Seeing their crewmates collapse—
Luffy, Robin, and the others snapped back to their senses and quickly caught Usopp, Nami, and the rest.
Meanwhile, Enel and Weevil also halted their attacks due to the sudden burst of Conqueror's Haki.
The clash of the two Conqueror's Haki waves lasted about five seconds before both sides gradually withdrew.
"This Conqueror's Haki… is it Shiki?"
At that moment, an old man wearing round glasses stepped out from behind the curtain. His sharp gaze locked onto Xia Te.
"Young man… what's your relationship with Shiki?"
"Big brother is the man who inherited my father's power!"
Before Xia Te could answer, his number-one "fanboy," Weevil, shouted:
"Old man! Who the hell are you!? How dare you interrupt me just now!?"
As he spoke, Weevil turned his gaze back toward the Straw Hat crew and roared:
"I'm going to avenge my father!"
"Father? You mean Shiki is your…? I've never heard of that."
Rayleigh was stunned.
Looking at Weevil, then recalling Shiki in his memory—
they didn't resemble each other at all.
Slash—!!!
At that moment, Weevil unleashed a massive sword slash over ten meters wide, roaring toward the Straw Hat crew.
A Great Swordsman-level attack!
However—
Rayleigh turned into a blur and appeared in front of the Straw Hats.
His right palm, coated in Armament Haki, swung forward.
BOOM!!!
The two powerful forces collided.
The resulting shockwave blew apart the auction house ceiling and shook the entire Area 1!
Seeing Rayleigh standing before them, Luffy and the others were stunned.
They had no idea why this powerful old man was helping them.
"The man who inherited that straw hat… I've always wanted to meet him. I can't let you kill them."
Rayleigh lowered his hand, a hint of surprise crossing his face as he continued:
"You said you're avenging Shiki? Is he dead? But according to reports, wasn't he captured by Akainu and the others…"
Rayleigh only knew what was reported in the newspapers—that Shiki had been captured again a month ago.
What did that have to do with Luffy?
"Old Man Golden Lion was defeated by the Straw Hats. Akainu and the others just picked up the leftovers."
At that moment, Xia Te revealed the truth.
The entire room was shaken.
Law, Kid, and the others stared at Luffy in disbelief.
Shiki—the man once on par with Roger and Whitebeard—
was defeated by that skinny kid?
How was that possible!?
Even Rayleigh was shocked. He looked at Luffy and asked:
"You defeated Shiki!?"
"Yeah! That guy wanted to destroy our hometown, the East Blue, so I punched him away!"
Luffy waved his fist as he spoke—
once again showcasing protagonist-level absurdity.
Rayleigh was dumbfounded.
Just how far had Shiki declined?
To be defeated by a kid who couldn't even use Haki?
"Old Man Golden Lion died in Impel Down. After losing to a kid like that, his spirit was completely broken."
Xia Te continued:
"In other words, he died because of the Straw Hats. That's not wrong."
"So my little brother here is avenging his father. Dark King Rayleigh… could you kindly stop interfering?"
Xia Te smiled—a calm, calculating smile.
If you're going to spin a story, commit to it fully.
"Move aside, old man! I'm going to avenge my father!"
Weevil shouted, eyes red with tears.
Rayleigh hesitated for a moment—
but ultimately stood firm in front of the Straw Hats.
"Sorry. My answer won't change. I've always wanted to meet the one who inherited Roger's straw hat—I can't let you kill him."
"Besides, Shiki wanting to destroy the East Blue was wrong. If he died because of that, it was his own fault. No one else is to blame."
"Pfft—!"
Hearing this, Xia Te couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! To think the Pirate King's right-hand man—the 'Dark King' Rayleigh, who's killed who knows how many people—would say something like 'he brought it upon himself!'"
"If you were a Marine, sure. But as a pirate? Isn't that a bit ridiculous?"
Xia Te pointed toward Hatchan beside Luffy and continued with a grin:
"If Shiki deserved to die because he wanted to destroy the East Blue—then what about that octopus?"
"He followed Arlong in Cocoyasi Village, committed countless atrocities, and killed who knows how many humans."
"If I kill him now… would that also be 'his own fault'?"
Rayleigh's expression changed drastically.
"I will not allow you to harm Hatchan!"
Years ago, Hatchan had saved Rayleigh during a shipwreck.
He would never allow anyone to harm him.
"Heh…"
Seeing this, Shiryu let out a cold laugh.
Xia Te shrugged and sneered:
"Isn't that just hypocrisy? Everyone's done terrible things. Shiki 'deserved it,' but that fish-man doesn't?"
"Is that how the Roger Pirates think?"
Rayleigh fell silent.
Xia Te's point was clear—
Shiki was no saint, but neither were the Roger Pirates.
No one here had clean hands.
In the end—
this was a world where strength dictated everything.