"How do you know this na?" Rayleigh couldn't help but ask in surprise.
Rayleigh had a deep impression of that na. Just thinking about it filled him with unease and fear.
Mio shook his head gently, not answering directly. Instead, he asked, "Do you know this person?"
Rayleigh was silent for a mont, then slowly nodded and spoke in a deep voice. "Yes, I have seen this person with Roger... in Raftel."
Rayleigh's voice was slow, as if he were rembering the mont. "That person is incredibly strong. Very, very strong. Even if Roger and I joined forces, we might not be her match. But she didn't seem hostile to us at the beginning. That part confused . According to Roger, Im is the true ruler of the World Governnt—our natural enemy."
Rayleigh looked at Mio and added seriously, "In short, she's an extrely dangerous existence. She can even live forever. She's survived from eight hundred years ago until now. No one truly knows how deep or terrifying her strength is."
Mio agreed completely with Rayleigh's evaluation—Im was extrely dangerous.
Still, Mio asked, "Then, do you know whether this Im... is a man or a woman?"
Hearing that, Rayleigh looked at Mio strangely, surprise flashing in his eyes. "The way you're asking... it seems you've seen her?"
"Im... is a woman," Rayleigh said with a faint smile. "I was surprised too, the first ti I saw her. A woman who has ruled the World Governnt for centuries."
Upon hearing Rayleigh's confirmation, Mio nodded slightly.
It seed that the figure he had seen before might really have been Im.
But Im...
She was the only existence Mio didn't know much about—an unknown, dangerous being.
Everything about her was strange and hard to predict.
After all, soone who had lived for hundreds of years didn't just have unmatched strength. Her mind and thoughts, shaped by centuries of experience, were impossible for ordinary people to comprehend.
Unless you had lived that long yourself, you couldn't hope to grasp her thoughts.
It ca down to perspective, experience, and ti.
"In short, the horror of the World Governnt is beyond your imagination. I don't know what your plan is, but if you intend to go up against them, don't act recklessly." Rayleigh warned, his tone sincere.
As one of the few who had glimpsed the World Governnt's true depth, Rayleigh spoke from experience.
"I understand." Mio nodded.
"By the way," Mio suddenly looked up at Rayleigh, "there's sothing else I want to ask you. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"Oh? Go ahead and ask," Rayleigh said with a smile, taking another sip of wine.
"It's about the King. The King should be under the World Governnt's control, right?" Mio asked.
Rayleigh nodded. "Yes. The King has always been under their control."
"Then I want to know... where is the King? What is the King, exactly?" Mio voiced his long-held question.
But Rayleigh didn't answer directly. He simply smiled and shook his head. "That's sothing you'll need to find out on your own. So answers are more aningful when discovered by yourself than when simply told to you."
"But when that ti cos, I hope you won't be too shocked," Rayleigh added, his tone aningful.
Mio touched his chin thoughtfully and gave a slow nod.
This eting had not been in vain. Even if Rayleigh didn't answer everything, he had confird Im's identity.
Still, Mio couldn't help but feel a little strange. The person ruling the world... was a woman?
It was hard to believe.
Mio knew the World Governnt had a deep foundation, but he also knew one thing for certain—he had no plans to provoke them just yet.
His eyes flickered for a mont, thoughts rising and falling in his mind before being hidden again.
"That's enough for now." Mio stood up, bowed respectfully to Rayleigh, and spoke, "Since I've gotten my answers, I won't be staying any longer."
"Leaving already?" Xia Qi asked.
"Yes. I still have other things to handle." Mio nodded.
"Go on, then." Rayleigh smiled and waved his hand, not trying to stop him.
Mio didn't say anything else. He turned and left, with Lilith following at his side.
Area 30 – The Shopping District
Area 30 was a bustling shopping district, filled with stores selling clothes, jewelry, and all kinds of luxury goods. Noblewon wandered the streets shopping, accompanied by maids, and even ordinary civilians browsed the shops from ti to ti.
However, at this mont—
Lilith suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked ahead. "It's Mashi and the others. It looks like they're being chased."
Mio didn't reply. He simply followed her gaze and saw Mashi and Robin running, with Baifeng following behind. Chasing them were several marine soldiers.
The scene was bizarre.
After all, they were the Black Crows. How could the Navy dare to chase them so recklessly? It was unthinkable—unless a Marine Admiral was leading the pursuit. Even then, two Admirals might be needed to dare sothing like this.
After all, the Black Crows' combat strength wasn't sothing a single Admiral could suppress.
"I see..." Mio murmured.
With the help of Observation Haki, Mio quickly understood the situation, and a light of understanding flashed in his eyes.
At that mont, Mashi and the others reached him.
Upon seeing Mio, Mashi's eyes lit up. She rushed into his arms and said in a sulky voice, "Brother, we ran into a Celestial Dragon! That bastard tried to catch us. If I didn't want to avoid causing too much trouble, I would've smashed his face in with one punch."
Just after she finished speaking—
The marines caught up, weapons in hand.
The civilians nearby quickly fled in fear, not wanting to get involved.
But when the marine soldiers saw Mio standing there, their expressions turned pale with fear. Several of them instinctively stepped back, trembling.
"G-Gulp..."
"That's Black Crow... damn it, what do we do now?"
"Do we... catch them?"
They whispered among themselves, hesitant and terrified.
The navy officer leading them broke into a cold sweat.
Just then, a furious shout ca from behind.
"Useless fools! You haven't caught those two girls yet?! Pathetic, the lot of you!"
It was a Celestial Dragon—wearing brocade robes, a bubble over his head, and dragging a pirate slave by the chain.
When the Celestial Dragon saw Mashi and Robin hiding behind Mio, his eyes lit up.
"Quick! You useless worms! Catch them now!" he barked at the navy soldiers.
However, before the soldiers could move, Mio's figure vanished from where he stood.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the Celestial Dragon, staring down at him coldly.
"Celestial Dragon?" Mio said quietly. "Since when did useless garbage like you dare try and take my crew?"
As he finished speaking, Mio slowly raised his right hand.
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