Ron was stunned.
He wanted to say something, his mouth opening and closing, but his throat felt blocked as if by something, and for a long time, he couldn’t utter a word.
What the hell?
A grown man, saying such spine-tingling words in this kind of situation.
Of course, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t moved.
Someone he barely knew, in the midst of his dire circumstances, was willing to stand by his side regardless of the cost, even in the face of a powerful enemy.
Such “actions,” especially in a situation like this, carried immense weight.
Ron let out a long sigh.
He… finally had someone he could trust enough.
“Brother?” Roger’s shock was almost unconcealed upon hearing Whitebeard’s words.
“Newgate… are you serious?”
From what Roger knew of Whitebeard, he couldn’t understand why Whitebeard wouldn’t keep his distance from someone like Ron.
Why would he be willing to lend a hand?
At this moment, Whitebeard’s face showed no trace of emotion as he stared directly at Roger.
“Do you think I’m joking with you?
Roger!”
“Newgate, don’t you know what this guy has done?” Roger’s voice rose sharply.
“Who cares what he’s done?” Whitebeard’s tone was calm.
“As long as I take a liking to him, there’s no problem at all.”
With things having reached this point, Roger took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword again, his voice lowering.
“What if I insist on taking action?
Newgate.”
“Swish—”
Whitebeard raised his naginata, tracing a cold arc through the air before pointing its tip steadily at the ground.
“Then go ahead and try.”
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
“Roger.” Rayleigh spoke softly from the side.
“Calm down first.”
In Dadan’s original recollection, Garp once said that Roger was a man who became extremely impatient and willful when provoked.
And the current situation fit that description perfectly.
Ron’s taunts were like poisoned daggers, stabbing at his anger one by one, pushing his fury to its limit.
Even in the face of Whitebeard’s intervention, he didn’t want to back down.
Gaban placed a hand on Roger’s shoulder and whispered, “That guy said it—we don’t have much time.
If we wait for Rocks and the others to return, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”
Gaban’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Roger’s head.
Roger stood still, his gaze shifting between Ron and Whitebeard twice as he quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Ron infuriated him, but… he didn’t want his stubbornness to put his companions at a disadvantage.
With that, Roger sheathed his sword, the blade sliding into its scabbard with a soft “click.”
“Newgate, we’ll meet again.” Roger slowly put on his straw hat, pulling the brim low to cover most of his face.
Then he turned and walked away into the distance.
Rayleigh and Gaban exchanged a glance, their eyes lingering on Whitebeard for a moment before following after him.
After Roger and the others had gone some distance, Whitebeard slowly turned his gaze to Ron and asked, “What happened?
You actually managed to make Roger that angry?”
Ron shrugged, reached out to pat the dust off his clothes, and after a moment’s thought, replied in a tone that suggested he was just as baffled, “Most likely because of the terms of our cooperation with the Kuja Pirates.
I only saved Annika; the others…
I told them to save themselves.”
“What the hell?
He came after you just for that?” Kaido chimed in from the side, his face clearly showing disbelief.
“And then,” Ron continued, “those who tried to save themselves probably didn’t make it.
So they accused me of ignoring the Kuja Pirates’ conditions and came to hold me accountable.”
Whitebeard’s gaze darkened slightly, and he suddenly asked a question that silenced everyone: “How did Roger find out about it?”
This question left Ron momentarily stunned.
He had been too caught up in anger and fighting earlier to even notice this issue.
Now, thinking it over carefully, it made sense—how did Roger know what had happened back then?
The ones who had acted alongside Ron were Stussy and Kaido.
But both of them could be ruled out, because if Ron was to be blamed, they would also share the responsibility.
Suddenly, a figure flashed through Ron’s mind.
Wang Zhi.
But Wang Zhi wasn’t even there at the time—how could he have known what happened?
Wait?
Ron began to recall what Roger and the others had said earlier.
‘You could have chosen not to save them, but why did you drag them into it?’
Drag them into it?
What did that mean?
Could it be…
that they were all on completely different wavelengths?
Ron’s mind raced, and his suspicion fell on Wang Zhi.
In the original story, it was Wang Zhi, that traitor, who betrayed the Rocks Pirates for his own gain.
And Wang Zhi had just returned a couple of days ago.
Not long after his return, Roger showed up here.
What’s more, this path was the only one leading to the coast.
In other words, Roger hadn’t just run into Ron by chance here—he had the exact coordinates.
Thinking this far, Ron already had the answer in his mind.
“Heh…” Ron let out a low, cold laugh, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
“What a clever scheme.”
Immediately, Ron turned and ran toward where the ship was docked.
He felt it was absolutely necessary to have a “friendly” spar with Wang Zhi.
“Where are you going?” Kaido and Whitebeard asked simultaneously.
“To settle something with Wang Zhi,” Ron replied without looking back.
“Wang Zhi?
Did Wang Zhi go back?” Kaido pressed.
Ron’s footsteps halted abruptly, and he turned around sharply.
“Wang Zhi…
went out?”
“Yes, we all went out together,” Whitebeard said slowly.
“With you?” Ron frowned, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
“That doesn’t sound like his usual style, does it?”
“We just went out together.
But he didn’t go drinking,” Whitebeard added.
Ron fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked another question: “When you went out, did Annika leave too?”
“Not long after we left,” Whitebeard thought for a moment.
“Why?”
Ron’s frown deepened.
“Nothing…
I hope I’m just overthinking it.”
Without another word, golden Chakra instantly enveloped Ron’s entire body.
The moment Nine-Tails Mode activated, he vanished in a flash, moving at incredible speed.
……..
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