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Chapter 80

Title: Making connections…

….

–Robin Pov–

Pirate King's right hand? Is he really… the Dark King, Rayleigh?!

I have heard about him before but… he was on Saobody? Why wasn't he captured by marines yet?... That's not important now, is he acquainted  with Luci? They are greeting each other like they do...

In this perplexing moment, I couldn't think of anything. I usually don't get this  nervous unless I'm scared for my own life… I'm changing… I can feel it, but it's not a bad thing, right? It's better to be warier than ever. 

Suddenly, I can feel a slight charge of electricity hit me. Is this Luci trying to calm me down…? 

"Fuuu…"

That woman noticed my nervousness it seems…

Alright, I should… watch from the side for now. Luci must have thought of something already.

….

–General Pov–

"I might be wrong, but as a big fan of the Roger Pirates, I have looked at every bounty poster of theirs," Amon said half-truth half-lie, he wasn't a fanboy. But he did research about Roger Pirates before. "It's a pleasant experience to meet you, Dark King Rayleigh-san!"

Amon shook hands with Rayleigh, who in response accepted it with a soft smile.

Looking at their hands and Rayleigh's soft smile, Amon hardly maintained his straight face, as he was sweating a little. In the room, only Shakky could tell what's happening between the two.

Rayleigh was putting strength in his grip, but Amon didn't seem to flinch, at least on the outside; he was using Tekkai and Armament together to hold off, yet it was hard. As Rayleigh's smile widened, deciding not to go any further, he pulled back his hand.

"The pleasure is mine."

Amon flowed a very small amount of electricity in his hand to null his pain. 'Fucking monster.'

Hearing a small chuckle from Rayleigh, he stared at his back while he walked forward to sit on a chair. 

Seeing the small exchange between the two, Shakky said to Rayleigh from the side with a soft voice. "My, you seem very cheerful today."

In response, Rayleigh just laughed. "I'm just feeling a little nostalgic, that's all."

Wiggling his hand lightly, Amon looked around the room for a second before sitting opposite to Rayleigh finding no other appropriate seat.

Ignoring the other people, especially Robin's question filled surprised gaze, Amon glanced at Rayleigh. "That hurt, fuck."

"Haha, you are quite honest with your feelings, huh." Rayleigh laughed a little. "But may I ask, why is a Warlord here to coat his ship to visit Fishman island? I'm sure you can use the safe road using your authority to go to the New World."

Amon used Seimei Kikan to relieve his pain and prepared an answer. "I just want to visit Fishman Island, it's been a dream."

"Aha, I see."

Seeing the exchange among the two, Robin had a frown. 'Things don't make sense…'

Seeing the Pirate King's right hand man's friendly behaviour, Robin and everyone other than Raki and Amon were perplexed. The first was trying to attack Rayleigh for 'harming' Amon but was being held back by Robin, while the latter couldn't care less.

"Oh by the way, can I get an autograph. Oh oh also, I would love to hear some stories of your journey!" Amon jumped up and took out a notebook and pen. "Although I don't dream to become a pirate king, since well, I'm not into piracy, I have always respected 'Gol. D. Roger'! I heard a lot about you guys from an old guy I know!"

Hearing Roger's actual name that most normal people don't know, Rayleigh was interested. Glancing at Raki for a second, then looking again towards Amon, especially his wings, which were now kept in 'Skypiea Style', Rayleigh realised something.

"Aha, I see. You must be a Skypiean."

Before anyone could react, Raki's eyes arched up hearing him. "SHUT UP! We are Shandians! Great Shandian–Mmm!"

With Robin blocking her mouth, Amon glanced at her with a 'helpless' smile and again sat down. 

"Yes, we are in a sense. I heard about your crew from an old guy named Gan Fall… You might not remember him–"

"Huh, that old guy?! That God? For real, hahaha! Who would have thought!" 

Suddenly, Rayleigh's eyes lit up as he laughed cheerfully.

'Heh, good good.' Amon smirked internally. Mission accomplished. Now, by moving accordingly he can easily get close to him. 

…..

Minutes passed, as Amon chatted with him in a fanboy style. 

On the other hand, Rayleigh felt nostalgic looking at their days at Skypiea. He wondered, should he visit the sky someday…? 'Hah, I'm feeling young, huh.'

Chuckling, Rayleigh gulped from his bottle of wine. "Gah!"

Looking at the shining eyes of Amon, he laughed lightly.

