Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 625: Was it you who led the Revolutionary Army to the Sky Island?
"Where did you learn this name from?"

Rayleigh stared intently at Li Xia, his white hair swaying in the wind. A terrifying power surged within him as well. He was certain that even many of the participants in the God Valley incident were unfamiliar with this name.

This is a name that is strictly sealed by the world government, and even those who know about it are to be erased.

Kizaru was taken aback. The power he had gathered had actually weakened a bit. Judging from Rayleigh's expression, what this kid Xia said seemed very important. Who is Im-Im?

"Don't worry about how I know this. All you need to know is that my goal has always been the same: to defeat Im, to make the nobles disappear from this world completely, and to make the navy a true force that upholds justice, not like it is now."

Li Xia raised the oak barrel beer mug in his hand, a faint chill in his eyes:
"To serve as henchmen and security guards for the Celestial Dragons, becoming tools for their world domination."

"Oh!"

Rayleigh slammed his hand on the table, and fine cracks appeared on the sturdy solid wood table. Even the cutlery on it seemed to jump and make a crisp, crackling sound.

"What do you know, you brat! Do you really think a Marine Admiral has enough strength?"

Rayleigh's face was extremely gloomy. Although they had escaped from God Valley alive, the matter of Im had become a taboo subject. If it weren't for Roger's existence, they would probably have faced the most brutal pursuit by the World Government!

They couldn't even tell anyone about Im. In today's world, unless you have the ability to broadcast to the whole world, news spreads mostly through newspapers. Would a newspaper publish this news?

will not!

Im was like a blank year—no, Im was like a blank hundred years!

The Poneglyphs are the death knell for world governments; anyone who touches them dies!
Xia Qi, who was next to her, recalled the fear she felt when she was caught and made into a prize. She hugged herself and curled up in the chair, trembling.

"Yes, Shanks said the same thing."

Li Xia thought for a moment, then beckoned to Aowu with his finger. Xiaolong rummaged around under himself for a while and handed over the Den Den Mushi that could be used to contact Shanks.

Soon, the Den Den Mushi's face vividly imitated Shanks' appearance:
"Shanks, I'm with Rayleigh right now. Hmm, he's a bit emotional. You can talk to him."

As he spoke, he handed the Den Den Mushi to Rayleigh.

The old man stared silently at the Den Den Mushi in his hand for a while, then took it and walked to the side.

"I am Rayleigh."

Kizaru withdrew his gaze from Rayleigh's receding figure and dissipated the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit he had gathered. Kizaru was generally not curious, because curiosity would bring trouble.

But now he really wants to know what could have made Xia so reckless. He's only 25 years old and already a naval admiral.

He is far from reaching his peak. The peak state for pirates is around 40 years old. At this age, their combat experience, Haki, physical strength, and spirit are all in an unparalleled state.

Xia's future is limitless. If he continues on this path, it's not impossible for him to become the commander-in-chief of the entire army.

That was the true pinnacle of power in the world, second only to the Five Elders. Even now, the Celestial Dragons' prestige cannot be applied to the Marine Admirals; the Celestial Dragons cannot order the Marine Admirals to do anything.

So Kizaru was genuinely curious. He only knew that the God Valley Incident was such a big event. At that time, Kizaru was just an ordinary junior Marine. Even after becoming an Admiral, he had never seen any related information.

The only record in the Navy is a cold, hard sentence: Monkey D. Garp joined forces with Gol D. Roger to defeat the Rocks Pirates.

"why?"

Kizaru decided to listen to Natsu's reasons before taking action, considering them colleagues. Although he might not be able to defeat Natsu on his own, it was his duty to fight.

Li Xia could clearly sense Kizaru's inner turmoil and regret. He knew what Kizaru was thinking, and even knew that Kizaru was very likely to take action after hearing his plans.

This is determined by Kizaru's personality. He may seem lazy, but he is actually the most steadfast in his duty. It wasn't until he arrived at Eggman Island and saw the World Government forcing him to kill his former friend Sentomaru and then another good friend, Vegapunk, that he began to waver.

