gamble away all your money, intentionally lose so you get captured, auction yourself off at the human slave market, rob whatever idiot noble buys you, and then use that money to go back to the casino?"
Rayleigh froze, his jaw dropping slightly as he stared suspiciously at Cyrus.
'How the hell does he know my exact weekend schedule?!'
"Before I set sail for the New World, I must master this technique," Cyrus stated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"If I can't learn it, I simply won't leave Sabaody. And I won't let you leave either."
"You...!" Rayleigh pointed an angry finger at him, but ultimately just shook his head and fell silent.
He really couldn't see through this kid.
He had absolutely no idea what was going on in Cyrus's head. From Rayleigh's perspective, even back in the golden era of his youth, a monster with Cyrus's current strength would have easily carved out a massive territory on the high seas.
He was already a top-tier powerhouse for fucksake!
But Cyrus seemed deeply, fundamentally dissatisfied with his own strength.
Just how strong does he want to become?
Cyrus, completely ignoring Rayleigh's internal crisis, turned his head to look out toward the massive, indestructible red cliffs of the Red Line in the distance.
Strength is the only foundation for establishing true freedom in this world.
Cyrus was no longer afraid of any of the known powerhouses.
The Admirals, the Emperors, the Warlords—he could fight them.
But there was still a terrifying unknown sitting on the Empty Throne.
Imu.
Against a truly powerful and unknown entity, Cyrus had no absolute confidence.
So, before he inevitably crossed paths with the ruler of the world, he had to become as overwhelmingly strong as physically possible.
When the time finally came, he would activate Unbending and execute the ruler of the world with a single, devastating strike.
Then, he would be free to shape this world however he saw fit.
'Wait. Why did I just think of that?' Cyrus blinked, shaking his head to clear the ambitious thought.
'I just plan to establish a comfortable life and maybe change the system a little bit. Executing the ruler of the world seems like a lot of paperwork.'
Retracting his gaze, he looked back at Rayleigh.
"Fine. We'll continue tomorrow, but we can shorten the actual fighting time. But during those matches, I need you to go all out. Do not hold back. Don't worry, you physically cannot kill me," Cyrus compromised.
He needed to continuously experience the raw, unfiltered pressure of Conqueror's Coating to force his own Haki to adapt.
That was the exact reason he was intentionally handicapping himself by not using his Devil Fruit abilities.
"Your swordsmanship..." Rayleigh began, stroking his chin thoughtfully, but he was immediately cut off as Cyrus raised a hand.
"Hawkeye taught me!" Cyrus declared proudly.
Dracule Mihawk, who had been sitting quietly on the deck sipping wine and enjoying the show, completely froze.
His eyes locked onto Cyrus, a deep frown forming on his face.
"I most certainly did not," Mihawk stated coldly.
"Yes, you did!" Cyrus turn around to face him. "Just admit it to the class! Did you, or did you not, give me sword lessons?!"
"I gave you some pointers, but—"
"No buts! You are my official swordmaster," Cyrus stated, practically oozing self-righteousness.
Sitting nearby, Issho and Robin were both using every ounce of their willpower not to roll their eyes.
"You are a very poor teacher," Rayleigh said, looking directly at the World's Strongest Swordsman with a look of disappointment.
Mihawk: "..."
His hand slowly drifted toward the hilt of Yoru.
'I genuinely want to cut this old man in half!'