One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

Seeing that the few remaining fighters had disengaged from the battle, they all stopped fighting and returned to their respective companions. The short, rapid battle had given them a good understanding of their opponents, which would be valuable information for the future.

Seeing that everyone had stopped fighting, Maggie waved goodbye to Luffy, who was reluctant to leave!

"Luffy's gone! Camie should have been taken back to her destination by now!"

"Wow! So fast! Haha! Mabi and the others are all very strong, they'll be our future rivals! I'm so excited!" Hearing Mabi's call, she became unusually active and couldn't help but dance on the grass.

"Haha! Just wait, there's plenty more to come! There's never a shortage of battles in this world!"

Chapter 166 Historical Secrets!

"Little Eight! Papagu!"

"Kemi!"

"Kemi!"

When everyone returned to 13th Street, they immediately saw the familiar figure on the tree root. Overjoyed, Hachi and Papago rushed forward and hugged her with tears in their eyes.

"Haha! Haha! Kemi, we thought we'd never see you again!"

"It's alright! I'm safe. Uncle Rayleigh brought me back." Seeing the worried looks on her two companions' faces as she was being picked up, Cammy reached out and patted them to calm them down.

"Rayle? He's back? We were just looking for him!" Hachi, who had just let go of her, was full of questions. The person they had been looking for had already returned.

“Yes!” Cammy nodded and turned to face the Straw Hat crew walking down from below, her face beaming with joy.

"Brother Luffy, thank you so much for helping me find me!"

"Haha! We're all partners!" Luffy laughed heartily, completely unconcerned by her thanks, and turned to rush into the tavern, heading straight for the refrigerator and reaching inside to take out some food.

"I'm so hungry after playing a game!"

"You bastard, have some manners!" Seeing Luffy's behavior, the group helplessly went to find a place to sit down.

"Hehe! Please sit wherever you like! Welcome to Little Monkey's companion!" The woman with short hair, wearing a purple jacket and smoking a cigarette chuckled, then took out several bottles of alcohol from the counter and filled glasses one by one.

"I'm so sorry! Aunt Xia, I've caused you trouble!" Mia hurriedly stepped forward to thank her, having already come with Luffy once before, so she was quite familiar with the process and handed the wine glasses that she had poured to her companions one by one.

"Heh! Nothing! I'd also like to meet you rookies who can overshadow all other pirate crews? You actually managed to build a powerful pirate crew with three Supernovas!"

"Oh, Aunt Xia, you're too kind! We're not that powerful!"

"Yes, you're too kind!"

Hearing her praise, everyone felt embarrassed, but the confident expressions on their faces showed that they were all very pleased.

"Wow! That's wonderful! Beautiful lady, may I admire you...?"

"Hey! Brooke, do you still want to watch? I can help you!" Maggie, who was sitting at the bar after Mia handed her a drink, looked at Brooke with a big smile.

"Ugh! Why am I so miserable!" Seeing Mabi's smiling eyes again, he collapsed onto the bar, feeling dizzy and weak.

"Haha! Haha! Brook is completely under Maggie's thumb." Everyone laughed heartily at the sight, making fun of Brook without a care in the world.

"What a fun bunch of friends." Aunt Xia, leaning on the bar with one hand, smiled as she watched the group of energetic young people laughing and joking together, as if recalling the time when she herself was among a group of young companions.

"Hey! Luffy, long time no see!" Rayleigh said with a smile as he watched Luffy busy in front of the refrigerator.

Overjoyed at Rayleigh's answer, Hachi realized he had forgotten something and hurriedly began to explain!

"Luffy, this is Rayleigh, the coating craftsman I found for you!"

"Huh! It's Uncle Rayleigh, do you recognize me?" Hearing someone call out, Luffy turned around and saw an old man with a full head of white hair looking at him kindly. After hearing Hachi's introduction, he swallowed the food in his mouth and asked in confusion.

"My apologies for being so abrupt! Let me introduce myself first! I am Silvers Rayleigh, Roger's former first mate! Please take care of me!" Rayleigh shook the wine glass in his hand and looked at Luffy's bewildered face with a friendly expression.

