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Chapter's Events:
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"Hey, what's going on?!" Seeing Luffy suddenly stop running, both Zoro and Sanji turned around to understand why.
But they quickly figured it out the moment Luffy suddenly shouted a name— "RAYLEIIIGH!!"
"?!! Th… Th - The Dark Kiiiiing?!!" Shock waves spread among the pirates who had gathered in the area.
"Hahaha… I thought I'd swing by and see how things were going. But it doesn't look like you need my help anymore…" Rayleigh stood calmly on a hilltop overlooking the area, gazing at Luffy from afar.
"You've grown stronger once again… Your progress is unmistakable."
"…Well then… You better get moving. Your crew is waiting for you…"
Hearing those words, Luffy responded: "Yeah!! Thanks a lot, Rayleigh! For everything you've done for me these past two years!"
As he spoke, Luffy temporarily placed his massive food bundle on the ground.
"Hahaha… No need to be so formal… Just go." Before Rayleigh could finish his sentence, Luffy raised his arms high and smiled widely as he shouted:
"Rayleigh, I'm gonna do it!!
I'M GONNA BECOME THE PIRATE KING!!!!"
Hearing those words, the pirates and marines were left completely speechless.
Zoro and Sanji both smile.
And tears welled up behind Rayleigh's glasses as he smiled gently.
——————————————
In Baterilla, the same scene that played out in the manga was now happening in real life as well. The only difference was that Rayleigh here was still a young man, not an old one.
"It seems Rayleigh has found himself an incredible student…"
"Wahaha! The student promised you he'd reach the ultimate goal of his training the moment the lesson ended. I'd say your counterpart must be incredibly proud to have a student like that."
Roger laughed heartily as he patted Rayleigh on the shoulder over and over.
"That's true. He will become the Pirate King for sure. That's a reality that cannot be changed… All we can do now is wait and see it unfold… But the reason for my tears, my friend, is something else."
"…I believe he saw the shadow of your counterpart in Luffy… That's why it moved him to tears."
Rayleigh adjusted his glasses after wiping his tears. That moment truly struck him deeply… He could feel the genuine emotions of his counterpart flowing through him.
Manga had always had this strange ability to connect counterparts through its emotional moments. It happens when a 'reader' experiences a scene so powerful that their 'counterpart' in the manga goes through something nearly identical—just like Rayleigh and Luffy's scene.
This strange phenomenon makes the reader feel as though they're truly living the exact moment their counterpart is experiencing in the manga or anime.
As the frequency of this phenomenon increased among those who had counterparts in the manga, it was eventually given a name… The term was first spread among the Marines. Apparently, the one who coined the name was none other than the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku, known as "Odachi" in the global forum.
He called it: The Thread of Two Realities.
"It really does seem that the Thread of Two Realities is real… That feeling I got in chapter one, when my counterpart ignited the Great Pirate Era at the moment of his execution… it wasn't just some fleeting emotion…" said Roger.
Hearing Rayleigh say that, Roger nodded, confirming his friend's feelings.
"That's right… I had the exact same sensation when my counterpart brought the war to a halt at that crucial moment… I almost couldn't believe I had experienced such a surreal event. It felt like I was truly there, standing in the rubble, sword in hand, my powerful crew behind me, while Blackbeard trembled in front of me, ready to retreat… Even Akainu didn't dare to move an inch."
Even Shanks spoke up, describing his own experience with the phenomenon—something he had never shared before.
He wasn't the only one either. From the look on Buggy's face, it seemed he too had experienced a taste of that same feeling…
"It makes sense. But maybe the person most deeply affected by this phenomenon was Rouge… She was so deeply connected to her manga counterpart that she nearly merged with her entirely…"
Roger didn't want to say too much about it. If he thought too deeply, he feared he might never wake from that dream.
After all, Rob's words still echoed in his mind:
'I'm afraid to tell you, but Rouge from the manga has awakened in your wife.'
Those were Rob's exact words! Thankfully, she was still his wife—whether the one from the manga or from this reality.
