Winning Over Ron

The Royal Palace Guard Captain, commander of the guards protecting the palace and the Queen—what kind of position was that?!

Uh... strictly speaking, its status was lower than that of a third-class noble.

But anyone who could hold that position was undoubtedly the person the King trusted most!

Your rank might be higher than his, but you could never outrank the King... which made him truly second only to one, above all others!

The reason Fred had plotted to ambush and eliminate Jed was not only because Jed was the strongest fighter at the Queen's side and unwaveringly loyal to her, but also because he held the post of Royal Palace Guard Captain.

As long as Jed remained alive, Fred's plan to force the Queen from the throne would never succeed!

Of course, he could have marched an army to the palace gates, stormed the palace, and forcibly changed the regime through violence. But Fred prided himself on his nobility and refused to act like those brutish pirates, using bloody terror to purge his opponents.

After eliminating Jed, the first thing he did was replace the guards and plant his own confidants throughout the palace, precisely for this reason.

Fred had thought that, with the birthday banquet approaching, there would be no unexpected changes to the position of Royal Palace Guard Captain. Yet he had never expected the Marines to hand Ron over to Rosa!

They had truly "given" him to her!

There had only ever been people from Affiliated Nations leaving to join the Marines. Never had a Marine left the Marines to join an Affiliated Nation!

This was an irreversible change of post!

Anyone who left the Marines to join another force could never again earn the Marines' trust!

As the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Ron was hailed as the strongest Logia, with an incomparably bright future ahead of him! Fred could never have imagined that the Marines would push Ron into the position of Royal Palace Guard Captain. Once that happened, Ron would never be able to return to the Marines for the rest of his life!

At first, he had thought the Marines were shamelessly denying that Ron was one of them. Now he realized this was not shamelessness at all—they were practically risking their lives!

When Fred came back to his senses, he found that the garden had already emptied out. Ron had transformed from a lowly errand soldier into the Royal Palace Guard Captain, and Rosa had granted him the authority to act first and report later. If someone found an excuse to throw them out like Andrew and humiliate them, what could they do?

Actually go to war with the Flower Capital?!

What kind of international joke was that?!

They would certainly continue supporting Fred, since that was the promise they had been sold. But before the day the Queen announced her abdication arrived, these nobles had no desire to provoke Ron, who was clearly no ordinary man.

They had been throwing their weight around under Fred's banner merely to make a statement, while the Queen was ordering Ron to throw his weight around because she wanted people dead!

The Flower Capital's strength and prosperity gave it a lofty standing on the Grand Line. At the same time, it made Ron, a mere Royal Palace Guard Captain, more prestigious and influential than most of the nobles present!

Garp and Traine had left as well. Now that Ron was the Royal Palace Guard Captain, there was no reason for him to return with them to the Marine garrison. Although neither of them understood what was going on, they were not worried about Ron joining the Flower Capital's side.

After all, aside from them... few people knew that Ron was a "temp worker."

Was there anything wrong with Ron, who was not even an official Marine, becoming the Flower Capital Guard Captain?

Nothing wrong with that, brother!

The only people remaining in the garden were Fred and Ron.

Glancing around, Fred saw Ron sitting in a chair, leisurely stuffing pastries into his mouth. When Ron noticed Fred looking at him, he smiled. "General Fred, you look so deep in thought. Surely you aren't considering how to kill me?"

Taking a deep breath, Fred's expression hardened as killing intent spilled out.

"What if I am?"

"Hmm... that would be rather troublesome..."

Fred thought Ron meant it would be troublesome for himself, and immediately sneered in disdain. But Ron's next words made the corner of his mouth twitch, leaving him unable to respond.

Because Ron said, "As a Devil Fruit User, I naturally have my own weaknesses. But lightning can destroy anything unfavorable to itself with high temperatures—for example, insulating rubber that counters lightning. Things that cannot be destroyed can be avoided through speed, such as Seastone, the natural enemy of Devil Fruit Users... So, if you want to kill me, aside from possessing an absolute advantage in raw strength and being faster on your feet than me, you'd also need to learn Armament Haki... Oh, right. General Fred, do you know what Armament Haki is?"

In the first half of the Grand Line, Haki users were practically never seen, and many people regarded them as legends. For instance, Devil Fruit Users were also legends in the East Blue. But asking whether Fred knew about Haki was somewhat underestimating the heroes of the world.

Fred's lips moved a few times. "I know!"