"Ah! Roger's first mate!" Upon hearing his answer, everyone was immediately shocked and their faces were filled with disbelief.

Usopp looked up in admiration: "That name sounds so familiar! He's a character mentioned many times in the books!"

"I never expected them to appear right in front of us!"

"This is absolutely astonishing!"

"Don't you know? There's a picture of him in the book!" Robin, standing to the side, looked puzzled. Wasn't it obvious?

"Huh! Didn't Hachi say you were a coating craftsman?" Luffy, who had just swallowed a sausage, shouted.

"Hehe! That's right. Ever since I left, I've been making a living by coating on this island. They call me Old Rayleigh the Coating Craftsman!" Rayleigh explained after hearing Luffy's answer.

"Hoo!" Sanji exhaled smoke, his hands resting on the back of the sofa. One hand unconsciously reached out to put his arm around Angelia's shoulder, but she slapped it away with her stick. She asked nonchalantly, "Wasn't Gol D. Roger captured twenty-two years ago? As the vice-captain, you should have been taken away and beheaded, and your comrades should have been rounded up by the Navy."

Hearing someone ask, Rayleigh's face showed a thoughtful, reminiscent expression. A sharp glint appeared on his clear glasses as he spoke, "Roger wasn't arrested! He turned himself in!"

Upon hearing his words, everyone gaped in disbelief!

"what!"

"what!"

"Surrender? Why does the World Government say they were captured by them?"

"They spread the news of their arrest to boost the morale of the navy and enhance their own prestige."

"Then why did he turn himself in?"

"Confess?" Rayleigh took a swig of wine and slowly explained the cause of what happened back then:

"Because our journey has come to an end..."

Maggie sat to the side, sipping her drink, her hands clasped together as she crouched on the bar, cradling Pudding Jack's soft tail. She listened quietly as Rayleigh recounted the causes of all the events from the past years. Compared to knowing them from books in her previous life, hearing the people involved speak for themselves was far more impactful. The nearly thirty years of trials and tribulations from setting sail to the disbandment of the pirate crew, and the extraordinary life they had experienced, drew everyone in.

"Uncle Rayleigh, you know Shanks too?" Luffy shouted upon hearing the name Rayleigh mentioned, his eyes filled with joy as he pulled his hat over his head to bury himself in it.

"Yes! You should also know Bucky from the East China Sea, right? Those two were trainee crew members on the ship back then!"

"Ah! A trainee crew member? He was on the Pirate King's ship too!" Luffy was even more shocked upon hearing his answer.

"Ah! So he didn't tell you! Well, I won't get involved any further! He must be getting impatient waiting for you in the New World." Rayleigh replied, having already learned what Shanks had done from the last bit of information Luffy had given him, and then got up and turned to Mia, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Shanks! Shanks! I really want to see him again!" Luffy was even more excited to hear Rayleigh's news again from him, and he wrapped his hat brim completely inside.

"Princess Mia! May I call you that? I can't believe twenty-four years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you've grown so much!"

"Oh! You can just call me Mia, senior! The princess no longer exists." Hearing such respect from the legendary figure standing at the pinnacle of the world, even the princess of one of the world's strongest nations was at a loss for words.

"Twenty-four years! Isn't Mia only seventeen?"

Seeing Mia's confused look, Rayleigh immediately understood and replied, "So Princess Mia's parents didn't tell you everything either, but you must have met that person on Enies Lobby, right?"

"That one!" Mia's eyes cleared instantly, and she stood up abruptly. Only she knew about the unknown being during the short time she had disappeared.

"Mr. Rayleigh, could you tell me about everything and the history of that kingdom?" Robin asked from the side.

“We know all of history! Are you sure you want to know?” Rayleigh looked at Robin and smiled when he heard her answer. As someone who knew all of history, he naturally knew that the girl in front of him was probably the only one who could understand history again.

"this···"

The truth was right before her eyes, within easy reach of just a few words, but Robin hesitated! After all these years, was the true history still something she was indispensable to? Did she really need the old man before her to tell her everything? As she wavered, a familiar yet gentle voice entered her ears!

"Robin! Follow your heart! Don't burden yourself too much! You are no longer alone!"

