Chapter 337: The Invincible King of the Coast
East China Sea, Zhumeida Island, Kekeasi Village.
The sky was clear blue and the sea was calm. Occasionally, seabirds flew low over the sky, searching for possible prey, and then were startled by bursts of noise near the coast.
"Cheers to Amber Tours!"
"Cheers to celebrating the defeat of the Arlong Pirates!"
"Cheers to Wendy-chan, the Sky Priestess!"
Cheers came one after another. Aaron, with a bounty of 20 million, was a monster-level pirate for the entire East China Sea. It was unimaginable that a remote small village like theirs could survive after seeing Aaron.
Especially since the price they paid was just a few houses collapsed and a dozen people injured, this is definitely something worth celebrating.
"Hey? Does Perona also have magical powers like Wendy?" Nojigo asked in surprise.
Not long after the party started, Bellemel went off to drink with others, and Nojiko and Nami naturally joined in with Wendy and Perona.
"Yes, look." Perona released a little ghost with a white translucent body, a red sausage mouth, and round black eyes. It looked very cute.
"So cute!" Nami reached out to poke it, but the little ghost dodged it nimbly.
Wendy pulled Nami and explained, "Don't touch it. If you do, you'll become very negative and make a fool of yourself."
Nojigo asked curiously, "What does it mean to become negative?"
Perona frowned: "It's hard to explain, why don't we find someone to try it."
Wendy advised, "No, if you use your ability to tease others, you will be punished by Brother Tatsuya again."
"So as long as they are not ordinary people, it's fine?" Nami looked at the fishmen tied together and smiled like a little devil. She didn't have any good feelings towards these fishmen.
"That's right!" Perona pulled Nami and Nojiko and ran towards the fish people.
Wendy belatedly reached out a hand and said helplessly, "I don't think this is a good idea..."
A few minutes later, Nojiko and Nami looked at Perona in admiration: "How amazing!"
Perona put her hands on her hips proudly and said, "It's a piece of cake."
The sky above the area where the fishmen were located was filled with low pressure. After a few seconds, the fishmen who were tied up tightly and unable to resist began to curse. However, whoever started cursing would be the focus of the negative ghost's attention.
After going through so much trouble, the fish people fell into a state of autism. Let it be whatever it wants, it won’t kill them if they say a few negative words.
Zhang Da also glanced over there, said nothing, and continued to enjoy the sea beef. Although Moo Moo looked cute, he was actually guilty of demolishing houses and hurting people. It was not unfair that he was cooked in eighteen different ways by the villagers.
Tom and Altria were also feasting on the meal nearby. They hadn't eaten sea beast meat for a long time since they left the Grand Line and they missed it terribly.
At some point, Altria stopped eating and reminded, "A guest is coming."
Zhang Da also looked at the tableware she had gently put down and asked, "Is it such a big deal?"
Altria nodded: "He's an acquaintance."
"Mr. Tatsuya!" A villager ran over. "An old man came to the shore and said he was someone you knew and wanted to see you."
"An acquaintance? An old man, Kapu?" Zhang Da also wiped his mouth, stood up and followed the villagers to the shore.
Altria followed silently. Tom looked at his master, then at the meat on the table, hesitated for a second, then hurriedly caught up with a large meaty bone in one hand.
When we reached the shore, the old man was wringing his wet shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.
Zhang Da was also surprised: "Rayleigh?"
Rayleigh wiped his round-frame glasses, put them back on, and said with a smile, "Long time no see, Tatsuya-kun."
It was indeed a long time since we last met, but Zhang Da didn't really want to see him: "Why are you here?"
"This is all thanks to you, Brother Tatsuya." Rayleigh looked at him with some resentment, "Because a little girl asked me for help, I couldn't just ignore her, so I had to send her back to the Kingdom of Corkia. You two had a very cool journey along the way."
Zhang Da also blinked his eyes, and it took him a long time to remember that before he left Shampoo Land, he seemed to have blamed Rayleigh for a big part of the blame. He didn't expect that there really was a slave being hunted and ran to Xia Qi's bar for help.
"Ha, ha, ha, you've worked so hard, old man." Zhang Da also laughed, "Then what's the matter with you? Where's your boat?"
