“Tch!” Whitebeard didn’t say much, merely turning his head and casting a look of pure disgust at Ochoku.
Ochoku pretended not to notice, continuing to chew on his pizza with a smug grin lingering on his face.
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Ron and the others had long reached the route provided by the Kuja Pirates, where dull waves slapped against the hull again and again.
Waiting was agonizingly slow, especially on a cramped speedboat.
To make matters worse, the food they had brought ran out a day ago.
If they didn’t spot the World Government battleship soon, they would have no choice but to turn back.
However, after spending these two days together, Whitebeard’s attitude toward Ron had shifted.
At first, he assumed Ron was no different from bastards like Golden Lion, but after chatting on and off, Whitebeard realized the young man wasn’t bad at all.
“Come on, it’s your turn, Ron,” Stussy said with a laugh, looking at Ron with anticipation in her eyes.
Because it was simply too boring, Stussy had organized a game.
The rules were simple: everyone took turns sharing their past and why they chose to become pirates.
Kaido went first, his story matching the original history.
Whitebeard went second.
He didn’t say much, only mentioning a few words about the poverty in his homeland, the total collapse of order, and the home he could never return to.
Whether it was Kaido or Whitebeard, the pasts they shared were full of hardship.
It seemed this kind of misfortune was the norm across this vast sea.
“Me?” Hearing Stussy call his name, Ron thought for a few seconds before speaking slowly: “About the same as you guys.
I never saw my dad after I was born and grew up at my grandmother’s place.
When I was 14, my mom did drugs and was locked up in mandatory rehab.
On visiting day, she told me to go borrow money.
I turned around and walked away, and that was the last time I saw her.
When I was 20, my grandparents passed away, so I came out to be a pirate.”
Ron didn’t know what counted as the main point; he simply gave a brief summary of his twenty years on Earth.
The boat fell dead silent for a moment.
“Drugs?
Mandatory rehab?” Kaido furrowed his brows, finding the terms completely foreign.
After turning the words over in his mind, he suddenly barked, “Ron, you bastard!
You’re definitely making up stories to fool us!”
“Hahahahaha!” Ron burst out laughing right away.
As he laughed, he thought to himself: Yeah, so after transmigrating, I didn’t feel sad at all.
Not one bit.
“You guy…
you really have no sense of sportsmanship,” Stussy complained with a pout, assuming Ron was just spouting nonsense to tease them.
Ron didn’t bother to argue, merely giving a casual shrug with a smile.
Whitebeard, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed on Ron’s every move.
He didn’t speak, nor did he laugh.
“It should be my turn next, right?” Ochoku chimed in with a grin.
“Step aside.
Who cares about your past?” Whitebeard said slowly, his tone dripping with open disgust.
“Newgate…
you really are heartless.
We’re crewmates, you know,” Ochoku clutched his chest, putting on a look of deep grief.
“Crewmates?
Idiot, who’s your crewmate?” Whitebeard continued flatly, “We’re just temporary partners gathered together through our deal with Rocks.”
As those words fell, the boat went quiet once again.
This time, however, the silence wasn’t because of Whitebeard’s words.
Everyone had noticed at the exact same moment that a massive silhouette had appeared on the horizon.
At first, the outline was just a blurry black dot, like a speck of dust where the sea met the sky.
Yet as the seconds ticked by, it grew clearer and larger, gradually revealing the imposing form of a giant battleship.
“Finally here?!” Kaido shot to his feet, clenching his fists as excitement blazed in his eyes.
He had waited two days and starved for a full day; the frustration bottled up inside him had finally found an outlet.
Whitebeard glanced sideways at the distant warship.
“Don’t celebrate too early.
Whether the Kuja Pirates’ intel is accurate is still up in the air.”
“Do we have a battle plan, Newgate?” Ochoku’s tone grew noticeably more serious.
“Yeah,” Whitebeard replied flatly.
“Every man for himself.”
“…”
Kaido froze for a second, then broke into a savage grin: “Fine by me.
Let’s see who’s got the skill.”
At the same time, aboard the World Government battleship.
The Marine lookout holding a telescope suddenly had his pupils contract.
He rubbed his eyes, looked once more, and after confirming the sight, his face changed drastically.
Tap, tap, tap, tap…
Urgent footsteps echoed down the cabin hallway.
“Reporting to Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Sengoku!”
A booming voice rang at the cabin door.
“Enemy vessel spotted ahead!
The enemies include Edward Newgate, Buckingham Stussy, Ochoku, the apprentice Kaido, and…
the recently infamous ‘Cold-Blooded Butcher’ Ron!”
Garp, who had been sprawled out asleep on the sofa, bounced straight up the moment he heard the report.
“Work is finally here?” Garp grinned wide, cracking his knuckles.
“I almost thought this trip was for nothing.”
With that, Garp strode outside.
“Hey, Garp, wait a minute!” Sengoku hurried to call him back, his brow tightly knit.
“You’re too impatient!
The plan hasn’t been fully deployed yet!”
Garp’s steps only paused for a fraction of a second.
Without looking back, he waved a hand dismissively: “A plan?
Fists are the best plan!”
“You idiot,” Sengoku muttered under his breath.
Still, he didn’t stop him.
All things considered, the plan for this operation was flawless—they had successfully baited the Rocks Pirates into their trap.