At this moment, both Sengoku and Garp’s expressions turned unusually stiff.
Sengoku was deeply conflicted.
To dodge, or not to dodge?
If he dodged, all the desperate effort he had just expended to block the first wave of attacks would be wasted.
The remaining Heavenly Tribute would be reduced to ashes in the second bombardment, leaving not even a trace behind.
If he didn’t dodge… with this number of Tailed Beast Bombs, forget the Heavenly Tribute—even he and Garp might be buried here.
“Hahahahaha!!”
Suddenly.
Sengoku burst into laughter without warning.
But there was no joy in that laughter, only an indescribable bitterness and resignation.
After a few seconds, it was replaced by a deep sigh.
“Forget it…”
“Huh?” Garp turned to look at Sengoku.
What’s wrong with this guy?
Did he break?
Sengoku, don’t be like this, you’re scaring me!!
Of course, there was another person whose emotions were particularly intense.
That was Whitebeard, standing on the only remaining reef at the coastline.
He was currently looking up at Ron on the sea surface, the muscles on his face twitching slightly, his mouth unconsciously turning downward.
‘Ron, you bastard?
I’m still here, you know?
Do you really not care at all?’
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!”
The moment the sonic booms echoed around, Whitebeard knew—Ron, this son of a bitch, truly didn’t see him as human.
The moment the seven Tailed Beast Bombs were fired simultaneously, Whitebeard leaped into the air, jumping toward the sea surface, toward the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.
“Bastard Ron, catch me!” Whitebeard shouted.
Ron was taken aback.
He had been gathering energy, preparing for a third round, but hearing this shout, he paused.
One of the Chakra arms rapidly extended, a golden energy hand stretching out like a giant serpent, accurately grabbing Whitebeard by the waist mid-air before quickly retracting and pulling him to his side.
“Boom!!”
At the same time, on the island, violent explosions followed one after another.
The seven Tailed Beast Bombs landed almost simultaneously, flames shooting into the sky and dyeing the entire horizon a dark red.
Mushroom clouds bloomed one after another, shockwaves sweeping across everything, carrying rubble and scorched earth.
The residual shockwaves surged violently, raising massive tidal walls on the sea surface that crashed toward the Nine-Tails.
“Why did you come over here?” Ron asked in surprise.
Whitebeard’s facial muscles twitched.
Listen to this—what kind of question is that?
If I didn’t come over, I’d be waiting to get caught in the blast, wouldn’t I?
“What do you think?” Whitebeard retorted irritably.
“Hahahaha!!” Ron chuckled softly.
“Sorry, I just wanted to test the power.
I didn’t mean to steal your opponent at all.”
“Huh?
You idiot, what are you even saying?” Whitebeard exploded in anger.
“I think you wanted to kill me along with them!”
Ron paused, immediately defending himself.
“No, that’s not it… I just thought it wouldn’t affect you.”
After all, the man before him was the one who would be called the “World’s Strongest Man” in the future.
A few Tailed Beast Bombs should… be something he could handle, right?
“What do you mean it doesn’t affect me?” Whitebeard’s voice rose in anger, his finger jabbing toward Ron’s fox-like face.
“I’m flesh and blood too!
I can die too, you idiot!”
At this moment, Whitebeard finally understood completely.
That bastard Ron, who seemed harmless and easygoing with his constant smiling, was actually far more dangerous than anyone else on the Rocks Pirates.
At least the hostility of the others was out in the open.
But this little shit Ron’s whole deal was “whoever you are, you’re going down with the enemy.”
“Hahahaha!” Ron burst out laughing at Whitebeard’s furious expression.
“Can you stop laughing?
Your smile is creeping me out, you bastard.”
After a pause, he added, “Also, Stussy and Kaido, those two bastards, ran off.
If we don’t chase after them now, we’ll have to figure out our own way to leave later.”
Ron instinctively glanced back.
At the edge of his vision, a small auxiliary ship was sailing at full speed, already shrinking into an indistinguishable black dot.
“What the hell?”
Ron blurted out the expletive.
Brothers united in heart?
And you’re playing mind games with your brother?
“You seem surprised?” Whitebeard remarked flatly.
“Uh…” Ron hesitated for a few seconds, then chuckled softly.
“Not really.”
It really wasn’t surprising.
Given the way the Rocks Pirates operated, it wasn’t as if Ron didn’t know.
On the contrary, if someone waited for you regardless of the risks, you shouldn’t think, “This person has turned over a new leaf.” Instead, you should be wary—has this little shit been possessed?
“Are you still going to test your power?” Whitebeard asked again, his gaze sweeping over the island.
Ron shook his head gently.
He had already finished testing.
With his current strength, the Tailed Beast Bomb was enough to inflict significant damage on Garp and Sengoku.
Staying here to fight further was pointless.
After all, Sengoku and Garp weren’t pushovers either.
If it came down to a life-or-death struggle, he might not gain much of an advantage.
“Then let’s go,” Whitebeard said slowly.
“Any later, and we won’t even know which direction to start chasing.”
“Mm.”
Ron responded, pushing off with his feet to sprint rapidly across the sea.
A short while later.
On the scarred battlefield, dust and smoke lingered in the air, refusing to disperse.
The smell of scorched earth and gunpowder filled the air, mingling into a choking haze.
Sengoku, his clothes torn and tattered, sat on a charred boulder.
Scattered wounds covered his body, and his eyes were dull and lifeless.
He said nothing, sitting motionless as he stared at the gradually calming sea in the distance.
Garp, equally ragged, stood beside Sengoku, hands on his hips, gazing out at the sea.
His spirits, however, were clearly much better than Sengoku’s.
“Sengoku, why so down?” Garp said with a hearty laugh.
“It’s not like we’ve never failed before.
If you’re worried about taking the blame, just pin it all on me.”
At this point, Garp’s expression grew slightly more serious, his gaze darkening.
“But… that bastard named Ron, we really underestimated him.”
Indeed, with a lineup like Whitebeard, Kaido, Stussy, and Wang Zhi, they would certainly have been forced to retreat in defeat.
But no one could have ever imagined that a bug like ‘Ron’ would emerge—someone unafraid of seawater, even able to walk on the ocean’s surface as if it were solid ground.
Because of this one man, the entire course of the battle was completely rewritten.
Sengoku remained silent.
He simply raised his head slowly, looked at Garp, his lips moved slightly, then closed again.
From this day forward, the name ‘Ron’ would be marked with a heavy red circle on the high-level list at Marine Headquarters.