Rayleigh smiled and said, "We originally had a small boat, but something went wrong, so we had to swim here from the Kingdom of Corkia."
The villagers nearby were all shocked: "What a joke! Do you know how far the Kingdom of Corkia is from here? You said you swam here?"
"Yes, I'm good at breaststroke." Rayleigh said as a matter of course, "Because I was attacked by the King of the Sea when I was sleeping at night, and the boat was swallowed up. I finally got out, but the boat was broken. I swam for three days and three nights."
The jaws of the people around him almost dropped to the ground. Who on earth is this guy? Even if he brags, he can't be so boastful. Let's not talk about whether he is good at breaststroke or not. Can he survive after being swallowed by the King of the Sea?
Zhang Da also felt that this statement had a lot of flaws. How could a top boss like you be ambushed by the King of the Near Sea while you were sleeping?
There are so many kings of the East China Sea. It first ate the Bandit King, then bit Shanks, and now it swallowed Rayleigh. It is simply the strongest creature! I wonder if Rayleigh saw a familiar arm in its stomach.
"So you came here to rest?" Zhang Da was also curious whether he came here by chance or for Xiao Ba. He remembered that Xiao Ba seemed to have a good relationship with Rayleigh.
Rayleigh's answer was a little unexpected to Zhang Daye: "No, I just heard a lot of news about the young man recently, so I came here to ask for a drink."
After the Golden Island, the Amber headed for the Upside-Down Mountain, and captured many pirates along the way. It was no secret that they were the pirates. It was easy to determine their route based on some news and rumors. Even those fools who were looking for the Wunan treasure could find it, not to mention Rayleigh.
"But..." Rayleigh looked at the Arlong Pirates' ship moored on the shore and said, "After arriving here, I found that a friend is also here. Is it convenient for me to meet him?"
"Are you friends with those fish-man pirates?" The villagers looked around, ready to find a suitable weapon to beat him out.
"No, only one of them is my savior." Rayleigh's expression was still kind, "His name is Xiaoba, he is an octopus man."
The villagers' expressions eased a little, but they were still unfriendly. It didn't seem too much to ask to see their savior, right? However, they didn't catch these pirates, so it wasn't their turn to make the decision. The villagers looked at Zhang Daye.
Tom stared at Rayleigh, feeling like he had seen this old man before, but also like he hadn't. Tom took a big bite of sea monster meat and fell into deep thought while chewing.
Altria felt relieved when she felt that there was no hostility in Rayleigh, and she took small bites of the big bone in Tom's other hand, again and again.
Zhang Da also thought about it and said, "Then let's meet."
…
When Zhang Daye brought Rayleigh to the fish people, a group of children were having fun playing pranks on the fish people, throwing stones, tying hair and so on. They dispersed when they saw adults coming, leaving only Perona and the others.
Zhang Da also frowned, feeling that these naughty kids needed to be disciplined.
Perona looked at Zhang Daya with a guilty conscience and explained in a low voice: "They all came over when they saw us teasing the fishmen. I couldn't do anything to them, and I couldn't use my abilities on them."
"It's okay." Zhang Da was just worried that those naughty kids would become more naughty. But it was none of his business. His own problem child was becoming more and more well-behaved anyway.
Rayleigh saw Xiaoba, who was covered in wounds and tied up tightly, and called out, "Xiaoba, are you okay?"
"Rayleigh?" Xiao Ba blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating. However, since he was honest, he was the least tortured and was actually in good condition. Xiao Ba said excitedly, "Why are you here? I'm fine, but, but Brother A'long was killed by him!"
Rayleigh frowned and looked at Zhang Daye: "Did you kill someone?"
Zhang Da also asked back: "You have never killed anyone?"
We haven't seen each other for a few months, why are the words so tense? Rayleigh said, "I mean, I heard that you have a good relationship with Jinbei. Is it really okay to kill Arlong like this?"
"Jinbei is Jinbei, and Arlong is Arlong. If he knew what this guy did, Jinbei would also want to kill him. But he might not be able to do it because of his compatriots. I'll do it to save him from embarrassment." This is the conclusion Zhang Daye and Shark Chili deduced based on Jinbei's personality. "Anyway, we still have to go to Fishman Island in the future. If he wants revenge then, I'll take over."
