A faint smile then appeared on Ron’s face.
“Nice to meet you, beautiful lady.
Could you tell me where I am?”
The pink-haired woman was momentarily taken aback by Ron’s sudden change in attitude, a flicker of surprise passing through her beautiful eyes.
After a moment, she quickly bowed deeply to Ron and spoke with a mix of nervousness and urgency, “I…
I’m also pleased to meet you, sir…
I remember, the Navy officer placed that strange fruit in the row of treasure chests behind you.”
Navy officer?
A trace of doubt arose in Ron’s mind.
Weren’t they captured slaves?
Yet they still referred to these perpetrators as “officers”?
Tsk, how oddly polite.
Ron didn’t say much more and turned around to search the row of treasure chests behind him.
After rummaging through them, he finally found a fruit with spiral patterns inside an inconspicuous wooden chest.
Its skin was an earthy brown, with patterns winding like cracks in the earth.
“It really is a Devil Fruit,” Ron muttered softly, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
This trip hadn’t been in vain after all.
As for his cooperation agreement with Kaido, he certainly hadn’t forgotten about it either.
However, according to the original storyline, the powerful Devil Fruit that would suit Kaido’s taste was still in God Valley, in the hands of the Celestial Dragons.
Of course, if he could find a better option than the Azure Dragon Fruit on this trip, Ron would be willing to give it to Kaido.
He placed his hand on the Devil Fruit and silently recited in his mind, “Activate Mysterious Roulette.”
The moment these words echoed, an ethereal reverberation sounded in his mind.
[Ding, activating the Mysterious Roulette requires consuming a ‘Devil Fruit.’ Current Devil Fruit: Earth-Earth Fruit.
Confirm?]
“The Earth-Earth Fruit?” Ron murmured inwardly.
“Kaido wouldn’t be interested.”
“Confirm.”
[Ding, one Devil Fruit has been consumed.
The Devil Fruit has been reborn somewhere in the world.
Randomly drawing rewards now…]
[Ding, congratulations, host has obtained ‘Nine-Tails.’]
[Ding, congratulations, host has simultaneously unlocked: Passive·Malice Perception, Nine-Tails Mode.]
As the series of notifications ended, a translucent blue virtual panel popped up before Ron’s eyes.
Host: Ron
Basic Abilities: Observation Haki [Intermediate (369/500)] Armament Haki [Intermediate (233/500)] Conqueror’s Haki [Intermediate (80/500)] Taijutsu [?
(?/?)] Swordsmanship [Intermediate (150/500)]
Constitution: Sage Body (Unlocked) Sage Eye (Locked)
Special Abilities: Four-Tails (Unlocked) Nine-Tails (Unlocked)
Triggered Abilities: Lava Release (Source: Four-Tails) Nine-Tails Mode (Source: Nine-Tails)
Mysterious Roulette “””(Activation Condition: One Devil Fruit)
Ron gave it a quick glance.
There weren’t many changes to his attributes, and the three question marks in the Taijutsu column still left him puzzled.
When the system was first activated, there were clearly numerical ratings for physical techniques, but ever since obtaining the “Sage Body” from the Mysterious Roulette, that column had turned into three question marks and hadn’t recovered since.
Trading an ordinary Devil Fruit for a Nine-Tails… no matter how you calculated it, this deal was far from a loss.
“Whoosh~”
A head suddenly popped in front of Ron, almost pressing against his face.
Ron was taken aback for a moment, and upon closer inspection, it was Kaido.
“You’ve been sneakily staring at this vulgar gold for so long?” Kaido straightened up, looking at Ron with a suspicious expression.
At first, he thought Ron had discovered a Devil Fruit and was scheming how to pocket it for himself.
But when he came over to check, it turned out this guy was just staring blankly at the gold.
“Come on, Kaido, do we really have zero trust between us?” Ron let out a bitter laugh and casually closed the virtual panel.
Kaido waved his hand, turned, and walked toward the other side, his tone casual: “No, don’t overthink it, Ron.
Our intern alliance is unbreakable; I trust you completely.
It’s just… I saw you staring at the treasure chest for so long and was curious about what you were looking at.”
“…”
“Hey.
What exactly are you two looking for?
Can we leave now?” Stussy urged from the side, with three bulging sacks piled beside her.
“Just a bit longer.” Ron responded, then turned back to the pink-haired woman.
