Buggy and Shanks exchanged a look. Their instincts told them the unknown woman in front of them was not someone to take lightly.
Still, they felt no hostility from her. Half cautious, half curious, they followed Shakky into the bar.
Their crew members entered as well. The tension eased slightly, but no one fully relaxed.
The moment Shanks and Buggy stepped inside, their pupils shrank.
A familiar figure sat at the bar with his back to them. Broad shoulders. Relaxed posture. A presence that felt like a mountain hidden beneath calm water.
It matched perfectly with the image in their memories.
"Heh heh. Long time no see."
The man lifted a wine glass and turned his head with a smile.
"Buggy. Shanks."
"Mr. Rayleigh!"
"Vice-Captain!"
Their voices overlapped.
Joy burst across their faces. The two rushed forward, nearly tripping over their own feet.
Behind them, their crew members stood stunned.
The legendary Dark King. The Vice-Captain of the Roger Pirates. Silvers Rayleigh himself.
And here he was, sitting casually in a bar so close to Marine Headquarters.
It felt unreal.
Buggy and Shanks reached him, one on each side, eyes shining.
"I never thought we'd see you here."
Since the Roger Pirates disbanded, there had been almost no news of the crew. Aside from Captain Roger's execution, the rest had vanished into the sea like scattered stars.
Seeing Rayleigh again stirred something deep inside them.
"You've both grown," Rayleigh said warmly. His gaze lingered on Buggy. "Especially you. It seems you finally found the right way to use your Devil Fruit."
Buggy scratched his cheek, trying to look composed.
"I met someone. If it weren't for his guidance, I wouldn't have discovered the true potential of the Chop-Chop Fruit."
For a brief second, an image flashed in his mind.
Marshall D. Teach.
And the memory of getting beaten black and blue three years ago.
Rayleigh caught the flicker of unease in Buggy's eyes.
"Oh? Then I should thank this person. Who is it?"
Buggy hesitated. Then, under everyone's stare, he muttered,
"Teach."
Rayleigh's brows lifted slightly.
"Teach? What happened?"
Buggy gave a concise retelling of the incident.
By the time he finished, the entire bar erupted in laughter.
The Red Hair Pirates laughed. The Clown Pirates laughed. Even Shakky smiled behind the counter.
Buggy flushed red.
They had not expected that their captain once stayed awake for days during the Roger Pirates' ceasefire with the Whitebeard Pirates, just to confirm whether Teach truly never slept.
The image of Buggy secretly staring at Teach during rest hours was too absurd.
Shanks laughed hardest of all.
It was easy to imagine how irritating that must have been for Teach.
"Hey! What's so funny? I was serious!" Buggy barked, glaring at his crew. "That guy is a monster! Training without sleep? Who even does that?"
He clenched his fists. A faint, invisible pressure flickered around them.
The laughter slowly died down.
Shanks turned serious and looked at Rayleigh.
"Mr. Rayleigh, please guide us. The New World is too intense right now. Our strength isn't enough. We need time to grow."
Buggy nodded immediately.
Their crews were barely three years old. Many members had joined only a year or two ago. They had experience, but not enough foundation.
Originally, they had planned to hide somewhere in the New World and develop quietly.
But things had changed.
The biggest reason was one man.
Monkey D. Garp.
Not long ago, after entering the Grand Line, they ran into the Marine Hero while he was on his way to the New World.
What followed was a brutal chase.
Buggy nearly fainted from terror.
He knew exactly how frightening Garp was.
In his mind, Garp was far more terrifying than the New World itself.
So the two pirate crews made the same decision without saying it out loud. They would enter the New World early and escape Marine pursuit before things became worse.
"If only there were a place we could hide and train like the Nightfall Pirates did," Buggy muttered.
Rayleigh smiled.
"I can recommend a place."
He exchanged a glance with Shakky.
"There's an island called Rusukaina. It has forty-eight seasons. The climate shifts every week. Extreme temperatures. Violent wildlife. No humans."
He paused.
"It's in the Calm Belt."
Both crews froze.
"The Calm Belt? How are we supposed to get there?"
"I'll take you," Rayleigh replied casually. "No need to rush. Not in the next few days though. I have something important first."
Shanks blinked.
"You still have something to do?"
Rayleigh looked relaxed, almost retired. Hard to imagine him busy with anything serious.
Shakky leaned against the counter and smiled.
"Rayleigh has a fight tomorrow."
Silence fell instantly.
"With who?" Shanks asked.
"Teach," Rayleigh answered calmly. "We agreed on it when he visited this bar. The time has come."
Buggy's eyes widened.
Shanks' expression sharpened.
"Of course we'll watch," Shanks said. "I want to see how strong Teach truly is."
Rayleigh stood.
"Then leave for now. I need to prepare."
Early the next morning, the Nightfall Pirates left Sabaody Archipelago.
The battle could not take place there. Too many eyes. Too close to Marineford.
Teach might not care.
Rayleigh did.
Rayleigh had no intention of exposing his presence on Sabaody. His life as a coating mechanic had only just stabilized.
The battlefield was an uninhabited island northwest of Sabaody. Yellow rock. Barren land. Sparse vegetation.
Remote. Isolated from common sea routes.
Perfect.
Teach left several crew members to guard the ship. Too many people were watching the Nightfall Pirates. They moved quietly.
With Redyat's shadow ability, most members concealed themselves inside his internal shadow space. Teach used gravity to fly directly toward the island, guided by the Eternal Pose Shakky had provided.
When he arrived, he sensed it immediately.
Several gazes locked onto him.
Buggy and Shanks were already there. Their ships were docked along the shore. Both crews stood ready.
Teach raised a brow slightly.
He hadn't known they arrived at Sabaody. They came after him, and he had been focused entirely on preparing for Rayleigh.
Interesting.
So they were heading to the New World early too.
He didn't dwell on it.
The world had already changed in many ways. What mattered now was Rayleigh.
Teach descended from the sky.
The moment his boots touched the ground, shadows spilled outward from his body like liquid ink.
They spread across the earth.
Then figures rose from within.
One after another, the members of the Nightfall Pirates emerged.
Dozens of them.
Not too many. Enough to avoid suspicion.
Sharp eyes like those of Benn Beckman and Carlos noticed something else.
All the moving shadows quietly returned to Redyat's feet.
"Impressive ability," someone muttered.
"This must be the Vice-Captain's power," Benn Beckman said calmly. "Shadow control. Concealment. Internal storage space. Extremely high strategic value."
Carlos narrowed his eyes.
"That explains Impel Down."
Three hundred meters separated the two sides.
Yet the pressure was obvious.
The Nightfall Pirates stood confidently. Each member carried the aura of someone tempered by countless battles.
Victory after victory had carved that confidence into their bones.
Shanks stared at them, eyes bright.
"They're all strong."
And at the center stood Marshall D. Teach.
Waiting.
Before the battle.