Silvers Rayleigh

"Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh is the former first mate of the Roger Pirates and the "Right Hand of the Pirate King". He became a coating mechanic in Sabaody Archipelago at some point after Gol D. Roger died and the crew was disbanded. He is one of the central characters of the Sabaody Archipelago arc, as the Straw Hat Pirates require his skills in order to get to Fishman Island.

Appearance
Two of Rayleigh's most distinguishing traits are his round glasses and facial hair, which is arranged in a stripe-like pattern across his lower jaw. He also has a scar over his right eye, which he has had for many years. When he was younger, Rayleigh had strawberry blonde hair (black earlier in the anime) clean cut, and had a moderate amount of facial hair. Over the years, as his hair whitened, he grew it out. He also grew a beard from his initial striped facial hair. During his first appearance in Buggy's flashback, he was seen wearing a t-shirt with an ornately decorated collar, a motif that appeared even in the long coat he wore during the Edd War. He currently wears an orange shirt, light-brown spotted bermudas and simple sandals. He also has a silver-colored coat hanging from his shoulders.

Personality
Rayleigh is light hearted, casual and fun loving, much like his captain Gol D. Roger was supposed to have been. In the past he was shown to have been intolerable to the antics of the younger members arguing, and took the position of crew disciplinarian very seriously. He, like Whitebeard seems to have enjoyed talking about the past, although he seems reluctant to speak about certain topics like the Void Century. As stated by Shakky, he loves alcohol and women, which he proved when he's first introduced saving Keimi from being mistreated by Disco while holding a hip flask. He prefers to be called "Ray-San".

Despite once being enemies with the Whitebeard Pirates, Rayleigh seems to have great respect for their captain, like Roger, and shed a tear for Whitebeard's passing.

Abilities and Powers
In his younger days with Gol D. Roger, Rayleigh commanded the rest of Roger's crew as First Mate. He would do several duties while supervising the rest of the crew. Amongst these duties was disciplining the young apprentices Buggy and Shanks over their constant arguing about pointless things, such as which of the two polar regions is the colder one.

After Gol D. Roger's crew disbanded, Rayleigh became a coating mechanic in Sabaody. He specializes in coating ships with Yarukiman Resin, a process which enables ships to travel to Fishmen Island.

Rayleigh is apparently extremely powerful, possibly one of the strongest characters introduced. Shakky, a business partner of his, vouches for his strength by saying that he's "100 times stronger than all of you boys", referring to the Eleven Supernovas. Indeed, when Vice Admiral Garp was informed Rayleigh may be on Sabaody Archipelago, he told his men not to confront him. He also ordered them not to inform Fleet Admiral Sengoku about that, saying that the Marine should not confront two legends, Whitebeard and Rayleigh, at the same time. Due to his phenomenal strength, he was able to fight Admiral Kizaru equally. However, Rayleigh himself has admitted that he is not as young as he used to be, and can tire in battle. Even Jinbei, former Shichibukai who gotten used to seeing Whitebeard, was shocked to see Rayleigh. Eustass Kid himself stated that Rayleigh was "a legend".

Another glimpse of his strength is seen when he seemingly snatches off Keimi's exploding slave collar and tosses it into the air before it could self destruct.

He also has a large amount of stamina, as he was able to swim to Amazon Lily from another ocean, and was also still able to kill a number of Sea Kings despite swimming such a long distance. His ability to swim also definitively shows that his strength is natural, not based on a Devil Fruit.

Rayleigh knows the "True History" of the world from his time with Roger. However, he has also stated that, as a pirate crew lacking the intelligence of scholars of Ohara's caliber, they may very well have misinterpreted that information.

In spite of his strength however, Rayleigh seems to have a penchant for getting into shipwrecks. Whether this a reflection of poor navigation skills or mere bad luck is up to interpretation.

Haki
Rayleigh is able to utilize "Haki" the same way displayed by Shanks and Luffy. He is able to use all 3 types of Haki: Kenbunshoku Haki, Busōshoku Haki, and Haōshoku Haki. Rayleigh uses Haōshoku Haki to render a specific target completely unconscious. He is able to do this without the aid of eye contact, nor adversely affect anybody else near the initial target. He disabled an entire room with this power, save for the Straw Hats, Kid Pirates, Heart Pirates, Keimi, and Pappug. Rayleigh later commented that the pirates still standing were no ordinary rookies. Only very strong and determined individuals can resist from being knocked unconscious. One of Trafalgar Law's crewmen was very close to being knocked out. Even Law and Eustass Kid were sweating slightly after enduring the blast. Rayleigh was first seen using Busōshoku Haki to kick and redirect an attack from Admiral Kizaru. Rayleigh uses Kenbunshoku Haki to dodge an elephant's attack without directly seeing the elephant. Rayleigh also shows great knowledge of Haki, and made use of all three types while teaching Luffy about them, and training him in the basics.

