One Piece: The Straw Hat Pirates' Max-Level Swordsman

In the tavern, Rayleigh was standing in the middle of the crowd, gesticulating and talking about his legendary past experiences. His voice was loud and passionate, as if bringing everyone into those thrilling scenes.

"Thinking back to those days, I was alone on that rough sea, facing a group of vicious pirates. Their ships were several times larger than mine, and their numbers were even more numerous. But I, Rayleigh, was not afraid at all!" Rayleigh said as he made exaggerated gestures, his face filled with pride.

Some of the audience opened their mouths wide, their eyes full of amazement, as if they could see the fierce battle scene from Rayleigh's description; others frowned slightly, their eyes revealing doubt, as if they didn't quite believe what Rayleigh said.

At this moment, he caught a glimpse of Ling Tian sitting next to him, and his words stopped abruptly. Rayleigh's expression became a little surprised for a moment, and then he regained his composure.

Rayleigh waved his hand hastily to the audience and said, "That's all for today, everyone!"

There was a hint of urgency in his tone. He no longer paid attention to the audience's reactions, turned around and followed Ling Tian out of the tavern quickly.

As soon as he left the tavern, Rayleigh turned to look at Ling Tian impatiently, frowning slightly, with a hint of confusion on his face, and asked, "Why did you suddenly come here? What do you want from me?"

His eyes were fixed on Ling Tian, ​​and his pace unconsciously quickened.

Ling Tian did not respond immediately, but stared at Rayleigh with a sharp gaze and asked, "Rayleigh, do you know that the captain of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace the Fire Fist, will be executed in three months?"

When Rayleigh heard this, he was startled, and his expression instantly became solemn. He nodded slightly and said, "I know."

His voice was low and brief, as if the news brought him a lot of pressure.

Hearing Rayleigh's answer, Ling Tian was puzzled. He widened his eyes, became more excited, and raised his voice a few degrees: "Then why don't you take action? This is a matter of life and death! Ace..."

Ling Tian's voice echoed in the air, carrying strong questions and dissatisfaction.

Rayleigh sighed, a helpless look on his face, and said, "Lingtian, don't be so impulsive. This matter is not as simple as you think."

He tried to calm Ling Tian down, but Ling Tian obviously couldn't accept his explanation.

Rayleigh gave a helpless smile, which was full of bitterness and helplessness. He slowly took off the wine jug from his waist, and his eyes revealed a trace of fatigue and entanglement.

He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of the wine. The spicy liquid went down his throat, but he seemed not to feel the stimulation.

After a long time, he slowly said: "Lingtian, do you think I don't want to? But this is not something that can be easily done." His voice was low and hoarse, with deep helplessness and heaviness.

As he spoke, he wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth with his hand. His rough fingers ran across the corner of his mouth, leaving a faint mark.

Rayleigh's eyes became a little blurry, as if he was lost in memories. "I also want to save him at all costs, but reality does not allow it."

His voice trembled slightly, with unspeakable pain.

"Why? Ace is the son of Pirate King Roger. Are we just going to watch?" Ling Tian widened his eyes, his face full of confusion and anger.

His body was shaking slightly with excitement, and his hands were clenched into fists, as if he was trying hard to control his emotions.

Lei Li looked at Ling Tian deeply, his eyes contained too many complicated emotions. He took another sip of wine, and the wine in the wine pot was almost gone after he swallowed it again and again.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Lingtian, you are still too young to understand the difficulty. Although I know that Ace's identity is special and he is Roger's son, this is indeed something that cannot be ignored. But you have to understand, what is the Marine Headquarters? It is the most solid fortress of the entire World Government, and it is extremely heavily guarded. There are countless masters, various powerful weapons and defense facilities there."

Rayleigh's voice became heavier and heavier, as if every word carried a tremendous amount of force.

"With just me and Whitebeard, our strength is too small in front of the huge Marine Headquarters. We are not completely sure that we can rescue Ace from there. Once the operation fails, the consequences will be disastrous. Not only will we fail to rescue Ace, but we ourselves will also be in an irretrievable situation. Moreover, this may trigger greater chaos and war, and implicate more innocent people." Rayleigh's eyes revealed deep worry. He looked into the distance, as if he could see the gloomy and terrifying Marine Headquarters.

After Ling Tian heard what Lei Li said, his face, which had turned red due to his anxiety and impulse, gradually returned to its normal color, and his excitement gradually receded like a tide.

His tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, as if a huge rock in his heart was slightly moved away, and a glimmer of understanding appeared in his eyes.

Ling Tian slowly lowered his fists, which had been clenched so tightly that the knuckles were whitening. His chest rose and fell violently. He took a deep breath, and then said with a hint of guilt in his tone: "I was impulsive, and your concerns are indeed justified. I only thought about saving Ace, but did not fully consider the huge difficulties we face and the serious consequences that may arise." At this time, his voice was no longer as anxious and sharp as before, but more calm and thoughtful, as if after Rayleigh's reminder, he began to re-examine the whole situation.

Rayleigh looked at Ling Tian who was gradually calming down, nodded slightly, and a trace of relief appeared in his eyes. However, the solemnity in his eyes did not dissipate, as if the heavy worry was still hanging over his heart like a dark cloud.

After knowing Rayleigh's concerns, Ling Tian was silent for a moment. The air around him seemed to freeze, with only the rustling sound of the breeze blowing through the corners of his clothes.

Then he raised his head and looked at Rayleigh firmly, his eyes seemed to be burning with a flame that would never go out.

He lowered his voice and said word by word: "Rayleigh, there is one more thing I must tell you. In fact, Roger has been resurrected."

Although his voice was low, every word hit Rayleigh's heart like a hammer.

When Rayleigh heard this, he was struck by thunder, his pupils shrank suddenly, and his body instantly tensed up like a fully drawn bowstring. His face was full of disbelief, his mouth slightly opened, but he couldn't speak for a long time.

After a long while, he finally found his voice and asked tremblingly: "What? Roger is resurrected? How is this possible?"

His voice was full of shock and disbelief, as if he had heard an absurd story from the Arabian Nights.

Rayleigh's eyes were fixed on Ling Tian, ​​as if he wanted to find a trace of a joke on his face, but Ling Tian's extremely serious and determined expression made him understand that this was not a joke.

Rayleigh's thoughts were instantly in chaos, with countless questions and worries swirling in his mind.