"The… secret of the Devil Fruit?" Mio frowned slightly, but remained silent. He took a sip of the whiskey that Xia Qi poured and quietly waited for Rayleigh to continue.
Rayleigh spoke slowly. "Even though I learned a lot from Roger, there are things even I never knew completely—especially the final secret… and the truth about the Devil Fruit."
"Before Roger turned himself in, he told me something. Do you want to know what it was?"
"I'm curious," Mio replied in a low voice.
Rayleigh chuckled. "He said, 'If you don't witness it yourself, if you don't see it with your own eyes and verify it with your heart, no one would ever believe such truths.'"
"There are things Roger kept to himself. The secret of the Devil Fruit is one of them. I don't know it either. But I do know what happened at Raftel. I was there when Roger arrived. If you want to know, I can tell you."
Mio shook his head immediately. "No, thanks."
Even though curiosity gnawed at him, he also knew that such secrets were what the World Government desperately wanted to keep buried. There was a reason they hadn't simply destroyed them.
And the more one knew, the more dangerous it became.
"I'll find out myself when the time comes."
"Wise decision," Rayleigh said with a smile. "Any other questions? I might not be able to answer everything. Even as vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, there were things I deliberately avoided."
"It's fine." Mio smirked slightly. "I didn't learn anything concrete, but that doesn't matter. Eventually, all truths will be revealed—and at least now I know that Rocks isn't dead."
Rocks.
Mio's eyes narrowed.
If that man had lived from the last era to now, then…
It had to be the Operation Fruit's ultimate ability.
How else could someone like Rocks, a man who once suppressed Whitebeard and Golden Lion, still be alive?
Despite being a "loser," Rocks' strength was absolute.
If he ever escaped during a war with the World Government and reclaimed his ambition, Mio would have another terrifying enemy to face.
Best to prepare early.
Mio shook his head, pushing the thought aside, and simply drank with Rayleigh.
"By the way," Rayleigh asked suddenly, "what's that creature hiding in your clothes? I noticed it earlier. Its aura…"
Mio laughed lightly. "Just a couple of little guys."
As he spoke, two small snake heads stretched out from either side of his clothes, circling Mio's neck and curiously observing Rayleigh.
Rayleigh blinked in surprise. "Snakes?"
He hadn't expected that. The moment Mio walked in, Rayleigh had sensed a powerful aura from these creatures—an aura on par with top-tier masters of the sea.
It reminded him of the crow aboard the Black Crow Pirates' ship.
A beast that could suppress pirates just with its presence.
"How did you train them to be so strong?" Rayleigh asked, stunned.
But more than that, he was shocked by the strength of the Black Crow Pirates.
With such trump cards, Mio was now perhaps the most powerful and mysterious of all pirates in the New World.
"Just some tricks," Mio replied, not going into detail.
They stayed at Xia Qi's tavern until nightfall, then Mio, Robin, and the others returned to the Black Glory.
By then, the ship's coating was complete.
As soon as Mio boarded, Bai Feng activated the air bubble that wrapped the ship, preparing to dive toward Fishman Island.
Night deepened.
The moon shone bright overhead.
As the ship submerged into the sea, Mio shook the empty bottle in his hand and set it aside with a sigh.
"It's boring just standing around. I'm heading to sleep. Wake me when we reach Fishman Island."
He turned and walked to his cabin.
Robin nodded calmly.
Lilith, however, bit her lip as hesitation filled her eyes. She tapped her chin with her index finger, then whispered to herself.
"This is a good chance… should I go?"
"If I don't… maybe I won't get another opportunity."
After a long internal struggle, her eyes firmed.
And her figure disappeared.
Sabaody Archipelago
Not long after the Black Glory departed, another ship docked at the harbor.
A tall, muscular figure stepped off and made his way toward Xia Qi's tavern.
He pushed open the tavern door and entered.
Rayleigh turned, swirling the ice in his glass. "It's quite the day. Silver Axe died here. Black Crow just left. And now… you show up."
The man gave a calm nod. "Long time no see."
He walked to the bar, sat beside Rayleigh, and snapped his fingers toward Xia Qi. "Whiskey. On the rocks."
"Coming right up," Xia Qi said with a smile.
The man looked back at Rayleigh. "Did you just say Silver Axe died? Was it… at Black Crow's hands?"
"You didn't know?" Rayleigh asked, surprised.
"I just arrived at Sabaody," the man admitted, though his voice carried a trace of shock. "So he really died at Black Crow's hands…"
Rayleigh nodded. "That's right. Why? Planning to challenge him next, Wang Zhi?"
The man—another former captain of the Rocks Pirates, just like Silver Axe and Whitebeard—chuckled and waved it off.
"I'm not that stupid."
"With what happened to Silver Axe… you think I'd go rushing in? I don't want to end up dead too."
He paused and sighed.
"Still, it's hard to believe. For someone so young… that guy's strength is terrifying."