"I've always wondered, why do people like you hide in the corners of the world, trembling in fear?"
"Why would you rather die of old age than challenge the authority of the Celestial Dragons? Why?" Bellamy couldn't comprehend the mindset of Roger and Rayleigh. If they were going to die anyway, why not just wipe out the Celestial Dragons?
Hearing Bellamy's question, Rayleigh couldn't help but sigh. "Because the Celestial Dragons are the legitimate rulers of this world."
If the Celestial Dragons were to fall, the order that maintained global stability would completely vanish. The entire world would immediately plunge into endless war, and the death toll would be unimaginable. Did Roger and his crew never think of killing all the Celestial Dragons? Of course they did. They just didn't dare to do it.
The worst kind of order is still far better than no order at all.
Roger had traveled the entire world and had seen too much chaos. He knew all too well the kind of turmoil that would engulf the world if the Celestial Dragons were to disappear. So, he chose to sacrifice his own life, hoping to make the transition between the two eras a little smoother. The Great Treasure had nothing to do with ordinary people. But the dawn of the Great Pirate Era could guide the chaos toward a specific kind of order, and the Great Treasure was the key to it all.
Rayleigh understood the way people like Bellamy thought, but he would never approve of it. The person Roger hoped would lead the world into a new era was definitely not Bellamy. Of this, Rayleigh was absolutely certain.
"There's nothing wrong with following your desires; everyone lives for their own desires," Rayleigh said. "But I hope you don't become a slave to them, young man."
Rayleigh knew that mere words could never persuade someone like Bellamy. He offered this piece of advice and said no more, simply picking up his beer and savoring it.
Still, Bellamy caught the coldness in his tone. "Are you unhappy with me?" It was only natural. If they had met somewhere else, they might have started fighting on sight.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about this anymore." Pushing the topic further would only lead to a fallout. "Tell me about coating." Bellamy was quite interested in the technique.
"Coating, eh? It's a very interesting skill." At his age, Rayleigh was long past the stage of being easily angered. His dissatisfaction with Bellamy seemed to have been forgotten after a single glass of beer.
The two began to chat casually about coating while drinking their beer. The legendary powerhouse seemed surprisingly easy to talk to. In truth, there was a hidden prerequisite: you had to first be worthy of sitting and drinking with Rayleigh. If you had no strength and still dared to cause trouble here, you would have been crippled by Shakky long ago. Did anyone really think a woman who could run a bar in this place for forty years was someone to be trifled with?
As the conversation deepened, Bellamy gained a more thorough understanding of the coating technique. The key, as expected, was the resin from the mangroves. This resin had a very special property: when exposed to air, it would slowly expand into a bubble even without any external force. When the resin first began to expand, its outer wall was very easy to penetrate, allowing objects to be placed inside with ease. But once a complete bubble was formed, the outer wall would become incredibly tough, able to withstand the water pressure at a depth of ten thousand meters.
The principle of coating was based on this property. One had to calculate the right amount of resin and place the ship completely inside within a certain time limit. Furthermore, these special bubbles could transfer force from the inside to the outside. This was where the skill of a coating artisan made a difference. If the bubble expanded too much, the ship's propulsion couldn't be transferred out. If it was too small, there was a risk of it bursting from the inside.
When Rayleigh first learned this technique, he had encountered just such a danger. His bubble was too small, and while drifting in the deep sea, it had accidentally burst from the inside. At a depth of ten thousand meters, the pressure was so terrifying that even the Dark King Rayleigh had trouble withstanding it. If he couldn't swim up immediately, staying in that environment for too long could have been fatal. It was the fish-man Hachi who had accidentally saved the endangered Rayleigh, which was how they formed their deep friendship.
And that was because Rayleigh himself was not a Devil Fruit user. If Bellamy were to face such a situation at ten thousand meters below the sea, he would likely die on the spot. Therefore, Bellamy asked about every single step of the coating process in great detail, looking for all the world like someone who wanted to completely master the craft.
This knowledge wasn't some precious secret. Since Bellamy wanted to learn, Rayleigh, with a couldn't-care-less attitude, shared all of his experience.
They talked until late into the night. The owner, Shakky, had long since closed the bar and cleaned up the bodies. Seeing that Rayleigh was deep in conversation, she even prepared a late-night snack for him. Of course, there was none for Bellamy.
It wasn't until the sky began to lighten that Bellamy finally committed all the knowledge about coating to memory.
"Thank you for your instruction."
Regardless, Rayleigh's willingness to teach him everything about coating without holding back had saved him a lot of effort. Although his fee was also very expensive, starting at ten million.
"Don't mention it. Just remember to pay, young man."
Rayleigh seemed to care a lot about money, but in reality, he couldn't care less. He was more interested in the young man himself.
"Heading into the New World at such a young age... that place is crawling with monsters."
"The Four Emperors? I'll defeat them all, one by one, sooner or later." In front of Rayleigh, Bellamy laid his ambition bare without any concealment.
"How arrogant!"
To want to defeat all Four Emperors—even Rayleigh had never heard such a bold declaration.
"Young man, do you really understand what the Four Emperors are?" They were the true rulers among countless pirates, the undisputed pinnacle of power in this world, terrifying beings who could destroy a country with a wave of their hand.
"I actually don't know for sure." Bellamy really wasn't clear on the true combat strength of the Four Emperors. Without a direct confrontation, how could he claim to understand them? But that was precisely one of the main reasons he had come here to find Rayleigh.
"But you're here, aren't you?"
Rayleigh's Haki was undoubtedly at the highest level. From him, perhaps he could get a glimpse of just how strong the Four Emperors truly were.
"Hmm?"
Hearing Bellamy's words, Rayleigh finally realized why this kid had come all this way.
"Want to spar a little? Right here."
"I'd be glad to."
Bellamy couldn't ask for more than a chance to exchange a few blows with Rayleigh. "Can I finally witness it? The pinnacle of Armament Haki!"