"Mabi!" Hearing that call, Robin turned around and her fluctuating emotions gradually calmed down. Everything was as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through, and everything was presented before her eyes.

"Thank you, Mr. Rayleigh! I think I don't need it anymore; I want to verify it myself!"

"I see. So this is your choice? It seems your choice is right. Even if I tell you all the history now, you are powerless to change it with your current abilities. Perhaps the history you learn after you sail the world again will be different from the history we know." Rayleigh looked at Mia's location again with a smile in his eyes, making her feel at a loss, as if something was wrong.

"Getting back to the point! We should get started on our business! Straw Hat Boy, tell me where your ship is? It needs three days to be coated. I'll go and help you move it and hide it for the work. After all, you've caused such a big mess, someone will target your ship."

"Great! It's number forty! Thanks, Uncle Rayleigh!" Luffy laughed heartily, standing on the bar counter.

"Oh, right! Shakky, isn't there that? That way you can go out and play for a few days and then come back, instead of gathering in one place." Rayleigh, who was about to leave, suddenly realized something and asked Shakky.

"Oh, right! There's one more. It'll be much better if they locate you." Shakky stood up and replied to Rayleigh's instructions, then turned and went into the house to take out a white sheet of paper.

"It's a life card!"

“Okay! It’s much easier now that you know. Rayleigh will take the main card, and you can all take the sub-cards so you don’t get lost.” Shakky replied, writing Rayleigh’s name on each of the Life Cards he had divided into several parts and distributing them.

"Thank you, Aunt Xia!" They each put away their cards and expressed their gratitude.

"Haha! Let's go, everyone! To the amusement park! We'll be back in three days."

"Idiot! We all need to hide, after all, we've caused such a huge mess!" Nami chopped Luffy on the head with a chop, making his head look like a V.

"But we want to play too!" Chopper, Jack, Angelia, Brook, and Usopp all looked longingly at the amusement park in the distance.

"I'm truly defeated by you guys!"

"Haha! Haha! My friends, the amusement park!" Luffy took the lead and ran off into the distance.

"Uncle Rayleigh, can you tell me what I was wondering about before? Why did you know about that? And why is my age different from what you said?" Mia asked Rayleigh, who was carrying various tools, as she watched her companion leave.

"Your Highness Mia! I'm sorry I can't tell you, but I expect he'll be coming to see you soon."

"I see! Thank you, Uncle Rayleigh!" Hearing Rayleigh's refusal, Mia knew she couldn't tell the old man in front of her, and was slightly disappointed, but still thanked him.

"A giant mechanical castle flying in the sky?" Maby's figure slowly appeared after Mia left.

"You know?" He wasn't surprised to see Mabi's figure, after all, only one person was missing from the number of people who left earlier.

"I accidentally went inside and almost got killed by the mechanical monsters inside!" Mabi recalled her experience there. Her Devil Fruit ability was sealed, and she had to rely on physical attacks, but those monsters that were so tough that they completely ignored her slashes had her forced to retreat.

"Heh! It seems you know quite a bit. It's only a matter of time before you obtain the title of king! Mabi, hurry up and improve your strength. When you encounter the truth, strength will be your greatest guarantee!"

"Thank you for your kind words, sir! I'm off!" Mabi said, thanking the old man for his advice, just as she was about to turn and leave.

"Go!"

"Shaki! How was it?" Rayleigh asked in a deep voice, watching Mabi's departing figure.

Shaki, holding a red crystal ball, slowly walked out. The red light on the crystal ball, which beat like a heart, gradually faded until it disappeared, returning to its original transparent crystal color.

"They are invaders! Undoubtedly! As for their purpose, that remains to be seen! After all, even Uranus didn't kill them!"

"Then let's take a look. After all, we did receive some help from the invaders back then!"

I was working on this original story until 3:30 AM, stitching away until my head ached. After all, if I wanted to finish this fanfic, I definitely wanted it to be completed before One Piece. From the very beginning, I started laying the groundwork for the main plot and slowly integrating it with One Piece. Now, we're halfway through, and Rayleigh has finally pointed out some plot holes. The remaining holes will be filled in gradually later.

Chapter 167 The Pursuit of the Cyborg PX!