"Who was it again?" Ron asked curiously.
Golden Lion froze for a moment, then eyed him suspiciously. "Hey, Ron, you bastard, are you serious? You're already a pirate, and you can't even recognize all the strong Marines? Aren't you afraid that'll cost you dearly one day?"
Ron chuckled. "Doesn't matter. As long as they recognize me."
"I don't recognize him either, but I definitely will next time," Annika added quietly from behind Ron and Golden Lion.
"I wasn't talking to you. Shut up, kid," Golden Lion replied without looking back.
"Okay." Annika nodded and fell silent.
"His name's Zephyr. His strength is on par with that bastard Sengoku's," Golden Lion said slowly.
Zephyr?
The moment that name reached Ron's ears, he remembered.
He remembered everything.
No wonder that face looked so familiar. It was the man known as the "Admiral Who Never Killed."
Yet looking back over Zephyr's life, that title seemed especially laughable.
As a normal person, he actually believed that everyone in this world would have a change of heart, that everyone would be grateful.
Until the day the flames reached his own family.
That title, the "Admiral Who Never Killed," was the cruelest humiliation of all Zephyr's years.
"Heh heh heh." At that thought, Ron couldn't help chuckling aloud.
"Hey, you idiot, Ron, stop laughing. Hold him off for me first. I'll take the kid behind us and the treasure away, then come back to help you," Golden Lion said urgently.
Before Ron could speak, Kaido's voice came from behind Annika. "Like hell I believe you, Shiki. Once you leave, you bastard, how could you possibly come back?"
Golden Lion turned his head slightly and said earnestly, "At the very least, we're partners, aren't we? We should have at least a little trust in each other, right?"