I agreed to win with Roger, but the guy I met was too young Chapter 022

Today, while eating, Rhett scanned the newspaper and saw a piece of news: Newgate, when you set sail, did you really think your destination was strength?

“Captain, look! Rocks has taken Newgate, Shiki, and Wang Zhi into his pirate crew!”

The newspaper read: “Shocking! The pirate world will have its own king! The Rocks Pirates have emerged from nowhere, destroying Marine Branch 16. Do they intend to rule this sea? For more details, please refer to the next issue of the newspaper.” At the end, a photo of Rocks, Shiki, and Newgate was attached.

“Looks like the little lion was beaten into submission, hahaha!” Roger laughed heartily.

Rhett perked up. If no one spread the word, he’d start the rumors himself. Shiki was the first one the three of them paid attention to, huh? Hachiji, you really are something. Is this what you call a response? He was hooked.

The Roger Pirates docked at a bustling trade island to rest.

The crew scattered in twos and threes; some went to procure supplies, while others went to relax at the tavern.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh sat at an outdoor table outside the tavern, slowly sipping coffee, looking exceptionally refined.

Just then, a tall woman with black hair slightly curled at her temples walked over. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and had a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Oh, sir, isn’t drinking coffee alone boring?” She pulled out a chair and unceremoniously sat down opposite Rayleigh.

Rayleigh slightly raised his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in his gaze behind his spectacles, but he quickly regained his composure: “Miss, do we know each other?”

“Don’t we now?” The woman rested her chin on one hand, her smile deepening, “My name is Shakky, and I’m an information broker.”

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow: “Information broker? So are you here to sell information, or to… buy information?”

Shakky blinked: “Of course, I’m here to ‘exchange’ information.” She deliberately elongated her words, her fingertips gently tapping the table, “For example, I’m very interested in ‘Dark King’ Rayleigh.”

The scene shifted to the rooftop where Rayleigh was drinking coffee.

If you looked closely, you’d notice that a certain part of the rooftop was slightly different from its surroundings. This was due to Rhett’s high-power fog attachment effect. Underneath the fog, two people were crouched: Rhett and Jabba. With the current density of the fog,

Rhett could say, without exaggeration, that as long as Uncle Rayleigh didn’t specifically try to sweep the area, it would be impossible to discover them.

Rhett nudged Jabba, “Jabba-bro, I told you, there’s a story here.”

Jabba nodded frantically: “It was worth following him as soon as we got to the island, probably followed him for about 16 islands, and we finally caught him.”

Rhett quickly covered Jabba’s mouth: “Shhh, keep it down, don’t get us discovered.”

Rayleigh cleared his throat and raised his coffee cup to hide his discomfort: “Oh? What about me interests you?”

“Lots.” Shakky leaned in closer, lowering her voice, “For example, you’re a pirate, so why do you always wear glasses? Is it to appear refined?”

Rayleigh almost choked on his coffee: “…It’s a personal habit.”

“Oh~” Shakky drew out the sound, her eyes sly, “Then, for another example, your captain, Roger, is it true that he laughs three times before a fight, as the rumors say?”

Rayleigh helplessly rubbed his forehead: “Are you here to collect information, or to listen to gossip?”

“Both.” Shakky smiled, pulling out a small notebook and seriously jotting something down, “‘Rayleigh looks helpless when asked about Roger, suspected of having an opinion about the captain’ further speculation suggests he might covet the captain’s position…”

Rayleigh: “…Hey, this isn’t talking about information, this is spreading rumors.”

Not far away, Rhett whispered: “Jabba-bro, Uncle Rayleigh is blushing! You saw it, right?”

Jabba stifled a laugh: “Rare indeed, to see Rayleigh flustered. Who is this woman?”

Shakky seemed to notice their gaze and turned to wink at them, scaring the two of them into quickly shrinking back.

Rhett quickly pushed Jabba’s head back into the fog.

“Jabba-bro, don’t stick your head out of the fog, you want to get us both killed.”

Because he was afraid of attracting attention if the range was too wide, Rhett had only covered himself and Jabba with a thin layer of extremely dense fog. The distance wasn’t far; one lift of the head and they’d be out.

Rhett couldn’t help but marvel at how sharp young Shakky was.

“Alright, I’ve collected enough information.” Shakky closed her notebook and stood up, looking down at Rayleigh with a playful smile on her lips, “Next time we meet, I hope you’ll buy me a drink, not coffee.”

Rayleigh opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Shakky had already turned and left, leaving only a faint scent of perfume.

“You two can come out now, how long are you going to keep watching?”

How thick-skinned were Rhett and Jabba?

Rhett and Jabba immediately came over, their faces full of gossip: “Uncle Rayleigh, who is she?”

Rayleigh pushed up his glasses, feigning composure: “A troublesome woman.”

Rhett smirked: “But she seems very interested in you~ Pfft, you two have something going on.”

Rayleigh: “…Brat, are you not training enough?”

Rhett: “I’ll shut up!”

A few days later, the Roger Pirates were preparing to depart.

Rhett was crouching on the deck, checking supplies, when Jabba suddenly grabbed him and whispered: “Hey, kid, look over there!”

Rhett followed his gaze—at the entrance of the tavern by the port, Rayleigh was cornered against a wall by Shakky.

Rhett was going crazy. Why didn’t this era have cameras? A camera, quick, just one shot, hurry and take a picture!

“Not being able to record this CP and this gossip scene really made Rhett miserable.”

Shakky leaned one hand on the wall, holding a small slip of paper in the other, and smiled as she leaned closer to Rayleigh: “Mr. Rayleigh, I have some ‘top-secret information’ here, would you like to hear it?”

Rayleigh pushed up his glasses, trying to remain calm: “…What information?”

Shakky’s red lips curved slightly: “I heard there’s a kid on your ship named Rhett who really loves to spread gossip?”

Rayleigh: “…”

Rhett, hiding behind a cargo box: “???”

Jabba’s shoulders shook from stifling his laughter: “Hahahaha, you’ve been sold out!”

Rhett gritted his teeth: “How does this woman even know that?!”

Shakky seemed to notice their presence and deliberately raised her voice: “Especially about ‘certain people’s’… romantic gossip.”

Rayleigh’s temple twitched: “…What exactly do you want to say?”

Shakky blinked, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and whispered something in his ear.

—Rayleigh’s ear tips instantly turned red.

Rhett and Jabba’s eyes widened: “Oh oh oh oh oh—!!!”

Shakky took a satisfied step back, shaking the paper in her hand: “If you want the full information, remember to buy me a drink next time we meet~” With that, she turned gracefully and left.

Rayleigh stood rooted to the spot, and after a long moment, he took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead: “…What exactly does this woman want…”

Rhett and Jabba crept over conspiratorially: “Uncle Rayleigh! What did she tell you?!”

Rayleigh looked expressionless: “Today’s training is doubled.”

Rhett/Jabba: “??? What does that have to do with us?!”

—In the distance, Shakky leaned against the alleyway, watching the boisterous Roger Pirates, and chuckled softly.