"Then... can you use it?"

Fred: "..."

After taking several deep breaths, Fred suppressed his urge to punch someone and suddenly revealed a faint smile. "You're quite impressive, Captain Ron."

"You're a genius too, at least when it comes to rebellion..."

Fred: "...Stop talking nonsense... Captain Ron, you can't return to the Marines now. Have you ever considered working for me?"

"Hm?"

Ron gave a soft sound of surprise and looked up at Fred. "If I heard correctly, you're trying to win me over?"

"That's right!"

Having said it, Fred seemed to relax considerably. "You are already tied to the Flower Capital's warship. Even if this rebellion fails, Aunt Rosa's lack of heirs will remain unresolved. The future King will still be me, and you will still serve under me."

"Since that's the case, why not work with me? The Marines only want to protect Aunt Rosa, correct? Who rules the Flower Capital is completely unimportant to you, isn't it?"

Ron fell silent as he looked at Fred's handsome face, brimming with confidence.

Ron was also deeply frustrated by the fact that the Queen had neither sons nor daughters. He had already imagined countless melodramatic stories involving that old bastard and Queen Rosa, but Queen Rosa truly had no heirs. Her only relative was the eldest nephew standing before her, the one rebelling against her.

In the semi-feudal One Piece World, royal blood inheriting the throne was an unshakable foundation!

As for the Marines' true purpose, Ron was not sure either, but he did not care.

Whether the Queen's life mattered more or the Flower Capital's harmony mattered more was up to that old bastard. Ron only needed to follow orders.

However...

This was also an opportunity!

Ron tossed aside the pastry he had taken a bite from, picked up the teapot and gulped down some water, then wiped the moisture from his mouth. A faint smile curled across his lips. "Winning me over... comes at a price!"

"What about intelligence on Baroque Works?"

A faint smile likewise appeared on Fred's handsome face as he met Ron's gaze without yielding.

A moment later, Ron withdrew his eyes and continued eating pastries. "General Fred, what ruthless methods! I assume you've thoroughly erased every trace of your connection to them? The rest of those who knew about it have probably been killed as well..."

Fred merely smiled casually at that.

"Over the past four months, I haven't simply sat around waiting to die."

"If you can support my ascension, the intelligence on Baroque Works will be handed over without reservation! Whether you give this credit to the Marines or keep it for yourself will be entirely up to Mr. Ron! Furthermore, once I inherit the throne, Captain Ron's position will be unshakable. Even the post of Grand General of the Army is not beyond expectation."

The Flower Capital's Grand General of the Army, intelligence on Baroque Works—Fred had truly gone all out to win Ron over.

The reason was the same as what he believed: having changed from a Marine into the Royal Palace Guard Captain, Ron was already bound to the Flower Capital and had no possibility of returning. On top of that, as the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Ron was a powerful force worth recruiting!

As for whether Ron might rebel against him in the future... for someone without royal blood to take the throne, the difficulty could not be compared to his own!

"What... an enormous offer!"

After a moment of surprise, Ron smiled faintly and praised him.

"Mr. Ron is worth this gift!"

Fred curled his lips, his expression unchanged.

Both men wore faint smiles, like two cunning foxes.

It had to be said, this Fred suited Ron's taste rather well. He had brains, strength, schemes, and decisiveness. Cooperating with such a formidable figure would bring far more benefits than drawbacks, so long as Ron did not make any mistakes!

But...

"Still not enough!"

Ron's expression suddenly darkened as he said in a low voice, "There is one question I have never received an answer to, so I hope General Fred can tell me the truth."

"You want to ask... why, when the Five Elders have already tacitly permitted the Marines to interfere in the Flower Capital's internal affairs, they still pushed you to the forefront?"

Even though Ron had shot up in height from learning Rokushiki, Fred remained broader and more imposing as he stood before him in a suit of dark heavy armor. Especially the strange glint that flashed through Fred's eyes made Ron's heart sink uncontrollably.

Yet he still nodded and answered without fear, "That's right!"

Although this mission no longer had the trap of being forced to make a choice, if even the Five Elders had tacitly approved it, why was Garp still being so cautious? Within the Marine camp, the Five Elders' attitude was everything! Garp could have simply stormed into the palace and killed Fred. There was no need to go through all this trouble and send Ron into action. As long as Fred died...

The alliance of Affiliated Nations?

That would be nothing but a joke!

So Ron had to figure out the reason behind this!