085 Tom Journey, Challenge Rayleigh 

Logically, a cat torn into pieces should be dead. 

But...

In the next moment, Tom Cat turned into liquid, flowed out of the sharks' eyes, and reassembled himself.

A group of sharks were confused.

They had never encountered food like this before. 

At that moment, the glow around Tom Cat faded.

A Western sword appeared out of thin air in Tom's hand. He was now wearing a red and black coat, a cross necklace on his chest, and a matching top hat. 

Two mustaches appeared on Tom's face.

The aura of a powerful swordsman arose spontaneously, which was somewhat similar to that of Hawkeye.

As the sharks charged at him again, Tom Cat gave an evil smile.

It doesn't take a while.

Tom Cat crossed his arms and walked up from the coast.

Behind him, the sea was stained red, with the bodies of dozens of sharks floating on the surface. 

When Tom got home, he thought for a moment, then took out a pen and paper to write a letter to Hina.

[I, Tom, am going to sea to become the world's greatest swordsman! ——Tom]

After leaving the note, Tom touched his mustache. He'd heard of a guy named Hawkeye out on the sea—time to challenge him first.

After finishing everything, Tom built a small boat, caught two sharks to pull it, and sailed off gracefully. 

When Hina came home and found Tom's letter, she felt a bad feeling.

Hina knew Tom wasn't an ordinary kitten, so she decided to talk to Lynch. 

"Hahaha, Tom wants to become the world's greatest swordsman? Let him try," Lynch said, laughing after hearing from Hina through the Den-Den Mushi.

He is a man who became the King of West Blue. Being the world's greatest swordsman is not too much.

…

"Young man, why are you smiling so happily?"

An old man with two axes at his waist sensed a strong aura from a distance. 

The powerful presence made him glance sideways.

At such a young age, his courage has reached its peak, and Roger back then was far inferior to him at this age. 

"Hahaha, it's nothing. My pet just wants to become the world's greatest swordsman."

"What?" Scoper Gabban thought he must have heard wrong. 

"A pet wants to become the world's greatest swordsman??" 

That's outrageous.

He thought the young man must be joking.

"I'll go. See you later, uncle." 

Lynch floated over Gabban's head and pointed, "That direction..."

Jabba noticed the direction Lynch left, thought a little, and walked slowly towards that direction.

Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

When he opened the tavern door, he found it empty except for a charming woman wiping a wine glass.

"Aunt Shakky, let's have a nice drink."

"Good."

Shakky agreed and quickly took a few bottles of fine wine from the shelf, mixed it into a glass, and handed it to Lynch.

"Please taste it."

Lynch picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. "It tastes great. How much does it cost?"

"200 Baileys."

"Only 200 Baileys? That's not like you, Aunt Shakky."

Shakky tapped the table with a finger and said, "Vice Admiral, I think you misunderstood. This is just an ordinary tavern."

From the moment Lynch came in and called his name, Shakky knew that the other party's purpose was definitely not that simple.

As an intelligence chief, Shakky quickly found Lynch's information in her mind.

The current Marine Vice Admiral is extremely powerful. Recently, he single-handedly defeated tens of thousands of elite pirates and overcame six Big Mom Pirates' cadres. 

With such strength, Shakky knew she couldn't take him lightly.

"Tavern? I don't think so." Lynch smiled: "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble. How long will it take for Rayleigh to come back."

Shakky wiped the cup with her hand and said, "Rayleigh, he will only come to my place if he wants to drink. I think you are in the wrong place."

As soon as Shakky finished speaking, a hearty laugh came from outside the door.

"Hahahaha, the result come out so soon. I just sold myself again and now I have money to drink."

The handsome Rayleigh opened the door of the pub.

"Huh? Brother Lynch, you came from Fish-Man Island?"

Seeing that the two knew each other, Shakky quietly mixed two glasses of wine and stepped aside.

As a woman, she felt she shouldn't interfere in matters between men.

"Uncle Rayleigh, I want to treat you to a drink. Come and fight with me."

A bag of treasure was thrown on the table by Lynch.

The reason he came to see Rayleigh is that after arriving at Sabaody Archipelago, another option was triggered.

[Option 1: Learn Conqueror's Haki from Rayleigh. Reward: Luffy's dinner tonight.] 

[Option 2: Go to the auction with Rayleigh to cause trouble. Reward: Luffy's food for two days, and all other food for two days will be taken and appear before you.] 

[Option 3: Defeat Rayleigh. Reward: Level 2 Conqueror's Haki Entanglement.] 

Lynch chose option 3 immediately.

"Hahaha, no, I'm too old to fight anymore."

Rayleigh replied dismissively. He had retired and wasn't interested in fighting. 

If he attracted the Marines, his peaceful retirement would be ruined.

"No, today you have to fight even if you don't want to, otherwise I will arrest you. Don't forget that I am also a Marine."

The smile on Rayleigh's face disappeared, as if to say: You have such a thick eyebrow, and you're actually a Marine.

"Alright, for Crocus's sake, I'll fight with you, but not here. Come with me."

Rayleigh skillfully took a bottle of fine wine from behind the table and walked outside while drinking.

As the second-in-command of the Pirate King, there are many people in the world who want to challenge him.

Since Crocus asked Lynch to send him a message, it means Lynch is someone Crocus trusts, so Rayleigh doesn't mind teaching him. 

While Rayleigh could sense Lynch was strong, he didn't think Lynch was strong enough to defeat him.

"Be careful. Lynch is very strong; don't underestimate him," Shakky warned Rayleigh. 

Rayleigh had been idle lately and wasn't aware of Lynch's recent achievements, but Shakky knew he was very dangerous.

"Don't worry. Have some wine ready for me when I return—just use that kid's gold coins," Rayleigh said.

He then took Lynch to a small island not far from Sabaody.

"Okay, let's just fight here. Those Marines shouldn't be able to smell this place. We should finish the fight and go back to drink early."

Rayleigh dropped the bottle and drew his sword.

At this time, Rayleigh was not yet the 76-year-old guy like in the original story 

Rayleigh is currently 67 years old. 

Although his strength has declined, he still possesses the formidable power of Dark King and should not be underestimated

"You little brat, you're better than I was back then."

Rayleigh, slightly tipsy, laughed loudly and said, "Roger, do you see? The sea is still an era of heroes."

"Go ahead and let me see how strong you are!"

.

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TO BE CONTINUED 

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