Infiltrating the naval base
Rayleigh gave Meli an elegant smile, which relieved a lot of the tension in Meli's heart.
"Ordinary people can't see you, but I possess Observation Haki, so I can see through your disguise." Rayleigh paused, recalling some past events. His eyes softened as he looked at the little octopus. "What brings you to the island?"
Meli blinked, not knowing how to answer. His eyes lingered on Rayleigh's face, trying to determine whether he was a friend or an enemy.
Rayleigh has a strong aura, but that kind of strength does not make people feel oppressive. Instead, there is a calmness and gentleness that comes from the accumulation of years.
He didn't urge it, but just looked at Meli quietly, waiting patiently for its answer.
This person seems, perhaps, not an enemy?
Merry felt an inexplicable trust in Rayleigh's eyes. He was silent for a moment, and finally made up his mind: "I... I'm here to find a friend."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. "Looking for friends? Could it be that a mermaid was abducted to the island?"
"He's not a mermaid, he's..." Merry hesitated, not daring to say the word pirate, "He's a human, a very good friend."
Octopuses and humans?
interesting.
"The Sabaody Archipelago isn't very safe these days. If you're discovered by the Celestial Dragons, they'll capture you." Rayleigh extended his hand toward the transparent octopus. "Where do you want to go to find your friends? I can give you a ride."
Meli was stunned for a moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but soon, his heart was conflicted: Although this person does not look like a bad person, but... can he really be trusted?
Although the two-year-old octopus is quite clever, it still cannot hide its emotions well. It hesitates in place, with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation in its round eyes, and its little head is spinning wildly, unable to make up its mind.
Rayleigh noticed the little octopus's hesitation. He waited patiently for a while before trying to persuade him again: "Little guy, if I were a bad guy, I would have arrested you just now. You wouldn't be able to escape at all."
Eh?
Meli raised her head, her big innocent eyes staring at Rayleigh in disbelief: This...what this person said seems to make some sense.
Although he had some means of self-preservation and was not easily caught, there were too many humans here. If this person shouted, he would most likely be hunted down by a large group of people.
Maybe he is not a bad person after all.
Meli finally chose to believe it. It climbed up Rayleigh's arm and onto Rayleigh's head, and several small tentacles tightly hugged his head.
Rayleigh raised his hand and gently pinched the octopus on his head, and said with a smile: "Little guy, it's not good for you to cover my eyes like this."
Only then did Meli realize that he was too nervous and had wrapped Rayleigh's head so tightly that he couldn't see the road at all.
The little octopus sheepishly loosened a few tentacles and apologized softly: "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Hahaha, it's okay. Let's go." Rayleigh laughed twice, took big strides, and walked towards the shipyard gate.
The boatmen around did not notice the transparent octopus on Rayleigh's head at all, and they all greeted him with smiles.
"Hey, Rayleigh, are you calling it a day so early today?"
"Yeah, I have something to do today."
"Want to play a few hands later?"
"Next time." Rayleigh waved his hand.
Rayleigh took Merry away from the bustling shipyard and came to an uninhabited corner of the island.
He slowed down and poked the octopus on his head: "Little guy, you haven't told me where you are going yet."
"Ah, please wait a moment."
Meli took out the pearl bag hidden under the tentacles, took out a life card from the bag, and identified the direction.
After a while, Merry raised his tentacle and pointed in the direction indicated by the life card: "I'm going in this direction."
Rayleigh was surprised when he saw the direction Merry was pointing. "Are you sure it's this direction? There's a naval base right in front of us. Is your friend a member of the navy, or has he been captured by the navy?"
"Naval base?" Meli's eyes widened, and he was in a dilemma.
Why are Luffy and his crew at the Navy base?
Could it be that another friend was captured by the navy?
Merry's tentacles clenched into a ball nervously, and his eyes became extremely anxious.
Will there be a ship to pick them up this time?
Rayleigh noticed Merry's uneasiness and asked sympathetically, "Don't you know the exact location of your friend?"
"Yes," Merry rolled up the life card with his tentacles and handed it to Rayleigh, explaining awkwardly, "I only know the direction they are in according to the life card."
Rayleigh took the life card, looked at the direction indicated by the card, and frowned slightly.
He recalled that many years ago, when he was in distress at sea, he was rescued by an octopus man. The little octopus in front of him was just like his savior, a little simple and naive, and easily trusted humans.
Rayleigh sighed in his heart. It would be such a shame if such an innocent little octopus was caught and sold to the Celestial Dragons to become a slave!
