Wang Zhi’s face darkened as he forced out a sentence through gritted teeth, “You really are an unpleasant fellow.”
Whitebeard ignored him, turning around and heading back into the ship.
Wang Zhi stood silently in place, watching Whitebeard leave.
There was nothing he could do—he couldn’t win in a fight, so he could only swallow his frustration.
Time always passes in the blink of an eye.
In the blink of an eye, another two days had passed.
The other members of the Rocks Pirates still hadn’t arrived here to regroup.
The sea was empty and desolate.
By the time Ron woke up, it was already past ten in the morning.
Sunlight slanted in through the porthole, painting a bright trapezoid on the wooden floor.
Ron yawned as he sat up.
When he went out, he saw a note left by Annika outside the bedroom door.
[Lord Ron, I’ve gone out to buy food.
I’ll be back soon.
The hostage hasn’t run away.]
After reading it, Ron casually stuffed the note into his pocket.
The part about “the hostage hasn’t run away” was completely unnecessary.
If he didn’t trust Annika, he wouldn’t have given her the freedom to move around.
After washing up, Ron went to the ship’s lounge and immediately spotted Stussy curled up on the sofa, flipping through a newspaper.
“Oh, you’re up?” Stussy didn’t look up, turning a page of the newspaper as she spoke in a lazy tone.
“Newgate wants you to meet him at the tavern in town for a drink after you wake up.”
“Aren’t you going?” Ron asked casually.
Only then did Stussy lift her eyelids, glancing at him briefly before quickly lowering them again.
Her tone was indifferent as she said, “A thief has returned.
I don’t dare turn my back on him.”
She was naturally referring to Wang Zhi.
Right now, Stussy just hoped those bastards from the Rocks Pirates would return sooner, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that “thief” scheming behind her back.
“Oh.” Ron nodded lightly and said nothing more, heading outside.
He couldn’t quite understand these treasure-obsessed people.
They were already pirates—what did they need treasure for?
Couldn’t they just take whatever they wanted by force?
What kind of proper pirate would give up something they wanted just because they didn’t have enough money?
“Hey, Ron.” Stussy’s voice called out from behind him.
“Bring some back for me too.”
“Got it.”
The distance from the coast to the town wasn’t far.
Walking at a normal pace, it would take about thirty minutes to arrive.
Ron wasn’t in a hurry.
His pace wasn’t particularly fast, but it wasn’t slow either.
On a slightly winding stretch of road, he stopped.
It wasn’t because he was tired, but because his ‘Malice Perception’ had sensed a dangerous presence.
This perception was soon confirmed.
“Ron, I finally found you.”
A light, drifting voice came from the side ahead.
Ron turned toward the direction of the voice.
Three familiar figures were reflected in his eyes.
“Roger?
Rayleigh?
Gaban?” Ron looked slightly surprised.
“What a coincidence?”
But soon, the expressions on Roger and the others’ faces told him this wasn’t a chance encounter.
Roger pushed his straw hat up slightly.
His usually hearty face bore no trace of a smile at this moment.
“Something wrong?” Ron spoke first.
Roger did not answer immediately.
He stared at Ron for two seconds before slowly saying, “Why?
Why did you agree to Shakky’s conditions, only to ignore them?
You didn’t have to save them, but why drag them down with you?”
When Ron saw their expressions, as if someone in their family had died, he knew nothing good would come of it.
Now…
it had come to pass.
Yet he hadn’t expected that Roger and the others had come for Shakky’s sake.
But thinking it over carefully, it made sense.
In the original story, the entire Roger Pirates were utterly infatuated with Shakky.
Coming to demand justice from him for the sake of “love,” for so-called “righteousness”…
it was normal.
However…
wait.
Something felt off to Ron.
He had been traveling with Kaido, Whitebeard, and Stussy.
Were they only looking for him?
Or was he just unlucky enough to run into them?
“Them?” Ron’s tone remained indifferent.
“Are you referring to…
those slaves captured by the World Government?”
“It seems…
you’ve come to hold me accountable because none of them survived.”
Ron felt a bit regretful inside.
If only you’d said so earlier.
If you’d told him that all those slaves were people Shakky wanted, he would have taken them along on the ship as well.
Then he could have demanded a hefty reward from Shakky.
After all, kidnapping one was kidnapping, kidnapping a group was still kidnapping.
Roger had been watching Ron’s expression, hoping to see a trace of guilt, unease, or even a hint of evasion—anything at all.
But there was nothing.
Ron’s face held only apathy—the kind of “this has nothing to do with me” detachment that made you want to punch him.
Roger’s anger finally surged like a broken dam: “Ron, you bastard!
Does ‘honor’ mean nothing to you?”
Ron didn’t immediately refute him, because he felt arguing with Roger was pointless.
From Roger’s perspective, if you didn’t save everyone, you were in the wrong.
But from his own perspective, Shakky had only requested “a certain degree of assistance under special circumstances.” Ron believed he had already fulfilled that request.
He had saved Annika.
And since it was an independent operation, with the Kuja Pirates contributing nothing, it was only natural for him to demand double the reward.
“On the seas, they call me the ‘Devil Butcher.’ They say Ron is a demon who doesn’t value life.
Didn’t you already know that?
Heh…
Is there any need for such anger?”
Roger lowered his gaze, the turmoil in his eyes finally settling.
His hand slowly moved to the hilt of his sword and tightened.
“Hah…” Roger let out a breath.
“In that case…”
Roger was disappointed.
If Ron had shown even a slightly better attitude, if he had said something like “I didn’t mean to,” Roger might have let it slide.
Even if it was just a lie, it would at least show that this person cared about something.
But there was nothing.
Ron didn’t care.
He didn’t care about those who had died, nor did he care about “honor.”
“I am immensely grateful that I rejected your request to join the crew back then,” Roger said solemnly.
“After all that talk,” Ron’s voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of amusement, “I thought you were here to reason with me.”
“Get a grip on reality, you bastard,” Gaban suddenly interjected with a cold laugh, his hand resting on the weapon at his waist.
“We’re pirates.
Whether we reason or not depends on our mood.”