Luffy, how can you become the Pirate King if you don't work hard!

"Hey, I'm back."

Before Luffy could finish speaking, he saw Perona bump into him, and he quickly reached out and put his hand on Perona's shoulder.

If they were to charge forward, the damage they would inflict on him would likely be greater than what the lieutenant general had done.

Lieutenant General: "???"

"I'm sorry! I really tried my best, but I couldn't find a single way to contact them."

Perona's eyes reddened as she said, "Miss Shakky said that everyone might have been filmed in a very far place."

"It's okay, it's okay."

Luffy interrupted her with a smile, reaching out to pat her head: "I've already contacted Vivi and the others, everyone should be alright."

He also roughly knew the whereabouts of the others.

With Zoro and his crew's skills, they shouldn't be unable to survive.

This gentle caress reminded Luffy of Merry.

But Perona was clearly not used to it, and she froze.

They quickly calmed down again.

Perona looked up, staring blankly at Luffy, and then stammered, "I thought you would blame me."

Luffy chuckled.

How could he blame his partner?

Perona is so anxious because she takes this matter to heart; she already considers herself a member of the Straw Hat crew.

Luffy was overjoyed.

Perona in this state is quite different from her previous loud and somewhat arrogant demeanor.

Her hair felt incredibly smooth, and Luffy was reluctant to leave for a moment.

Perona did not resist. Her stiff body quickly softened, probably because she felt comfortable being touched. She even stood on tiptoe and rubbed against him slightly.

It's not just that the air here is quiet, but why does it seem quite quiet over there too?

Their gazes weren't on him and Perona either.

I turned around and looked.

What's happening here?

Xia Qi stood to the side, a cigarette between her fingers, a half-smile on her face.

And Rayleigh...

Rayleigh was looking at the Golden Lion.

The Golden Lion was also looking at Rayleigh.

The two old men's gazes met in mid-air, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat eerie.

"Oh, it's Shiki. I didn't recognize you at all, hahaha. Why is there such a big bandage wrapped around your head?" Rayleigh greeted Shiki in a relaxed tone.

The golden lion's lips twitched, and then twitched again.

He glanced at Rayleigh, then at Shakky beside Rayleigh, and the veins on his forehead began to throb.

"Rayleigh!"

The golden lion forced out a sound through gritted teeth, "Shakky?"

“Hmm?” Rayleigh raised an eyebrow.

"When did you two start?!" The Golden Lion suddenly pointed at the two of them.

“That happened many years ago,” Xia Qi said with a smile, exhaling a smoke ring.

Rayleigh laughed heartily: "What, Shiki, do you have a problem with that?"

Golden Lion opened his mouth, as if to say something, but suddenly remembered the chaotic battle in God Valley back then.

At that time, the Rocks Pirates went out in full force, one of their goals being to kidnap Shakky, who was still under the control of the Celestial Dragons.

The results of it?

As a result, the Roger Pirates suddenly appeared and held off several of his officers, including him, allowing Rayleigh to rescue Shakky!

After that, there was no further news about the two of them.

Now that the two of them are always seen together, could they even have a child?

Golden Lion was so angry his hair stood on end. "Rayleigh! What did you do after you rescued Shakky back then?"

Rayleigh stroked the stubble on his chin, his smile utterly irritating:

"Hmm, you've done everything?"

"what?!"

"You people from the Rocks are having quite a blast robbing treasure."

"I'll fight you to the death!!"

The golden lion roared and was about to charge forward when a sharp pain shot through the wound on his head, causing him to gasp and freeze in place.

“Mr. Shiki, I suggest you don’t get agitated.”

Luo's voice rang out from not far away, "If the wound reopens, you really will die."

I never expected to hear such interesting stories from the older generation before I left.

This trip was even more worthwhile.

Golden Lion: "......"

He glared fiercely at Rayleigh, who responded with an innocent smile.

Shakky watched from the side, laughing heartily: "Alright, alright, that's all old news. Shiki, what's wrong with your head looking like this?"

"That's a long story."

The golden lion immediately transformed into a smiling face and walked towards Shakky.

"Then let's get to the point. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. We're not interested." Rayleigh grabbed the Golden Lion's face with one hand.

Luffy couldn't help but laugh as he watched the three old guys bickering.

He turned to Perona and asked, "Have you been here these past few days?"

Perona nodded: "I found Mr. Raleigh at Miss Shaki's bar on the 13th GR, and we've been waiting here ever since. We've watched the live broadcast of the Impel Down war."

At this point, her eyes lit up, filled with admiration:

"Luffy, Luffy! You're amazing! That white form, that black sword, and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit... Did you really take over Whitebeard's abilities?"

She found Rayleigh and Shakky here, and together they watched the Impel War on a large Den Den Mushi screen in the Sabaody Archipelago.

She saw Lord Moria's image flash by, but it was barely noticeable.

He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea... Anyway, he's safe, so that's all that matters.

But she's really making a strong impression as Luffy's captain now!

"Ah, so be it."

Luffy scratched his face. "But I still can't quite control it right now."

He raised his hand, and a milky white light shield appeared in his palm.

The light shield vibrated slightly, causing ripples in the surrounding air, but these ripples quickly dissipated.

“It takes time to get used to it,” Luffy said.

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit doesn't resemble the Rubber-Rubber Fruit he ate as a child.

"That's so cool! That's the power of the world's strongest man!"

Perona was so excited that she floated around saying, "Luffy, you will definitely become the Pirate King someday!"

"Of course!" Luffy grinned.

At that moment, Rayleigh walked over.

"The war is over, all thanks to you, Luffy," Rayleigh said.

"Hey Rayleigh, that's your captain's son! Don't you Roger Pirates guys do anything?" Shiki said with some dissatisfaction.

Apart from the two former interns, none of the officers saw the entire Impel Down war.

Despite being enemies, Golden Lion still greatly admired Roger.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have caused such a scene at Marineford for Roger's sake.

"Ah, we know perfectly well that the child is the captain, we are ashamed."

A glint flashed in Rayleigh's eyes.

Both Garp and Shanks have mentioned this.

However, before Roger died, he gave the captain's order that the Roger Pirates disbanded from the moment Roger was executed.

It was originally thought that Ace would become a Marine under Garp's protection, but unexpectedly, he became a great pirate who gave the World Government a headache, just like Roger.

At that time, Rayleigh and his crew also considered whether or not to return to the mountains.

But soon after, Ace answered for them, and he boarded Whitebeard's ship.

The former members of Roger's pirate crew had no right to help Ace.

Until this time...

“This was an unexpected situation. Roger’s crew members are all over the world. The Navy had already made preparations for the Sabaody Archipelago. They didn’t leave a single ship behind. The war was over before you even swam there,” Shakky said, tugging at Rayleigh.

She was the one who stopped Rayleigh.

Furthermore, Perona revealed that Luffy had entered Impel Down with Hancock's ship, which might allow him to rescue Ace.

That is indeed the case.

"Heh, so it seems my Float-Float Fruit is still the most powerful in times like this. You Devil Fruit users are helpless against the ocean." Golden Lion mocked mercilessly.