The air buzzed with excitement as the newly empowered pirates celebrated.
"Hahaha! I'm a Tremor user now!"
"I'm a Phoenix! Bro, if you get hurt, I'll heal you!"
"Nothing beats the Glint-Glint Fruit—I'm a light magician from now on!"
Amid the cheers of "Long live Vice captain Ron!", Ron simply nodded with a faint smile, signaling for Conis to begin packing up their equipment.
Once the lab was quiet, he settled into a lounge chair and closed his eyes, taking stock of his progress.
Forty-eight, he thought, a satisfied smile on his face.
The mission is nearly halfway done.
Skypiea had been incredibly fruitful, but its resources were now mostly tapped out.
It was time to find a new target.
As he pondered where to go next, a series of chaotic explosions shattered the tranquility.
"Ron-sama, there's a tall, winged iron man outside!" Conis reported, her face etched with anxiety.
Wings? An iron man?
The two keywords immediately brought one person to Ron's mind.
"It can't be him," he muttered, quickly deciding, "Let's go check it out."
Outside, a sleek, newly designed vehicle awaited them.
"Commander Ace's latest invention, the Super Waver!" Conis explained proudly, handing him a helmet.
"Its speed is ten times that of a normal one!" She then added with a confident smile, "Don't worry, Ron-sama. I can protect you."
Ron raised an eyebrow, remembering that Conis had recently used her family's gold to acquire a Mythical Phoenix fruit from him.
Her newfound confidence was certainly a sight to see.
The Super Waver shot across the sky like a comet, descending at an extreme speed before pulling up at the last second and carving a graceful arc through the air, stopping perfectly in the center of the plaza.
As Ron stepped off the vehicle, he confirmed his suspicion.
There, in a tense standoff with the Whitebeard Pirates, was King, one of the Three Disasters of the Beasts Pirates.
The crew erupted as they saw him.
"The Vice captain is here!"
Ron's gaze locked with King's.
"Whitebeard Pirates' Vice-Captain, Ron," King said, his voice flat as he sized up the man who looked even younger than his bounty poster suggested.
"Beasts Pirates' Calamity King," Ron replied calmly, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.
"What brings you to my Sky Island?"
He didn't believe for a second that this was a friendly visit.
This was their territory, and a man like King never appeared anywhere without a purpose.
Jozu's massive form shifted, his eyes narrowing as he subtly stepped to his left.
The movement was barely perceptible, but his entire posture radiated a tense vigilance, positioning himself as an unbreachable diamond wall between Ron and the newcomer.
It was a clear, unspoken sign of his deep distrust for King.
King, whose senses were honed by countless battles, registered the shift instantly.
Observing the razor-sharp alertness rippling through the assembled pirates, he took a deliberate, non-threatening step back.
He knew that in this powder keg of a situation, any rash action could trigger a full-scale, and likely fatal, conflict.
Slowly, letting his voice carry across the plaza, he spoke.
"I came here for a specific purpose. I wish to discuss a partnership with you." His gaze, burning with an intense light from behind his mask, swept over the commanders.
"Nothing," he continued, his tone low and enticing, "is more alluring than the power you offer. The chance to become a Dual-Fruit user."
"You can make any demand—as long as it's within the Beasts Pirates' power to grant, we will agree. Or, if you prefer, name your price. We can negotiate any amount of money." His voice was layered with the supreme confidence of a man representing an Emperor.
After all, what were pirates if not treasure-seekers?
He refused to believe they could reject an offer of unlimited wealth, especially since he'd heard rumors of their frantic search for gold on this very island.
"I know you've been looking for gold," King pressed on.
"Cooperate with us, and I can guarantee a fortune beyond your wildest dreams. Gold, silver, jewels, priceless artifacts—just name it, and we will provide it." His stare was unwavering, as if he could already see the deal being struck, the handshake that would seal their deal.