"Anyway, kid. I don't really advise people these days, but I guess I will make an exception." Rayleigh smiled at Amon. "You should be careful to not go to the New World. It's dangerous for a person like you who can't even withstand that little force. Your observation is monstrous, maybe the best one I've seen in my life. But your armament, it's weak. If not careful, even Vice-Admirals would be able to best you."

Amon silently listened to his words.

Not long after, he released a grand sigh. 

Even though he did praise his Observation, he was right about the other fact as well. 

He knew he was weak, currently only his Devil Fruit was there to back him up. However, if he's up against Big Mom or Kaido's level of defence… 'No, even Katakuri with his future vision would be able to beat me.' If lucky enough, Amon would only be left with his speed to flee. 

Shaking away these negative thoughts, Amon took a deep breath. 'I guess there is a lot of time left… but I need to get serious for real now.' Deciding to finally get serious after returning from Fishman island, Amon formed his heart.

Smiling at the smiling Rayleigh, Amon nodded lightly. "That's for sure. Thanks for the advice."

…..

Not long after, they talked casually while Rayleigh was even generous enough to say some words about Armament Haki. Though normal people would have been lost with his words, Amon caught them and engraved them in his brain. Him coming here proved to be a good idea in the end...

On the other hand, Robin jumped up aggressively out of character seeing the situation. She was quite nervous the whole time, yet Amon acted as if he noticed nothing.

She pulled him outside the bar and walked far from the building.

"He's Dark King Rayleigh, are you aware?!"

Standing in the grassy terrain, Robin shook Amon's shoulders as he shrugged casually. "Hey, calm down. It's fine, some old guy that I know from the sky is friends with him."

Amon letting Gan Fall live that day 4 years ago again proved beneficial. 

Still not convinced, Robin stared at his eyes with a frown. "But what if something unexpected happens… You said it hurt, right? I didn't even see him move. He hurt you while shaking your hand?" 

Robin grunted. "Why would we even need a coating ship anyway, we have submarines!"

Seeing Robin act completely out of character, Amon yawned while biting on a strawberry. "Calm down, it's all fine. We will take the submarine on the ship anyway. Trust me, you will thank me later."

Robin's lips bobbled up and down for a few seconds before she sighed. 

'Trust you?... That's what I've been doing all along.' Robin's frown gradually lessened.

In reality, Amon was just trying to enjoy the sealife underwater. He was literally kept locked in the sky until he was 12 and even when he was here in the blues for the past 2 years, he didn't get the chance to enjoy the undersea beauty that much. 

In all sense, Amon was just being silly, which he didn't mind doing so. After all, he has to get busy after returning from Fishman island.

"Hah… why are you acting like this, Luci?" Robin's grip on his shoulder gradually lightened. "Don't make me worry so much, alright?"

Seeing her sigh like that, Amon stopped eating. He stared at her face silently for a few minutes. 'Damn, she looks worn down from inside. This is bad, she might go insane, my Poneglyph…'

In a given-up and grumpy voice, Amon then sounded out. "Fine, as an apology let me buy you a drink. A whiskey, so don't make that face anymore, I feel… bad."

Abruptly, with Robin's eyes lighting up, Amon looked away. 

Robin realised her act just now. "W-wait, that's not why I was saying these things… I'm genuinely worried!" 

Amon just reassured her by patting her back while she just stayed silent and walked to the bar.

….

The group of Amon then chatted with Rayleigh and Shakky for a while more.

Rayleigh was a surprisingly fun guy to talk to, and Amon was taking the opportunity to make a good relationship with him. It will always be handy to have some connections. Even though Rayleigh is a passive force, there are always situations where he might be able to help.

But obviously, since he is not the successor of a certain Straw Hat, he couldn't get so close even with using the 'Gan Fall' card. But at least he left a good first impression on him. This might escalate in the future, might stay the same, or worse, might go down. 

Amon didn't mind much and acted accordingly for now. Yet, Rayleigh as a passive force, couldn't provide much chance for something interesting to happen. 

On the other hand, Amon, after talking with him for a while more, left the bar to wander around the island with Raki and Robin.

Robin was surprisingly able to handle Raki and even was able to suppress her attitude. 

Running around all the interesting shops, and buying lots of things, they were having an interesting day off. On the other hand, nothing clìche of some sort happened. No Celestial Dragon came and started a fight, not even a random pirate picking a fight.

Overall, it was a good day for Amon. But that can't be said the same for Raki and Robin. Deliberately, Amon took a walk beside the Slave Auction house. Robin was interested in seeing how the slave auctioning happens so that she can make her resolve stronger.

What they saw was a disgusting, filthy and heinous act. Even Raki was infuriated, while Amon was reminiscing over the fact that he couldn't buy a certain slave he found interest in.

