It wasn't until Taro hung up the den den mushi that Rayleigh's smiling expression slightly faded, and his eyes narrowed into slits.
"So you're Taro?"
"Oh? You've heard of my name, Uncle?" Taro seemed a bit excited. This was "Dark King" Rayleigh, and he actually knew his name!
Rayleigh chuckled softly. "This is Sabaody Archipelago. No matter how isolated the information might be, I still know about the youngest Genius in the Marine in twenty years."
Taro thought of Rayleigh's old flame, Shakky, the proprietress of Shakky's Rip-off Bar, who seemed to be an intelligence broker.
Then he revealed a smiling face.
"Hello, my name is Taro. It's a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Rayleigh!"
Just as Taro finished speaking, Rayleigh moved almost simultaneously. With a kick off his right foot, his entire body became parallel to the ground as he charged straight ahead.
Taro was stunned. It wasn't until Rayleigh threw a kick at him that he reacted, hurriedly raising his leg to block.
Bang!
Underprepared, Taro was sent flying by Rayleigh's kick, only stabilizing himself after flying dozens of meters.
"You really do know my identity!" After the successful strike, Rayleigh stared coldly at Taro and spoke slowly.
Taro gave a bitter smile. "The Marine occasionally receives information about your appearance in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"However, we don't plan on taking any action against you, and I certainly bear no hostility toward you."
"Besides, Uncle, isn't it more urgent for you to go save the Straw Hat Pirates crew right now?"
Rayleigh's gaze instantly turned cold, but he didn't attack again, seemingly puzzled by Taro's behavior.
"What is your objective?"
Rayleigh asked. Sensing Taro's confusion, he added, "You intentionally let me know the location of the Straw Hat Pirates crew. Did you already know I would save them?"
Taro smiled calmly. "No objective. Keeping them around makes this world more interesting."
"Uncle Rayleigh, I still have a mission to attend to. I'll take my leave first. Until we meet again!"
Worried that if they chatted any longer, Luffy would be finished off by Kizaru's attack, Taro wanted to withdraw quickly.
But Rayleigh clearly didn't want to let Taro leave so easily. His gaze intensified, and a powerful force surged toward Taro.
[Mental attack detected. Defended.]
[Conqueror's Haki learned successfully.]
[Lacks necessary mental conditions. Unable to use.]
The series of prompts made Taro pause. Was this prompt saying he didn't have the "Qualities of a King" and was just a Salted Fish?
Taro curled his lip.
Fortunately, as Taro expected, the intimidating effect of Conqueror's Haki didn't affect him.
Snapping back to his senses, Taro smiled at Rayleigh and then soared into the sky, flying toward Grove 1 where the Human Auction House was located.
Rayleigh kept his gaze on Taro until his figure disappeared from sight. Then, with a light tap of his foot, he dashed toward Grove 27.
Grove 1, Slave Auction House.
"Admiral Kizaru has already gone to pursue them. I believe capturing them is only a matter of time. Please wait a moment longer!"
"You slow, useless slaves..." A woman wearing sunglasses with a silk scarf covering her face was loudly berating the garrison of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Taro descended from the sky. With a "bang," he landed heavily in front of the woman, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Cough, cough!
The woman coughed violently a few times. "Who is it?"
Taro ignored her and turned to look at the Sabaody Archipelago garrison. "Look at you all now, every one of you injured. You've been beaten quite miserably!"
"V-Vice Admiral Taro!" The commander of the local garrison, a Navy Captain, saw Taro descending from the sky and quickly stood at attention to salute.
"Oh? You actually recognize me?" Taro was slightly surprised.
"Since you recognize me, listen to my orders. All of you, go back and treat your wounds. You're no longer needed here."
Just as he finished speaking, the woman who had been choking on the dust Taro intentionally kicked up roared in rage:
"Who do you think you are? What do you take the Bloodline of the world's Creators for?"
Only then did Taro lazily turn around, looking up as he asked, "Who are you?"
The Navy Captain stepped forward and whispered to Taro, "Vice Admiral, this is Saint Shalria. She's a Celestial Dragon!"
I obviously know she's a Celestial Dragon; I just couldn't be bothered with her.
Taro glared at the captain, his Aura surging as he roared:
"Didn't you hear my order? What are you still doing here? Get lost!"
The Marine Soldiers were instantly scared into fleeing by Taro, while the Celestial Dragon Saint Shalria was both shocked and furious. Looking at Taro in his casual clothes, she said:
"What are you doing? They haven't captured the pirates who harmed my father and brother yet. How dare a lowly Commoner like you..."
Taro suddenly turned his head, his murderous gaze fixed on Shalria. "What did you just call me?"
He picked his ear, his tone carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "I didn't hear clearly. Say it again!"
"You... You..." Shalria was so frightened by Taro's gaze that she retreated several steps.
Taro gave her a disdainful look and said coldly, "Wouldn't it be better to just stay in Mary Geoise and stay alive?"
"You... You..." Although Shalria was extremely angry, she was intimidated by Taro's Aura and couldn't manage a full sentence.
"Tch, so this is a Celestial Dragon!" Taro gave a contemptuous sneer. "I'll go 'hunt down' the pirates for you then."
After saying that, he ignored the pale-faced Shalria and flew into the air.
Grove 16.
Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law were teaming up to fight a Pacifista—PX-5.
The laser beams firing from PX-5's mouth were immensely powerful. The violent explosions were earth-shattering, instantly drawing Taro's attention.
Dropping from the sky, Taro first looked at the Pacifista.
PX-5's eyes glowed red as it scanned Taro from head to toe, then emitted a mechanical, bionic voice:
"Taro, Marine Vice Admiral, Marine ID 00233, confirmed as ally."
Oh? It can identify friend from foe? High tech!
"It's Vice Admiral Taro! Vice Admiral Taro is here!"
"Vice Admiral Taro has come to save us!"
The Marines, who were being beaten so badly by the two Supernovas that they were crying for their parents, heard the information from PX-5 and immediately began to shout and cheer with excitement.
Only then did Taro notice another group of Marines nearby. They had been cut and rearranged by Trafalgar Law's Move; hands and feet were swapped, heads were growing directly from waists, and one person's body was paired with another's limbs. It was extremely bizarre.
Seeing Taro, they felt as if they had seen their savior, and every one of them was emotional.
Taro's lip twitched as he looked helplessly at the crowd. "Stay back and wait. I'll save you."
Then he turned to Trafalgar Law. "You should probably restore them to their original state first!"
"And if I refuse?" Law said calmly, resting his sword on his shoulder.
Taro rubbed his forehead. "As you've heard, I'm a Marine. If you refuse..."
"Then I'll just have to beat you to death!"
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