Chapter 178: Only Our Guy is Unpresentable
The sun was setting in the west, its oblique glow casting a sparkling golden light across the boundless sea as a seagull skimmed over the surface with a small fish in its beak.
The Merry drifted with the waves, a massive red mangrove tree following behind it.
After Kizaru and his men retreated, Reiner finally regrouped with the others.
The War Ogre directly displayed its terrifying physical strength, dragging a mangrove tree away as the Sabaody Archipelago gradually became a black dot and disappeared over the horizon.
"That watermelon-head guy is really strong. That was so close just now, hee hee hee."
Luffy sat on the ship's figurehead, grinning foolishly. The dangerous situation that still gave the others lingering fear had long since vanished from his mind.
Zoro sat leaning against the Merry's rail, his mind replaying the battle with Sentomaru. He murmured,
"That guy's use of Haki is very strong. He can actually project it from his body. If he hadn't revealed it himself, I would have thought he was some kind of ability user."
"That's a higher level of Haki application. As long as you train hard, you can do it too."
Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice was heard. A pair of slippers stepped onto the deck. The man had silver hair and a silver beard, wore round glasses, and had a scar running vertically through his right eye.
The crew on the ship was instantly alarmed, immediately grabbing their weapons and looking warily at the newcomer.
"Who are you!"
"Marine reinforcements?!"
Zoro's sword was half-drawn. His beast-like intuition told him that this man's strength was extremely terrifying.
"Don't be nervous, everyone. I'm just a humble coating artisan. I've heard about you for a long time. I've always wanted to meet you, Straw Hat," Rayleigh said with a smile on his face.
He strolled leisurely towards Luffy, and as he passed by Zoro, he casually pushed his sword back into its sheath.
Luffy, however, looked bewildered. He thought for a while but couldn't place the person. Giving up, he tilted his head and said:
"Who are you, old man?"
"Well, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rayleigh. A few years ago, Shanks..."
Then, before the shocked expressions of the crew, Rayleigh gave a long self-introduction.
Only then did they formally learn that this coating artisan Hachi wanted to introduce them to, Shakky's... partner, the right hand of the Pirate King, Shanks's first mate, was the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh!
Because of the previous introductions from Hachi and Shakky, everyone was mentally prepared and soon began to chat with him.
Except for the fact that Shanks had been on the Pirate King's ship, which shocked Luffy quite a bit, the others basically knew everything else.
Outside the second-floor dining room, Reiner sat on the railing smoking a cigarette, listening to their idle chat.
Everyone asked the old antique, who had completed a full voyage of the Grand Line, many questions, and Robin also mentioned the Poneglyphs.
However, Rayleigh just kept them in suspense, asking in return if they really wanted to get all the answers here. Robin then decided not to press further.
"Alright, it was nice chatting with you all. It's been a long time since I've been with young people. I feel much younger myself. Hahaha! Then I'll get to work." Rayleigh patted his bottom and stood up.
After chatting for a while, Rayleigh learned that they wanted him to coat their ship and readily accepted the job. He secured the Merry to the side of the floating mangrove tree and went onto the island to start working.
It's worth mentioning that this tree was moved from a coating shipyard, and there were still several workshops and coating artisans who were brought along with it.
After receiving a generous payment from Reiner and a promise that they would be let go later, the several coating artisans also began to assist Rayleigh, striving to complete the coating work as soon as possible.
Reiner and the others, meanwhile, went into the aquarium to start contacting Kid and the others.
Buru-buru-buru~~
Buru-buru-buru~~
In the room surrounded by the giant fish tank, a group of people sat around a long table. Several Den Den Mushis were placed on the table, dialing the numbers of several people respectively.
After a series of ringing sounds, the Den Den Mushis all lifted their eyelids, their expressions mimicking those on the other end.
Law: "Moshi moshi, is this Straw Hat-ya?"
Kid: "Yo, still alive? To be able to escape from an Admiral, you guys have tough lives."
Hawkins: "I just did a divination. The卦象 clearly showed that today would be your doomsday."
Urouge: "Hahaha, you charlatan! Fate is not something we can casually pry into!"
Bonney: "Huh? What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you gluttonous monk!"
Before long, all the Den Den Mushis were connected, and everyone started talking at once, the whole room instantly becoming incredibly noisy.
"Honestly, getting these guys to follow orders is probably impossible," Sanji sighed, holding his forehead.
Reiner didn't mind. They had all met through fighting. This was just a temporary group; it was pointless to expect cooperation.
The original intention was mutual use. No one knew what this temporary alliance would develop into later.
At this moment, the Den Den Mushi corresponding to Bege spoke in a low voice:
"Alright, you lot! Don't you have any ability to cooperate? Quiet down. Straw Hat, first tell us your current situation."
"Ah, we're getting coated," Luffy shouted at the row of Den Den Mushis before him.