Rayleigh looked Zhang Tatsuya up and down and said with a smile, "I feel like you've changed a lot in just a short time at sea."
"Yes." Zhang Da also looked at Rayleigh, "But to your disappointment, the more I continue traveling, the more I hate pirates."
"So, what do you think of the World Government?" Rayleigh smiled nonchalantly. It's okay to hate pirates, because he hates many pirates, but he has also heard about the Bridge Kingdom, and there are many parts of the news that cannot stand up to scrutiny. Rayleigh's glasses reflected the light of wisdom, and people like him could easily see through the truth.
Zhang Daye's heart was beating fast. If Rayleigh could see it, the World Government and the high-ranking navy officers might also be able to guess that his little tricks could probably only deceive the people below. This was embarrassing. The agreed development in secret suddenly became an open matter.
However, there is no need to worry in the short term. The Navy should have a high assessment of their strength , and their image has always been that of an ally of the Navy, always committed to fighting pirates. As long as the Navy is not stupid, they should not force them to the opposite side.
Things like what happened in the Kingdom on the Bridge, where more than a thousand laborers escaped and more than a thousand pirates were captured, would be fine as long as they didn't suffer too much loss and could be justified in terms of appearance.
Zhang Da also felt relieved a little. It seemed that next time he did such a "good deed", he would have to find a way out for the World Government?
Shaking his head, Zhang Da also said: "We are just an ordinary tour group. What can we think of the world government?"
"Really? That's good too." Rayleigh smiled without comment. It was indeed an ordinary tour group. They had killed off a big shot from the previous era in a very ordinary way and had messed up the East China Sea in a very ordinary way. So let it continue to be ordinary.
"..." Zhang Da also looked at the smile on Lei Li's face and felt a little unhappy. He felt that Lei Li was pretending and wanted Ye Yan to hit him with a club.
He looked around and saw Ye Yan, who was wearing a gray military uniform and holding a ring-handled machete, performing a show. Finally, he gave up the idea.
Rayleigh chatted with Xiao Ba for a few more words, and finally looked at Zhang Daye.
Before he could speak, Zhang Da also said, "You don't want me to let him go, do you?"
Rayleigh asked, "Can you give this old man a favor? I will persuade him well and he will never be a pirate again."
"Your hair isn't red..." Zhang Da also muttered quietly. He felt that Rayleigh was somewhat problematic. When he opened the tavern before, Rayleigh persuaded him to become a pirate. Now that he met Xiao Ba, Rayleigh persuaded Xiao Ba not to become a pirate anymore...
Isn't this just deceiving that person into joining the adult industry and persuading that person to become a good person?
Zhang Da also called Ah Jian over, pointed at Xiao Ba and asked, "Did that guy hurt anyone?"
Ajian stared at Xiaoba, but Xiaoba didn't dare to look him in the eye and lowered his head.
After thinking for a while, Ajian said, "Most of the injuries were actually caused by the sea beast, and there may have been physical conflicts when the fishman asked everyone to gather. I don't know which family he was responsible for."
"I didn't hurt anyone, but they might have been scared by me." Xiao Ba said hurriedly, "New, that little boy was still throwing stones at me just now. Maybe he's not afraid anymore, right?"
Ah, this, Zhang Da also felt a little complicated. Xiao Ba should not have lied, and that naughty kid... let's just call it quits.
After thinking for a while, Zhang Da also said: "Promise me three things and I will let him go."
"Tell me about it."
Zhang Da also counted on his fingers and said, "The first is what you said, make sure he won't be a pirate in the future. The second is to compensate the injured villagers and those whose houses were destroyed. The third is that I am very upset about releasing a pirate, so you or he should rescue a hundred innocent good people, or kill a hundred evil people who have committed crimes. Can you accept it?"
Rayleigh pushed up his glasses and replied, "The first two are fine, but for the third one, did Tatsuya-kun misunderstand my position?"
Zhang Da also looked at him: "You want to save your benefactor, do you still need to talk about your position?"
Rayleigh lowered his head slightly, his eyes blocked by the shadows, and asked, "There are other ways to save people. What if I don't agree?"
"Then let's have a fight. Knock down all ten of our Amber Tour Group, and you can save whoever you want."