Just like that, their day passed swiftly.

«...★...»

Next day.

Feeling the sunlight enter his eyes, Amon opened them. "Yawn… morning already?"

Amon, Raki and Robin got up. They were in a single room of an inn and were doing so since Amon was trying to save money. Just like her anime counterpart, Robin was very bad at managing money and had already finished 80% of her salary. Not that it mattered. 

After doing their business in the morning, they finally went out of the inn towards Shakky's Bar after meeting up with Cricket. Today was the day when the coating is supposed to be completed. 

…

–Amon Pov–

Walking slowly across the different parts of the Sabaody Archipelago, we reached  Shakky's rip off bar in less than an hour. 

Wow, this damn thing is so isolated… Trying not to think too much of it, I then started to walk faster as everyone else followed. 

I don't like walking when I can fly with my wings, even more so when I can just teleport. Not that it can be helped anyway, so I guess it's fine… Trying to distract my mind with the thoughts, we were then in the view of the bar.

After some more steps, while talking among ourselves, I took the initiative to open the door. 

…

Kreak

"Hello, we are back."

I instantly noticed Shakky smoking a cigarette and Reyligh not present in the bar. Rather he is around the ship's docking spot. I sensed it just now.

"Oh, Lucifer-chan. Good morning, take a seat inside."

"Alright, by the way, don't smoke too much. You'll die."

Ignoring my words, the woman just giggled. 

Damn, why is she not dead even though she smokes all day? Strange, should I get her body for an experiment someday…?

Trying to not think too much into it, everyone greeted her and then sat down in random chairs around the room.

….

After ordering drinks, we were then waiting for Rayleigh to come.

"Hey, you think it's time for Old Rayleigh to finish? Will it be done today, anyway?"

I ask towards Shakky who tilted her head in response. "Hmm, I think–Oh, he is coming here."

Yes, he is. I sensed him a while ago. Hmm, so my Observation Haki is stronger than hers, the self-proclaimed retired pirate who has a history of being chased by Garp?

I should stop focusing on my Observation for now. Armament is more important for now….

While I was thinking such, someone opened the door and entered the Bar. 

"Oh, you are here already?"

Look at him act as if he didn't sense us already.

"Yes, good morning Rayleigh-san."

"Good morning, Lucifer. I heard you guys would leave today so I tried my best to make it fast." 

Good. "Alright, thanks."

I gave him a salute in a comical way. Acting comical always works to make the target feel less intimidated by you.

Not long after, Rayleigh took us to the shipyard as the massive ship of the Saruyama Alliance entered my vision. I can also see our submarine on the deck, it's an emergency backup. 

"Hah, young people and their sense of adventure. Using a coated ship even though you have a submarine."

Ignoring Rayleigh's words, I observed the ship for a while. The Monkey bros aren't bad, they made such a ship by themselves? Maybe I should send them to Water Seven to learn more. Yes, that's a good idea. They would also be used as a spy if I want.

Ignoring the thoughts, we then proceed to enter the ship after exchanging goodbyes with Rayleigh. Obviously, this wasn't a shedding-tears type of goodbye, we are in the end, just strangers.

Alright, I guess I will enjoy the actual sea underwater soon enough. I should get serious after this small incident of being carefree…

–

–

–

–General Pov–

Seeing their ship slowly sink underwater, and then waving their hands, Rayleigh stared at the scene silently.

Shakky's interesting voice then flowed. "Hm, is there anything?"

"Oh, it's not much. I'm just thinking… if he has proper armament what he would become, haha."

"Oh? Why do you say so?"

Shakky has a strange smile on her face while asking him that. 'It's been a long time since he sounded so interested in something.'

"I mean, with his DANGEROUS level of Observation, if he had Armament that would be an overkill. He would definitely be caught up to the Admirals one day, well unless he died before that. Haha!"

He couldn't even imagine him having the Colour of the Supreme King as well, yet it didn't seem impossible. From Amon's words yesterday, he could determine Amon as the son of Kobra, the friend of Gan Fall back then. 'Kobra didn't have it, but his will was strong enough for his son to have it... No, he obviously has it. How troublesome, haha.'

Rayleigh chuckled lightly. "Looking back into it, Roger was more of a friend with that guy than he was with Gan Fall, haha. But I heard he was killed…"

Leaving Shakky confused, Rayleigh slowly walked away while gulping his wine. He will continue his slave-scam from today. 

"How interesting… Fu fu…"

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This chapter was proofread by Discord members and edited by @Retuculum and @AyyZelos.

Discord: discord.gg/sek3gZV2jg]