“Hehehehe…”
Hearing Gaban’s words, Ron finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and lowered his head, laughing.
“Hehehahahahaha…”
His laughter grew progressively louder.
“Hahahaha…”
“Hahahaha…”
Until in the end, Ron threw his head back in wild, unrestrained laughter.
Rayleigh frowned, speaking in a low voice: “Hey, what are you laughing at?
What’s so funny?”
Ron’s laughter slowly died down.
Fixing his gaze on the three men, he spoke at a steady, unhurried pace: “Isn’t it hilarious?
Listen to the words you all said earlier—so noble, so righteous.”
“Yet in the end?
Even you realize that you’re just pirates.”
Giving them no chance to cut in, Ron pressed on: “As pirates, do you dare swear your hands aren’t stained with the blood of the innocent?
Do you dare?
When it benefits you, you don’t utter a single word about righteousness; the moment things go against you, you turn right around and come lecture me about honor and trust?”
“To put it bluntly, you’re just a bunch of hypocritical cowards wanting to play the hero.”
Stunned by Ron’s sharp tongue, the three men froze on the spot.
“You bastard!” Gaban was the first to react.
“What did you say?!”
“Shut your mouth,” Ron barked furiously.
“Did I leave you out?
And what right do you have anyway?
The Rocks Pirates were the ones partnering with the Kuja Pirates—what does that have to do with your Roger Pirates?
What are you barking for?”
“Did you lose your mind from being lovesick lapdogs for so long?
Or did I give you too much face, letting you flap your gums without stopping?”
SHING—!
The moment the blade gleamed, Roger had already drawn his sword, leaping into the air with a savage expression.
Conqueror’s Haki wrapped around the blade, compressing the air until it let out a piercing screech.
His silhouette traced an arc across the sky, plunging straight down.
Ron’s gaze darkened before he let out a cold snort.
Resorting to violence when you lose an argument?
So this is the measure of the future Pirate King, the man claimed to be impossible to truly hate.
“To be completely honest, I’m beyond grateful you rejected my request to join your ship,” Ron whispered.
In that split second, Nine-Tails Mode flared to life.
Golden, flame-like chakra enveloped his entire body.
He immediately unsheathed the long blade at his waist, wrapping it in Conqueror’s Haki at the exact same moment.
BOOM!!!
A heavy, dull blast detonated, instantly sending terrifying shockwaves surging into the surroundings.
The ground shook violently.
Centered on Ron, spiderweb-like fissures appeared instantly, rapidly spreading and collapsing outward.
At the focal point of the two weapons, Conqueror’s Haki compressed the air into a visible, warped sphere that continuously expanded, contracted, and swelled again.
At the same time, in a certain tavern in town.
Holding an unfinished bowl of liquor while grumbling about how Ron hadn’t woken up yet, Whitebeard suddenly froze mid-motion.
He snapped his gaze toward the west, his pupils shrinking slightly.
Sitting on the opposite side of the table, Kaido looked up a moment later, his expression abruptly turning dead serious.
“Such…
such powerful Conqueror’s Haki,” Kaido’s voice dropped lower than usual.
“Who is it?
Did Rocks return?”
“No…” Whitebeard stood up slowly, picking up Murakumogiri from beside the table.
“It’s not Rocks.
That guy’s Haki is far more overbearing than this.”
With that, Whitebeard strode outside.
“Where are you going?” Kaido stood up as well, grabbing his spiked club to chase after him.
“To take a look.
Even if I don’t know what happened.”
“Wait for me, I’m coming too!” Kaido hurried to keep pace.
“Hey!” The bartender leaned halfway over the counter, shouting, “You two haven’t paid yet!”
“Put it on Rocks’s tab,” Whitebeard’s voice drifted back from afar, growing more distant.
“Oh,” the bartender nodded obediently.
“Hey, why didn’t you chase them?!” The tavern owner rushed to the bar and smacked him upside the head.
“He said to put it on Rocks’s tab…” the bartender rubbed his head, speaking in wounded innocence.
“You idiot!” The owner smacked him on the head once more, scolding in utter frustration, “No matter how you look at those two, they’re clearly dine-and-dashers!”
Back on Ron’s side.
Right now, there was still a noticeable gap between Ron’s Conqueror’s Haki and Roger’s.
However, bolstered by the Sage Body and Nine-Tails Mode, Roger couldn’t gain much of an upper hand either.
Zzzzt, zzzzt.
The two streams of Conqueror’s Haki continued to clash, twisting and distorting the air between them with screeching, lightning-like arcs.
At the same time, Rayleigh and Gaban had already circled around to Ron’s flanks.
Leaping high into the air, one attacked from the left and the other from the right.
“Hey, kid,” Gaban swung his dual axes, coordinating seamlessly with Rayleigh’s sword strike as they attacked simultaneously.
“How are you going to handle this next?”
At the critical moment, golden chakra arms extended from Ron’s left and right sides in an instant.
CLANG!
CLANG!
The chakra hands firmly clamped down on Rayleigh’s sword and Gaban’s dual axes.
The price, however, was severe.
Under the double impact, the ground beneath Ron’s feet caved in once more.
Crushed rock and soil sank like quicksand, swallowing half his body into the crater, leaving only his torso exposed from the waist up.
“What the hell?” Gaban was clearly startled by the sudden extension of Ron’s arms, his brows lifting high.
“He can sprout arms anywhere, anytime?”
“Truly unexpected,” Rayleigh agreed from the side, yet the force behind his hands did not weaken in the slightest.
“HAAAH!”