“Any more?”
The pink-haired woman shook her head gently, her tone tinged with apology: “I’m not too sure… I only saw the navy officer pick up one.”
“As a reward for the information you provided,” Ron’s voice softened slightly, “I can offer you a favor within my ability.
What do you need me to do?”
“Really?” The pink-haired woman’s beautiful eyes suddenly lit up: “You… you’re truly a good person.”
‘That last part was completely unnecessary…’ Ron grumbled inwardly.
This was merely a matter of reciprocity, of course.
Naturally, if her request turned out to be too troublesome, he wouldn’t hesitate to refuse.
“Hmm~” The pink-haired woman pondered for a moment, her gaze lowering as if carefully weighing her words.
“If possible, I hope that after you leave, if you happen to encounter anyone from the ‘Kuja Pirates’… you could pass on a message for me.”
She quickly added, “Don’t worry, although they are pirates, they are all good people, not as fierce and terrifying as the rumors say.”
The Kuja Pirates?
Ron’s heart stirred.
Was Shakky and her group’s goal… to rescue this woman in front of him?
Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind.
If Shakky was willing to cooperate with the Rocks Pirates just to save this woman, she must be incredibly important.
If he could capture her and use her as leverage to negotiate with Shakky and the others, that would be a very profitable deal.
“I refuse.” A faint smile appeared on Ron’s face.
“If you have something to say, tell them yourself.”
“But I…” Before the pink-haired woman could finish her sentence, Ron had already reached out, grabbed the iron bars in front of him, and forcefully pulled them apart.
“Creak.”
The thick iron bars were torn apart like noodles, revealing a hole large enough for a person to pass through.
The other slaves in the cargo hold looked up one by one, a faint glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes.
Ron then grabbed the explosive collar around her neck.
Armament Haki instantly covered his fingertips, coating the metal surface with a layer of pitch black.
He gave a forceful tug, and the collar’s lock snapped with a crisp sound, tossed carelessly into an empty corner of the cargo hold.
Beep beep beep
The collar’s alarm grew increasingly urgent, its red light flashing frantically.
A few seconds later.
Boom!
The shockwave of the explosion erupted in the corner, a flash of fire flickering briefly as shrapnel clattered against the bulkhead.
The pink-haired woman instinctively ducked her head, her hand reaching up to touch her bare neck.
Behind her, the other slaves surged forward as if witnessing the arrival of a savior, scrambling over one another.
“Save me!
Please save me too!”
“I am the princess of the Doria Kingdom!” a woman adorned with lavish ornaments cried out urgently.
“If you save me, I can pay a fortune!
Gold, silver, jewels—I’ll give you as much as you want!”
“I’m also a princess!” another young woman pushed past those in front, nearly throwing herself at Ron.
“If you save me, I’ll make you my consort, and you’ll inherit the entire kingdom in the future!”
Pleas, promises, and sobs rose and fell in a chaotic chorus.
Ron frowned and immediately waved a hand to cut them off.
“Sorry, I’m just a pirate, not a savior.
The conditions you’re offering hold no appeal for me.
If you want to escape, you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”
Then Ron turned to Stussy, who stood nearby with her hands on her hips, watching the scene unfold, and called out, “Hey, come help.”
A moment later.
Outside the warship.
The battlefield between Sengoku and Whitebeard had gradually shifted from the warship’s deck to the shoreline.
This was a location advantageous to both sides—Sengoku no longer had to worry about the aftermath of their battle affecting the ‘warship,’
while Whitebeard could rest assured, allowing Ron to plunder boldly, as Sengoku was momentarily tied up.
At that moment, the two stood about ten meters apart, facing off on a stretch of sand pockmarked by shockwaves.
“Sengoku, you know this as well,” Whitebeard said calmly, planting his naginata into the sand.
“You and I can’t settle this in a short time.
Why don’t…
we sit down and have a chat instead?”
A faint smile tugged at Sengoku’s lips.
He glanced toward the warship, then turned his gaze back to Whitebeard, speaking slowly.
“Your point is valid.
But…
what if Garp arrives too?”
“What?” Whitebeard’s expression darkened.
Almost at the same instant.
Whoosh!
From deep within the dense forest, a figure leaped high into the air, fists clenched, Haki swirling around them.
“Newgate…
you’ve really made me search for you!”