After he spoke, all the Den Den Mushis quieted down, listening intently for him to continue.
After a moment of silence, Kid asked tentatively, "And then?"
Luffy: "And then we go to Impel Down."
The Den Den Mushis: "..."
Reiner: "..."
Is there a problem?
Doesn't seem like there's a problem, just that a few billion details were omitted.
The room fell into silence. Everyone except Luffy lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Usopp was screaming internally. This is supposed to be an alliance of nine Supernova pirate crews doing something big! Shouldn't the captains' meeting have some class!
Why does our captain feel so unpresentable!
"So embarrassing."
Seeing the speechless expressions on the row of Den Den Mushis on the table, Nami wished she could dig a hole and bury her head in it. "I feel like I can't hold my head up in front of others."
Law: "...Is... is anyone else there? Black Snake-ya? Black Leg-ya?"
Reiner remained silent.
Sanji cleared his throat and spoke, steeling himself, "Ahem, our coating time will be much earlier. Also, Reiner has a way to speed up our progress underwater. We expect to catch up with you near Impel Down within three days."
"You guys arrive first and wait outside the range of monitored Den Den Mushis. We will formulate a detailed strategy later and sync up with you after we rendezvous..."
"I understand, Black Leg-ya. See you in three days."
"Contact us by Den Den Mushi if anything comes up."
"Next time, you should just host the meeting directly, Mr. Sanji."
With that, several captains hung up. The Den Den Mushis closed their disdainful eyes.
Grumble, grumble~~
A protest sounded from Luffy's stomach. He collapsed onto the table with a dejected expression. "So hungry! Sanji, I want to eat!"
"I'm hungry too. Let's talk about the plan later. Is there anything in the fridge to tide us over?" Reiner closed his eyes and leaned back powerlessly in his chair.
The others had all just finished fighting not long ago, and he had been pushing a mangrove tree for a while. They were all quite tired.
"You guys are impossible. There's some food in the fridge. I'll go make dinner," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette and heading upstairs.
The others also started to busy themselves.
"I've collected some information about Impel Down from Sister Shakky. It includes intelligence on the guards on each level of the underwater prison."
Robin held up a piece of paper filled with writing and gestured. "Let me organize it and show it to everyone tonight. It will also be convenient for you to formulate a plan."
"Then I'll go study the detailed sea charts of the great whirlpool. This is my first time navigating underwater," Nami said with a faint smile, walking towards the chart room.
Leading everyone to their destination was the navigator's duty, whether it was to the sky or to the bottom of the sea.
The sun gradually set below the horizon, and night fell.
The Merry and the mangrove tree just drifted slowly on the sea.
In the second-floor dining room, a warm light shone out. The group had a lively and hearty meal.
Leaving the undead to wash the dishes, the group returned to the first-floor bar for another meeting, roughly formulating a plan for the assault on Impel Down.
Soon, the lights on the ship gradually went out, and everyone went to their dormitories to rest early.
After Rayleigh learned they were going to Impel Down, he and the several artisans worked through the night.
The next evening, after a full day and night had passed, the coating work that was supposed to take three days was completed in just over a day.
Including the sails, the entire ship's surface was wrapped in a layer of elastic film, shimmering with a colorful oily sheen.
On the lawn deck.
"Well then, I've taught you all how to use the coated ship. You can dive into the sea at any time now. We'll part ways here. I'll make a small boat and leave with those artisans."
Rayleigh had a smile on his face. He handed a manual to Nami. "If you forget anything, you can look it up in here."
"Mm, thank you," Nami said, taking the manual.
Reiner couldn't help but ask, "But where are you planning to take them? Sabaody Archipelago doesn't have a Log Pose, does it? After drifting on the sea for a day, how will you get back?"
Rayleigh smiled nonchalantly. "Well~~, we'll just row for now. We'll find a way. Maybe we'll run into a ship sometime."
Everyone: "..."
So casual? Now that I think about it, the 'shipwreck' and 'being saved by Hachi' were probably only half a coincidence.
As expected of the man who would swim the Calm Belt on a whim.
"Take this Eternal Pose."
"This is... how do you have a pose for that place?"
Rayleigh took the pose Reiner threw him, looking at the two words engraved on it with puzzlement.
"Well, it was originally a backup for a backup plan. But the other Supernovas have them too. You can use it."
Reiner smiled faintly and then said, "By the way, Rayleigh, I'd like to borrow your body."
Rayleigh: "???"
Before long, Reiner had skimmed a wave of Rayleigh's template and fused it with Sukuna.
After the two groups bid farewell, the coated ship, under Nami's command, began to submerge bit by bit.
Sailing underwater for the first time, everyone was filled with a sense of novelty and anticipation.
Luffy sat at the bow, quietly looking ahead. This time, setting out, he was not as cheerful as usual, but rather wore a calm expression.
"Impel Down, wait for me, Ace."
(End of chapter)
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