On the Sabaody Archipego, a small boat quietly approached the shore. Onboard was her than Cudius and his group, their movements shrouded in a deliberate air of mystery.

  "Listen up," Cudius said with a mischievous grin, addressing the others. "This time, we're staging a surprise attack. That old guy is ridiculously sharp. If he senses something's up, he'll bolt before we blink. And this time, the stakes are too important, we 't let him escape."

  Stussy, standing nearby, suppressed a ugh as she watched Cudius. To her, it was obvious he was just having fun with this "role-pying" sario.

  The target of their operation? her than Silvers Rayleigh, the former first mate of the Roger Pirates. However, Cudius wasn't here to arrest him. He had something important to ask for Rayleigh's help with.

  The Calm Belt development pn that Cudius and the Marines were w on required iing Amazon Lily as a key transit point. While this was only the beginning, the significe of seg Nine Snake Isnd as an ally couldn't be overstated.

  Amazon Lily's bat strength was formidable. Though its warriors were exclusively women, they were all highly trained fighters skilled in Haki. Acc to Hancock, the isnd had over 50,000 bat-ready Amazons, not including other civilians who were also capable of battle.

  This power, Cudius reasoned, was too valuable to ignore. His ultimate goal was t Nine Snake Isnd fully under his influence.

  But how to establish initial tact?

  For one, Cudius had the three Hancock sisters, all of whom were the royal family of Amazon Lily, with Hancock herself being the first in lio i the throhe timing erfect, as the previous empress of Amazon Lily had mysteriously passed away a couple of years ago, likely from the infamous "lovesiess" that often pgued past rulers.

  Currently, the isnd was being managed by Elder Nyon, also known as Gloriosa, a former empress herself. With no new empress officially ed, the throne was vat.

  By returning Hancod her sisters to Amazon Lily, Cudius could solidify a stroionship with the isnd's leadership. Over the years, he had already built trust betweewo sides, making this aime to establish Amazon Lily as a reliable ally. A stable foothold in the Calm Belt would not only be the Marines but also give Cudius a strategic advantage in the region.

  However, tag Nine Snake Isnd wasn't so simple. Marine presen the isnd would spark immediate flict, as it was still teically a pirate territory. Even the Hancock sisters had no means of directly reag out to the isnd.

  This was where Rayleigh came in. Cudius recalled that the old man had a good retionship with Nine Snake Isnd and, more importantly, had a way to tact Elder Nyon via Den Den Mushi.

  In the past, whehree Hancock sisters escaped during Fisher Tiger's raid on Mariejois, it was Rayleigh whed for their safe return to Nine Snake Isnd. Gloriosa had even personally e to Sabaody Archipego to retrieve them.

  With this in mind, Cudius devised a pn to track Rayleigh down and vince him to assist in tag Amazon Lily, thereby kickstarting the Calm Belt development project.

  ---

  Cudius and his group disembarked on the archipego, dressed acc to Cudius's questionable sense of "style." He'd insisted they all wear what he called "stealth attire," which amouo bck suits remi of cartoonish spies.

  "Alright, let's move," Cudius said with a smirk as they headed toward their target—Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

  At the bar, business had just ed up for the day. Shakky was tidying up the empty bottles and gsses while Rayleigh lounged on the sofa, sipping from his fsk. His posture exuded the rexed fidence of a man with nothing to worry about.

  "You're back already? Out of money again?" Shakky teased as she wiped down the bar.

  Rayleigh grinned and patted his pocket. "Out of money? Do you see this? This is wealth! The kind of wealth only Silvers Rayleigh manage!"

  Shakky rolled her eyes, smiling knowingly. "What'd you do this time? Sell yourself to another rian?"

  Rayleigh wi her teasing but waved dismissively. "Hey, hey, don't make it sound so bad. I didn't really sell myself. Just borrowed a little, that's all."

  To be fair, Rayleigh's rugged charm and manly aura made him irresistible to wealthy women. Whenever he was low on funds, he could always "sell" his services as a gentleman panion, earning himself a tidy sum.

  "If not fer draggio the pirate life, I'd be running the underworld's equivalent of a host club by now," Rayleigh joked. "Stussy could've made me the star of Happy Street."

  Shakky ughed and shook her head. "You'd better thank Cudius for not shutting down all the sve markets. Otherwise, how would you 'survive'?"

  "Please," Rayleigh replied with a grin. "I'm just a humble man trying to make his way in the world."

  Shakky shot him a skeptical look. "When are you going to do something serious with your life?"

  "When the money runs out, I'll get back to coating ships," Rayleigh said shamelessly, taking another sip from his fsk.

  Shakky sighed and finished ing the bar. "You know, you should stop running. I don't think that prince of theirs is actually trying to catch you. If he really wao, you wouldn't stand a ce."

  Rayleigh ughed. "Me? Get caught? By Cudius? Please. I'm Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King. It's not fear, I just prefer to avoid unnecessary trouble. Sure, he might not be here to catch me, but what if? Better safe than sorry, don't you think?"

  Before Shakky could respond, the door to the bar suddenly swung open.

  "We're closed! e baorrow!" Rayleigh called out without looking up.

  But the voice that answered him was all too familiar.

  "Ahahahaha! Finally! I caught you, Rayleigh! It's been too long—I've missed you!" Cudius's unmistakable ughter filled the room as he strode inside.

  Rayleigh froze, his fsk halfway to his lips. Turning his head, he saw Cudius walking in with a wide grin. Without a moment's hesitation, Rayleigh bolted for the window, intending to make his escape.

  Unfortunately for him, the moment he opehe window, a fist met his fading squarely on his eye socket.

  "Gah!" Rayleigh yelped, stumbling bato the sofa.

  From outside the window, Stussy's voice came, sounding panicked. "I didn't mean to! You opehe window so suddenly, you scared me!"

  Cudius ughed as he watched Rayleigh nursing his face. "What happeo the guy who once grabbed my Shinsō barehanded? You 't even dodge a punow?"

  Rayleigh shot him a gre but didn't reply, pointing io the empty witles oable as if to say, I'm drunk, you idiot.

  Cudius chuckled and turo Shakky. "Seems like my dramatitrance didn't go as pnned."

  Shakky smirked. "Want a drink to cheer yourself up?"

  "I thought you were closed?" Cudius teased.

  "For you, Yhness? My little bar is always open," Shakky replied with a sly grin.

  Cudius nodded. "The usual, then."

  Rayleigh, still holding his eye, watched the exge in disbelief. Shakky's casual ease with Cudius was uling. "Why are you two so... familiar?" he muttered. "You've been drinking together behind my back, haven't you?"

  Ign him, Cudius took the drink Shakky handed him and sat on the sofa across from Rayleigh.

  "Rex," Cudius said with a smile. "You're retired now. As long as you stay out of trouble, no one's ing after you. I'm not here to arrest you, I just need your help with something."

  ***

  If you came here from WN inally, I'm re-uploading this ba WN. Just check my profile. Let's hope it stays up this time.

  Support me on patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon./Blownleaves.