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Titled Luffy's Dream, One Piece episode 1088 focuses on the young pirate revealing his deepest wish to his comrades. Luffy's yearning isn't explicitly revealed, as the episode only teases it as something that goes even beyond becoming the Pirate King.
Before introducing Luffy's grand moment, the episode concludes the narration of Amazon Lily’s siege. As the Marines invaded the island with the intent to arrest Boa Hancock, Marshall D. Teach “Blackbeard” attacked the latter to steal her Love-Love Fruit.
Just as Blackbeard was about to kill the “Pirate Empress”, Silvers Rayleigh’s unexpected arrival saved the day. Rather than fighting the former right-hand man of Gol D. Roger, Blackbeard preferred to release Hancock and leave Amazon Lily empty-handed.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1102.
Even as an old man, Rayleigh is a Yonko level threat, and One Piece episode 1088 proves it
Rayleigh intimidated Blackbeard, saving Hancock's life
Owing to the Love-Love Fruit’s uncommon powers, Boa Hancock neutralized several Marines, as well as Vasco Shot and Catalina Devon, two Blackbeard Pirates officers who had accompanied Teach on Amazon Lily.
Before Hancock could strike Koby with her Perfume Femuru move, Blackbeard caught her with the Dark-Dark’s Black Vortex, which negated her Devil Fruit powers. Blackbeard then grabbed Hancock by the throat, making her bleed.
Unable to provide any further resistance, Hancock told Blackbeard that, should he kill her, the people she turned into stone, including Vasco and Catalina, would remain petrified forever. Determined to seize the Love-Love Fruit, however, Blackbeard decided to kill Hancock anyway.
The situation seemed desperate, but Silvers Rayleigh suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With his body oozing Conqueror’s Haki, the “Dark King” drew his sword and menacingly ordered everyone to obey his requests.
Rayleigh told Boa to return all her victims to normal, while, in exchange, all the invaders would leave the island. Nobody dared to oppose Rayleigh’s command, as the presence of Gol D. Roger’s former second-in-command intimidated even Blackbeard, forcing a de-escalation.
Rethinking about the incident, Hancock earnestly thanked the "Dark King" for saving both Amazon Lily and her life. Rayleigh came to her aid because his wife, Shakuyaku, also known as "Shakky", formerly was the leader of Amazon Lily and the captain of the Kuja Pirates.
Ultimately, Rayleigh noted that, while his reputation for strength was enough to scare Blackbeard away, in his current aged condition he probably wouldn’t have been able to beat the latter in a fight.
Blackbeard knows what Rayleigh is capable of
As the Pirate King's strongest comrade, Silvers Rayleigh is a living legend, and what happened on Amazon Lily only emphasized it. The extent of Rayleigh’s prowess is insane, as even as a 78-year-old man, notably past his prime, his reputation was enough to intimidate Blackbeard, a fearsome Yonko.
For Blackbeard, the stakes were at the highest, given that, before Rayleigh’s arrival, he was ready to do anything to get hold of Hancock’s Love-Love Fruit. He would even let his officers die.
Blackbeard knew that the Rayleigh he would be facing was not the same person he was twenty or thirty years before. Even then, as soon as Rayleigh arrived, Blackbeard gave up, and accepted to leave Amazon Lily without taking the Devil Fruit he desired so much.
Despite his might as a Yonko-level pirate who can wield the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit simultaneously, Blackbeard preferred to abandon his established goal and leave, rather than fight a nearly 80-year-old Rayleigh.
Blackbeard considered a battle against Rayleigh as something extremely dangerous, a risk too great to take, even if the latter was in his aged incarnation. Blackbeard would have never retired if he thought he could win without too much trouble, meaning that the old “Dark King” is still very close to his level.
Rayleigh recognized that, had they fought, in his current old age, he likely wouldn’t win against Blackbeard. This statement is also important, as it implies that an aged Rayleigh is, even if only slightly, inferior in power to Blackbeard, but things would be very different if he were younger.
All things considered, Rayleigh is highlighted as a paramount individual who, in his prime, surpasses the Yonko level, and, even as a retired old man, remains a top-tier fighter capable of putting pressure on anyone.
From the very beginning, One Piece depicted Rayleigh as a monster
Two years before One Piece’s current narration, Kizaru was wreaking havoc on Sabaody Archipelago. After slaughtering several of the Eleven Supernovas, the Admiral was about to crush the Straw Hats, but Rayleigh stopped him.