Weapons
He has shown the ability to use a sword although he does comment he's out of practice. He's also managed to cut and draw blood from Kizaru's face, who is a Marine Admiral and Logia Devil Fruit user, by imbuing his extremely powerful Busōshoku Haki into his sword.

Past
As right-hand man of Gol D. Roger's ship, he disciplined Buggy and Shanks over their constant arguing. Twenty-eight years ago, Roger fell ill to an incurable disease, leading the Roger Pirates to take one final journey together. They ventured into the Grand Line together and conquered it. A year before his death, Roger disbanded the crew in secret and one by one the crew disappeared. Before he handed himself over to the Marines, Roger told Rayleigh that "He would not die". Rayleigh was not at his captain's execution, but laughed none the less upon hearing the message Roger had left to the world.

Six years later, Rayleigh was saved by a young Hatchan from drowning in a shipwreck. Since then, Rayleigh has been on good terms with Hachi. He, along with Shakuyaku and Nyon, also helped protect the Gorgon Sisters after their escape from slavery from the World Nobles.

Eventually, Rayleigh would go on to become a coating master on Sabaody Archipelago and set up a partnership with Shakuyaku. In the current storyline, he had been missing for six months prior to Luffy's arrival.

Escape From Bonds
By the time Luffy had arrived, he had taken himself to the Human Auctioning House to be sold as a slave. Garp stated he most likely built up a debt he couldn't pay off so decided the money for selling himself would repay his debts.

When the manager, Disco, mistreated the newly arrived Keimi, he used a "rush of spirit" to knock Disco out. The giant in a cage with him noted this and asked him who he was, which Rayleigh shrugged off, saying he was just an old man.

Rayleigh eventually broke out of his cell along with the giant. He revealed that he only had himself put up for auction to eventually rob whoever bought him. He then disabled the entire auction house, one of the victims being World Noble Saint Shalulia, with his "Haki" before expressing surprise at Hachi's presence, and then addressing Luffy, whom he said he'd been waiting to meet for a long time, remarking that the Straw Hat suits him. After that, Rayleigh removed Keimi's collar and told Zoro, as he was leaving with Hatchan, for him and the rest of the Straw Hats to meet up with Rayleigh later at Grove 13.

He is next seen running carrying Hatchan on his back and with Franky close behind when they escaped from the Auction house, later everyone arrived at Shakky's Rip-off Bar. Here he told the Straw Hat Pirates all about Roger and his crew. He then goes to coat the Straw Hats' ship which will take three days to finish, Rayleigh then gives them a Vivre Card so they know where to find him, as he isn't sure where he might end up while he's coating their ship. He finally advises them to get supplies for the trip to Fishman Island.

Rayleigh then appears after the Straw Hats are confronted by Sentoumaru and a Pacifista, saving Roronoa Zoro from certain death by Admiral Kizaru by blocking Kizaru's kick. Kizaru greets the "Dark King" while Rayleigh tells him not to pluck the fine sprouts (i.e: the Straw Hats) since their era is just beginning. When Kizaru moves to chase the escaping Zoro, Usopp and Brook with "Yata no Kagami", Rayleigh draws a sword and cuts the beam of light, stopping Kizaru in his tracks. The two quickly engage in a sword fight, Kizaru using a sword of light, where Rayleigh manages to draw blood by cutting Kizaru's cheek. Despite fighting evenly with Kizaru, he is unable to prevent the Straw Hats from being overpowered by PX-1 and Sentoumaru. After Bartholomew Kuma arrives and transports Zoro far away with his powers, he tells Rayleigh something he is unwilling to believe, then teleports the rest of the crew to distant islands.

After the War
While Whitebeard's death was airing at Sabaody, Rayleigh, who had escaped Kizaru's arrest, was watching from afar while drinking, remarking that Whitebeard was finally dead with a smile on his face and a teardrop in his eye.

After the war, Rayleigh set off on a ship to Amazon Lily. However before he could even reach to the Calm Belt, his ship sank in a storm and thus he swam the rest of the way to the island. He killed several Sea Kings when he was closer to the shore of the island, something which surprised and almost frightened the Heart Pirates who were watching from the shore. When he got to the shore, he remembered Trafalgar Law from the Sabaody Archipelago, and told them he thought Luffy was on the island. He then sees Luffy and Jinbei coming toward him. When Luffy asked about his crew, Rayleigh said he doubted they were all back yet. After telling Luffy that Law said to take it easy for another two weeks, he proceded to see Nyon, Boa Hancock, and her sisters, whom he had apparently met before and knew rather well. He gave the women a message from Shakky. He then reassured them that the Marines would not even think of to look for Luffy on The Isle of Women, and that he was completely safe there.

