Chapter 20: Suppressing the Dark King Rayleigh

Words : 1168 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

With his sniper rifle in hand, Roy spent his idle moments practicing his shots. Occasionally, he'd take down a few enemies during skirmishes. Oden's fame grew steadily, and his bounty climbed higher and higher. The Whitebeard Pirates were growing stronger by the day. They eventually left the New World and headed for the North Blue. After spending a year roaming the North Blue, they once again crossed Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line. On this day, Roy sensed an overwhelming aura of Haki, which made him step out of his room. "The time has come!!" The Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates encountered each other. A great battle broke out between the two crews. Roy, however, didn't join the fight; he simply observed from afar. "What are you doing here? Aren't you part of the Whitebeard Pirates? Why aren't you fighting?" Roy sat under a tree, avoiding the rain, holding a book and reading with his head lowered. Without even glancing up, he calmly replied as the voice reached his ears: "I'm different from them." "What's different? Aren't you one of Whitebeard's men?" Rayleigh asked in surprise. He had stumbled upon Roy by chance. The man looked young, but his presence was extraordinary. Rayleigh also had the unsettling feeling of being watched, which made him uncomfortable. "I am part of the Whitebeard Pirates," Roy said. "Then why aren't you helping your crew in battle?" "Because I'm weak. If I joined in, I'd die." "Huh?! You're weak?" Rayleigh didn't believe that. On the contrary, he found Roy special—almost otherworldly. "Yes." Rayleigh suddenly drew his sword and slashed at Roy. Roy didn't seem to react at all—even as the blade touched his neck, grazing his skin. "You..." Rayleigh's expression grew serious—he sensed something unusual. "What did you do to me?" Rayleigh asked. "Just a little test. I blocked your Observation Haki, that's all," Roy said, closing his book and finally looking up at him. "Blocked my Observation Haki? How?" "It's simple. My Observation Haki is stronger than yours, so I was able to suppress yours." "Stronger than mine... I see." "Do you know what happens when a fighter loses access to Observation Haki in a fight?" Rayleigh's face suddenly changed. A black figure lunged at him. Because his Observation Haki had been interfered with, he wasn't able to sense the attack in time. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ROY?!" There was no need for Haki to sense the beast-like killing intent. Whitebeard had sensed Roy was in danger and instantly charged in, swinging his blade with full force at Rayleigh. Rayleigh coated his sword with Conqueror's Haki to block Whitebeard's strike. The clash of their Conqueror's Haki sent Roy flying, and he was about to crash to the ground "Big brother!" A pair of wings streaked through the sky, Marco caught Roy mid-air. "If you hadn't caught me, I'd be dead," Roy grimaced. "No way I'd let that happen." Marco grinned. Whitebeard and Rayleigh's duel ended with Rayleigh sent crashing into the distance, and Roger took his place to continue the fight. "You okay, Rayleigh?" Scopper Gabban asked as he arrived after exchanging blows with Oden. "I'm fine. But who is that guy, really?" Rayleigh looked up at the sky where Roy was watching him, still with that terrifyingly calm look, as if he could see right through him. "Gabban, do you know who that guy is?" Rayleigh asked. "Nope. Only a few of the Whitebeard Pirates are famous commanders, I've never seen him before." Gabban shook his head. "Why? What's so special about him?" "His Observation Haki... is stronger than mine," Rayleigh replied. "That's impossible." "He blocked my Observation Haki, which allowed Whitebeard to sneak attack me." "But he seems weak." "Maybe he's like Roger, born with a natural gift for Observation Haki, but not particularly strong in other areas." "A natural talent like Roger..." The battle raged on for three days and nights, with breaks in between. After three days, both sides were satisfied and began drinking together. No one went all out, eventually, they even started trading goods and doing business. "Roy? Dunno much about him," one of Whitebeard's crew members said to Rayleigh and Gabban. "He joined the crew a long time ago. Loves reading books, doesn't really fight, but he's a financial genius. He manages all the crew's finances." "Joined long ago, huh? There's definitely a secret there." Gabban commented. "I'm going to talk to him." "I'll go with you." Roy was meditating by the shore. He found that there was almost no room left for his Observation Haki to grow. Bored, he practiced meditation to kill time. Even though the system had maxed out his Observation Haki, he lacked enough experience to make full use of it. Meditating helped him maintain it longer. "Hey, what do you two want?" Marco, Jozu, and the others blocked Rayleigh and Gabban from approaching. "I just want to talk. Don't worry, no more fighting," Rayleigh smiled. "Marco, let them through," Roy said. "Big bro..." "It's fine. The battle's over." Marco let them pass. Roy sat on the ground, and the two looked down at him. This was Gabban's first time seeing Roy up close, and he immediately noticed how different Roy's presence was: unnervingly calm, to the point of being scary. Rayleigh sat cross-legged in front of Roy and smiled. "Your name's Roy, right? Why do you seem so out of place among them? You're young, but you act like an old man with heavy thoughts." "Because I'm older than both of you combined," Roy said. "Huh?!" Rayleigh and Gabban were stunned. They examined Roy carefully but found nothing unusual. "You're joking. No way you're older than us," Gabban laughed. "Roger will die in two years. A year from now, you'll find the final island. Roger will become the Pirate King," Roy said. "What are you saying?" Rayleigh and Gabban's expressions changed. "I'm from the future," Roy said calmly. That made the two of them shoot up to their feet in disbelief. "Only Newgate knows this secret. You're the second and third people to learn it. You don't have to believe me, but in a year, you'll understand. Oh, and Oden can join your crew. The gears of fate will turn. You've arrived too early." Rayleigh and Gabban didn't believe Roy, but what happened next filled them with dread. Roger requested to have Kozuki Oden join the Roger Pirates. Whitebeard naturally refused and was even furious. "Newgate," Roy spoke up. "Roy!" "Let him go." "But I—" "Oden's already agreed." Whitebeard clenched his fists, then relented. "Fine. Roger—one year. I'm lending him to you for one year."

Chapter 20: Suppressing the Dark King Rayleigh

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