Secret Talks (Part Three)

Ron was nothing like Shanks, who would take a beating without fighting back as long as no principles were at stake.

He wasn't exactly the type to hold a grudge over every slight. He was simply a man who put himself first.

If someone provoked him, he wouldn't laugh it off. He would swat them dead like an annoying mosquito.

The moment Oric appeared, Ron thought of the one crucial item.

Pure Gold!

Vegapunk had already proven that the Pure Gold Ron brought back was fake, which left two possibilities.

First, Mischina Ael had never created the Pure Gold described in historical records. What he had made was a fake from the start: a peculiar gold mixed with minerals that glowed in the dark.

Second, Oric had swapped the real Pure Gold for the fake!

Ron was certain Oric had no Pure Gold. Everything had gone as Ron expected, and if the Five Elders demanded to see it, Oric would have nothing to show them.

The Five Elders would never fully trust Oric after that. The question of what to do with Pure Gold would remain unresolved, and to Ron, that was undoubtedly a threat.

In that case...

You'd better brace yourself!

And while he was at it...

"It'll save you one of the costs you'd have had to pay, won't it?"

"You'd better thank me properly, Oric!"

Ron's expression was calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion. But in his bright eyes, Oric read his true intent.

What a vicious scheme, setting one tiger against another!

Oric was quietly alarmed.

This was their first direct clash, but it had come so suddenly that Oric couldn't help feeling a shiver.

"Recklessly bold" and "a mind as deep as the sea" had always been how outsiders described Ron. They were also