Luffy's Call: My Journey with the Straw Hats

Zoro and the others were shocked. The ability to neutralize hundreds of people with a single glance—wasn't that the same power Moonlight often displayed? This Rayleigh actually possessed that kind of strength? Kid and Law, however, were not surprised. After all, he was a legendary figure; it was only natural for him to have such power.

"Let's get out of here, quickly," Rayleigh said with a smile, leading the way. Luffy and the others followed close behind.

At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Fleet Admiral Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, his face ashen. "The Straw Hat Pirates... that name has become so infamous in less than half a year. This is all Garp's fault. If he had just captured them at Water 7, the Navy's reputation wouldn't have been so tarnished. And now they've even attacked a Celestial Dragon. If this continues, what's next? Will they tear a hole in the sky itself?"

"Oh, how scary," a middle-aged man standing beside Sengoku said in a mock-frightened tone. He was tall and thin, wearing a yellow and white striped suit, a pair of sunglasses, and had black, curly hair. His expression, however, was completely nonchalant.

"Kizaru, I'll leave this matter to you," Sengoku said, looking at the man.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to go there myself," Kizaru nodded. The man before him was one of the Navy's three greatest military powers, Admiral Kizaru, also known as Borsalino, as famous as his colleagues Aokiji and Akainu.

Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipelago, news that the Straw Hats had attacked a Celestial Dragon sent the island, especially its pirate population, into a panic.

"No way! The Celestial Dragons were attacked! It was the Straw Hats!"

"The Straw Hat crew that's been causing such a storm lately? They've got guts, attacking the Celestial Dragons!"

"We have to get out of here! When a Celestial Dragon is attacked, the Navy always sends an Admiral!"

Countless people began to flee. There were, however, exceptions.

Somewhere on the island, a slender man with six vertical lines painted on his forehead and vertical eyebrows sat quietly on the grass. He was laying out a series of tarot cards, seemingly telling a fortune. This was Basil Hawkins, one of the eleven Supernovas.

"It's not good, Captain Hawkins!" one of his crewmates exclaimed. "The Straw Hats attacked the Celestial Dragons! We should leave quickly! The Navy will be here any minute!"

"Yes, Captain Hawkins! A war is about to break out! We don't need to get involved!"

Hawkins ignored them, calmly flipping over the last tarot card. "The chance of death is 0%," he said calmly. "The chance of escape is 0%. This means we will be captured."

"But..." his crew stared at him, stunned.

Not just Hawkins, but the other Supernovas scattered across the island—Kid, Law, and the others—all chose not to flee. Despite the growing panic, they remained, each busy with their own affairs, completely unconcerned.

And then, the Marines arrived.

Back at Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Luffy and the others were enjoying a meal. Rayleigh had just introduced himself.

"You're the first mate of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger?"

Hearing this, everyone except Shakky was stunned. Luffy quickly covered his mouth, forcibly swallowing the food he had stuffed in, and stared at Rayleigh in shock. Zoro and the others did the same. They knew Rayleigh was no ordinary person—Kid and Law had called him a "big shot"—but they never imagined he was this powerful.

"Monkey D. Luffy," Rayleigh smiled gently, his eyes filled with nostalgia as he looked at Luffy's straw hat. "I've wanted to meet you for a long time. When Captain Roger went to turn himself in, he left that hat to someone. A few years later, I saw that man again, and he was missing an arm. I asked him what happened, and he said he had bet it on the new era, on a certain boy. Ever since then, I've been keeping an eye on you." He spoke gently, as if reminiscing, but his words left everyone stunned.

"Roger turned himself in?" The legend across the seas was that the Marines had captured him. No one knew the truth.

"Shanks..." Luffy trembled. The man Rayleigh was talking about, the one who had lost his arm, had to be Shanks.

Rayleigh took a sip of his drink and smiled at their surprised faces. "Five years ago, Captain Roger contracted an incurable disease. He knew he didn't have long to live. Fortunately, we met Crocus at Twin Capes. Only he could ease the Captain's pain. We brought him aboard, and he said he was looking for someone. And just like that, we found Laugh Tale."

"Twin Capes... he was looking for someone! That was me!" Brook cried out, his voice filled with emotion.

"Laugh Tale!" the others gasped. So, the Pirate King had really been there. The great treasure, the One Piece, was real.

Robin stood up, her expression solemn. "Then... what is the truth of the world? I saw Roger's message on Skypiea. What did he leave behind? What happened to the world? What is on Laugh Tale?"

"We did indeed reach Laugh Tale, and we learned the truth of this world," Rayleigh said, looking at Robin with a gentle smile. "But Roger chose not to act on it. What happened to Ohara was a deep regret. They were a group of great people. If you want to know, I can tell you. But I suggest you find the truth for yourselves, on your own ship. Perhaps the answer you find will be different from ours."

Robin paused. She could know the truth right now, just by asking. But did she really want to learn it that way? The old her might have, but now, after all she had experienced with the crew... if she knew everything now, would their journey together be over?

"No," Moonlight said, taking Robin's hand and shaking his head. "We will find the answers ourselves, on our own ship."

"Moonlight," Robin whispered, her body trembling slightly as she looked at him.

"Vice-Captain Moonlight. I believe you will be a competent first mate," Rayleigh nodded, a deep smile on his face.

