Chapter 186: [186] : The Straw Hat Pirates Join the War! Contacting Sengoku!

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Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar.

Seeing the name, Zoro, Sanji, and the others couldn’t help but twitch.

’So blunt…’

But considering this was the base of the Pirate King’s Right Hand, it didn’t seem so strange.

“I’m back, Shakky,” Rayleigh announced cheerfully, pushing open the door.

“Welcome back. Ara… you’ve brought some extraordinary people with you, Ray,” Shakky replied, a smile on her lips as she took a drag from her cigarette.

“Miss, may I ask what color panties you’re wearing today?” Brook asked Shakky with utmost politeness upon seeing her.

“Oh my… if I remember correctly, today I’m wearing—”

Shakky replied without a hint of hesitation, candidly describing her undergarments.

Robin, Nami, Vivi, and the others stared, dumbfounded. What shocked them the most was that this woman, Shakky, answered so frankly!

Rowen, however, thought nothing of it. Though Shakky looked young, her actual age was likely over sixty. After all, she was being pursued by Garp over forty years ago before ’washing her hands’ of piracy here.

A question like Brook’s wouldn’t faze her.

“Hahaha! What an interesting skeleton! Are you a Devil Fruit user?”

Rayleigh laughed heartily.

“Indeed! I am the user of the Revive-Revive Fruit—Brook, a pile of bones returned from the underworld! Yohohoho!” Brook chuckled.

“The Revive-Revive Fruit… allows the user to be resurrected? I recall its abilities don’t stop there,”

Shakky’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. And right on cue, a gust of cold wind swept through the bar—followed by a burst of energy.

FWOOSH!

Countless souls suddenly materialized within the bar, making the captured Supernovas stare wide-eyed.

“Is this what you meant, Ms. Shakky? The Revive-Revive Fruit’s power to manipulate souls,” Rowen demonstrated, controlling the spirits.

“So it’s true. There really can be two people in this world with the same Devil Fruit ability… The title of ’World’s Strongest Devil Fruit User’ isn’t just for show.” Shakky marveled.

It was no longer a secret on the seas that Rowen could use Fire Fist Ace’s Flare-Flare Fruit, creating the phenomenon of two Flare-Flare Fruit users.

But seeing two Revive-Revive Fruit users before her very eyes still filled Shakky with astonishment.

“The Revive-Revive Fruit… Awakened?” Rayleigh was also amazed.

With his eye, he could naturally tell Rowen’s Revive-Revive Fruit was Awakened.

Before Awakening, the fruit only allowed control over one’s own soul for attacks. Only after Awakening could one manipulate other soul energies like this.

“Of course it has! Rowen is a Man of the Underworld!” Usopp declared proudly.

Even Usopp, who loved to boast, knew not to reveal Rowen could freely travel to the underworld, especially with so many Supernovas present.

“A Man of the Underworld… You truly are something else,” Rayleigh remarked. The ironclad rules of the sea seemed to have no effect on this man.

The Devil Fruit abilities Rowen now displayed—even Rayleigh, who had been to the Final Island, felt his eyes had been opened.

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“What should I call you? Sky Sovereign Rowen?” Shakky asked with a smile.

Someone of Rowen’s level—Shakky wouldn’t be overly casual. A true Emperor of the seas demanded absolute respect.

Even with Rayleigh backing her—

“Whatever you like is fine,” Rowen smiled. He never cared about titles.

“As expected of the legendary Sky Sovereign. Then I’ll call you Rowen-chan. You’ve truly opened my eyes today. Drinks are on the house,” Shakky chuckled.

“ON THE HOUSE? ALRIGHT!” Hearing this, Nami’s face lit up with joy. Though they were now one of the wealthiest pirate crews, a free meal still made Nami very happy.

Soon, drinks and food were served.

“Old man, why did you want to see me?” Luffy asked Rayleigh, his mouth already stuffed full of meat.

“Because of your straw hat,” Rayleigh replied, smiling at Luffy’s hat.

“My hat?” Luffy blinked.

“You don’t know? That straw hat… once belonged to Roger,” Rayleigh chuckled.

“WHAT?! THE PIRATE KING’S?!”