Rayleigh then remembers what Kuma whispered to him back on the archipelago. He explains that Kuma told him the general direction in which he sent Luffy, which happened to lead right to Amazon Lily. After going back through the events of the war with Shakky, she was able to determine that Boa Hancock was hiding Luffy on her home island, that she was doing so out of love for Luffy, and also as a means of hiding him from the Marines. Rayleigh then commented that a woman's intuition was a truly frightening thing. He then said he would get to the main reason he came to find Luffy. Rayleigh asks him if he wanted to return to Sabaody, to which Luffy replies yes. Rayleigh then reminded him of what happened there before, saying that gathering his crew there again would lead to the same result as before. He then starts to propose an idea he has to Luffy, giving him the choice of rejecting it if he so chooses.

He infiltrated Marineford with Luffy and Jinbei and took part in stealing a Marine ship and circling Marineford once with it. He then is seen on the Kuja Pirates' ship with two Kuja pirates pulling on his cheek since he is a man. He then tells Luffy that his crew most likely got the meaning of his message, due to its abnormal nature. He then said that he had a hunch that the others would understand the message.

He and Luffy then went to Rusukaina for special training. Rayleigh tells Hancock that none of the Kujas are allowed on the island during the training and tells her that if she is worried then she should pray for Luffy. When Rayleigh and Luffy are left alone, Rayleigh informs Luffy about an ability known as Haki. Soon, a giant elephant attacks and Rayleigh begins a demonstration of this ability. Rayleigh tells Luffy that there are three kinds of Haki: Kenbunshoku Haki, Busōshoku Haki, and Haōshoku Haki. He uses Kenbunshoku Haki to dodge the elephant's attack and then use Busōshoku Haki to repel the elephant. When Luffy starts to understand Haki, Rayleigh then subdues the elephant using the Haōshoku Haki. The two then began training on the island.

Two Years Later
Rayleigh returned to Sabaody Archipelago half a year before Luffy. He is seen again in Shakky's bar commenting on how strong the Straw Hat pirates have become. He also finished coating the Thousand Sunny. Rayleigh then met Nami, Robin, Franky, Chopper, and Usopp on the Thousand Sunny. He informed them that Luffy had arrived on the island and is about to teach Nami on how to operate a coated ship. He then told her to move the ship to GR 42 and to wait until everyone assembled, saying it was finally time to restart. Rayleigh went to GR 46 to check up on Luffy. He also commented on how Luffy strengthened his haki. After Luffy had declared that he would be the Pirate King, Rayleigh was shown smiling and having tears in his eyes.

Major Battles

 * Roger Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates (several off-screen)
 * Roger Pirates vs. Golden Lion Pirates
 * Silvers Rayleigh vs. Admiral Kizaru
 * Silvers Rayleigh vs. numerous Sea Kings
 * Silvers Rayleigh vs. an elephant beast

Anime and Manga Differences
In the manga, when young Rayleigh's glasses were briefly seen, they had a circular shape. In the anime initially, they had an oblong shape. Also his scar is missing, presumably this is a mistake because the scar is difficult to see in the manga.

Translation and Dub Issues
The term used by Rayleigh's companion, Shakky, to refer to him is うちの人 (Uchi no Hito). This is a common Japanese phrase referring to a companion that lives with one. Depending on the context on how it is used, it can sometimes refer to a woman's husband. For example, the FUNimation subs translate it as husband. However, this is not necessarily always the case. The phrase is usually used amongst friends rather than in formal situations.

Trivia

 * When Shanks and Buggy were first revealed to be part of Gol D. Roger's crew, a fan asked Oda in a SBS question if the man that scolded them was a subordinate captain under Roger that commanded the ship they were sailing on, or even a high ranking officer. Without giving away Rayleigh's name at the time, Oda responded that this man was none other than the First Mate of Gol D. Roger's crew. Oda also stated in his response that since he had set this fact in stone from the very start, he told Toei Animation that when they adapt Buggy's flashback for the anime, Buggy and Shanks should not refer to Rayleigh as Captain in the anime.
 * His name possibly refers to John Silver from Treasure Island and Sir Walter Raleigh, an English 16th-century explorer and privateer. It should be noted that Sir Walter Raleigh's name has been spelt in over 40 ways, in which also includes the spelling "Rayleigh". Additionally, the name "Rayleigh" may be a reference to Lord Rayleigh, a physicist who explained the phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering, an effect whereby light can be scattered by particles that are smaller in size than wavelength of light. This is likely not a coincidence, since Rayleigh was capable of fending off Admiral Kizaru, who possesses the Pika Pika no Mi, the Logia of light.
 * Silver is traditionally considered the next most valuable metal after gold, and as the First Mate, Silvers Rayleigh was the second high ranked man in the crew after the captain, Gold Roger.
 * When Rayleigh saved Zoro from Kizaru, he told him that if he were to get rid of his wanted poster, he could go into a peaceful retirement. This is an indication that Rayleigh has an active bounty and the amount has yet to be revealed.

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