Chapter 180: Heading to Fish-Man Island
"Hm?" Shakky's expression showed a bit of surprise as she asked, "How did little Eric-chan know that I have information on the BIG MOM Pirates?"
'I can't exactly say I guessed it from the manga, that you were part of the Rocks Pirates,' Eric thought quickly. 'There are plenty of dumb pirates, but also plenty of smart ones. Is intelligence distributed like savings—averaged out across the population?'
"Was Shakky also a member of the Roger Pirates?"
"Mm~ nope." Shakky's short hair swayed slightly.
"There aren't many pirate crews that can rival the one Uncle Rayleigh was in."
"The Roger Pirates?! Rayleigh?!" Gin , who had been sitting, suddenly stood with a loud bang. "You're the right-hand man of Pirate King Gol D. Roger—'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh?!"
"That's right," Scáthach gave the overexcited Gin a sideways glance. "Sit down. Such a fuss is unseemly."
"Yes, I'm terribly sorry!" Gin sat upright at once, eyes still glued to Rayleigh.
"Hahaha, I've long since retired. Now I'm just a coating craftsman," Rayleigh laughed heartily and waved it off.
Eric continued, "What remains are the remnants of the Rocks Pirates from 27 years ago—crews like Whitebeard's, BIG MOM's, the Beasts Pirates, and the Flying Pirates that emerged after they split."
"Oh~" Rayleigh grew curious about the boy before him. For someone his age to know such secretive history—especially about the Rocks Pirates, whose existence had been erased by the World Government—was impressive. Many people didn't even know the name Rocks.
"Uh…" Eric realized he might have said too much, but there was no taking it back. He quickly tried to close the topic. "Shakky once mentioned she quit being a pirate a long time ago, which matches the timeline of the Rocks Pirates' downfall."
"I guessed that Shakky might have once been part of the Rocks Pirates, but after their collapse, she gave it up."
"Phew~" Shakky exhaled a puff of smoke and stubbed out her cigarette. "For a second there, I thought you'd lived through it all yourself. I'm becoming more and more curious about you, little Eric-chan~"
"Uhh…"
"Hahaha," Shakky waved her hand. "Don't worry, if you don't want to talk, you don't have to. I won't pry. I'm just here to cheer you youngsters on."
Shakky narrowed her eyes. "What you're all doing now is a lot like the old Rocks Pirates. The only difference is that Rocks D. Xebec acted purely on his own ambition, and the people on his ship—like Golden Lion Shiki, Charlotte Linlin , and Kaido—were all power-hungry as well."
"The lack of unity brought down even a crew as strong as the Rocks Pirates. Don't repeat their mistakes and walk toward destruction."
"Of course!" Eric replied confidently—only to glance back and see Kurumi and Esdeath glaring daggers at each other…
"Pfft," Shakky laughed. "Little Eric-chan is really charming—but also the crew's biggest instability."
She then pulled out Eric's wanted poster. "Besides attacking the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue, what else did you do? Why did your bounty increase again, without a word?"
"'Most Vile Pirate' Darren Eric. Bounty: 1.1 billion Berries."
"Uh," Eric scratched his head. "I accidentally ran into Vice Admiral Garp … and escaped from him."
"That's no small feat," Shakky said, resting her chin in her hand. "Back in the day, Garp chased us around the world."
"Hahaha," Eric said proudly, "But if we're set on escaping by sea, no one's catching our ship!"
"What a fine vessel you have~" Rayleigh also praised. "So, Eric-kun, are you here to have me coat your ship?"
"Yes. Coating's a matter of life and death for the whole crew, so I can only trust Uncle Rayleigh with it."
"Sure. But given the size of your ship, coating will take at least seven or eight days."
"That's fine. No need to rush—good work takes time."
"As for the BIG MOM Pirates intel, I'll have to dig it up. Not many folks come looking to buy information on a Sea Emperor."
"How much is it?" Eric reached into his pocket.
"No need." Shakky held out her hand to stop him. "Consider it a favor for a promising rookie."
"Then I won't be polite!" Eric didn't hesitate. If this were back in the Celestial Empire, they'd argue over who pays for at least five minutes.
"Anything else?" Rayleigh looked at Gin , who was sitting stiff and red-faced.
Seeing Rayleigh address him, Gin couldn't hold back. "Rayleigh-senpai, is the One Piece real?!"
The room instantly fell silent.
"Gin !" Eric yelled. "Even if you get the answer you want—so what?! We risk our lives out here, adventuring together! Isn't that more meaningful than some cold pile of treasure?!"
"!" Gin snapped out of it and quickly apologized. "Sorry, Mr. Rayleigh. Please forget I asked."
Of course, Eric added silently, 'That said, being broke really sucks.'
Rayleigh smiled warmly. "You're all sure to walk a different path."
Then he slung a toolkit over his shoulder. "The coating will take eight days. Try not to cause another major incident during that time."
"Wait," Esdeath stepped forward and drew her famed sword. "First, I want to fight you, Rayleigh."
"…Esdeath-, you really…" Rayleigh looked helpless. Why was this woman so battle-hungry?
"And me too," Scáthach said, twirling her magic spear behind her.
"…"
What could've been an eight-day coating job was dragged out to ten days thanks to these two warrior goddesses.
"Man, can't these youngsters give an old man a break?" Rayleigh stretched his sore shoulders.
He had to coat the ship daily and also spar with the two female war gods. Occasionally he even had to use Conqueror's Haki on Porche. Rayleigh, whose stamina was starting to run low, was exhausted.
"But you enjoyed it, didn't you?" Shakky came to his side.
"Hahaha!" Rayleigh laughed. "I've always liked young girls the most."
"If Eric hears that, he'll fight you for real~"
"Hahaha…" Rayleigh twisted open the iron flask hanging on his belt and took a sip. Ignoring Shakky's comment, he murmured, "So they're finally setting off for the New World…"
"Old Ray, Shakky!" Eric shouted from the bow of the ship. "We're leaving!"
"Alright!" Rayleigh raised one hand high. "Safe travels!"
Lant swam under the ship and opened the valves, slowly letting the air out of the underwater bubbles.
The bubble under Eric's feet began to inflate, expanding gradually until it enveloped the entire ship.
Ahead of the Fearless were three sea beasts caught during the ten days of coating. Thankfully, they were smart enough to be trained quickly on how to pull the ship.
As the ship's buoyancy began to drop, Lant and Gin removed the floating bags.
Both returned to the deck dripping wet, and Carla and Kana immediately handed them dry towels.
"Everyone!" Eric shouted from the center of the group. "Set sail! We're heading to Fish-Man Island!"
"Oh!"
The three sea beasts in front heard the command and pulled the Fearless into the deep sea.
(END CHAPTER)
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