A whole month!
Rayleigh hid under the bed on Diarmuid's ship for an entire month. He only dared to come out for brief periods to move around when Kuzan left to eat. He would use the bathroom, grab some snacks in the room, and drink some water to sustain himself, and he had visibly lost weight.
Just when Rayleigh had grown accustomed to this bizarre existence and was starting to feel completely numb, he finally realized that the damned ship had stopped!
He waited until most of the people on the ship had disembarked before he dared to sneak out of the room. After waiting a little longer, he stealthily made his way off the vessel.
The port was dimly lit by the twilight. Rayleigh looked around the small island and the harbor, feeling bewildered.
'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?' Rayleigh asked himself the three existential questions.
In that brief moment, he had already surveyed the entire port. Clearly, this wasn't a publicly developed port; the island itself was a closed-off fortress, likely a base for some organization.
'A secret Marine base?'
"That can't be right. The Marines shouldn't have the capability to build a base this deep in the New World... and there are no battleships here," Rayleigh murmured, turning to look at the ships docked in the harbor.
They were all armed merchant ships, lined up neatly, all flying the Amway Group flag.
"This is the Amway Group's secret base... This is the territory of the Warlord of the Sea, White Hunter Smoker. But why would Diarmuid and his group come here?" Rayleigh quickly assessed the situation.
Then he reconsidered. Although Smoker was rumored to have many conflicts with the Marines, he was still a Warlord of the Sea. It wasn't entirely implausible that he would cooperate with the Marines on some project. As an old pirate, Rayleigh knew very well that in this world, if the benefits were great enough, it was completely normal for two opposing sides to reconcile. Smoker, as a renowned mogul in the New World with immense wealth, could certainly afford to make peace with the Marines.
However, none of this was what he should be worrying about right now.
What he should be worrying about was... What the hell do I do?
Despite the fading light, Rayleigh could feel the intense activity in the port. Everyone seemed to have their own tasks, and he stood alone on the dock, looking out of place. Fortunately, there were many people in the port, and not everyone knew one another, so Rayleigh wasn't immediately suspected.
Just as Rayleigh was considering whether to steal a ship and make a break for it, a group of three burly men strode over from nearby.
Rayleigh's heart tensed. Did they find me?
The leader of the strong men walked up and asked directly, "You just came off that ship, right? Why are you so slow?"
Rayleigh was startled. It seemed his identity hadn't been exposed. As an old hand, he quickly played along. "I was slow tidying up... getting old, you know."
The strong man didn't question him further and simply said, "Your boss is teaming up with ours. Come with me. You're shipping out today..."
"Shipping out?" Rayleigh was taken aback. Which ship? I just got off one!
But the captain didn't explain, turning instead to one of his subordinates. "Give him a gun. Let's hurry up. Teams Two and Three have already left. If we're any slower, we'll mess up Boss Smoker's plans, and then we'll all be in trouble..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a younger subordinate shoved a flintlock into the bewildered Rayleigh's hand and pulled him toward a nearby ship.
Rayleigh was dragged onto the ship in a daze. He didn't dare to cause a major scene, as he was deep inside their lair. Thus, half-pushed and half-coerced, he was back on a ship.
Soon, a fleet composed of armed merchant ships quickly left the port. From the moment he arrived until the moment he left, Rayleigh never figured out the name of the island...
When he was stuck on Diarmuid's ship, at least he had a single cabin to himself. Now, Rayleigh was inexplicably drafted as an ordinary sailor, so he naturally didn't have a private room and had to sleep in a hammock alongside a large group of people in the hold. However, even this arrangement made Rayleigh sigh in relief; at least it was better than sleeping under a bed, right?
He passed the night peacefully. The moment dawn broke the next morning, someone shook him awake.
"What is it?" Rayleigh asked, feigning innocence.
"Hurry! Get to the deck!" the sailor said, sounding excited.
"What for?" Rayleigh asked as he climbed out of his hammock.
"Huh? You don't know? Is this your first day with Boss Smoker?" the man asked curiously.
"More or less..." Rayleigh hedged.
"They're handing out money! Hurry up. Consider yourself lucky to be this old and still join Boss Smoker," the sailor said, not lingering further, and turned toward the deck.
Rayleigh, still utterly confused, followed him to the deck.
The deck was packed with a crowd of people, all of whom had boarded the ship from the island last night, just like Rayleigh. The muscular captain who had conscripted him stood before the group. Behind him were several large crates, and the men looked at them with greedy anticipation.
"Some of you may have served under Boss Smoker before and know his rules. Some of you may be new. But regardless, we're all brothers on the same ship now. So, as per the rule, you've sold your lives to Boss Smoker. Our boss is generous and never stingy in this matter. Now, time for payment!" the strong man declared grandly.
As soon as he finished, the subordinates behind him lifted the lids of the crates. Stack after stack of Berries, neatly piled, were displayed there...
Rayleigh was unfazed; after all, he was a great man who once stood at the pinnacle. But the small-time individuals around him grew excited.
Soon, the strong man and his crew began distributing the money. Before long, Rayleigh also had two large stacks of high-denomination Berries in his hand. A quick estimate put the amount at around 200,000 Berries, not a huge sum.
