Chapter 12: Asking Rayleigh to Hunt the Sea Kings

"Yes! I understand! I'll do my best!" Gin said with fiery determination. "Thank you, Uncle Rayleigh!"

Rayleigh let out a hearty laugh. "What are you talking about, kid? I should be the one thanking you! Not only did you save the daughters of the Kuja pirates, but you also brought news this important."

"That's right," Shakuyaku added, her arms crossed thoughtfully. "Just the information about Roger's son alone is enough to shake the world. Compared to that, teaching you a few things? That's hardly compensation. Honestly, if you don't ask for more, I'll feel a little guilty."

She understood just how much Rayleigh valued news about Ace. Sharing training techniques was nothing in comparison. If Rayleigh liked someone, he was always willing to help them grow.

But Gin shook his head firmly. "No, this is enough for now. We don't want to be greedy. Maybe we'll need something in the future... Can I reach out to you then, Aunt Shakky?"

"Heh, of course," she smiled knowingly. "If you need intelligence, just let me know. I'm quite good at gathering it."

Still, she doubted Gin would ever truly need her help. From the information he'd already provided about Ace, it was obvious his network was more advanced than theirs. He was likely just being polite.

After lunch, the Kuja ship's captain approached Gin a bit sheepishly.

"Because of our wounded crew and the need to restock supplies, we'll be departing in five days. Is that alright with you?"

"No problem," Gin replied. Their injuries were healing fast, and with Rayleigh's top-quality Sea King meat, the wait was actually a welcome opportunity.

"Oh, right!" Gin suddenly turned to Rayleigh. "Uncle Rayleigh, I wanted to ask… would it be possible for you to help me get some Sea King meat? It's just—buying it is crazy expensive."

Rayleigh chuckled. "Plenty of Sea Kings out there. With my strength, it's nothing to bring down a few. But how will you store it? It spoils quickly, y'know."

"Don't worry," Gin grinned. "I have a… special method."

He planned to use his dimensional gate space. Even if Rayleigh became suspicious, he'd assume it was the power of some space-based Devil Fruit. The truth behind his ability would remain hidden.

There was no other convenient method to get large amounts of meat. Asking his mother to hunt Sea Kings was too dangerous—aside from Susanoo or high-level genjutsu, most ninjutsu would be ineffective against such massive beasts. And in her current condition, using Susanoo wasn't an option.

"Haha! Well then, I'm free now. Let's head out!" Rayleigh said without hesitation.

"Alright!" Gin beamed.

"I'm coming too," Hikari said firmly. "You haven't fully recovered yet. What if something happens?"

She turned to Rayleigh and gave a slight bow. "Please take care of him."

"Haha! No worries! Let's take the Kuja ship—they can sail us into open waters."

Roughly ten kilometers out, the ship came to a halt. Rayleigh jumped straight into the sea, vanishing beneath the waves. Moments later, the surface began to rumble.

A massive Sea King—a 100-meter-long serpent with a body thick as a ship's mast—erupted from the ocean, thrashing wildly.

"Hey, Gin!" Rayleigh called from atop the slain beast's head. "How's this for a start? Want more?"

"Yes! This one's perfect! Let's get ten of them, please, Uncle Rayleigh!"

Hikari smiled and lifted her son by the collar. In one smooth motion, she leapt down, landing gracefully on the water's surface beside the beast.

"Oh?" one of the Kuja warriors gasped. "She's standing on water?"

"Some kind of energy... what is that?" the others murmured in awe.

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, observing the chakra at her feet, but said nothing.

"Alright then," he nodded. "I'll keep hunting. Might catch a few different types. That okay?"

"No problem," Gin replied. "As long as it's Sea King meat, anything is great. Thank you again! I'll bring you a bottle of fine sake when we return!"

He knew they had some rare and aged sake back home—ones Rayleigh had probably never tried. His mother wouldn't mind trading a few bottles for this much high-quality meat.

"Haha! Deal!" Rayleigh grinned, his eyes lighting up.

Gin walked up to the Sea King's corpse and laid a hand on it. In a blink, it vanished into thin air.

Everyone on the ship froze in shock.

"What... what just happened?!"

The massive body of the beast had disappeared as if it were never there.

Hikari smiled quietly, while Rayleigh looked intrigued. "Kid, you're full of surprises. So you can store entire Sea Kings, huh? That makes things much easier for me."

Without wasting time, Rayleigh dove back into the sea.

Hikari led Gin back to the ship to avoid any unnecessary danger from other nearby Sea Kings.

"Gin! What was that ability?" Hancock asked, running over with wide eyes. "Is that a space-type Devil Fruit?"

"Something like that," Gin smiled.

"That's amazing! I didn't know you had Devil Fruit powers!"

This Hancock was far different from the proud Empress Boa she would one day become. Right now, she was sweet, curious, and full of kindness—traits the future world would rarely get to see.