Seeing Ron distracted by Rayleigh and Gaban, Roger seized the opening.
Pouring immense power into his strike, the Conqueror’s Haki on his blade flared violently, soaring like black flames.
The overwhelming force bent Ron’s blade slightly, the metal groaning under the strain.
Simultaneously, Rayleigh and Gaban pulled their weapons back and retreated, adjusting their stances mid-air to launch a second offensive.
This wave of attacks was far faster and fiercer than the last.
The trio’s coordination was flawless: Roger applied frontal pressure while Rayleigh and Gaban flanked from both sides, cutting off every single path of retreat for Ron.
Ron’s brows furrowed.
Without the slightest hesitation…
The Nine-Tails Fox descended.
BOOM!
A colossal golden fox rose straight up from the crater.
The moment its frame expanded, it tore several massive fissures through the surrounding earth.
Nine massive tails spread wide behind it, while seven or eight chakra arms extended from its flanks.
Roger, Gaban, and Rayleigh hesitated visibly, their offensive halting for a fraction of a second.
They had not anticipated that Ron could transform into a full “beast form.”
Transformed into the giant fox, Ron wasted no time, swinging massive fists straight toward the three of them.
This sudden turn forced the trio to shift immediately from offense to defense.
Yet the moment they raised their guard, Ron’s chakra hands spread wide, fingers snapping shut in an attempt to grab them all at once.
Roger and Rayleigh possessed sharper reflexes, dodging a split second before getting caught and slipping right between the fingers of the chakra hands.
Gaban was half a step slower.
A chakra hand clamped tightly around his waist, yanking him right in front of Ron.
“Screw you, take three of these.”
Ron cursed under his breath.
With a single thought, the chakra arms extended out front each condensed a Tailed Beast Ball.
They weren’t massive, but they weren’t small either.
Three chakra arms moved in unison, slamming the spheres directly into Gaban from the left, right, and above simultaneously.
“Gaban!!”
Roger’s and Rayleigh’s pupils shrank violently at the exact same moment.
Sensing the danger, both unleashed even fiercer attacks in desperation.
“Ron, stop right now!!!” Roger roared at the top of his lungs.
BOOOOOM—!!!
A blinding flash lit up the entire world like a miniature sun, followed immediately by an earth-shattering explosion.
Fierce shockwaves swept in every direction.
The ground tore up layer by layer like crumpled cloth, hurling everything into the air.
Thick smoke billowed skyward, forming a towering mushroom cloud.
Amidst the dust, a golden figure darted out swiftly from the smoke.
Ron had already reverted to his humanoid Nine-Tails Mode.
Cough!
The moment his feet touched down, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Earlier, he had focused entirely on ramming the Tailed Beast Balls into Gaban without prioritizing defense, taking direct hits from both Rayleigh and Roger.
Still…
it didn’t matter.
Possessing the Sage Body, his wounds were already closing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
“Ron!!!”
From the heart of the smoke, a furious roar exploded.
A powerful shockwave blew the surrounding haze away, revealing the three figures within.
Roger stood at the very front with several bleeding gashes across his face, the murderous intent in his eyes burning ten times hotter than before.
Rayleigh stood beside Gaban, looking largely unchanged from his prior state.
Gaban’s upper body was soaked in blood, but he was still on his feet—injured, but far from losing his ability to fight.
“Dammit,” Ron muttered in a low voice, before he could even wipe the blood from his mouth.
“If you gave me a little more time, I would’ve treated you to an even bigger one.”
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
From high above, two figures descended, landing heavily right beside Ron.
Whitebeard glanced at Ron first before lifting his head to look forward.
When his eyes landed on Roger, a visible flicker of astonishment crossed his face.
“Roger?” Whitebeard muttered under his breath, before turning back to Ron to ask, “What’s going on?
Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Ron answered.
“What happened?” Kaido gripped his spiked club, glaring warily at the three across from them, his tone laced with anger.
“Why did Roger’s crew jump you, Ron?”
“Hehehe…” Ron gave a cold laugh, reaching up to wipe away the remaining blood from his lips.
“They showed up out of nowhere to demand justice.
As Shakky’s lapdogs, they’ve performed quite successfully.”
Whitebeard’s brows knit slightly.
He didn’t press further, turning his gaze back to Roger with a heavy expression: “Roger, you bastard, what are you trying to do?”
Roger looked at Whitebeard, paused for two seconds, and spoke slowly: “Newgate…
you and I are old friends, rivals and comrades across the seas.
For my sake, I hope you won’t interfere.
This is a personal grudge between us and Ron.”
Ron instinctively looked toward Whitebeard, unsure of who the man would choose to back.
After all, he had spent very little time around Whitebeard; how much camaraderie could they possibly share?
Between Whitebeard and Roger, on the other hand, lay years of clashes, mutual respect, and shared understanding across the vast oceans.
One acquaintance was measured in days; the other in years.
How to choose seemed painfully obvious.
Ron lowered his gaze, already calculating in his head how best to make a run for it.
Suddenly, a large hand rested firmly on top of Ron’s head.
To be fair, Ron almost had a knee-jerk reaction—if Whitebeard had applied even a bit more force, Ron would have transformed straight into the Nine-Tails on the spot.
Then, Whitebeard’s booming voice dropped down from above Ron’s head:
“What nonsense are you spouting, Roger?
This kid…
I consider him my little brother.”
“That’s right!
Roger, you bastard, we’re all part of the Rocks Pirates!
We’re the real crewmates here—you’re just an outsider!” Kaido shouted, barking right alongside him.