"It seems like we came at the wrong time." A voice came from the side, which distracted Luffy and Robin.
At the same time, Nami's voice also came.
"Luffy, I've brought it."
Luffy turned toward her, and his lips twitched. He sent Nami to bring back a Devil Fruit.
She looted the entire Auction.
Every valuable thing in the auction was taken away by her. With her strength, there was nobody who could stop her.
The only person capable of fighting her was shaking in fear and hiding in the corner.
"You people are interesting."
The Old Man who was standing next to Sanji spoke. He had a white beard with white hair. He wore glasses and had a mark on his right eye.
Although he looked very kind old man, especially with that chuckle, Luffy instantly recognized his power.
At least, he believed they were on the same level. If Rayleigh knew some tricks, he might even win.
That was the feeling Luffy was getting.
'No wonder!'
"You must be Old Man Rayleigh? Why did you sell yourself at the auction?"
Luffy asked in a confused tone upon identifying him.
"It's just a hobby of mine. When you get old, you don't have the energy to rob strong people. So, I just let some nobles buy me, and then I will rob them."
Rayleigh replied with no shame.
"Oh!" Luffy nodded. He understood that it was just an excuse, but it was also a proper excuse.
Because unless Rayleigh had a powerful trick, especially blocking his Observation Haki, he was sure to win in their battle.
That's only because Rayleigh wouldn't be able to hold that long.
Of course, his Fourth Gear also had a problem. But unlike him, Rayleigh was old, and using Conqueror Haki constantly would make him tire very soon.
"So, should we go back, Luffy?" Sanji asked.
Luffy threw Kid on him and said.
"Go and check how far the Marines are. If they are close, ask Kuma to bring Liam back immediately. If not, we will wait for him."
"Okay!"
Sanji nodded and disappeared with a flash of lightning.
On the other hand, Rayleigh looked at Luffy with surprise. He didn't see any fear in Luffy's eyes, knowing that the Admiral was about to come.
No, it was more like they anticipated the Admirals to arrive here.
"Didn't Marine fight you before? They just declared war on the Whitebeard Pirates. Are they so sure to spend their forces on you?"
At this point, Rayleigh knew Luffy wasn't a bud that needed some time and guidance to sprout.
He was a full-fledged tree.
So, unless the Marines were ready to pull out all of their cards, they shouldn't pick a fight with two Emperors.
Just by standing in front of Luffy, even Rayleigh had to admit that Luffy was stronger than him.
When he was young, he might've been able to beat Luffy with that trick. But at this age, he couldn't use it.
Without that trick, it was basically a fight of attrition. In that case, Luffy had an edge over him.
"Ace is my brother. I will definitely save Ace. So, they don't want me and my crew to interfere in this upcoming war."
Luffy said.
"Oh! Then, it makes sense. By the way, should we leave now? Your crewmate has already freed other people. Now, marines should be surrounding this area."
"By the way, I saw you using that trick with your Conqueror Haki against those bounty hunters. Who taught you that?" Rayleigh curiously asked as they walked out of the collapsed building.
At this moment, a lot of marines had surrounded the area. Just as they walked out, Luffy released his Conqueror's Haki.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
He defeated those marines without even lifting a finger. More importantly, he didn't kill them.
He knew these marines were simply following orders. He wouldn't kill people unless they truly pissed him off.
"Liam taught me that trick. By the way, Old Man, I didn't notice your presence there."
Luffy was surprised. He truly didn't sense Rayleigh.
It was surprising because among the crew, he had the best Observation Haki, even above Sanji.
Although Sanji had bigger radar, it was mostly focused on women. And, he hadn't mastered Future Sight yet.
If a woman were attacked, then his Future Sight would be triggered, but that's exactly why he hadn't mastered it.
More importantly, Luffy's Observation Haki was very much inclined towards emotions. So, it was very easy for him to feel everyone around him.
That's exactly why he was confused.
"Liam? Is that your Vice Captain? Sure enough! Shakky compared him to Benn Beckman. She wasn't wrong. This kind of information shouldn't flow out that easily."
"As for my presence, I have learned this trick to live here. After all, I can't show off on this island when it is so close to Marine Headquarters."
Rayleigh replied.
Then, he curiously asked.
"So, why did you come for me? Since you are going to fight Marines, you don't need any urgent coating, do you?"
Luffy shook his head and said.
"I wonder if you can help us in this battle. According to Liam, Marines wouldn't let us go. They will definitely come with the intention to eradicate us."
Hearing that, Rayleigh was surprised, but he quickly shook his head and chuckled.
"I am surprised someone of your strength would ask for help so easily. But, I'm sorry. I have already left behind my pirate identity. Now, I just want to live in peace."
Luffy stared at him for a moment and smiled.
"Alright then!"
As he turned around, Robin and Nami barely controlled their smile when they saw the look in Rayleigh's face.
It was truly unexpected because Rayleigh was very confident that Luffy and his crew would beg him for help.
He didn't expect Luffy to simply nod and walk away.
"Wait, wait, aren't you going to convince me? Didn't your Vice Captain tell you this?"
Luffy stopped and scratched his head.
"Liam did tell me this. But since you are old and retired, I think you shouldn't get involved in this. Besides, I trust Liam. He must have one or two extra plans."
"You brat!"
Rayleigh was truly speechless. This was the first time he had seen someone ask for help with such a careless attitude.
It was almost like his help didn't matter at all.
"Mister Rayleigh, we know you don't want to get involved in this battle. But, this battle is very important for us, especially if we want to save Luffy's brother."
Seeing the look on his face, Robin quickly began persuading Rayleigh as she continued.
"This might sound bad, but there is actually a reason for you to get involved. And, it's not because Luffy ate that fruit or inherited that hat."
Hearing that, Rayleigh's expression tightened as he asked with a gloomy tone.
"Who told you that? Shanks isn't the type of person to brag."
"It's Liam, Old Man Rayleigh. Liam knows everything." Luffy couldn't help himself when he got a chance to praise his Vice-Captain.
Rayleigh's expression calmed down a bit. He seemed a bit hesitant after this revelation.
It was true that he would help Luffy if Luffy truly asked for it. After all, Luffy was the man Shanks bet his arm on.
Not to mention, Luffy was also the person who ate that fruit and had a golden chance to find Laugh Tale.
So, he didn't understand how there could be another reason for him to leave behind his normal life and help them.
"Continue!"
Unable to hold down his curiosity, Rayleigh asked. He wasn't afraid of others listening to his conversation simply because people were trying to leave Sabody as fast as they could.
Especially those from islands 1 to 29.
"We want to save Ace. There is no doubt about it. But, because of Luffy's Devil Fruit and strength, the World Government would do anything to deal with them if we go there."
"We can't do anything about the World Government, but we can deal with the Admirals. If we can kill or seriously injure an Admiral, we will be able to save Ace."
"More importantly, Ace is related to you, Rayleigh. He is the son of your late Captain, Gol D Roger."
When she said that, Rayleigh's eyes shrank. He didn't expect that.
There were very few individuals who knew Ace's true identity. He didn't know much about it.
Not because he didn't care. But rather because Roger hid it from everyone else and only told Garp.
Whitebeard and Sengoku found out because they were smart and rather close to Roger and Garp.
(A/N- I am not sure if Rayleigh knew about Ace's identity before his execution. Either he knew and didn't care, or he found out late.)
"More importantly, the Admirals that are coming here are Borsalino and Akainu."
When Robin said that last name, her face distorted a little.
At this moment, Luffy held her hand and spoke.
"Robin, I......"