Morals

I stepped out of a portal into a familiar bar. It was the middle of the night, and the store was empty. Looking through the restaurant with my Haki, I realized that no one was home. \

"Where are you, Rayleigh?" Closing my eyes, I pushed out my haki to scan through the entire island. More than a few haki signatures popped up, but none of them were close to the level of my teacher.

Sighing, I scratched my head in desperation until I had a lightbulb moment. Creating another portal, I stepped onto the solid red stone and looked up at the familiar lighthouse. I walked up to the building and knocked on the door.

"Who the hell is it? Can't anyone let an old man rest?" I smiled when Crocus answered the door, "Soren, what the hell are you doing here. Are you trying to bring the world down on me? I'm in the middle of my retirement."

"I need your help. I tried to go to Rayleigh first, but he wasn't at the bar, and I don't have much time to spare." Crocus frowned, "I heard about your troubles through the grapevine, and I think you know what you're going to ask. It's best to talk about these things inside."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I stopped midway, "Sure, do you have something to drink? I really need it right now." Crocus snorted, "We don't all have your immune system. I have water and tea, take or leave it."

A few minutes later, Crocus and I were seated, "So you want to find Laugh Tale?" I nodded, "We have it on good authority that the five elders are hold up on that island. Also their holding one of my crewmates hostage. And I can't afford to lose him."

Crocus grumbled, "I wish I could tell you, but I can't." I banged my fist against the table, "You can't, or you won't?"

Without missing a beat, Crocus sipped from his cup, "I can't because I don't know its exact location. Laugh Tale is the last island for a reason. A thick fog permanently covers the island, and for so reason, not even haki can pierce through the cloud. The only reason we didn't shipwreck was thanks to Roger, who could navigate through the fog."

Pausing for a second, I remembered reading about how Roger possessed a unique power called the 'Voice of All Things.' Running my mind through the list of people who also displayed the ability, I realized who I needed to find, "Crocus, have you spoken to Rayleigh recently?"

Crocus nodded, "He's got another student, a nice kid. He reminds me a lot of Roger himself. Monkey D. Luffy. As a matter of fact, he was able to calm down Laboon." My heart started to beat faster as I was coming towards the end of my search, "Did Rayleigh say he was? Please, Crocus, I need to find him."

Scratching his head, Crocus had to think, "He did mention a spot I think it was called Rusukaina." Before Crocus even finished talking, I created a portal a stepped through.

I fell a few feet before growing a pair of wings and speeding through the air. Within a minute, I stopped above an island that was going through a heavy blizzard. Washing over the island with my haki, I smiled when I felt two positive signatures.

Falling to the ground, I landed in a clearing with tall mushroom trees. Looking around, I could feel several pairs of eyes on me. Sending out a wave of emperors haki to send them running.

"Rayleigh!" I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted. The shockwave caused all the trees nearby to flatten before springing back up. There was a moment of silence before Rayleigh walked through the trees holding a sword, "Soren, what are you doing here? I'm in the middle of training a student."

I walked over to my former mentor, "That's why I'm here. You're teaching Luffy, right?"

"Rayleigh-San, where did you go!" Just as I mentioned him, a head appeared through the forest attached to a stretch-out neck. Rayleigh turned and pointed his sword at Luffy, "What did I tell you about taking off the blindfold. You will live in darkness until you master observation haki."

Luffy didn't respond, as the rest of his body snapped back into place, "I was going to keep in on, but then I felt someone coming, and you ran away so fast. I also smelled food." Rayleigh sighed, "I think training is done for the day, Soren why do you need my student?"

I nodded towards Luffy, "You're Dragon's kid, right." Luffy nodded, "Yeah, that's him. But who told you?" In the back of my mind, I wondered what it would be liking having this guy as a captain, but I moved on.

"I work with your dad. I'm Sorren Arvil, Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Forces." Luffy scratched his head, "Huh?" Already starting to get frustrated I tried to push forward, "Nevermind, rumor is that you want to be the Pirate King?"

Luffy nodded, "It's my only goal in life. I will find, One Piece and become the Pirate King." Massaging my temples I nodded, "Right, right now what would you say If I could take you directly to Laugh Tale?"

Luffy shook his head, "No."

My brain stopped for a second, "What do you mean no?"

Luffy crossed his arms, "I said no, Roger didn't take any shortcuts. How can I become the pirate king if I rely on someone else."