"These two didn't come for you. I sense that your target should be me." A robust old man walked out, his graying hair unable to hide the sharpness in his eyes. His gaze toward Hera and Issho seemed to hide a cutting edge that could slice them apart.
Issho subconsciously placed his hand on his blind cane. Rayleigh retracted his Haki and instantly reverted to a robust old man. "Is this Marine lady here to ask me for coating? Don't worry, I'm the best coater on this island."
Hera shook her head. "I came for you, but not for Rayleigh the coater. I came for the Pirate King's right hand, 'Pluton' Rayleigh."
Shakky shook her head. "You certainly have a nerve. Even if you are Garp's granddaughter, you shouldn't provoke him like that."
Hera said, "I'm here on official business. Have you seen a young man who ate the Mera Mera no Mi?" She took out Crocus's letter as she spoke.
Rayleigh curiously read the letter while sizing up Hera. He had heard of Hera from Jinbe; she was a Marine with her own sense of justice and possessed a strange devil fruit ability. However, since she had spared Hatchan, who had saved his life, and was also Garp's granddaughter, Rayleigh's impression of Hera was fairly good.
Rayleigh's expression changed drastically after reading the letter, and he suddenly burst into laughter, his heroic spirit manifesting. "I didn't expect this. This old man thought Roger's era had come to an end, but isn't there still hope? The Captain actually has a son."
Hera's Armament Haki manifested, resisting the Haki leaking out during Rayleigh's laughter. The others in the tavern had already fainted when Rayleigh started laughing.
Rayleigh looked at Hera and Issho, then happily patted Hera's shoulder. "For the sake of bringing me this news, speak. I will fulfill your request."
Hera shrugged and stated her requirement. "I want you to fight this uncle when the Celestial Dragons arrive, and use Haoshoku to suppress those CP0."
Then she looked at Issho. "I hope you can proactively provoke Rayleigh when the Celestial Dragons are about to dock. Also, use your Observation Haki to tell me the Celestial Dragons' location and whether there are any strong guards."
Issho and Rayleigh were stunned for a moment; they hadn't expected such a condition. Rayleigh looked at Issho. "Young man, she's asking me to use Haoshoku. Can you handle it?"
Issho's expression was somewhat solemn. He also hadn't expected this kind of request. He had heard the name of 'Pluton' Rayleigh many times. While Issho had confidence in himself, he couldn't quite understand what Hera was trying to do.
Shakky was the first to react. She held her forehead, feeling a bit weary. "Young people's ideas are certainly adventurous. Are you planning to kill the Celestial Dragon who is coming?"
Hearing this, Issho and Rayleigh finally realized and looked at Hera.
"That truly is... a terrifying thought," Issho murmured to himself.
Hera was quite relaxed. Coming from another world, she had long found these Celestial Dragons eyesores. Now that she had the chance to kill one and vent some frustration, she might even be able to increase Empress Hancock's favorability.
Hera glanced toward the back of the tavern. She could already sense three people who hadn't fainted. It must be that the three sisters happened to be visiting Rayleigh and Shakky.
The Empress originally didn't want to show herself. She was just passing by with the Kuja Pirates to visit her benefactors. She hadn't expected to hear such a crazy plan, so she stepped out of her own accord to see who was being so arrogant.
Sensing Hera's gaze, Empress Hancock stopped hiding. With a burst of laughter, she walked out from behind the bar counter.
"I heard someone discussing how to deal with the Celestial Dragons. I didn't expect it to be just a little girl. Can someone like you really kill a Celestial Dragon?" The Empress looked at Hera. Although her words were somewhat blunt, she actually had a high opinion of such a young girl daring to say she would kill a Celestial Dragon.
Moreover, Hera's cute appearance and petite figure reminded Hancock of her two sisters, and her gaze softened slightly. However, she still didn't take Hera's words about killing a Celestial Dragon seriously, thinking it was just a child's idle talk.
Hera nodded. "I'm serious. If you help me, this will be the payment." Hera pulled several pieces of gold from her shadow and placed them on the ground.
Issho asked, "Why kill a Celestial Dragon? Didn't you say you wanted to abolish the slave trade?"
Hera began to explain, "The Celestial Dragons themselves are the biggest buyers of slaves, and the one coming here is a particular enthusiast of the slave trade. After killing him, the cowardly Celestial Dragons certainly won't dare to come here for a long time. It will be much easier for us to clean up those slave traders then. Besides, we can use searching for the killer as an excuse to investigate those places."}],
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