Everyone except Rowen stared, stunned. They knew Shanks had given Luffy the hat, but they never imagined it had such a powerful legacy.

“Roger is dead. But before his execution, he passed on a few things… Shanks was one of the inheritors,” Rayleigh smiled.

In Rayleigh’s mind, Roger’s laughter before his death seemed to echo again. “Rayleigh! I’m not gonna die! Hahahaha!”

Rayleigh looked at Luffy, his smile widening. ’Pirates value the inheritance of spirit more than life itself. In this world built on spiritual power, as long as the spirit is immortal, the soul will not be extinguished. The Straw Hat… the Will of D… are the best proof.’

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“Uncle, do you know Shanks?” Hearing Shanks’s name, Luffy became even more interested.

“Of course. About ten years ago, I ran into him on this very island. His straw hat and his left arm were both gone. When I asked why, he very happily told me all about you—” Rayleigh chuckled.

“Shanks…” Luffy’s eyes filled with nostalgic memories.

“Ever since then, I’ve wanted to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy,” Rayleigh said, smiling at Luffy.

“But I never expected that when the day came… you’d already be standing this tall.” Rayleigh looked around at Luffy and the crew, amazed.

Rayleigh scanned the room. His Observation Haki swept over the crew. While Haki couldn’t perfectly measure strength, it offered a pretty accurate range. Combined with their known exploits, the picture became clear.

Luffy’s combat power had reached Yonko Commander level—even during the Roger Pirates’ heyday, that kind of power wasn’t common.

Pirate Hunter and Black Leg were slightly weaker but very close to Yonko Commander level, stronger than an average Marine HQ Vice Admiral. Then there was the Desert Princess, user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, and the others.

To achieve this strength in less than a year, upon first arriving at Sabaody—even Rayleigh found it unbelievable.

And their Haki?? incredibly strong!

Luffy and Pirate Hunter had both awakened Conqueror’s Haki. Black Leg awakened it too—Rayleigh could tell it was fresh.

The crew’s lineup was terrifying. It wasn’t a stretch to say they were approaching the prime Roger Pirates in overall combat power.

But that kind of strength didn’t come from nothing. Growth like this shouldn’t have been possible…

Strength needed time to accumulate, especially the advancement of Haki, which required long years and countless battles.

Rayleigh looked towards that most unbelievable man on these seas.

Sky Sovereign Rowen.

Devil Fruits, mystical treasures of the Grand Line—granted power beyond imagination. But Rowen wasn’t just a user. He was the World’s Strongest Devil Fruit User. He didn’t eat a fruit—he plundered them. As many as he wanted.

If Luffy’s growth was amazing, Rowen’s was terrifying.

No one, not Roger, not Whitebeard—had ever reached this level in less than a year. It defied logic.

And when the truth came out—that Rowen could steal any power—everything made sense. Dubbed the Most Dangerous ability in history, it explained his impossible ascent.

But as one of the absolute peak powerhouses of this sea, with Haki that was also among the strongest, Rayleigh knew well—simply plundering others’ power couldn’t lead to such heights!

Relying on Haōshoku Coating and Devil Fruit abilities, reaching Admiral level was certainly possible.

But to go further, to reach the level of defeating a powerhouse like Akainu in a one-on-one fight—ultimately depended on oneself—

—Without the heart of a true powerhouse, even if Haki was given to you, you couldn’t wield it.

This sea had too many failures, whose spirits shattered, rendering their Haki unusable. To command supreme Haki required a supreme heart, something that could never be gained by Plundering power.

Even if this man possessed the ability to plunder everything—he undoubtedly also possessed the heart of a true powerhouse.

And judging by Luffy and his crew’s growth rate, this man held other secrets. Rayleigh guessed Rowen had trained the entire crew—whether Haki or Devil Fruits.

There was no other way to explain their meteoric rise.

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“Shishishi! Rowen, can I say it?” Luffy asked, looking at Rowen. Because of Shanks, Luffy felt a great affinity for Rayleigh.

“Of course,” Rowen smiled.

“It’s all thanks to Rowen that we’re this strong!” Luffy grinned.