There is actually only one way to change Kizaru's mind: make him understand the necessity of something, something that cannot be avoided or postponed.

Just like now, when Kizaru believes that no matter how much the World Government does, at least for now, only the World Government can maintain the stability of the world, then he will support the World Government.

These admirals are all rare individuals who haven't abandoned their sense of 'justice,' which may have a lot to do with the education they received from Zephyr and Garp.

"Borsalino, 38 years ago, a horrific tragedy occurred in God Valley."

Li Xia said slowly:
"A country was turned into a hunting ground by the Celestial Dragons, who were the hunters. They held a hunting competition, and men, the elderly, women, and children were all given different scores. They were ranked according to their scores and received rewards."

And the grand prize is—”

He glanced in Xia Qi's direction, but Xia Qi, trembling, did not remain silent. Instead, she spoke in a low, trembling voice:

"It's me. The prize is me."

Kizaru's eyes widened slightly. He had never heard of such a thing as slaughtering an entire nation's people like livestock, and the prize was Shakky?

"Borsalino, have you ever wondered why Garp teamed up with Roger to fight Rocks?"

Yes, Vice Admiral Garp knows Kizaru well. Although he seems like a very unreliable old man, he is also a Marine who takes his duty very seriously. Roger was his nemesis and the target of his capture. How could they join forces for no reason?
The Navy and pirates teaming up, and so on!

A look of astonishment gradually appeared on his face.

"Oh, did you notice? Garp and Roger joined forces to deal with Rocks, who had become a demon."

Li Xia raised his glass again: "And Shanks and I are joining forces to deal with the same thing!"

"Im?"

"Yes, Im!"

"But who exactly is Keim?"

"The ultimate source of darkness, evil, and disaster in the world, the master of the Five Elders, the true controller of the World Government, and the ancestor of the Celestial Dragons."

Li Xia rattled off a string of titles, each one sending a shockwave through Kizaru's body.

"Haven't you ever wondered why the Celestial Dragons, these trash, have been able to swagger around and ride roughshod over everyone for eight hundred years without anyone ever trying to resist?"

He pointed overhead, where the Holy Land of Mary Geoise was located:
"That's because there's a monster lurking among the Celestial Dragons, a monster who treats everyone like livestock and thinks he's a god."

This monster granted the Five Elders the ability to be immortal and controlled them through this ability. It also has the Knights of God, composed of Celestial Dragons, under its command, who also possess the special ability of immortality.

Im maintains his rule through these means, and Mr. Garp remains silent because he is powerless to do anything about it. To protect his subordinates and the other Marines of God Valley, Garp can only keep quiet.

Kizaru had never found the world so absurd. He, an admiral, hadn't even heard of Im's existence before today. "So your plan is to eliminate Im? But what happens next? What if the world descends into chaos? What if the world lacks the stability of the World Government and the entire world falls into war?"

Li Xia then beckoned to Aowu with his finger, and Aowu pulled out another secret Den Den Mushi and handed it to Kizaru:

"Revolutionary Army!"

Kizaru:
Wait, when did Xia hook up with the revolutionary army again?
"Create a new world without oppression, nobles, or Celestial Dragons!"

This is the revolutionary army's recent slogan, which is very attractive. Some navy personnel even left the navy to join the revolutionary army after witnessing too much evil.

"The revolutionary army seems to have suddenly become more active recently —"

"Yes, I taught them the slogans, I planned the development path, and I chose the locations."

"But why? Is it to overthrow the world government and become the supreme ruler himself?"

"No, I will leave after defeating Im. My only wish is to defeat Im."

Kizaru looked at Li Xia as if he were a monster. He could sense the seriousness in Li Xia's voice when he said those words, but why did this young man have such thoughts?

If they were middle-aged or elderly people in their forties, fifties, or even sixties, Kizaru would not be surprised if they had the idea of ​​retiring after defeating their enemies. But people in their twenties are at the peak of their lives and their strength is among the world's best.