…
Not far from there, in a house nestled in the trees, Rouge played joyfully with two children.
Sabo and Ace crawled around on all fours, chasing each other, occasionally passing by a manga volume lying open on the floor.
The pages showed Luffy's smiling face as he declared to Rayleigh that he would definitely become the Pirate King.
"Head straight for the top…"
Rouge smiled as she watched Rayleigh shielding the pursuers, all for Luffy's sake.
She too wanted to see Luffy reach the top…
That would finally give her son Ace's death some real meaning.
…
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"Take Strawhat down!!!" Suddenly, the crowd of Marines began chasing after Luffy and the others.
In a hurry, Luffy grabbed his bag again and started running. "Well then, Rayleigh!!"
"Thank you for everything!!!"
"Hurry, Luffy!" exclaimed Sanji.
"Thanks a bunch, Rayleigh!!" Even Zoro gave his thanks to Rayleigh in that moment.
"See you later!!!"
Hearing that, Rayleigh recalled their moments together on Rusukaina Island.
"Indeed…" Rayleigh was certain—they would meet again someday.
"After them!!!" The Marine soldiers gave chase, but Rayleigh had a different idea.
"Head straight for the top!!!"
...
{The crew is heading for Grove 42}
The nearest Marine units were informed.
"Dark King Rayleigh!!"
Rayleigh stepped into the path of the Marine pursuers and slashed the ground before them with his sword.
"My apprentice is setting sail. Do as you please…"
He stood firm, an old man's smile on his face—but the overwhelming aura released from his sword instinctively forced the Marines to retreat.
"But I would suggest… that you do not cross this line."
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At Marineford:
Rayleigh's public threat against the Marines deeply angered Sengoku and the three Admirals—but strangely, there was also a kind of unspoken respect for what Rayleigh had just done.
"The Dark King… is still the Dark King—even in old age."
"This old man never ceases to amaze me."
"Arara- Terrifying indeed."
"What courage… Why isn't Kizaru here this time?!"
"Tsk… It seems the Straw Hats can't be stopped from setting sail again."
"They were delayed for two years… and Luffy was pushed to the brink after the war… But somehow, they've come back stronger than ever."
"No matter. Let's see how far they'll get in the end."
Sengoku looked at Luffy's smiling reflection in the manga and sighed.
"He said he's going to become the Pirate King, huh?"
"That won't be easy. But even if he succeeds, then what? Does he not understand that allowing pirates to flourish in the world means more innocent lives are lost every day?!"
"In that sense… There are many sins you'll have to bear, Straw Hat… Are you ready for that weight, future Pirate King?!"
"Let's see, then."
…
In Marijoa, under the watchful, bloody eyes of Imu, the manga showed Rayleigh standing against the Marines and daring them to cross the line he carved with his blade.
The moment Luffy declared he would become the Pirate King, Imu felt that this might truly become reality.
"It seems this Nika has some potential…"
"Well then, let's watch it unfold… In the manga… and in the world of the game as well, Straw Hat."
Imu hadn't felt this kind of excitement in a very, very long time. The return of the manga seemed explosive already.
"Even if he has potential… his small, foolish mind is still far too immature to handle the massive responsibility of defeating your esteemed counterpart, Imu-sama…"
Saturn spoke with grim reverence.
"Saturn is right. The moment your esteemed counterpart appears in the manga, Lord… It will cause an unmatched global shockwave. At that time, the world will understand just how insignificant Straw Hat truly is…"
added Saint Nasjuro.
"Pirate King? Right-hand man of the Pirate King? World's greatest swordsman? A Yonko? All of them are nothing compared to our Lord! We, who are bound to the Abyss, are supreme… No existence is greater than the Demon King in this world."
"…Well… except for that damn Rob."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 892: The Crew's Reunion After Two Years!
Chapter 893: Salting Sanji's Wound!
Chapter 894: Obstruction from All Sides to Ensure the Journey Begins.
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