Although rusty and past his prime, a 76-year-old Rayleigh still fended off Kizaru flawlessly. Rayleigh’s only issue was his stamina, hindered by his inactivity and old age, as otherwise, he was able to keep up with all Kizaru’s moves.
Despite his efforts, the Admiral was unable to get past Rayleigh, who matched him blow for blow, remaining unscathed, and even inflicting him a wound, albeit a minor one. Notably, characters of the caliber of Marco and Whitebeard weren’t able to harm Kizaru at all.
Failing to capture the Straw Hats made Kizaru so furious that he beat 500 pirates to vent his frustration. There would be no point in him being enraged at that fiasco if he could have avoided it by defeating Rayleigh. Evidently, he just couldn't. Sentomaru, who witnessed the battle, acknowledged that Rayleigh stopped Kizaru.
Had they gone all-out, Kizaru would have used the hidden abilities of his Glint-Glint Fruit, but Rayleigh could answer with his Advanced Conqueror’s Haki. The outcome would be the same. However, if prime Rayleigh replaces his old version at Sabaody, he wouldn't just match Kizaru, but utterly beat him.
The recent One Piece chapters showed that Kizaru is strong enough to hold his own against a Yonko-level Luffy, overwhelming the latter’s Gear 4 state, and forcing him into using his Gear 5 form until exhaustion. This makes the 76-year-old Rayleigh's showing against the Admiral even more impressive.
The "Dark King", a living legend of the One Piece world
Rayleigh is a man who made history. The “Dark King” moniker emphasizes his prominent role as Roger’s right-hand man and the crew’s shadow captain. This is also hinted by Roger and Rayleigh’s original names, Gol D. and Silvers, as opposed to Scopper Gaban’s.
Gold and silver are precious metals, while copper is a metal but not a precious one. This reference marks a distinction among the members of the Roger Pirates’ “Metal Trio”, which is, in all likelihood, a parallel to the Straw Hat crew’s “Monster Trio”, further highlighting the comparison between Rayleigh and his present-day counterpart, Roronoa Zoro.
Just like Rayleigh was the right-hand man of the former Pirate King, Zoro is the right-hand man of the future Pirate King. Spanning from their status, their fighting style, and their specularly identical scars, to their attires, attitudes, and monikers, Rayleigh and Zoro are strikingly alike.
Rayleigh’s “Dark King” is not a mere reference to blackness, but, in the original Japanese meaning, recalls the monarch of the underworld. One of Zoro's swords is called Enma, the Japanese name of Yama. In Buddhism, this deity is the underworld’s ruler, that is to say, the “King of Hell”, which is Zoro’s new moniker.
These appellatives, based on a common root, hint at Zoro and Rayleigh being powerful individuals comparable to their captains. To Luffy and Roger, they aren’t just subordinates, but, for the manga’s direct statement, genuine partners, akin to brothers-in-arms.
As natural-born Conqueror’s Haki users, both the “Dark King” and the “King of Hell” had the potential to become legendary captains on their own. However, out of spontaneous sympathy, decided to put their trust in Roger and, respectively, Luffy, of whom they became the loyal right-hand men.
A testament to Rayleigh’s exceptional status, Monkey D. Garp, regarded the former as a legend on an equal footing with the all-powerful Whitebeard. Rayleigh’s presence made Jinbe tremble in fear and astonishment, whereas the same character could remain calm when faced with Big Mom.
In the One Piece world, Haki is the paramount power, surpassing anything else, including Devil Fruits. Rayleigh is an embodiment of this notion, as his combat prowess is exceptional. He is a master of all three types of Haki, which he can combine with his swordsmanship.
Most notably, he can use the advanced versions of at least Haoshoku and Busoshoku. It must be noted that his Conqueror’s Haki was directly likened to that of “Red Hair” Shanks, and, unlike the other types of Haki, the power of one’s Haoshoku depends on the user's overall strength.
Hence, that statement, featured in the SBS of Volume 65, implied that Rayleigh is comparable in power to Shanks. Unsurprisingly, Rayleigh is among the few people to earn Luffy’s respect and admiration. At one point, he was Luffy's teacher, personally tutoring him about how to use Haki and helping him develop the Gear 4 transformation.
Looking forward to seeing more of Rayleigh, his legendary status is made manifest. Even weakened by old age and inactivity, he remained powerful enough to match foes of Kizaru and Blackbeard’s caliber. Fans can only wonder what Rayleigh was capable of in his prime, and in all likelihood, he was one of the strongest One Piece characters ever.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