"Is that so..." Ron murmured, lowering his head and stroking his chin in a thoughtful gesture.
He appeared to be considering the offer, but in reality, his mind was a whirlwind of calculations, a flurry of schemes on how to not only swindle this mountain of gold from the armored man but also make him pay an extra price for his audacity—perhaps in blood.
Just as his plan began to form, a deafening BOOM of thunder exploded directly overhead, so sudden and violent that it sent a primal shiver down everyone's spine.
In the next moment, the sky seemed to answer.
Countless arcs of lightning converged from all directions, rapidly coalescing into a towering, humanoid silhouette in the air.
With a sound like tearing reality, the Murakumogiri, Whitebeard's legendary bisento, plummeted from the sky and slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force.
The impact instantly carved out a massive crater, sending a web of deep fissures radiating across the plaza.
Then, the towering figure descended: Whitebeard Edward Newgate!
Standing at his full, imposing height of over six meters, his body crackled with a storm of raw lightning, exuding an overwhelming aura of majesty that made it physically difficult to meet his gaze.
The very air grew thick and heavy with an oppressive tension, as if time itself had frozen in deference to his presence.
"Go back and tell Kaido," Whitebeard's voice boomed like the thunder he now commanded, each word an unshakeable verdict.
"There will be a battle between him and me!"
The rejection was absolute.
King's expression darkened behind his mask.
He had always believed his own strength to be formidable, but now, facing this legend, he felt an unprecedented and suffocating pressure.
When he saw Whitebeard not only hovering mid-air but also wielding the raw power of lightning as if it were his own, King's pupils contracted to pinpricks.
Whitebeard can control lightning?! The thought screamed through his mind.
How is that possible?! Is he truly a Three-Fruit user?!
At that moment, King deeply realized that the gap between him and this man was far greater than he had ever imagined.
The Tremor Fruit's devastating power, the Phoenix's impossible regeneration, and now a Logia's absolute elemental command... If Whitebeard could perfectly merge these three abilities, just how monstrous would his true strength be?
Faced with such an invincible existence, King felt a wave of powerlessness wash over him.
Yet, as one of Kaido's DIsasters, he could not show weakness.
He straightened his back, forcing a calm composure he did not feel.
"May I ask why you refuse? We can offer fortunes. Wouldn't mutual benefit be preferable?"
Whitebeard scoffed, his gaze as icy as the grave.
"Kozuki Oden… was my son. Is that reason enough?"
King cursed inwardly.
It was the one reason he couldn't refute.
For Whitebeard, family was an absolute, something no amount of treasure could ever replace.
"No matter how dumb Oden was, he was still my family!" Whitebeard's voice grew sharp as a blade.
"My son's fate is for me to decide—not for Kaido to take!" He raised his bisento slightly, the air crackling with his rising anger.
"Leave now, before I change my mind!"
King's shoulders slumped in resignation.
The negotiation was a complete failure.
With a heavy heart, he turned and departed, his silent flight a stark admission of defeat.
As King's figure vanished into the clouds, Ron sighed softly.
He was about to speak when Jozu let out a mournful groan, pounding a massive diamond fist against his own chest in frustration.
"What a shame! If only Pops had arrived just a little later!" Jozu's gaze was fixed on the spot where King had disappeared, his eyes filled with the regret of a man watching a mountain of glittering gold slip through his fingers.
"We're going to fight them eventually anyway. Might as well have swindled them in advance payment first," he grumbled.
"Jozu," Marco retorted immediately, "we're pirates, not common swindlers who live by deceit."
"Even if the money came from them," Ace added, his tone firm, "I wouldn't want it."
With the discussion over, the commanders began to disperse, leaving Jozu standing alone, looking utterly dejected.
But after a moment, a new fire lit in his eyes, a familiar stubborn determination.
"For the six billion needed for my glint glint fruit." he muttered to himself, clenching his fists.
"I'll go all out!"
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