“I figured as much.” Rayleigh replied, not pressing for details on how Rowen helped them grow, simply smiling.

Just as Rayleigh had thought, to become a true super-powerhouse, one ultimately had to rely on oneself!

Force-feeding strength could get you to Admiral level at most. To reach the level of Roger and the others… you had to rely on yourself!

“Mr. Rayleigh, You’ve been to the Final Island… do you know about the ’D’ and what happened during the Void Century?” Robin now asked, her beautiful eyes flickering.

“I do.”

Rayleigh’s answer made the entire room freeze.

“Do you want to know?” Rayleigh looked around at everyone and smiled.

“No. I don’t want to know,” Robin replied, her red lips curving slightly, a complete reversal of her original story’s response.

“I want to see it for myself—with Rowen. I believe the history I see with him… may be different from what you saw.” Robin declared, looking at her beloved man, a radiant smile blooming on her face.

“Y-Yeah! We don’t need spoilers! The One Piece is something we’ll find ourselves! We’re following Rowen—all the way to the top!” Usopp also declared loudly.

“Shishishi! Exactly,” Luffy grinned, incredibly happy.

“Hahahaha! Is that so,” Rayleigh laughed heartily.

“But be warned—your enemies are far stronger than you realize. Even at your current level, you’re not yet the strongest. You understand that, don’t you, Rowen?” Rayleigh looked seriously at Rowen.

“Why don’t you ask them—if they are afraid of me and my comrades?” Rowen replied, looking back at Rayleigh with supreme power.

The crew all grinned powerfully.

“Hahaha!” Rayleigh roared with laughter.

“I see… so, you plan to conquer the sea.”

Rayleigh commented, sobering slightly, looking at Luffy.

“Conquer? That’s Rowen’s ambition! I’ve only ever wanted one thing—freedom. And the freest man on the sea… is the Pirate King.”

Luffy replied, a smile reflecting his unique ’Disposition’ on his face.

“Hm?” Rayleigh looked at Luffy, as if seeing his long-departed old friend…

I see now… He finally understood why Shanks bet his hat and his left arm on this man.

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“Hm?” Rowen’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

“What’s wrong, Rowen?” The crew looked towards him.

WHOOSH!

Rowen instantly opened an Air Door.

VMM!

A powerful suction activated—and a startled News Coo was yanked through the portal.

“The Munch-Munch Fruit!”

Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged looks. It was clear now—Rowen had awakened that fruit too. Only with awakening could a Paramecia user affect the world around them.

Combining Door-Door and Munch-Munch… he was manipulating space itself.

Even Rayleigh was shaken. If that power bypassed Haki and struck directly—it could end him…

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“A News Coo??”

Nami asked curiously, looking at the bird in Rowen’s hand. She placed a few coins in its bewildered pouch and took the newspaper.

“Wait… WHAT???” Nami’s pupils constricted sharply as she read.

“The Marines are planning a public execution—for Fire Fist Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!”

Nami’s words made Luffy instantly rush over, snatching the paper, his eyes wide with horror.

“ACE… GOT CAPTURED BY THE NAVY??”

Luffy stared at the photo of Ace, shackled in prison—his eyes began to burn with red and black lightning.

“Relying solely on Devil Fruit abilities, even a Logia—has great limitations,” Rowen commented thoughtfully, seeing the report of Ace’s capture.

This made Rayleigh and Shakky’s eyes flicker. For the World’s Strongest Devil Fruit User to say such a thing—spoke volumes about this man’s magnanimity and power.

“’Fire Fist’ Portgas D. Ace?” Rayleigh looked at the report, his eyes glinting.

“ROWEN! I’M GOING TO SAVE ACE!”

Luffy looked up, first at Rowen, then at everyone else.

“Everyone…”

“Isn’t that obvious??” Rowen roared with laughter.

Sanji and Zoro both smiled. Even Usopp and Chopper—shaking in their boots—stood up to shout their support.

“But… you have to listen to my arrangements,” Rowen stated, looking at Luffy.

Luffy nodded.

Rowen activated his Transponder Snail Trait.

Sengoku’s Transponder Snail number—was connected.

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