"This is just the beginning! When the fighting truly breaks out, you'll all be given living expenses for your families! If you survive the war, there will be a huge bonus. If you die, this money will be sent to your loved ones! The bottom line is: when you fight for Boss Smoker, the Boss will never mistreat you!" the robust pirate captain shouted loudly.
With nothing else happening, Rayleigh and the others soon returned to the hold.
Sitting on his hammock now, Rayleigh looked at the 200,000 Berries in his hand, feeling lost.
What the hell am I even doing? How did I inexplicably sell my life to that guy Smoker for 200,000 Berries?
Seven days later, Rayleigh disembarked the ship, still dazed. By now, he not only had a rifle but also 2,000,000 Berries.
And this time, he finally knew where he was.
Because he recognized the island.
It was Endless Island, Whitebeard Pirates territory. If he remembered correctly, this island was connected to the Big Mom Pirates' Whole Cake Island. In other words, this was the boundary line between the two Yonko's spheres of influence!
As soon as he stepped off the ship, Rayleigh saw a familiar face; the brat who used to follow Newgate. What was his name again?
Ah, right, Marco. Marco the Phoenix. It seemed this island was under his jurisdiction?
Fortunately, Marco didn't notice Rayleigh. These newly arrived allied forces had been sailing for so long and needed rest, so Rayleigh and the others were quickly dismissed. They were free to roam, as long as they stayed within the port town on the island.
Finally finding a tavern and settling in, Rayleigh activated the Den Den Mushi he had been carrying, which had been dormant all this time. He then contacted Shakky.
When Shakky answered the Den Den Mushi, she sounded incredibly irritated. "Rayleigh? What the hell are you doing? Why haven't you contacted me in so long? I thought you were dead! Nothing happened on the Sabaody Archipelago. You can come back..."
Rayleigh: "..."
"What is it? Say something! What are you doing?" Shakky asked, hesitant.
Rayleigh finally spoke. "You might not believe this, but I'm currently on Endless Island..."
"Endless? Whitebeard's territory? What are you doing there? It must be very dangerous right now! That's the real frontline of the New World!" Shakky asked quickly.
"It's a long story. I was somehow inexplicably bought for 200,000 Berries by the Warlord of the Sea, White Hunter Smoker. Now I've become one of his lowest-ranking pirate underlings..." Rayleigh said with a hint of amusement.
To be honest, at this point, he could leave whenever he wanted. No one on this island could stop him. Marco was no match for him.
But somehow, Rayleigh felt this was destiny, and it was truly strange. His dormant sense of adventure seemed to have been reawakened. Since he was already here and had accepted 2,000,000 Berries in combat pay... why not join the fun?
He was bored anyway, and being a bold and highly skilled individual, his interest was piqued. He decided to stick with Smoker!
After Rayleigh recounted his experiences to Shakky, she was completely dumbfounded. What in the world was going on?
"So? Why aren't you looking for a chance to leave there immediately? I don't believe anyone there can stop you if you want to leave!" Shakky demanded.
"I took the 200,000 Berries payment for my life. Apparently, if I survive this, Smoker is going to be extremely generous... I'm thinking of sticking around," Rayleigh said with a smile.
He was a rogue character to begin with; otherwise, in the original story, he wouldn't have sold himself as a slave just to cheat people out of money. Now that his interest was aroused, he had inexplicably arrived at the frontlines and accepted Smoker's 200,000 Berries. He hadn't been to the New World in a long time, and with such a major event about to occur, Rayleigh couldn't help but be interested. Now, in the spirit of play, he decided to disguise himself as a grunt... and participate in this war from the lowest level, just for the thrill of it!
Shakky couldn't talk him out of it, but knowing Rayleigh's capabilities, she ultimately didn't object, merely telling him to be careful.
Meanwhile, in a sea area close to the island, Smoker'sshipwas slowly advancing toward Endless Island.
Aboard his ship were Diarmuid, Gion, Hina, and Jinbe.
"I've negotiated with Whitebeard. We're going to start the fight from Endless Island, and ideally, keep the entire battlefield contained within the Totto Land sea area. We'll rendezvous at Endless Island and then initiate a full-scale war! We'll force Charlotte Linlin to fight us!" Smoker said in the cabin, pointing at a nautical chart.
Smoker had no idea that he had bought Rayleigh for 200,000 Berries; he was currently explaining his plan with Whitebeard to Diarmuid and the others.
Hina looked at the chart curiously and asked, "How will we force them into a decisive battle?"
"We'll attack them step-by-step from here. I refuse to believe they can endure it. If they can hold out, we'll push all the way into Whole Cake Island... Once we're there, a decisive battle is inevitable!" Smoker said without hesitation.
Diarmuid had no desire to involve himself in these details. Smoker and Whitebeard were professionals among pirates, so they didn't need his input.
After taking a sip of tea, Diarmuid said solemnly, "Before Kaido and Charlotte Linlin show themselves, none of the four of us can set foot on land!"
The four, of course, referred to Diarmuid, Gion, Hina, and Jinbe.
After a slight pause, Diarmuid smiled and continued, "Once we see Kaido and them, we will beat them hard!"
Before anyone could speak, Diarmuid put down his teacup and held up five fingers. "Five years. Fleet Admiral Sengoku wants us to hit them so hard this time that they remain quiet for at least five years! That's all I have to say."