Recently, with the World Government Conference about to be held, the security in the Sabaody Archipelago has become much tighter and the navy patrols have become more frequent.
This also caused many pirate ships to not dare to approach easily, the number of ships that needed coating dropped sharply, and Rayleigh's work in the shipyard became a lot less busy.
Since that’s the case, since I’m free anyway, I might as well help this little octopus.
Rayleigh returned the life card to Merry: "Don't worry, since I said I would give you a ride, even if you want to go to the naval base, I will take you there."
"Really?" Merry excitedly waved his tentacles, unconsciously wrapping them tighter around Rayleigh's head. "Thank you, Mr. Shipwright!"
"Hey! Hey! Calm down, little guy. I can't see the road clearly again."
"Oh! I'm sorry, Mr. Shipwright, I didn't mean it."
"It's okay. You don't have to call me Mr. Shipwright. Just call me Rayleigh."
"Okay, Mr. Reilly, you can call me Merry."
"...Well, never mind. Merry can call me whatever he wants."
Rayleigh didn't dwell too much on the name, and his tall figure quickened his pace in the direction indicated by the life card.
The surrounding scenery quickly receded behind them, and Merry, wrapped around Rayleigh's head, followed his steps to the shore.
Rayleigh didn't stop, he jumped directly and plunged into the sea.
"Mr. Rayleigh?"
Meli was frightened by this sudden action and screamed in surprise. The tentacles couldn't help but wrap around her even tighter.
"Relax, the sea is your home." Rayleigh soothed him and swam skillfully in the sea, his body nimble and agile.
Merry let go of Rayleigh's head and followed Rayleigh in confusion, waving his tentacles in the sea.
Being in the familiar sea water, Meli gradually relaxed and stopped the mimicry.
The transparent little octopus gradually returned to its original pink color and appeared in the water.
Merry asked with some confusion: "Mr. Rayleigh, why do we have to jump into the sea?"
Rayleigh turned his head and glanced at the little octopus beside him. The pink and tender little octopus was floating in the sea water. It was round like a jelly, smart and cute. It was indeed a rare species that was very popular among human traffickers.
Rayleigh patiently replied as he swam forward, "The naval base is inaccessible to all vehicles except naval warships. We have to dive in underwater to avoid being discovered."
The sound in the water was a little muffled, but Merry could still hear it clearly. He suddenly realized something and waved his two tentacles, clapping his hands. "So that's how it is! Mr. Rayleigh, you're really smart!"
Rayleigh couldn't help but smile. This octopus was indeed very simple. Fortunately, he met him, otherwise he would have been sold and it might even help him count the money.
"You, little one, have to be careful and be more vigilant. Not every human on land treats octopuses sincerely. Don't be fooled."
Mr. Raleigh, what a fool! I told you its name is Meli, why do you still like to call it little guy?
Merry muttered a few words in his heart, and replied seriously: "I won't be fooled. I know that humans not only deceive octopuses, but they also catch octopuses and make them into grilled octopus, octopus balls, and salt and pepper octopus..."
"Haha, I didn't expect you to know all this." Rayleigh's hearty laughter echoed on the sea.
Meli's little face flushed with shyness. In the past, she could only watch the various octopus delicacies made by Sanji, smelling the fragrance but not being able to eat them. Now she is drooling when she thinks about it.
Rayleigh's swimming skills are excellent, no less than those of the fish in the sea, and he moves at an extremely fast speed.
Meli followed him closely, and the man and the fish gradually approached Island 66 where the naval base was located.
"Little guy, we're almost there, you must follow me closely later."
"OK."
Rayleigh began to dive with Meli, nimbly avoiding the sight of the patrol ship and coming to an underwater passage hidden in the dark.
The entrance to the passage is sealed by a gate made of seastone, preventing dangerous marine life from approaching.
Rayleigh stretched out his hands and exerted a little force. With a click, the lock on the gate was easily broken by him.
The whole person swam in as smoothly as a fish.
"How amazing!" Meli exclaimed as he looked at the door lock that was several times bigger than himself, and immediately followed.
The passage was dark, but the man and the octopus were completely unobstructed by their vision and swam forward very smoothly.
They swam in the passage for an unknown amount of time before they finally saw a faint light in the distance.
The light was getting closer and closer, and the passage was gradually widening. Meli followed Rayleigh to the end of the passage.
Rayleigh was the first to emerge from the water, startling a navy soldier passing by not far away.
When the patrolling soldiers saw the sudden appearance of the figure, they immediately raised their weapons and shouted at Rayleigh's back: "Hey! This is a naval base. Who are you?"
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