"So... is the great treasure real? What's it like?" Usopp asked, his voice shaking with excitement. He couldn't wait to know the answer.

Rayleigh smiled, about to speak, when Luffy suddenly shouted, "U...so...pp!" His expression was serious. "I don't want to know about any treasure! We're all risking our lives to sail these seas! I don't want anyone to tell me the answer! I have to find it myself! If I knew, I'd quit being a pirate!"

"Luffy! Right, right! I don't want to know either!" Usopp quickly waved his hands.

A solemn silence fell over the room as everyone nodded in agreement. They had braved so much, faced so many life-or-death situations. If they learned the answer now, what would be the point of it all?

"Are you sure you can do it? Can you conquer this sea?" Rayleigh asked, looking at Luffy meaningfully.

Luffy's expression was serious. "I have no intention of conquering anything. On this sea, the freest person is the King of the Pirates!"

"Captain..." Rayleigh's pupils shrank as he looked at Luffy, as if seeing Roger's shadow. He remembered Shanks telling him about a kid in the East Blue who had said the exact same thing as their captain. Now, that kid had grown up. And he was just as Shanks had described.

"Really?" Rayleigh's smile was genuine. "Then you can find the answer on your own ship. I'll coat it for you, free of charge. But it will take three days. You can use that time to gather supplies."

"Alright," everyone nodded.

By now, a large number of Marines had descended on the Sabaody Archipelago, beginning their sweep to arrest all pirates.

"You are Basil Hawkins?" Admiral Kizaru asked, looking the Supernova up and down as if trying to confirm his identity.

Hawkins ignored him, focused on his divination. "Chance of death: 0%. Chance of escape: 30%," he murmured.

"How troublesome," Kizaru said, scratching his head.

At that moment, Hawkins's pirates charged at the Admiral, but their weapons passed straight through his body.

"Oh, how scary," Kizaru said, a look of mock horror on his face. He then flicked a finger. A yellow laser beam shot out, piercing through all the pirates who had charged him. The beam continued on, striking a building behind them.

"BOOM!" The building collapsed.

"Demon Transformation!" Hawkins's body suddenly changed, turning into a giant scarecrow. His fingers became five-inch nails, and he swiped at Kizaru. The attack was so fast that Kizaru couldn't dodge it. But Hawkins's hand passed straight through his body.

"Hm?" Hawkins's face tightened.

A dull, somewhat mocking voice sounded beside him. "Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

The next moment, Kizaru appeared and kicked him.

"BOOM!"

Hawkins's entire body was sent flying. When he landed, countless small straw dolls flew out of him, and he coughed up blood, covered in scars. At the same time, the pirates who had been his "scarecrows" also flew out, all of them vomiting blood and collapsing, unconscious.

"The captain was defeated by Kizaru!" The remaining pirates screamed and tried to flee. But Kizaru just flicked his fingers again, and a series of light waves shot out, piercing through them all. In a matter of seconds, they were all injured, and no one escaped.

"So this is the strength of an Admiral?" Killer and Urouge, who had just arrived and were preparing to join the fight, immediately turned and fled. They were confident in their own strength, but they could see the massive gap between them and Kizaru. When the difference in strength was this great, what was the point of fighting?

"Yo, you think you're faster than light?" Before they could get far, a brilliant light gathered in front of them, and Kizaru appeared again.

"Kizaru!" they yelled, attacking him.

But Kizaru just kicked them.

"BOOM!"

Both were sent flying, crashing to the ground, defeated.

"As expected of Admiral Kizaru! He takes out a Supernova with a single kick!" the surrounding Marines cheered, looking at him with admiration.

Kizaru looked at the time, about to continue his pursuit of the other Supernovas, when his Den Den Mushi rang. It was Sentomaru.

"Master, I'm here. Who should I deal with first? The others, or the Straw Hats?"

"Oh, what a headache," Kizaru said. "Let's go with the Straw Hats."

"Right."

Not long after the Straw Hats left Rayleigh's place, they were blocked by a massive figure.

"A Warlord! Bartholomew Kuma!" they gasped. It was the same Tyrant Kuma they had encountered on Thriller Bark. The memory of his terrifying power was still fresh in their minds. This was big trouble.

"No," Moonlight said, shaking his head. "He's not Kuma." Though this figure looked identical, Moonlight could not detect any of the fluctuations of a living being that he had sensed from the real Kuma. This was not the real deal.

"If he's not Kuma, then what is he?" everyone wondered.

Just then, the Kuma replica attacked. It opened its mouth, and a laser beam shot out, moving at the speed of light.

SWOOSH!

At the same instant, Moonlight acted. He swung the Pheasant Sword, slicing the laser beam in two. The sword energy continued on, splitting the Kuma replica in half and revealing the precise machinery within. It was a robot.

"It's not Kuma!" everyone exclaimed.

"You killed a Pacifista with a single slash. You must be the Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat crew, Moonlight!" A man carrying a massive battle-ax appeared before them. He was huge, wearing a red loincloth with a three-tomoe pattern painted on it. This was Sentomaru. He looked at the bisected Pacifista, then at Moonlight, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and respect.

"Oh, how scary," a voice said. At the same time, a brilliant light condensed beside him, and Admiral Kizaru appeared.