A long while later.
Inside the Saber of Xebec.
The key figures of both the Kuja Pirates and the Rocks Pirates had gathered in one room, apparently discussing some major affair.
Shouting matches leaked through the door crack from time to time, mixed with the sound of slamming tables.
Outside the cabin, as apprentices, neither Kaido nor Ron had any opportunity to speak up, leaving them with no choice but to linger on the deck in pure boredom.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t interested?” Kaido turned his head, looking toward Ron who was sitting cross-legged on the railing.
At this moment, Ron propped his chin in one hand, staring blankly at the sea with glazed eyes.
Ron glanced at Kaido from the corner of his eye and let out a soft sigh.
He had wanted to go back to sleep, but the commotion inside was simply too loud.
After tossing and turning, his sleepiness had vanished entirely.
“What are they talking about in there?” Ron asked in a lazy tone.
Asked this, Kaido fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his words, before explaining: “Sounds like they’re planning a heist on the Heavenly Tribute.”
“Heavenly Tribute?” Ron murmured, his mind spinning rapidly.
The Kuja Pirates came to partner with the Rocks Pirates just to rob the Heavenly Tribute?
With the unruly nature of the monsters on this ship, wouldn’t it make more sense to approach the Roger Pirates instead?
Even though both are pirates, at least that side plays by some rules…
Could there be some hidden story behind this?
Thinking of this, Ron suddenly grew interested, the tiredness in his eyes fading a bit.
“Hey, Kaido, go scout out some more details,” Ron said.
Kaido looked at him with sheer suspicion: “Why?
We’re just apprentices; we can’t change their decisions anyway.
What difference does it make if we scout it out or not?
Once they make a choice, we’ll naturally find out.”
“Do you still want a world-destroying Devil Fruit or not?” Ron shot back.
Kaido paused, hesitating for a few seconds: “What do you mean?”
Ron calmly broke down the situation for Kaido from the top—how the transport routes for the Heavenly Tribute might hold bigger secrets, and how the World Government often shipped Devil Fruits together with the tribute.
In any case, Kaido listened with a dazed look before breaking into a sudden realization.
Their apprentice alliance now had a tactical mind, perfectly covering for his own weak spot.
“Hey, Ron,” Kaido said, his tone turning dead serious.
Ron looked at him, feeling a bit guilty inside.
Did this guy figure out I’m just sweet-talking him into gathering intel?
“Never mind.
Let’s talk after I get the info,” Kaido finished, turning around and heading straight into the cabin.
“Phew~” Ron breathed a soft sigh of relief.
Even though the current Kaido had plenty of combat experience, he still lacked a bit of seasoning when it came to life lessons.
Not long after Kaido left, a gentle voice drifted into Ron’s ears.
“The sea is beautiful in daylight, isn’t it?”
Facing this unfamiliar voice, Ron glanced back.
It was Shakky.
He then turned back around naturally, returning his gaze to the sea.
Wasn’t she in there plotting the Heavenly Tribute heist?
Did they wrap up already?
As for whether the sea was beautiful…
Ron couldn’t say.
He had been lost in thought the entire time.
Actually looking at the scenery now, it was nothing more than an endless expanse of blue—hardly something to call beautiful or ugly.
“It’s just a broken ocean.
What’s so beautiful about it?”
‘Huh?
What a plain reaction.’
Shakky was visibly surprised.
With her beauty, she drew a stir wherever she went.
Even if not everyone lost their composure, they would at least take a few extra looks.
Yet this young man’s reaction was far too calm.
Did he just not see me clearly?
Unwilling to let it go, Shakky curved her lips, casually walking over to Ron’s side.
Resting both hands on the ship’s railing, she tilted her head with a faint smile: “Are you new here?
I haven’t seen you before.”
Switching hands to prop up his chin, Ron also tilted his head to look at her, his tone carrying a lazy detachment: “Do you…
need something?
Well, even if you do, I can’t solve it.
You’ll have to find Rocks or someone else.”
Shakky paused, blinking her eyes before suddenly laughing.
Waving her hand to reassure him, she said, “I don’t have anything to trouble you with.
It’s just that the guys inside couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, so I stepped out on my own.”
“Oh,” Ron acknowledged, his eyes returning to the distance.
His mind was fully occupied hoping Kaido would dig up some explosive news—especially that the World Government was transporting Devil Fruits rather than just gold.
After all, for his system to yield rewards, it required Devil Fruits as materials.
And consumed Devil Fruits would simply respawn somewhere in this world, an endless cycle.
“You know,” Shakky said in a playful tone, her eyes locking onto the side of Ron’s face with a half-smile, “normally, when men see me, they at least look twice.”
Ron suddenly turned his head to look straight at Shakky.
In that instant, a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face.
“Oh?” Shakky was caught slightly off guard.
From the start until now, this was the biggest change in expression Ron had shown.
“Do you have a Devil Fruit?” Ron got straight to the point.
“Uh.” Shakky tapped her chin with her finger, pretending to think for a moment, before shaking her head.
“No, I don’t.”
Ron’s smile vanished like a receding tide.
He turned back around, facing the vast, empty sea once more.
“…” Shakky was left entirely speechless.
So that smile just now was only to get something out of me?
The second he heard there was no fruit, he couldn’t even be bothered to pretend?
“Hey, Ron!”
Suddenly, Kaido burst out of the cabin, an “unbelievable news” look on his face, his eyes shining with pure excitement.
Yet the moment he saw Shakky standing beside Ron, his expression froze instantly.
His steps slowed down more and more until he came to a dead halt.
Shakky reacted first, offering a gentle smile as she raised a hand to greet him: “Hi, Kaido-san.
You look a bit more mature than the last time we met.”
Hearing that, Kaido’s face flushed bright red.
His eyes darted around, not daring to look straight at her: “N-Not really, I’m just the same as always.”
Ron walked over quietly, rolling his eyes hard in his mind: Kaido…
you’re getting hooked like a fish here.
He threw an arm around Kaido’s shoulder, pulling him toward the other side, asking as they walked, “You look pretty excited.
Did you dig up some explosive news?”
“Bye-bye~” Shakky called out from behind.
Kaido forced his head around like a puppet on strings, replying stiffly: “S-See you next time.”
“Hey, hey, can you stop acting lovesick?
I’m asking you a question,” Ron said helplessly, tightening his grip on Kaido’s shoulder.
“I wasn’t!
I was just being polite.”
“What kind of polite?
We’re pirates, Kaido.
Next time we meet, we might be enemies!”
“Forget about that,” Kaido finally pulled his gaze back.
Though the blush hadn’t fully cleared from his face, the excitement in his eyes had returned.
“Let me tell you, this operation is definitely going to be wild.”
“Spill the details.”