Whitebeard: Ron, Are You Serious?

Ron looked at Kaido's gleaming eyes, and a mischievous urge suddenly rose in his heart.

"Ron, say something." Seeing Ron merely smiling at him, Kaido grew anxious. "Don't you dare go back on your word! Annika and Newgate can both testify for me! You personally said you'd teach me that 'Ultimate Taijutsu'!"

Kaido spoke rapidly, afraid Ron would spread his hands the next second and say, "I never said that."

"Heh." Ron chuckled softly and drawled, "Before that... what should you call me, Kaido?"

Kaido froze for a second, unable to process it. "What? What do you mean, what should I call you? Can you speak like a normal person?"

Beside him, Annika quietly reminded him, "Ka... Kaido, Lord Ron is hinting that you should call him Master."

"What the hell?" Kaido dragged out the words, his eyes widening roundly, his face screaming You've got to be kidding me. Then he said irritably, "Ron, you're too much! I treat you like a brother, and you want to be my master?"

Hearing that, Whitebeard, who sat on the ship's railing, silently shifted his body, turning from the island to face the deck.

He still rested his head on one hand, a faint smile on his face as he watched the scene with interest.

Ron smiled as he patted Kaido on the shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of earnestness. "Naturally, I regard you as a brother too, Kaido. But this Ultimate Taijutsu was passed down through my sect. The sect rules are clear: it cannot be taught to outsiders, only to disciples."

What the hell?

What sect?

What disciples?

What do you mean, it can't be taught to outsiders? Only disciples?

"Gurararara."

While Kaido stood there utterly dumbfounded, Whitebeard, seated on the railing, could not help laughing.

Kaido looked at Ron, then at Whitebeard, and complained, "What kind of stupid rule is that? Can't you just ignore the stupid rule and teach me directly?"

"Of course not." Ron shook his head decisively.

Kaido struggled with himself for a while, several expressions cycling across his face. In the end, as if he had figured something out, he let out a breath.

Becoming a disciple in exchange for an Ultimate Taijutsu was a deal that could not possibly lose.

Besides, once he learned it... who would care whether Ron was his master or not?

"Master," Kaido called quietly.

"Good, good, good! What an obedient disciple!" Ron beamed from ear to ear.

"Can we start now?" Kaido asked impatiently.

Ron suddenly wiped the smile from his face and looked at Kaido sternly. "You unfilial disciple, you dared insult the sect's rules just now. I hereby announce that you have been expelled from the sect. You are no longer a disciple."

Kaido froze in place, his mind completely blank.

What the hell? I just joined, and I've already been kicked out?

After coming back to his senses, he exploded into furious cursing. "Screw you, Ron, you bastard! How dare you play me like that!"

"Insulting your master—your crime has doubled!"

"Tch, you just said you didn't recognize me anymore!"

"That is a separate matter. As the saying goes, master for a day, father for life."

"Can you have even a little shame, Ron?" Kaido complained speechlessly. "You want to be my dad after being my master?"

"Unfilial son!" Ron remained entirely unfazed by his complaint, his expression still solemn. "Do you want to learn or not?"

"Then teach me already!" Kaido practically roared.

"Fine." Ron cleared his throat. "Ron's little classroom is officially in session."

Whitebeard did not interrupt. He continued sitting there quietly and watching. He wanted to see how Ron would explain himself once Kaido realized he had been tricked again.

On the deck, Kaido and Annika sat down.

Ron paced back and forth before them, occasionally stroking his chin and occasionally looking up at the sky.

It was his first time being a master. He had absolutely no idea how to teach.

After pondering for a while, he decided to go by his own experience.

"First, close your eyes. Then slowly feel the flow of power within yourselves. Whatever you see while your power is flowing, tell me," Ron said tentatively.

Before long, Annika and Kaido both closed their eyes.

The deck fell silent.

Ten minutes passed, and no one spoke.

"Did you feel anything?" Ron could not help asking.

Kaido slowly opened his eyes, looking doubtful. "No. It was pitch-black. I didn't see anything, and I didn't feel anything either."

"Me too." Annika opened her eyes as well and shook her head.

Ron nodded lightly. He actually knew Annika would not be able to sense anything. The Eight Gates required the body to be strengthened through extreme training before they could be used, and her physical condition was far from meeting the standard.

He had only included her because he wanted to give her a sense of participation.

But Kaido could not do it either, which proved his previous idea truly would not work.

"Got it." Ron suddenly thought of something. He immediately drew on the Nine-Tails' chakra within him and passed it to Kaido and Annika. "Try again, using the same method as before."

Sure enough, with chakra this time, Kaido successfully sensed it.

Just then, Golden Lion, having finished tallying the gains from this trip, strolled out cheerfully.

He first swept his gaze across the deck. Ron was standing, while Kaido and Annika sat on the ground, the three of them muttering about something.

At last, his gaze landed on Whitebeard, who sat on the railing with his head propped up, watching the show.

Golden Lion walked over, leaned against the railing beside Whitebeard, and asked with a grin, "Hey, Newgate, what are those three idiots doing?"

Whitebeard glanced at him from the corner of his eye, his tone indifferent. "Mind your own business."

"Huh? Newgate, you really are an asshole. You always make people dislike you when you speak."

Golden Lion sneered and sat on the railing as well, crossing his legs. His disdainful gaze swept over Ron and the others. "From Ron's tone, is he teaching Kaido something? Tsk, tsk, tsk... That brat Kaido is quite the oddball. What does a newcomer know? If he really wants to learn something, he should come to you or me instead. Right?"

"Shiki, no one will think you are mute if you keep your mouth shut," Whitebeard said coldly.

"Jihahahaha!" Golden Lion burst out laughing, though he was not angry. He knew Whitebeard well. That was just his personality—he treated everyone with that same aloof indifference.

At that moment, Kaido slowly rose to his feet.

Following Ron's instructions, he began trying to unlock the first restriction within himself.

His breathing slowed. His hands slowly drew together before him, then he suddenly clenched them into fists.

"Ultimate Taijutsu: Open!"

He had come up with the name on the spot, and when he shouted it, it carried all the grandeur of adolescent delusion.

As the restriction came undone, a surge of air violently erupted around Kaido. Green energy covered his body like a thin film of light, his hair and the hem of his clothes lifting in the airflow, while the deck beneath his feet gave a faint sinking groan.

"Ultimate Taijutsu: Reopen!"

"Boom!"

An even stronger burst of air erupted from Kaido's body.

"Ultimate Taijutsu: Open Again!"

"Boom!"

This time, spiderweb cracks instantly spread across the deck.

Golden Lion's laughter came to an abrupt stop. He slowly turned his head and looked at Whitebeard with suspicion. "What's going on? What is Ron teaching him???"

Whitebeard did not answer. The relaxed expression he had worn while watching the show was long gone.

His gaze remained fixed on Kaido, and a complicated emotion churned in his eyes.

Damn it, Ron. Weren't you just messing with Kaido?

You're actually serious?

Brothers who are reading, please send some free little gifts. I'm begging you.