For the Rocks Pirates, I'd brave fire and water!!

[Additional content was added earlier; you can go back and take a look. Left on June 28.]

"What?!"

Roger cried out. What the hell? He had only been off the ship for half a day, and his home had already been robbed. Who could put up with that?

Seeing Roger's face instantly turn ashen, Golden Lion immediately put on an aggrieved expression. He spread his hands, his tone deliberately innocent. "Hey, Rayleigh, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. I picked these treasure chests up along the way."

"Bullshit, Shiki! Do you take me for an idiot?" Roger cursed.

"Jihahahaha." Golden Lion sneered. "Who cares whether you believe it or not, idiot!"

"Give our things back."

Roger and Rayleigh spoke almost in unison.

Their movements were surprisingly synchronized as well. Both placed their hands on their sword hilts, lowered their centers of gravity slightly, and assumed stances ready to draw and strike at any moment.

The meaning was obvious: if you would not return them, they could only take them back by force.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Linlin returned atop Zeus, the thundercloud.

Dozens of treasure chests were piled atop the thundercloud, and she had a bulging sack slung over her shoulder.

As she drew closer, Linlin clearly saw the situation below. Golden Lion was hovering in the air, while Roger and Rayleigh stood on the ground with their blades drawn, ready to fight.

"What the hell..." Linlin's eye twitched as she muttered, "The final obstacle... was actually squatting right at home."

She immediately instructed Zeus, "Speed up. We'll be safe once we rush back to the ship."

"Yes, Mama!"

The thundercloud suddenly accelerated and dove toward the Saber of Xebec.

"You bastards." The instant Roger drew his long blade, he leaped into the air and chased after Linlin. "Give our things back!"

Rayleigh was no slower. Nearly at the same instant, he drew his sword and leaped up, hurtling straight toward Golden Lion.

"Shiki, stop him for me! I'll come back and help you after I put this stuff away!" Linlin shouted without looking back.

"Go to hell," Golden Lion cursed. "Why don't you stop them first? I'll come back and help you after I put my stuff away!"

Neither of them wanted to be the one taking the blade for the other.

Golden Lion charged toward the Saber of Xebec like a madman, dragging his string of floating treasure chests along with him.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out, and the shockwave spread in every direction.

Almost at the same time, Ron, Rocks, and the others rushed out from different cabins.

"What's going on?" Ron's gaze fell upon the Saber of Xebec. Seeing Roger and Rayleigh tangled in battle with Golden Lion and Linlin, he froze for a moment before the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. "They're... they're fighting? Good. Fighting is good."

"W-what happened?" Annika jogged out from the side cabin as well, but the shockwave made the ship pitch violently, forcing her to brace herself against the doorframe with one hand.

Ron did not explain. In an instant, he entered Nine-Tails Mode. A golden chakra cloak covered his body, and a chakra arm extended from his shoulder, grabbing Annika around the waist. Then he leaped forward and landed on the deck of the Saber of Xebec.

At that moment, the atmosphere aboard the Saber of Xebec was taut as a drawn bowstring.

Rocks and the others stood in a row at the entrance to the ship's hall, their gazes fixed on the two groups not far away.

The battle that had been on the verge of erupting came to a temporary halt with Rocks and the others appearing.

Ron landed at the entrance with Annika, standing at the edge of the crowd as he surveyed the confrontation ahead with interest.

"Hey."

Rocks cursed irritably, "You bastards, are you trying to destroy my ship?!"

"Rocks, I want my things back. There's no problem with that, right? Give us our things back, and we'll leave immediately."

Floating in midair, Golden Lion spread his hands and sneered. "Idiot Roger, what nonsense are you talking about? These are obviously our things."

Linlin stood on the thundercloud with her hands on her hips, taking Golden Lion's side. "That's right, Lionhead. How could we possibly return something we seized? Do you think we're playing house?"

"Wahahahaha!" Rocks suddenly burst into laughter. "So, did you hear that? Since when do pirates return what they've stolen?"

Roger was left speechless by that string of retorts. Of course he understood pirate logic: once you took something, it was yours.

When they had made their move earlier, they had only hoped to snatch back whatever they could.

"Forget it." Roger slowly sheathed his long blade, the sword sliding into its scabbard with a dull click. "I admit defeat, Rocks."

Facing the entire Rocks Pirates head-on right now would not be a wise choice for the Roger Pirates.

Tap, tap, tap.

At that moment, Kaido stepped forward with his spiked club over his shoulder. "Rocks, they've come right to our doorstep. No matter what, we can't just let this slide, can we?"

Ron had been worried that the fight would not happen. The moment he heard Kaido's words, his eyes lit up.

This kid's assist was absolutely perfect!

"That makes sense." Ron stepped forward as well, cleared his throat, and raised his voice. "If we let this go, even stray dogs passing by will shit on the Saber of Xebec before leaving."

"Right, Ron! You're absolutely right!" Kaido nodded in firm agreement. "So, Rocks, fight them!"

"Right, fight them!" Ron immediately echoed him, his voice deliberately passionate.

Golden Lion and Linlin both turned to stare at Kaido and Ron in disbelief. What were these two idiots doing? No one had asked them to fight. Were they just here to fan the flames and enjoy the show?

Ron ignored their looks and continued raising his voice. "For the honor of the Rocks Pirates!"

Kaido immediately followed. "Right! For the honor of the Rocks Pirates!"

Ron became even more impassioned. "I, Ron, am willing to brave fire and water for the Rocks Pirates!!"

Kaido's voice suddenly caught in his throat. He turned to Ron in shock, his eyes plainly saying, Seriously? We're taking it that far? I... I'm not actually that willing to brave fire and water.

Then Rocks lightly kicked both Ron and Kaido in the ass.

The force was not great, but both of them staggered a step forward at the same time.

"You two idiots. What slogans are you babbling about?" Rocks grumbled as he walked between them and took his place at the very front.

Then he looked toward Roger and Rayleigh and spoke again. "But... they're right. This isn't a place where anyone can come and go whenever they please."

Roger and Rayleigh's expressions both stiffened.

"Roger!" Rayleigh suddenly shouted.

"Got it!"

The two of them turned around almost simultaneously, leaping into the air and fleeing toward the land.

"Wahahahaha!" Rocks laughed and leaped after them, giving chase.

For Ron, this was an excellent chance to test his new ability. Without any hesitation, he immediately chased after them.

"Hey, hey, hey, Ron!" Kaido's voice came from behind him, urgent and excited. "Lend me some power so I can have some fun too!"