"But what if we fail?"

"will not."

Li Xia looked at him and said seriously:
"I will definitely win!"

"We have arrived in Dressrosa and met Luffy's two older brothers, Ace and Sabo."

Sabo is the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army and is quite capable.

The most surprising character is probably Luffy.

Shanks and Rayleigh's conversation also came to an end, Shanks' voice filled with joy:

"Luffy actually defeated Doflamingo. Joker is no pushover. Rayleigh, you taught him very well."

"Is it."

Rayleigh couldn't help but smile up a little.

"Luffy studied very seriously and worked very hard, but he was able to turn his two years of training into combat strength, which is really impressive."

"You've arrived in Dressrosa and confirmed the truth of what Wright-Scathach said?"

"Yes, there really are two samurai here."

Shanks' voice turned serious as he spoke of this:

"I questioned them in detail, and they were indeed samurai from Wano Country. They expressed extreme shock when I revealed that they came from twenty years ago."

Upon my detailed inquiry, I learned that their Queen, Kozuki Toki, had indeed consumed the Time Fruit, which originated from an ancient person from eight hundred years ago.

Therefore, I tend to believe Xia is telling the truth, because it's so detailed, as if someone were drawing history out for him, and many of the details corroborate what I already know.

After a moment of silence, Rayleigh asked the most crucial question:
"As for strength, Im's strength is extremely terrifying. Even the combined strength of Garp and Roger couldn't do much against Rocks, who was controlled by Im."

Roger told me that to defeat Im, I need to surpass the strength of everyone else currently, and most importantly…

Rayleigh lowered his voice:
"You didn't come with us to Laugh Tale, nor did you see what the One Piece is. We're too early!"
"Wright-Scholes might be serious, but do you really think he can beat Im?"

Shanks also remained silent for a long time. Even through the Den Den Mushi, Rayleigh could sense the seriousness in Shanks' voice.

“Rayleigh, let me put it this way, I exchanged a few blows with him, I don’t know exactly how strong Xia is, but he’s stronger than me.”

No, it should be said that in those few moves, Xia figured out the upper limit of my strength, but Xia's strength has already surpassed my knowledge.

Even the former captain didn't exude the terrifying pressure Xia gave me. My intuition told me that if the fight continued, I could die at any moment.

There are many factors that constitute a person's strength, but the most important ones are nothing more than a few: domineering aura, physical skills, physical strength, combat experience, or combat intelligence.

In the brief battle, Shanks sensed Natsu's power in every aspect: his Haki surpassing his own, his physical skills capable of rendering Shanks' Observation Haki ineffective, his body so tough that even Shanks' sword couldn't cut through it, and his unbelievably rich combat experience.
This was a height that even Roger had never reached. For the first time in decades, Shanks felt victory so clearly approaching.

If there is anyone who can fight Im right now, it must be Xia.

"That's impossible! You mean he's even stronger than Roger?"

Rayleigh said firmly:
"That's impossible. In that era, Roger was one of the most powerful men at sea. Even Rocks might not have been able to defeat Roger."

Rocks, Roger, and Garp were the three strongest at the time, and their strength had completely surpassed that of the Four Emperors.

He is a true king!
Besides, how old is Wright-Shaw? Twenty-five? He's far from reaching his limit!
If possible, why not continue to wait and wait for the moment when Luffy can truly grow into the Pirate King?

It will be like Roger and Garp teaming up to defeat Rocks.

Luffy could also team up with Light Chase to defeat Im!

Rayleigh spoke at length, his unwavering determination fueled by what he had seen in Laugh Tale.

Even Roger's children endured the execution, as did his former companions.

If Light Sha is really as strong as Shanks claims, then the safest course of action is for the two of them to team up after Luffy has grown stronger!

"No, Rayleigh!"

Shanks' voice carried a hint of bitterness:
"We're out of time!"

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)